http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/teacher-resource-pack-power-priests-and-princes-cliffords-tower-and-york-minster/teachers-pack-york-minster-cliffords-tower.pdf
Follow this link to find newly published material from the 2012-13 cohort of York University PGCE students. Working with staff from English Heritage and York Minster, the students developed resources and lesson plans for learning about power in medieval England using Clifford's Tower and York Minster as a focus. Taking an approach of working from the feature in a building, to story the behind it, and connecting that to a wider theme of power, the result is an online resource free to all schools which would help with those 'arcs of time' for the new KS3 curriculum. For those local to York, there is the added benefit of local history in there too. We are hugely grateful to English Heritage and York Minster learning teams for helping to make this project possible.
York University PGCE Partnership
Friday, 7 March 2014
Wednesday, 5 March 2014
Historical Scholarship in the classroom – a PGCE student’s experience
Marie Whiles sees the potential of using works of historical scholarship in the classroom at KS3. She describes her own experimentation and encourages others to give it a go. She maintains that teachers require excellent knowledge of a topic themselves to be able to do this successfully, but that historical scholarship is not inherently inaccessible to students in our classrooms.
Historical
Scholarship in the classroom – a PGCE students’ experience
Throughout university sessions,
we spent a couple of afternoons addressing the place of historical scholarship
within the classroom, and devising activities to make this level of academic
study accessible to KS3 school pupils. Whilst my group and I worked through the
activities and managed to devise some appropriate ones of our own to use within
lessons, I remained mildly sceptical about the reality of implementing this
within the classroom.
My reservations came through a
reluctance to somewhat water-down the academic work to bring it to an
appropriate level for the pupils intended. I had initially believed historical
scholarship to be something to be enjoyed at sixth form when you are encouraged
to learn and research outside of the usual classroom and curriculum restraints,
to help develop their own scholarship and understanding of academic research.
However, during my placement, I
saw an opportunity to test whether historical scholarship could be made
accessible for KS3 students within the study of the Holocaust. The school teach
this topic through challenging a series of generalisations which surround the
Holocaust, including the idea that ‘those who did not take part in the
Holocaust risked death’. This generalisation leant itself so naturally to the
Browning – Goldhagen debate surrounding participation, that I could not ignore
this opportunity to test how far academia of this calibre could be accessed.
The lesson began with two quotes
on the board. One from Browning; “Germans were good men, put in horrendous
situations, too afraid of the consequences to speak out”, and the other from
Goldhagen; “All Germans were born anti-Semitic”. Pupils were asked to decide
which quote they felt best represented the German population based on their
previous learning regarding Hitler’s rise to power and other elements of the
Holocaust. They were then asked for any initial responses; and as would be
expected from any audience, pupils expressed shock about the Goldhagen quote in
particular, and tended to be more sympathetic to the Browning quote; although
many began to draw out ideas regarding the general assumptions of both and
began challenging whether ‘all’ Germans could be categorised into either
viewpoint.
Pupils were then introduced to
this as an academic debate with some contextual information given regarding the
two historians and their conflicting conclusions. Pupils read and dissected the
case study of Police Battalion 101 to understand the context of the lesson, and
what each historian had studied to reach their dramatically different
conclusions. As the nature of the case study is quite shocking, allowing time
for pupils to read this and engage with it for themselves, really enhanced the
tone of the lesson, which was key to its success.
Following this, pupils worked in
pairs with one taking elements of Browning’s debates, and the other taking
elements of Goldhagen’s research. This task involved reading through the
various aspects outlining: what research each had conducted, the time period
they had studied, evidence they had collected, and conclusions they had drawn
from this. They then had to summarise their historian’s research and
conclusions in their own words in a couple of sentences. This was re-capped as
a class with the brief outlines of each historian’s research outlined in their
words on the board for use in the main task.
Throughout the rest of the
lesson, pupils were working with this academic debate as a framework. They were
given first-hand accounts from people who were involved in the Holocaust, each
of whom outlined some of their reasons for taking part in these actions. Pupils
were asked to decide which historian each first-hand account provided evidence
for, and give examples of why they had reached these conclusions.
