Tag Archives: creative learning

Health and Wellbeing, Opportunities, Partnerships, Teachers

Food for Thought fund event and project update

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Food for Thought is a national programme and fund managed by Education Scotland which aims to build capacity and confidence to improve learning and teaching within food education.

To date, 61 projects have been funded via the Food for Thought: Education Fund giving practitioners scope to explore food education across Curriculum for Excellence. Participating schools are required to work in partnership with a local business and to connect with national initiatives such as the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

For an overview of these projects and summary descriptions of a selection of them, download the following document:

Food for Thought Education Fund Information

Participating practitioners and those interested in applying in the next funding round (to be announced in early November) are invited to attend a forthcoming event:

Food for Thought: Education Fund Monitoring and Support Event

Friday 1st November at Tollcross Swimming Pool, Glasgow

Download the event invitation here: Food for Thought event

CPD, Teachers, Technologies

One Day Digital for Teachers

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Digital Creativity CPD

Nesta, the UK’s innovation charity, are running a day’s CPD on digital creativity for teachers so they can teach young people the digital skills they will need in the future. Teachers can learn website development, computer animation, character design, video editing, app development, visual programming and how to design and print 3D objects. Teachers will get support materials on the day so they can use the skills they have learned back in the classroom with their pupils.

Nesta are working with a range of partners including CoderDojo, Mozilla, RunRev and Maklab to make sure that teachers attending get a real feel for how these technologies work and get a chance to work hands-on with them over the day so they are able to pass that on to their pupils.

The event is on Saturday 23 November at the University of Edinburgh.  For more information and to reserve place go to onedaydigital.eventbrite.com

CfE, College CLNs

Creative Learning: Innovations and Ideas from the College Sector

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Earlier this week, College Development Network hosted an event for the College Creative Learning Networks to share learning and ideas from their work in promoting creative and innovative approaches to learning and teaching.

Some really interesting ideas and priorities emerged during the discussion including:

a) the need to examine more closely the links between creativity and enterprise;

b) modelling how creative approaches can be used in more traditional subject areas;

c) extending and developing partnerships and links with the wider community and

d) ensuring that governance and leadership are aware of the centrality of creativity in policy and practice.

The event also provided an opportunity for attending Creative Catalysts to hear about  Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan from Joan Parr of Creative Scotland, and about Education Scotland’s Curriculum Impact Report on Creativity Across Learning from Sheila Page, HMI.

CfE, CLN News, Creativity Portal, Education News, Partnerships

Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan and Curriculum Impact Report on Creativity Across Learning published

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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:

  • New policies and plans supporting creativity throughout Scotland
  • More creative teaching practices and support for creative initiatives within local authorities, schools and places of learning
  • More support for and understanding of the value of creativity and experiential learning by parents and carers.

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:

Creativity Across Learning Report

Education News

Brewstometer – new online creativity measuring tool launched

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Creativity is increasingly recognised as an essential higher order thinking skill for learning, life and work.

A new online creativity measuring tool, Brewstometer (www.brewstometer.org.uk), was launched this week at SLF.

The Brewstometer introduces the principles of creativity and helps learners reflect upon and evaluate any creative experience they had recently, this could include a lesson, a workshop, a performance, a gallery visit or project.

As an online resource, practitioners can use the Brewstometer as best suited to their learning environment needs, whether it be a whole class or small groups or one-to-one. The Brewstometer has been developed by Creative Scotland and Education Scotland as part of Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan.

CLN News, East Ayrshire

Creative Minds on the Agenda

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Author Gordon Brown, from Glasgow, gave the keynote speech – and food for thought – at a recent ‘Naturally Creative’ event in St Joseph’s Academy, Kilmarnock

Around sixty teachers, artists and students from across East Ayrshire interested in networking and finding out more about what’s going on in the arts attended the evening, which was organised by the Council’s Creative Minds Team.

“The Creative Minds Learning Network in East Ayrshire is growing both in numbers and diversity of  membership.  It’s fantastic to be part of this exciting movement of people championing arts and cultural education in our schools and the wider community.  Gordon’s presentation created a real buzz of dialogue and activity challenging the way we work and how we do things providing a stimulus for thought and action.”  Helen Duncan, Cultural Co-ordinator

Gordon, who delivers ‘creativity training’ under the Brain Juice brand as well as writing crime novels, shared his ideas about what creativity is and how it works. This sparked discussion about the role of creative minds in business and about the value of teaching creativity in schools.

Those who attended the get-together also had a sneak preview of the outstanding new St Joseph’s Academy art exhibition.

Many took advantage of opportunities to meet and chat with fellow artists, teachers and parents in a friendly, informal setting.

People were also invited to put their names down for future workshops, visits and experiences, as the new Creative Learning Opportunities training diary for 2013/14 was launched.  The network is part of a national initiative funded by Education Scotland and Creative Scotland.

