Tag Archives: CLN

CLN News, CPD, Edinburgh, Partnerships

Edinburgh Creative Conversation with Don Ledingham

Leave a comment

Creative Conversations are Edinburgh’s now well established strategic response to developing the Creative Learning Network for the City. They feature as a case study in the recently published 3-18 Curriculum Impact project Creativity Across Learning. This successful approach has been picked up by colleauges in other local authorities and Education Scotland. You help make them the success they are and your invitation to the next Creative Conversation on Creative Leadership is attached.

Creative Conversation Invitation – Don Ledingham – download the pdf invite

Date for your diary:

The first of the 2013/14 Creative Conversations will be on Monday 25th November at 4pm for 4.30 till 5.45pm with wine and canapes afterwards (venue to follow with confirmation of attendance). I am delighted that our Creative Catalyst this session is Don Ledingham.

Don Ledingham’s Creative Conversation is titled ‘Try a Little Tenderness….’ which may seem like the wrong song title for a session on Creative Leadership, but with Don as the Creative Catalyst, you can expect a few surprises! Don talks about forgiveness in leadership and about creating space for creativity and innovation. He thinks aloud and in public, challenging other leaders to open up and let go. He now works with Drummond International and will go global soon, so catch him while you can. No mere theorist, Don has been a Head Teacher and Director. This will be a memorable start to this session’s Creative Conversations. Coffee is from 4pm and the Creative Conversation will begin at 4.30.

As with all previous Creative Conversations, David Cameron will facilitate the discussion. You are invited to continue the conversation with Don, David and colleagues over wine and canapes at around 5.45/6pm.

Places are filling up very quickly – please email the address in the pdf  if you would like to attend and receive full venue details and confirmation of your place.
Clackmannanshire, CLN News, CPD, Falkirk, Stirling

Creative Development and Connectivity with Dr Suzanne Zeedyk

Leave a comment

Kildean Suite, Forth Valley College, Stirling

Thursday, May 9th 2013
4.30pm – 6.30pm
4pm for refreshments and registration

Forth Valley Creative Learning has invited Dr Suzanne Zeedyk to lead the final Creative Conversation in its current programme.

For the past 25 years Suzanne has been an academic researcher, studying babies’ innate ability to communicate and connect with other people. In 1993, Suzanne took up an academic post in the UK as a Developmental Psychologist at the University of Dundee and has remained there since, currently holding the post of Honorary Fellow.  She is an inspiring and thought-provoking speaker.

Suzanne has loved what the field of Developmental Psychology has taught her, why it is that a child’s earliest years have such a profound effect on their later years, including their emotional security, their trust in others, their self-confidence, their relationships, their connectivity. Now she wants to help ensure that this knowledge is spread as widely as possible and frequently acts as partner or speaker for a wide range of organisations throughout the UK and abroad including police, educators, health workers, nursery staff, parent groups and children’s theatre groups helping them to better understand the neuroscientific, biological, and psychological evidence concerning the human need for emotional connection, something creativity can be a channel for. Suzanne feels if we overlook emotional connection, then we all pay for it, through the services that governments need to fund such as prisons, mental health programmes, hospitals, fostering arrangements, extra support in schools and other services.

To book a free ticket for the event click on the following link:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/333091

For further information contact:

hoarec@stirling.gov.uk or gayle.martin@falkirk.gov.uk

Further events will be planned for the academic year 2013/14.  Please keep a look out on the Forth Valley Creative Learning Website

CLN News, CPD, West Lothian

West Lothian schools explore creativity in learning and in curriculum design

Leave a comment

Terrifyingly Exciting

West Lothian’s Creative Learning Network

Friday 15th March from 1.30pm at Howden Park Centre

What would happen if learning started with a question that was tricky to answer conclusively?

Imagine it started with the unknown, a world where nothing is fixed until it is chosen to be contained, an adventure that has not yet been lived?

Over the past 7 months teams of brave and imaginative learning cohorts from 4 secondary schools in West Lothian have been working with Paul Gorman from Visible Fictions Theatre Company to explore the fabric of creative learning.  These collectives comprise of teachers, pupils and artists.  By working together they have begun to unpick some of the barriers, perceived or real, that schools face when attempting to establish a creative vision.

