Learning in Context: Creativity and Professional Development in
Initial Teacher EducationGlen Coutts, Julie K. Austin and Liz MitchellWAAE 2009 World Summit: Towards a Paradigm
of Creative Education for the 21st Century
What is an APD ?
An Area of Professional Development [APD] is concerned with cross curricular areas which are related to the day-to-day work of many teachers but which are not teaching qualifications in themselves.
(PGDE(S) Course Handbook 2009/10: 5)
Examples of APD
• Celtic and Gaelic Studies• Learning in the Outdoors• Pupil Support and Pastoral Care• Information and Communication Technology• Theory and Practice of Behaviour
Management• Health Education for Today’s Young People(PGDE(S) Course Handbook 2009/10:5 )
An Arts-Infused Model:Designing the Class
The challenge for secondary teachers is to develop creative contexts for learning within their own subject area; contexts that will deliver key subject content and foster development of ‘core skills’
(Coutts, Austin and Mitchell, 2000:1)
What are ‘core skills’?
• Communication• Numeracy• Problem-solving• Information technology• Working with otherswww.sqa.org.uk
What are the creative contexts?
• The environment (built and natural)
• Communications and working with others
• School playgrounds as learning spaces
• Various social, cultural and historical contexts
The built environment …
Natural environment
Communications and working with others
School Playgrounds as Learning Resources
Social, cultural and historical
Working in groups: drama
Problem solving
Setting the learningexperience in context
A Curriculum for Excellence?
• Successful learners• Confident individuals• Responsible citizens• Effective contributors
(www. curriculumfor excellence scotland.gov.uk)
Fostering creativity…
Teachers who foster creativity
• Encourage students to learn independently• Have a co-operative, socially integrative style of
teaching• Do not neglect mastery of factual knowledge• Tolerate ‘sensible’ or bold errors• Promote self-evaluation• Take questions seriously• Offer opportunities to work with varied materials under
different conditions• Help students to cope with frustration and failure• Reward courage as much as being right(Cropley 2003:138)
An English language project…
I HAD A FANTASTIC IDEA…I HAD A FANTASTIC IDEA…
MAYBE THEY’D REMEMBER MORE IF THEY WERE MORE ACTIVELY ENGAGED WITH THE BOOK…
HOLY SMOKE !WHAT A
FANTASTIC IDEA !!!
WHY DON’T I GET THEM TO TURN IT INTO A GRAPHIC NOVEL ????
I CAN GET THE KIDS TO SUMMARIZE THE TEXT….
….THEN THEY CAN ACT IT
OUT……
….PHOTOGRAPH IT….
….AND MAKE IT INTO A BOOKLET THEY CAN REVISE
FROM !!!!!
THEN I CAN MEASURE WHETHER THEY SCORED HIGHER IN THEIR
ASSESSMENTS …ANDENJOYED IT MORE !!!
BACKGROUND&
MATERIALS
PREPARATIONPREPARATION
PRODUCTION
CREATIONCREATION
TEXTUAL STUDY
BURKE & HARE PRESENTATION
ENGLISH
HISTORY
STORYBOARDING
COSTUME
LOCATION
PERFORMANCE
COMPILATION
DRAMA
COMPUTING
FEEDBACKANALYSISANALYSIS
PRODUCTION
QUESTIONNAIRE
“ROBBIE MEETS THE BODYSNATCHERS”“ROBBIE MEETS THE BODYSNATCHERS”
Pupil comments…
“…I really enjoyed this project because it was
fun…”
“…I learned about the Scottish environment…”
“…I liked Hundertwasser because he had a cool name and his buildings are really modern…”
Evaluation
What did students say about their experiences in the class?
One group of students…
AND THEY SAID…AND THEY SAID…
I recognise the value of this APD and am
determined to incorporate this in my teaching in the future
I recognise the value of this APD and am
determined to incorporate this in my teaching in the future
It was sometimes hard to connect the ideas in each activity to the previous ones
and classroom practice
This class has enabled me to see the role for creative
learning in the classroom, …for young people to learn effectively
they must be engaged in the learning process…
This class has enabled me to see the role for creative
learning in the classroom, …for young people to learn effectively
they must be engaged in the learning process…
ATTENDING THIS CLASS HAS HELPED ME
TO MAKE THE LEARNING MORE ‘REAL’ FOR THE
PUPILS
A truly practical class!A truly practical class!
Time for reflection…
Student comment
Fostering creativity is good classroom practice and good classroom practice fosters creativity.
(Johnston 2008:12)
Student comment
These skills that pupils are to develop cannot be done in a linear and dogmatic way - teachers must themselves be adaptable and establish creative opportunities to foster creativity in others. The two facets to this relationship are inextricable; fostering creativity in others and being creative ourselves in the way that we teach.
(McElwee, 2008: 5)
Concluding comments
The motivating potential of an arts-infused methodology is at the core of our model. Experience to date suggests that there is a genuine need and interest from trainee teachers for such a model. We are encouraged by that.
Julie Austin and Glen Coutts, Chicago, June 2008.
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