ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the research relationship between Stephanie Bartlett, a Calgary-based teacher, and Robert LeBlanc, a Lethbridge-based teacher educator. It focuses on the core concept in this project: the sensorial assemblage, an arrangement of materials, people, and histories that is about information and how we feel and affectively respond to that arrangement. The chapter describes how Stephanie worked with her students to create their own sensorial assemblage out of junk, a public art project for their schoolyard that drew on sight, sound, and touch. Stephanie’s work with Project Engage offered insight into the possibilities that arise from linking school and community through learning experiences. The purpose of using the sensorial assemblage of community engagement and junk de-centres the traditional role of the teacher and demonstrates how deeply social justice and place-based learning are embedded in the foundational fabric of the project, as well as the diverse entry points for both students and also teachers new to this type of pedagogy.