At the end of the lesson pupils
were required to draw together their findings with a conclusion relating back
to the generalisation for the lesson. They were asked to decide which
historians’ findings had been most supported by the further evidence they were
using, and to reach a conclusion discussing the reasons people took part in the
Holocaust.
Further to this, throughout this
topic these pupils have been recording video diaries relating to the learning
in the lesson for home work. These have acted as another means of assessing the
learning from within the lesson, but have also acted as a tool for pupils to
elaborate their ideas and conclusions, and discuss them through a different
means to writing them down, allowing for further analysis. Within this
particular video diary pupils were asked to consider: the debate we had
studied, the first hand accounts, and their overall response to participation
in the Holocaust. Through these diaries, pupils expressed not only links made
within the lesson relating to the academic research and first-hand accounts,
but also brought in their prior knowledge regarding Hitler’s generally
oppressive and indoctrinated rule within Germany, introducing this as another
potential element which would have affected the level of participation.
I have taught this lesson to two
year 9 classes of very differing ability and general work ethic. On both
occasions pupils were given the same materials, and both classes accessed the
learning as required. I was pleasantly surprised by how well both groups were
able to connect and utilise academic research of this calibre. Whilst pupils
obviously did not study this to the depth one would within a university setting
– where this would usually be found – at no point were they given a simplified
version. All were expected to discuss the historiographical context of the
debate, the wider context of Germany at the time, and to relate other case
studies to this theory.
Other teachers within the history
department at the school have since used this lesson plan and resources within
their own classes with similar success within groups of all abilities. As a
rather unintentional investigation into the appropriateness of historical
scholarship within the KS3 classroom, I would deem this a success, and know
that for myself and other rather sceptical members of this particular history
department, our eyes have been opened to the potential of using this level of
academic work at this stage of school study.
On a wider scale, I now wonder
whether historical scholarship as a concept within the classroom worries us as
teachers, because we ourselves do not feel equipped or confident in our
knowledge and understanding of a particular time period or element of the
curriculum, and the historiography surrounding it. I know that within this
instance, the lesson was successful in its planning, partly due to my confident
knowledge of this debate having researched, and written on it during my studies
at university. I would find it harder to plan and implement a lesson using
historical scholarship on an aspect of history I had not studied at that level.
That is, however, my shortcoming as a teacher and an area I intend to develop
as I continue in my training and professional practice, and not due to the
inaccessibility of historical scholarship as a teaching and learning tool.
Another important element in
allowing for the use of historical scholarship within the classroom, is to have
a wide ranging and generally interesting curriculum. Whilst all the changes
that have been made to the school curriculum are still a general area of
contention, this time of change can, and indeed should, be viewed as an
opportunity to embrace these ideas and widen the horizons of what is delivered
to our pupils. In this instance, this lesson fit so naturally into this topic,
and the staff have recently embraced this to become a permanent feature in the
scheme of work for future years. Schemes of work therefore need scope to
explore these elements of the study of history. The skills utilised and
progressed within this one lesson were wide ranging, as pupils were addressing
not only knowledge-based but also conceptual skills and applications which are
paramount to becoming a ‘good’ historian.
There is a wide ranging debate
regarding to what extent school pupils of history should be labelled, or viewed,
as historians with many claiming the level at which they engage in the study
and application of history does not warrant the status of historian. This lesson alone proves that there is as least
potential for this to be dispelled through the introduction of this level of
academia within the classroom. With the continuing focus on progression and
academic achievement within schools, this provides history teachers with a
means to develop these factors from the onset of secondary school.
Historical scholarship should not
be restricted to the world of A level and university. Limiting it to these age
groups often attaches a negative connotations relating to an increasing
workload, and the ever apparent shift from KS4 learning to that of KS5.
Instead, an application and engagement with historical scholarship at a younger
age can begin to develop these skills and understanding from an earlier stage
of their study, which in turn will enhance not only their performance during
KS3 and 4, but will leave pupils much better prepared when entering KS5 and
further levels of academic study.