This symposium will offer an insight in the schools’ journeys to better understand the benefits of a creative approach to curriculum design.  Over the course of an afternoon you will discover what Bathgate would look like if it became independent from Scotland, understand how the Scottish Government of the year 2050 deals with the hurricane season and be moved by the plight of a Zebra desperately searching for its soul.  Welcome to Creative Learning – West Lothian style.

Please come along and join us on Friday 15th March from 1.30pm at Howden Park Centre, Livingston to hear what has been learnt by the schools participating in this years Creative Learning Network project in West Lothian.

This initiative aims to champion creativity across learning and teaching in schools and communities within the overarching context of Curriculum for Excellence, bringing long-term benefits to learners.

To book your place please contact Fiona Macfarlane, Arts Officer (Learning) either by email: fiona.macfarlane2@westlothian.gov.uk or call 01506 773873 by Friday 8th March.

The Creative Learning Networks Fund is managed by Education Scotland, in partnership with Creative Scotland to support the development of Creative Learning Networks (CLNs) in local authority areas across Scotland.

Clackmannanshire, CLN News, CPD, Falkirk, Stirling

Forth Valley Creative Conversations Programme announced

Leave a comment

You are invited to the Forth Valley Creative Learning Creative Conversations programme.

Thursday 7th March | 4.30pm – 6.30pm | Stirling University:

What is Creative Learning? Keir Bloomer

Keir Bloomer will explore two distinct but linked ways of answering the question what is creative learning? Is it about approaches to learning that are creative?  In other words, is it the creativity of the teacher that is most important?  Alternatively, is the aim to develop the creativity of the learner?  He will consider the connections between these ideas and the principles of constructivist pedagogy – the idea that making meaning is the central intellectual task in learning.

For further details and to book tickets click here: Keir Bloomer Poster

Wednesday 17th April | 4.30pm – 6.30pm | Tolbooth, Stirling:

How do we Capture and Measure Creativity? Paul Collard, Chief Executive, Creativity, Culture, Education

Increasing attention is being given to developing the creativity of children and young people. From Japan to Chile, within Europe and across the US this has become a major preoccupation of educators. But how do you know what creativity looks like, and can you tell if it is being developed?  To support their work CCE commissioned extensive research into the definition and measurement of creativity and trialled numerous approaches in schools. In this presentation Paul Collard will provide a constructive and practical guide to identifying creativity in the classroom to enable teachers and creative practitioners to inspire children and young people.

For further details and to book tickets click here: Paul Collard Leaflet


Forth Valley Creative Learning is a new collaboration between Education in Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire, creating together opportunities to explore creativity and creative learning

To find out more about Forth Valley Creative Learning visit: www.forthvalleycreativelearning.wordpress.com

CfE, Creativity Portal, NCLN, Resources

New look Creativity Portal

Leave a comment

Creativity Portal redesign

The Creativity Portal has undergone an exciting redevelopment. It is more accessible than ever and tailors content to all users, ensuring you have easy access to the most vital case studies, creative partners, CPD, teaching tools and inspiration for your work.

Users can log in and receive a customised experience with resources recommended by similar users rising to the top. You can then recommend content yourself, helping to shape the Creativity Portal for others.

Creativity Toybox

Twenty-one very short creative exercises for use with whole groups of young people in the classroom or community setting. These will be warm-up/warm-down/filler activities that develop creative thinking skills. Click here to view the Creativity Toybox activities.

Creative Learning Networks

A themed area on the Portal where you can access information about the Networks together with links to CLN blogs and Glow groups. You’ll also find a series of short films illustrating the work of the CLNs including case studies from Aberdeen, Argyll and Bute, Edinburgh, Fife and Scottish Borders.

Click here to visit the Creative Learning Networks area

Creative Learning Contacts

A Who’s Who of local authority creative learning contacts across Scotland, together with Glow key contacts and weblinks.

