Proposal for GCSE Media Studiesone-day film-making

workshop

“Creativity is as important in education as literacy.”

Ken Robinson (2007) TED Talks: Do Schools Kill Creativity?available online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

Creativity is “the most important economic resource of the 21st

Century”.

Kaufman, J. and Beghetto, R. (2009) Beyond big and little: the four C model of creativity

in Review of General Psychology Vol. 13, No. 1, pp 1 - 12

Anthony Browne, the current children’s laureate. (The Guardian 30.6.09)

“Something happens to our creativity as we go through the education

process; most of us lose touch with it.”

but . . .

so . . .

How can creativity be encouraged within the

restrictions of education?

Promoting Creativity in Media Studies and Across

the Curriculum

The aims of this project were:  • to observe Media Studies students during a film-making workshop with a view to gaining a greater understanding of their creative process

• to offer students a structure for their own creative process with the view of improving the quality of practical work

My research findings suggested, the most constructive way to offer creative activities is to:

 • allow students to have enough uninterrupted time to work on the task

• structure the project around several mini-deadlines, with feedback offered after each

• offer a brief which does not too specifically state what needs to be done, allowing for some freedom of choice

In addition, previous research suggests:

• opportunities for creative activities must be made available regularly

• students need to know that the process is as important as the final product

• students should be allowed to reflect upon their own creative process

 Claxton, G (2006) Thinking at the edge: developing soft creativity in Cambridge Journal of Education Vol. 36, No. 3, pp 351 – 362

 Cowley, S (2005) Letting the Buggers be Creative (Continuum)

 Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996) Creativity: flow and the psychology of discovery and invention

(Harper Perennial)

therefore . . .

I propose aone-day film-making

workshopfor GCSE Media Studies

students which addresses these points.

The immediate aim of this project is:

• to offer GCSE Media Studies students the opportunity to develop their creative film-making skills and to gain a greater understanding of their own creative process The long term aim of this project would be:

• to implement changes in how creative projects are offered to students and to disseminate the method across the curriculum, ultimately allowing students to develop transferable creative skills they can use in all subjects, Further Education and employment

The benefits of the one-day creative workshop structure are: • supports Learning 2 Learn initiatives and Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills

• promotes the idea of being an adaptive learner

• allows students to experience freedom within certain codes of behaviour and creativity within constraints

• promotes a more responsible attitude towards self- managing

• success at such a project could raise students’ self- esteem and improve their motivation to learn

Proposed structure of the day:

8.30 – 8.45 Introduction and explanation of the day8.45 – 9.30 Task One9.30 – 2.30 Task Two (including normal breaks)2.30 – 3.00 Screening3.00 – 3.30 Reflection and evaluation

Film-makingpart one

The aim of this task is to familiarise the students with the equipment and basic media skills they will need.

Film-makingpart two

The aim of this task is to allow the students to be creative but also to help them understand their own creative process by reflecting upon the ‘making of’

footage.

The film-making tasks are designed to allow students to develop their skills and then apply

them in the subsequent tasks.

The tasks also become progressively less structured to ease students into using their own

creativity more.

The purpose of the reflection and evaluation is to enable students to have time to think about what they have enjoyed or found challenging about the

day and to set themselves targets for future practical coursework tasks.

Ivan, Oneil, Josh and Lemar

‘Black’, made during a one-day film-making workshop.

The creative process in action.