Marie Whiles is a PGCE History trainee in the University of York PGCE Partnership 2013-14
Friday, 14 February 2014
Reflections upon historical thinking in schools
I
believe that “Historical Thinking” is in large part about developing an
increasingly complex understanding of the processes and nature of history; a
continual process of redevelopment and refinement. Because of this it is not
only, or even principally, something fixed or rote to be learnt; it is a mode
of thinking to be developed throughout a child’s time in education and
hopefully beyond.
In
this reflective journal entry I will discuss what I believe to be the key
elements of “historical thinking”, acknowledging the now somewhat old framework
of “New History”, and the way that it can be supported through using Bloom’s
Taxonomy. I will then discuss how children can start to develop their knowledge
and understanding of these concepts.
Historical
thinking is firstly about understanding the two-fold nature of the subject, as
a body of knowledge and as a form of knowledge, and also about learning how to
“do history”. To me, history is more about the latter of these. I would closely link it to wider possible
educational aims, such as being able to think and challenge ideas, concepts and
structures in a logical and thoughtful manner. However, I acknowledge that in
order to develop historical thinking, children must have something, some evidence, if that is the
correct word to use, to use their process-based knowledge against; both primary
and secondary sources from history, and also a backdrop against which to place
them. Not only this, the body of history that pupils learn about must include
some knowledge of the order in which events have occurred in the past, and
which events out of those, we as a society see as important, what is termed
chronology. It is important, to maintain the development of historical
thinking, that the body of knowledge that is taught is always contestable and
subject to debate (historical interpretation), that the body of knowledge
chosen to be studied has been selected (essentially, understanding historical
significance). Children must also understanding the often chaotic (but at times
stable) nature of the past, as can be expressed, when teaching children,
through the overarching framework of “change and continuity”, and relate what
is occurring at one stage in the past to another to show the pace and forms of
change, through the framework of “compare and contrast”. In addition, history
must be understood in terms of things continually impacting upon one another, the
concept of “cause and consequence” is useful here. All of these aspects of
historical thinking are brought together within pieces of historical thinking; historical
enquiry.
These key elements of historical thinking are highly complicated, especially when interlinked. If children can learn historical thinking from an early age, as Bruner would suggest with the concept of the “Spiral Curriculum”, then the elements of historical thinking that are studied must be taught to pupils at their level of cognitive ability. Thinking about this, some of the above concepts may be easier for children with lower cognitive ability; comparing and contrasting seems to be easier than, for example, grasping historical significance. These concepts can be supported by Bloom’s Taxonomy, giving an even greater sense of critical understanding. Using this, a child may be able to describe how an event is important, rather than evaluating the differences and similarities (the comparing and contrasting skill) between two events. This is all complicated stuff, and I would suggest that in order to learn it pupils must want to learn it. This means that teachers have to employ a wide range of strategies, from different sources (pictorial, video, physical historical artefacts and text) to having some activities where pupils can employ different learning styles, from writing to moving around. Pupils should participate in activities which involve working in different size groups (individual, in pairs and larger groups) such as role-play or creating a wiki. Pupils will not learn in a systematic way at all times, partly due to the chaotic nature of history. When studying some events in history children may find it easier to evaluate rather than describe, or find discussing causes and consequences more challenging than significance. As long as all the various history specific and more general Bloom’s concepts are continually involved in a pupil’s history education in a way which meets the cognitive level of the children, and which children positively engage with, historical thinking will hopefully occur.
At the end of the first phase of his PGCE, Tom Wedge-Roberts reflects upon teaching and learning historical thinking. Tom is a York University PGCE student, 2013-14
Friday, 24 January 2014
The highs, lows and highs of the PGCE mini-block placement
It is not an understatement to say that my first block placement of the PGCE course has been one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling times of my life. It has also been one of the most challenging.
