This routine can be used to envision things, events, situations, issues or problems in a new and innovative way.

I love this routine because it encourages students to view the world from a different perspective, promotes empathy and provides creative insight into issues or events.

You can read more about this routine here.

This is an Creative Routine!

P r o j e c t Z e r o describes this routine as a “routine for getting inside view points”. It moves beyond just identifying the view point, forcing students to think deeply about the world from a new perspective.

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MATHS - This could be used creatively in maths to really encourage students to interpret data. For example, this routine would be effective when plotting points on an Cartesian coordinate graph.

What can the thing perceive? Eg. point A can perceive the coordinates (5,4) lying in quadrant 1.

What might the thing know about or believe? Eg. point A might believe that the lung capacity of a person (x) directly correlates to how long they can hold their breath (y) as both coordinate points are not dissimilar. Looking around the graph this seems to be true for all the coordinates.

What might the thing care about? point A cares about the line of best fit because it clearly shows it’s relationship to the other points. It is also the smallest point of data with all other data lying higher in the top corner of quadrant 1.

Mathematicians could continue to ask a whole range of questions from one particular point on the data set, or the x or y access, or even the line of best fit. Get creative!

SCIENCE - Take an organ of the body, an element within an experiment, or even a type of rock or energy.

What can the thing perceive? Eg. Igneous rocks can perceive volcanic or plutonic processes.

What might the thing know about or believe?Eg. Igneous rocks believe that they are created through an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure or a change of pressure which causes them to melt.

What might the thing care about? Eg. The effect of water or carbon dioxide on their composition because…

Students would be encouraged to go into much more depth then the examples given above. If you were feeling super creative you could have a rock concert where sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks had to introduce themselves to the crowd using the Step Inside routine as a starting point for discussion.

ENGLISH AND/OR DRAMA - The application of this routine in English and Drama is evident. Assess the understanding of a character or perspective of a writer through this routine.

What can the person perceive? Eg. Keats perceives love as…. which is clearly demonstrated in his poem…

What might the person know about or believe? Eg. Mercurio believes that dreams “are children of an idle brain”. They tempt men’s souls but fall apart when he wakes.

What might the person care about? Eg. Christopher John Francis Bonne (from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time) cares about the stars, science and mathematics. This is evident in….

Students could use these prompts to write from the perspective of a character or hot seat a character in Drama.

HISTORY - Explore a significant moment in time from the perspective of someone who was present. You could be very specific about which person’s perspective you were looking at the event from (eg. Martin Luther King) or you could be very general (eg. a peasant.)

What can the person perceive? Eg. A peasant in the middle ages would perceive the knights, nobles, and royalty as being much more important. They perceive life as difficult and full of hard work etc.

What might the person know about or believe? Eg. Anne Frank believes that despite everything people are still good at heart. She writes” “It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”

What might the person care about? Eg. Martin Luther King cared about racial equality as is evident through his fight for African-American civil rights in the 1950’s.

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RELIGION - This routine would be fantastic for examining the perspective of people of different faiths amongst other things.

What can the person perceive? Eg. A person of Catholic faith perceives God through the trinity - father, son and the holy spirit. This is demonstrated in the Apostle’s Creed - “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.”

What might the person know about or believe? Eg. Buddhists believe that the ultimate goal in life is to achieve “enlightenment”.

What might the person care about? Eg. Hindus care deeply for the environment. They believe all living beings are sacred as they are part of God.

You could allocate a different religious group to each student as a research task and ask them to express the beliefs of this religion in a mock religious forum.

ART - This could be an excellent routine for exploring the perspective of an artist. Students could use this routine to analyse how the artist perceives the world as reflected through their art.

What can the artist perceive? Eg. Picasso perceived the infinite complexity of life. For example Picasso reveals summer heat not in a blue dazzle but in a grey sky of bleak planes beyond the factory.

What might the artist know about or believe? Eg. Degas’ artworks indicate an understanding of modern French subject matter such as the ballet, opera, race track, brothels etc.

Which might the artist care about? Eg. Monet cared about light. This is evident in his paintings of cathedrals such as in Rouen where he tried endlessly to capture the light.

This routine could be used to focus on an artists technique, style, philosophy or thematic content. The possibilities are endless.

LANGUAGE - This routine would allow students to demonstrate and interpret the meaning behind a given written text or conversation. Have the students listen or read someone’s story in the language they are studying any use the routine for comprehension.

What can the person perceive? Eg. The person speaking perceives ….. as is evident in the sentence….

What might the person know about or believe? Eg. The person believes…. . I know this as she says…..

What might the person care about? Eg. I think this person cares about his brother as he speaks about him at length in paragraph 3.

The students could compare their answers with another student and identify similarities or differences in their responses using direct quotes to justify their interpretation of the text or conversation.

COMMERCE/ECONOMICS - This routine could be used to examine the perspective of certain stakeholders or government bodies in relation to consumer, financial, investment, e-commerce, business or legal matters.

What can the person perceive? Eg. The consumer may perceive the company in a particular way due to advertising, reviews, public relations, social media etc.

What might the company know about or believe? Eg. The Commonwealth bank knows about retail, premium, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation etc.

Which might the stakeholder care about? Eg. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry cares about policy in relation to matters that impact business such as economics, trade, workplace relations, work health and safety, employment etc.

These examples are just touching the surface. Of course more depth and complexity can be explored in class!

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