Click here to view all Creative Learning Contacts

www.creativityportal.org.uk

Creativity Portal, NCLN

CLNs feature in GTC’s Teaching Scotland magazine

Leave a comment

This month’s issue of Teaching Scotland continues its focus on creativity.   Articles include ‘One-stop shop for creative learning‘, a feature on the CLN initiative and Creativity Portal; ‘Making a show of education‘, an interview with Simon Sharkey of  National Theatre of Scotland on using theatre without walls to engage learners, including NTS and Education Scotland’s Transform Toolkit; plus an overview of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas which encouraged Scotland’s colleges to think differently about the future of education.

Download a copy of the magazine here: teaching-scotland-issue-46

Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus, CLN News, CPD, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, Events, Fife, Learning Exchange, NCLN, Scottish Borders, Stirling

NCLN at SLF 2012

Leave a comment

Members of the NCLN are contributing to this year’s Scottish Learning Festival – ‘Creative Learning…Creative Thinking’ – in a number of ways, whether presenting on creative initiatives or sharing Creative Learning Network news. The programme includes the following:

Seminar Programme

Creative Learners, Creative Thinkers, Creative Careers – Modern Apprentices and Student Councillor, Edinburgh

Showcasing Fife’s Creative Learning Network ­– Michelle Sweeney, Fife

What’s the Past got to do with us? – David Atherton, Aberdeenshire

Visit the SLF website to view the full seminar programme

Education Showcase

Arts and Culture as a Catalyst for Learning: The Aberdeen Arts Across Learning Festival – Jacky Hardare, Aberdeen City

Inspiring Creativity – Amy McLeod, Highland

Supporting Drama through Literacy – Learners with Mild to Severe and Complex Needs – Lesley Sloan, Dumfries & Galloway

Challenging Creativity Creatively – Linda Lees, Edinburgh

The Big Drum Experiment ­– Susanne Batchelor, Scottish Borders

Little Rabbit – Pauline Meikleham, Angus

Teachers Realising their Creative Potential – Jacky Hardacre, Aberdeen

Write a Song in 30 Minutes – Marco Rea, Stirling

To view the full Education Showcase programme click here

CPD, Education News, Events

Scottish Learning Festival – 19 & 20 September 2012

Leave a comment

Register for the Scottish Learning Festival 2012

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/slf/?dm_i=LQE,V041,3GU5HR,2JYCT,1

SLF 2012 takes place on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 September in the SECC, Glasgow.  The theme for this year’s festival is Creative Learning…Creative Thinking and a number of CLNs are taking part in the seminar programme and the Education Showcase. The full programme of keynotes and seminars, along with details of the range of additional activities, is available on the SLF website.

CLN News, Local Authorities, Scottish Borders, Self Evaluation

Creative Teviot & Liddesdale

Leave a comment

As part of the Scottish Borders 2011-12 CLN fund we held a ‘Creativity’ day with Cultural Ambassadors, partners and pupils in the Teviot and Liddesdale Learning Community (Hawick area).

The event included three main themes

  • An evaluation of creative projects in the previous year
  • The role of the CLN, Cultural Ambassadors and partners
  • Future plans for championing creative learning across the learning community

The discussions from the day were captured in the following animation

http://vimeo.com/39619613

During the morning Simone Russell gave an animation workshop to S2 pupils from Hawick High School. Simone and the pupils then worked with the rest of the group to animate their conversations.

Jane Gaze (Historic Scotland), Judith Murray (Cultural Ambassador, Hawick High School) and S2 pupils

CLN News, East Lothian, Glow, Interdisciplinary Learning, Learning Exchange, Partnerships

Mining history for great ideas

Leave a comment

East Lothian has used some of its Creative Learning Networks funding to support a number of  Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. One of these KTPs has inspired a partnership project between local primary schools and Prestongrange mining museum. Pupils from two schools designed new products to solve some of the dangerous problems miners face and presented their ideas to each other in a Dragon’s Den style Glow Meet. To find out more, read Douglas Blane’s article in TESS.

Click here to find out more about East Lothian’s Creative Learning Network