I had only taught one full lesson before the main block started (along with a handful of starters, plenaries and main activities), so the start of the block placement heralded a huge turning point in my progress towards becoming a teacher. It was somewhat unsettling to know that my responsibility-levels had just been turned up a notch as I became fully integrated with an efficient and hard-working Humanities Department at my school. Many of the humanities staff were in the midst of a mammoth session of marking, as my placement school operates under a system of 6 "Learning Cycles" whereby students are assessed in class at 6 separate intervals throughout the year. This creates a large amount of marking for staff, but allows them to track the progress of students very well. Despite the fact that the department, and indeed my mentor (the Head of History), was very busy, I was almost immediately working and planning my next couple of lessons to be taught that very week. I delivered a lesson to a Year 8 class on the activities of the women's suffrage movement, and another Year 8 lesson on the Peasant's Revolt. Unfortunately, the first of these lessons (the suffragists/suffragettes lesson) did not go as well as I had hoped, which knocked my confidence somewhat, especially since my lesson from the week before to Year 8 on the abolition of the slave trade had been labelled as "OUTSTANDING" by my mentor. However, after a short period of moping around and feeling sorry for myself, I realised that making mistakes in the previous lesson had helped me in the long run. I recognised the areas where I could improve or mistakes I could avoid, and further discussions with my mentor and other teachers helped me formulate new approaches to the way I delivered lessons. The next lesson, on the Peasant's Revolt, was much more successful, and by the end of the first week my confidence had grown and I was extremely excited about the forthcoming weeks and the lessons I was going to be teaching.
The notion of "learning from one's mistakes" has stuck with me throughout the 4 weeks. I feel by acknowledging areas where I need to improve, I can move away from what one might label "bad habits" and develop a consistent and effective approach to my teaching. One area where I certainly need to improve is my time management. In some lessons this has not been a problem, but it is something I have become increasingly aware of and I can often find myself looking up at the clock and realising I only have 10 minutes for pupils to move onto a task I intended to last 15 or 20 minutes! Discussions with my mentor, and other teaching staff, have really helped me recognise some of the traps one can fall into as a teacher, and I have sought advice from all of them on many different issues, from how to draw out answers from very quiet pupils (something I have experienced with one of my Year 9 groups) to effective ways of using source material in classes.
On the whole, my placement school has been a dream to work in. The staff are incredibly friendly and the pupils are extremely well behaved. In fact, behaviour has barely been an issue in any of the classes I have taught. The most I have had to deal with is minor levels of disruption such as pupils chatting during activities or the odd bit of shouting out. There has only been one instance where I have had to deal in any sort of "extreme" sense with a student who misbehaved, which occurred in my second week. In a Year 8 lesson on the work of women in World War One, I warned a boy about shouting out (twice) and then gave him a final warning on the third occasion. Unfortunately, he shouted out about 10 minutes after his final warning and I sent him out of the class for 5 minutes. I then moved the pupils on to the next task, and waited until they were all writing before I briefly went outside to have a calm word with the boy to tell him why he'd been sent out. He was very apologetic, and worked very hard for the rest of the lesson, with no more shouting out. Whilst I was pleased to have been able to put a behaviour management strategy into effect, I was slightly worried my mentor would say I was perhaps too strict with the boy at the end of the lesson, but fortunately he praised the way I'd handled the situation in our next mentor meeting, which was another great confidence boost.
Indeed the whole experience over the 4 weeks has been a fantastic introduction to full-time teaching for me. I now feel much more self-assured about my own capabilities as a teacher, and the initial nerves I felt on the eve of Week One have almost completely disappeared. It is still fairly nerve-wracking at times though, particularly when one loses track of what one's supposed to be doing with a class, as I experienced in Week Four in a Year 8 class on the Battle of Hastings when my mind went totally blank for about a minute! I don't think I've ever felt more self-conscious or isolated in my life, but luckily I don't think the pupils noticed, or if they did, it wasn't obvious! Having the tremendous support of my mentor and the rest of the Humanities Department has also been a marvellously beneficial. They have answered all my questions, helped me find or develop resources, and been refreshingly honest when something hasn't gone right or if they see a particular need for improvement in a certain area. I have learned so much in this placement, and I am so grateful to have been able to learn from a brilliant set of teachers and work with some truly delightful young people. As much as anything else, to have your mentor label your lesson as "OUTSTANDING" or to hear a pupil say "I love it when we do this kind of activity" (in my Year 9 lesson on The Treaty of Versailles) is one of the best feelings in the world.
An incredible 4 weeks.
