Dumfries and Galloway’s Curriculum Support team have produced a framework document which shows how creativity is a cross-cutting theme of Curriculum for Excellence.
The document helpfully identifies the characteristics of learning environments that encourage creativity.
Download the document here: Creativity in my learning community and learning environments that encourage creativity
School should be aware of the upcoming second Shape the Future competition which will be launched on the 28 April 2014 across the UK. The competition will be open to all UK schools and will ask young people (aged 11-16) to outline and present on their priorities for improving the lives of women and girls worldwide. Following a judging panel, the winning pupils will be invited to attend and present their ideas at a global summit hosted by the Prime Minister in July.
The themes of this short group project fit into subjects across the curriculum, including Modern Studies, RME, Geography, History, English and PSE as well as lending itself to a context for inter-disciplinary learning. A dedicated ‘Shape the Future’ website will provide teachers with a range of resources to guide pupils through the competition.
Education Scotland has provided a Learning Journey considering aspects of gender equality which will be a helpful resource to schools. Last year Promoting Diversity and Equality: Developing Responsible Citizens in 20th century brought to the fore exemplars of good practice and resources to assist in taking forward approaches to diversity and equality.
On 7 May Game On Scotland and Education Scotland have organised a conference for Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games: Promoting Equality and Diversity it will reflect on the three core values of the Commonwealth Games Federation, humanity, equality and destiny. The conference will provide delegates with a speakers and workshops focused on values education in a global context as well as the inclusion of all.
The Leaders Award for STEM
25 April 2014, 9.30
Register: http://bit.ly/1lPMcoB (Glow log-in required)
Roma Agrawal, an Associate Structural Engineer at WSP, will be talking to students about her career and her role in designing bridges, skyscrapers and sculptures with signature architects over her eight year career. She will then take questions from the students in the studio and logged in on Glow TV. Roma Agrawal is being interviewed to encourage students to engage with The Leaders Award for STEM. More information on this Glow TV event is on the Education Scotland Learning Blog.
Parentzone is a website for parents which provides clear and accessible information on Curriculum for Excellence. It is a very useful reference guide for anyone on the curriculum as a whole and provides information on elements such as broad general education, assessment, and the new qualifications. Visit the site here:
Education Scotland Learning Blog recent post:
The below article by Graeme Logan, Strategic Director, Education Scotland appeared in The Herald on 07 February 2014.
‘In schools across Scotland, young people are now experiencing a different approach to their education. The new curriculum has been ten years in the making. As a result, schools are providing young people with high-quality, in-depth learning that matches their individual needs and interests. Their experiences, qualifications, awards and achievements at school will set them up well for their life ahead. We should not lose sight of the magnitude of this, and the enormous collective effort involved as we work to provide our young people with a world-class curriculum…’ (to see full article visit the blog).
| Led by the University of Dundee and funded by Creative Scotland, this project gathered the views of three groups of professionals working within the expressive arts with the aim of identifying effective and innovative models of assessment of creativity. These models were documented and used to develop case studies in the format of a teaching resource for application across the whole curriculum. The resource was piloted and evaluated by the research and development team in collaboration with teachers and initial teacher education (ITE) providers.
Click here to find the downloadable file: http://creativityportal.org.uk/?q=assessing+creativity The project develops the links between arts organisations, schools and ITE providers through data collection; shared analysis and evaluation; and through the development, application and dissemination of findings. In this way stronger partnerships have been established as recommended in Teaching Scotland’s Future (Donaldson 2010) |
On 28 November Scotland’s museums are being taken over. Will you be inviting children and young people to be in charge of your museum?
Takeover Day Scotland is a celebration of children and young people’s contribution to museums, galleries and historic homes. It’s a day on which they are given meaningful roles, working alongside staff and volunteers to participate in the life of the museum.
Red Kite Animation and Edinburgh Museums & Galleries have launched their Animation Competition 2014.Deadline for Entries: end March 2014.The competition is open to any schools or youth groups in Scotland who are invited to create an animation based on an imagined backstory about any object in the Edinburgh Museums & Galleries collection.You might find your inspiring object at the Museum of Childhood, the Writer’s Museum or any of the other 12 venues and then imagine how it might have been used or what happened in its history.The winning animations from the 2013 competition are currently in an exhibition at the City Art Centre on Market Street in Edinburgh. The exhibition is on the first floor and runs through until 12th January 2014.Download the following documents here:Competition poster – Competition RulesAt a glance rules – At_a_Glance_Rules 2014_HEADEDRules in full – Competition Rules
Exciting news this week as two important documents relating to creativity across learning were launched at the Scottish Learning Festival:
Published by Creative Scotland, Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan aims to inspire educational policy makers and practitioners to utilise creativity to benefit learners in schools and other settings.
The Creative Learning Plan is the result of work by a partnership of organisations working across Scotland in education and creativity and sets out an ambitious vision for creativity in education over the next 10 years.
Among the changes the partnership is aiming for are:
Find out more and download the Plan here: Creative Learning Plan
Education Scotland’s Curriculum Impact Report on Creativity Across Learning sets out key findings from a review of current practice in Scotland and focuses specifically on the development of creativity skills in learners. It proposes a definition of creativity is and identifies a set of core creative skills or attributes.
‘Scotland needs to prepare its young people for life and work in an uncertain economic and social environment if they are to thrive in an era of increasingly rapid change. The need for a well-developed set of higher-order skills will be a key part of the toolkit they will need and the ability to think creatively will be one of the most important tools in that toolkit’.
Download the Creativity Across Learning 3-18 Curriculum Impact Report here:
The ArtWorks Scotland Conference website is now live.
The ArtWorks team will continue to add information to the site as the programme develops, but in the meantime you can:
We look forward to seeing you there!
All the best
The ArtWorks Scotland Team
