They were given an awe inspiring, but lovely, space to work in. They were given materials to work with, and asked basic questions. What resulted in the students was a sense of empowerment, and a palpable feeling of ownership. This was their project and their learning experience. We find that studying the built environment is an entry point for kids with different strengths to find their way into education.
Some kids are good in art, some in math, some in language.
The idea is to capitalize on the differing strengths of the kids in a group. The variations in designs we see depend, of course, on who the kids are and where they're coming from. To a large extent, these variations also depend on the provocations and questions of the professionals working with each group. This, in turn, is a reflection of their own interests and expertise. The real essence of the Charrette experience, and of any successful classroom lesson, is in providing students with a challenge that stimulates their creativity and respects their intelligence as critical learners and critical problem-solvers.