Richard Austin is a PGCE history student at the University of York
Sunday, 17 November 2013
A primary start to a secondary PGCE
Here is a reflection on primary school placement from one of the 2013-14 cohort of York University PGCE trainees. At York, this placement begins the PGCE year.
My
primary school, located in my hometown’s picturesque rural village, was the
perfect start to an intense ITT year in York. Surrounded by a twelfth-century
Church, grazing goats, and lively lambs, my school compelled a feeling of
community and familiarity. As I shook the hands of my previous Year 6 teacher
and my former Year 4 teacher, I immediately felt at home – what a great first
feeling before two weeks of little faces and very, very hard work!
For the
benefit of my PGCE in secondary education, I was placed in the Year 6/5 group –
a class amounting to thirty pupils. I was immediately impressed, albeit shocked,
by their independence and ability to concentrate in their RRR time (Review,
Reflect, Respond), History, and Maths. I deliberated whether this was a result
of class mixing – a method increasingly employed in primary schools – or a
result of the 6 ft 5” teacher dominating the classroom. As I reflected on Mr H’s
excellent classroom management, as well as his positive relationship with each
and every pupil, I came to the conclusion that it was both! I immediately
perceived that the enthusiasm and encouragement projected throughout the
classroom was the reason the children became engaged in learning. Mr H’s clear
and instructive lesson plans and reassurance that each pupil would achieve
something new that day, was the reason the children’s attention was retained. On
the other hand…
…There
was Class 4/3! As I had previously worked in a Year Six classroom for ten weeks,
I decided some experience with younger students would add to my collection of
experience in education – and didn’t it just! Within half a day I had been
promoted from helper and observer to Teaching Assistant. Unlike the older pupils
in the school, the children in lower Key Stage 2 were in desperate need of
guidance and extra support. Personally, I have limited experience with SEN(D)
pupils, so the demand placed on me by pupils working well below average and in
need of constant attention was undoubtedly my greatest lesson from my primary
school placement. I was asked to deliver a lesson to a sub-group in maths and
guided reading, which were really rewarding experiences. The guided reading
group in particular thoroughly enjoyed having the attention they would otherwise
lack without additional classroom support – this taught me a great lesson about
the value of extra support in a classroom. Mrs S had asked me to lead a reading
discussion with the use of questions about their book; however, I realised their
attention was wavering and their motivation was dire. Rather than dictate
questions, I asked the pupils to question one another, using the cue cards I had
been given. Every pupil immediately livened up, learned effectively, and
smothered me with cuddles in excitement as they progressed as learners! The
reading group taught me my greatest transferable skill; pupils of lower
abilities respond positively when they feel responsible for their own learning.
Over
the next week I had numerous flailing arms thrown around my legs as the pupils
burst with pride at their achievements. I think it’s safe to say in those two
weeks I received more cuddles than in all my twenty-two years on this planet –
what an inspiring start!
Alex Barraclough, York PGCE Partnership 2013-14
Friday, 28 June 2013
Provision for able and interested students in York
Sarah Jackson spent her two week professional enrichment placement based at Manor CE Academy and visited other local schools. She writes...
OFSTED have
recently stated that bright children are being "systematically
failed" by England's non-selective secondaries. These findings, however, were
certainly untrue of the schools that I was lucky enough to visit during my
two-week professional enrichment as part of my PGCE at the University of York. I
had the opportunity to focus entirely on gifted and talented provision on a series
of visits to a mixture of independent, academy and maintained schools, and
therefore had the opportunity to compare practices and see what, if any,
differences existed.
Certainly,
there were certainly no opportunities for ‘coasting’, or as OFSTED puts it,
“[treading] water” in any of the schools I visited. Rather, students were provided
with inspirational teachers to develop their passion for learning, but also
faced with challenging ideas, activities and questions to stretch them. While there were differences in the basics of
provision between the independent and state schools – in terms of class size and
the general ability in each class – the nature of support for the gifted and
talented was surprisingly similar throughout. Below are some of the common
approaches that I came across, which could all be used within a mixed-ability
classroom:
1. Creativity - Nearly all teachers that I observed
provided opportunities for creativity within their lesson to challenge their
‘gifted and talented’ students. My own mentor simply provides the students with
a set of objectives (for example, to show the differences between the
suffragettes and suffragists and the reactions to these groups), and then sent
students off fulfilling these objectives, giving them the option to address
them in any format they chose. This allows the students to show off their
abilities to their best: work produced including guides to becoming a
suffragette and a suffragist, a newspaper article, and a video with a voice
over. A similar approach was taken in other lessons that I observed: in a R.S.
lesson choice was given to students about whether to write an essay or poem and
then reflect on this in a piece of writing, and in another R.S. lesson in a
different schools, students were challenged to create their own starter
activity for their partner then to complete. This opportunity for flexibility,
not only gives students the chance to ‘shine’, but also encourages them to feel
more passionate about their learning as they can approach in a way that engages
them most.
2. Independent thinking - This is also linked to another
common theme that I found of learning being turned on its ‘head’ to challenge. Instead
of the teacher giving the students the answers, students were given a problem
to solve for themselves. For example, in a science lesson students were given
the opportunity to design their own experiment to test for rusting. In another
school, in an English lesson, students had to come up with their own criteria
for what makes a good newspaper article, and then use this to peer-assess each
other’s work.
3. Questioning - this was used unanimously in classes
that I observed to stretch the most able. Teachers knew their students well,
and aimed higher level questions at students that needed to be stretched, as
well as getting students to develop their responses by further questions. Students who asked questions, were answered
with questions, and therefore as a result were able to come up with their own
answers. This again turned the focus of the learning back onto the student.
4. Group work - students were given opportunities
for testing their own learning through group work. A panel of ‘gifted and talented’ Year 8
students told me they really enjoyed working within mixed ability groupings, as
it gave them leadership opportunities, and therefore the chance to be in
charge! Furthermore, many said they liked the opportunities that they got to
coach and teach other students, as this enabled them to really test their own
understanding. One of the teachers I spoke to also reflected on how to vary
group work for different effects; sometimes she also ensures that ‘gifted and
talented’ aren’t always in leadership roles, to allow them opportunities to develop
their teamwork skills.
5. Extension tasks - Finally, in nearly all lessons, a
series of extension tasks where often available, which stretched and challenged
the most able. This varied from ‘extension questions’ at the bottom of
worksheets to providing students with an opportunity to choose which themes of
gothic literature they were going to search for in a text by putting them on a
‘difficulty’ scale (again providing students with choice). Furthermore, another
teacher told me how she differentiates homework by providing different tasks to
different students – sometimes even as simply as taking out the first 3 steps
of a question, so the more able students are immediately challenged.
Gifted and talented work outside the
classroom
Furthermore,
in York, provision for the gifted and talented goes beyond the classroom. The ISSP
project in York offers ‘gifted and talented’ students a real opportunity to not
only be inspired but also to challenge themselves. Some KS3 students get the
opportunity to challenge themselves with A-level standard Maths. Others get the
opportunity to take part in an oral history workshop with real life war
veterans. Among the students I talked to, there was a real excitement about
these projects. At one school, I met with a group of about 20 students who all
seemed incredibly keen to take part in the ISSP’s GCSE Latin programme.
Furthermore I met with a student who was already part of the project: she
relished the opportunities the project gave her to have a challenge outside
school, despite having to give up several hours on a Monday evening to it.
It certainly
seems to me therefore, that instead of ‘gifted and talented’ students being
failed, by contrast, their educational needs are carefully addressed both
within the classroom and outside it. This went beyond trying to get students to
a certain level or grade: teachers wanted students’ to gain a passion for
learning and for their subject through giving them opportunities to express
their individual talents and flare. I finished my two weeks inspired; and I’m
sure I was surrounded by students who felt the same.
Sarah Jackson, York PGCE History 2012-14
Monday, 17 June 2013
Professional enrichment: using drama, music and dance in secondary school teaching and learning.
Before you read this, it might be worth mentioning that Artis
(the company I worked with) give their specialists onomatopoeic names -
hence why each specialist's name is followed with a 'code name' in brackets!
Mine was 'Bounce'.
As
a Secondary History trainee teacher about to qualify, I was given the
opportunity to complete two weeks of ‘Professional Enrichment’ in a
school-based context of my choosing. As a former actress, this choice, for me,
was simple: it had to be an organisation that synthesised creative arts with
teaching, learning and professional development. Artis (www.artiseducation.com) immediately
ticked all these boxes: through both its holistic approach (fusing drama, music
and dance with school curricula, by sending specialists into schools and making
excellent use of primary schools’ PPA time) and its Impact programme (focusing
on providing training for teachers in how to unlock the potential of the arts
in their classroom).
The
power of the arts in education has been a subject of much debate, with the
recent government-commissioned review, ‘Cultural
Education in England’, finding it significantly enhanced teaching and
learning (Henley, 2012). No surprises there – I’ve always embraced the arts in
my practice and seen first-hand the benefits it has for pupils’ engagement and
confidence (look here and here!). However,
the review goes further - “The best performing schools bring Cultural Education
practitioners into schools, alongside classroom teachers, to share their
knowledge with pupils” (Henley, 2012, p. 8). I can think of no better
description for Artis Specialists - both skilled practitioners in a range of
creative arts, and trained by Artis in behaviour management, lesson planning
and other aspects of pedagogy - than ‘cultural educators’.
However,
secondary schools are hampered by the fact that they do not have PPA time to
spare to facilitate regular programmes run by specialists. I wanted to use my
Artis experience to observe and adapt their techniques, so I could use them in
my practice as a secondary school history teacher – and share them with my
colleagues. What I have learned can be used in the teaching of history, in
pastoral care and across the school as a whole – in true Artis style, a
completely holistic approach.
In
history, the arts can be used to develop complex, concept –based thought. Alex
Kaye (Bash) got pupils at Beecholme Primary School using movement to explain
how gravity changes between the Earth and space. Stuart Barter (Chime) used
dramatic tableaus at St Paul with St Luke’s to demonstrate changing habitats
through time. Inspired by these excellent sessions, I thought about how I could
use this in history lessons - how about getting pupils to use facial
expressions to create a living graph of reactions to a key event, to illustrate
the concept of diversity?
The
arts also promote engagement with literacy. Iryna Pizniuk (Snap) used ‘Romeo
and Juliet’ as a stimulus for a market-based drama scene and a dance to
Prokofiev’s ‘Montagues and Capulets’ with a Year 6 class at St Anne’s Primary
School. ‘Disguising’ learning in this kinaesthetic way effectively engages
pupils who find it a struggle.
More
widely, the benefits the arts have on personal development can be used
effectively as a pastoral tool to ease the transition from primary to secondary
school. Compiling the proposals for Artis’ summer programmes was inspiring –
they use the arts and group work together to ‘break the ice’ between pupils in
new Year 7 cohorts, as well as developing the foundations of key PLTS skills
that they will need throughout their secondary school education. As a Year 7
form tutor next year, with my own Year 7 Induction Day coming up, this insight
was invaluable and I will incorporate it into my pastoral planning in the new
academic year.
Although
some may fear that the freedom that creativity brings and excellent pupil
behaviour are mutually exclusive, my experiences with Artis have shown this is
not the case. Through integrating classroom routines, such as ‘silent signals’,
Tarika Hidayatullah (Wiggle) at St Bernadette’s RC Primary had the whole
(rather challenging) class under her spell! This links to another whole-school issue
surrounding the use of the arts – co-operation between staff is crucial in
linking creativity to the curriculum to really enhance teaching and learning.
Charlotte Farmar (Chortle) at Singlegate Primary had incredibly detailed lesson
plans, which had come about as a result of her relationships with the school’s
teachers (and her own hard work and research!). She also demonstrated one of
the most impressive qualities of Artis Specialists – their constant desire to
reflect and improve – by asking me for feedback and taking some of my
suggestions on board.
My
two weeks with Artis have been invaluable for my development as a creative
teacher of history, and I would like to say a huge thank you to the Artis team
and all the specialists who have made these two weeks so useful and memorable.
I’ll really miss being ‘Bounce’!
References
Laura Horton, York PGCE History trainee 2012-13. You can read Laura's own blog at: www.educatingwolsey.blogspot.co.uk
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