Councillor Eoghann MacColl, Spokesperson for Lifelong Learning, said: “There’s quite a network locally of artists, practitioners and people simply interested in the arts and culture.

“I’m delighted that the Creative Learning Network provides such a stimulating forum for like-minded individuals to get together and discuss ideas in this way, in order to enhance creative, artistic and cultural education for our young people, in line with Curriculum for Excellence”.

Helen Duncan

Cultural Co-ordinator

East Ayrshire Council

Educational & Social Services

Creative Minds Team

The Wallace Building

John Dickie Street

KILMARNOCK

KA1 1HW

T: 01563 555 650

www.facebook.com/#!/helen.duncan.313

www.facebook.com/CreativeMindsLearningNetwork

Job opportunities

Job opportunity: Creative Learning and Engagement Manager, Macrobert, Stirling

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This is a new post within macrobert during an exciting phase of its

development. Over the past 2 years the organisation has undergone

significant change with the appointment of a new Artistic and Leadership

team and a change in the organisations strategic development and arts

programme. Over the next 2 years we will be consolidating our successes,

while also driving forward new ambitious strategies linked to audience

development, creative learning and equalities.

This new role of Creative Learning and Engagement Manager seeks to

maximise the impact of macrobert’s work by connecting with existing

and new audiences, increasing participation in the arts and enhancing

macrobert and the University’s relationship through creative learning.

The role is also an important development for macrobert in realising its

ambition of being a learning and reflective organisation.

For a full job description & candidate pack please apply to Karen

Somerville, Macrobert, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA or

email jobs@macrobert.org<mailto:jobs@macrobert.org> Applications to be

received by Friday 27th September -12 noon.

Interviews will take place on Friday 4th October. Candidates should be

available on this date.

Alice McGrath

Director of Creative Development, Participation and Research

macrobert arts centre, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA

T +44(0)1786 46 7159

F +44(0)1786 46 6600

E: alice.mcgrath@macrobert.org

To browse our programme and book tickets please visit

www.macrobert.org<http://www.macrobert.org>

Artists, Dundee, Events

ArtWorks Scotland Conference 2013

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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

artworksscotlandconference.com

CLN News, CPD, East Ayrshire, Events

Creative Minds Learning Network, East Ayrshire: “Naturally Creative”

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Tuesday 17th September, 4.15pm for 4.30pm, St. Joseph’s Academy, Grassyards Road, Kilmarnock, KA3 7SL

Keynote Speaker: Gordon Brown, Brain Juice

Once again the Cultural Co-ordinator Team within East Ayrshire’s Creative Minds Team has successfully secured funding from Creative Scotland and Education Scotland to continue to support our growing movement of professionals championing cultural education in our schools and communities.  This promises to be an interesting, informative and enjoyable event providing a platform to connect and collaborate with new partners, generate ideas and make things happen.  Please feel free to share this invitation with anyone you think would be interested in coming along or you feel would benefit from taking part.  All we ask is that they contact us with their details (name/designation, artist etc/establishment) so we have a handle on numbers. There will, as always, be an opportunity to connect with colleagues, teachers, artists, parents and pupils in a welcoming and friendly environment, enjoy our hospitality and a special preview of St. Joseph’s Academy Art Exhibition.

We will also launch our Creative Learning Opportunities Training Diary for 2013/14 which offers workshops, funding advice, visits and experiences to name only a few, and we invite you to book your creative learning opportunity of choice at the event.

As well as being a successful author, our keynote speaker Gordon Brown, has over 25 years experience in sales and marketing, including 14 years with Bass Brewers and as Director of Brands for the Tennents portfolio. He will share his knowledge and ideas to provoke discussion about the role and importance of creative minds in business and to fully recognise the increased value in teaching and nurturing creativity skills in schools. http://www.gordonjbrown.com/about-2

We hope you will continue to support the network in order to safeguard and shape the future of arts and cultural education in East Ayrshire.  Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you require any further information at this time.

Please RSVP eileen.skinner@east-ayrshire.gov.uk to confirm your attendance if you haven’t already done so through Facebook www.facebook.com/CreativeMindsLearningNetwork

Sent on behalf of Helen Duncan, Cultural Co-ordinator and Zara Smith, Dance Motivator

Creative Minds Team, East Ayrshire

CfE, East Ayrshire, Events

Enspire Festival of Ideas – S4 Enterprise project, St Joseph’s Academy, Kilmarnock

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‘Enspire’ is an exciting new festival taking place on 9 June run entirely by young people in St Joseph’s Academy, Kilmarnock. Inspired by the world famous TED Talks a team of S4 pupils from St. Joseph’s Academy in Kilmarnock have organised their own home-grown festival of ideas: Enspire.

Enspire<http://www.saintjosephsacademy.co.uk/enspire/> is being designed and curated by an S4 Enterprise class who have established an events business called ID Launch. They have been working towards this all year. The purpose of Enspire is simple: to harness energy, creativity and ideas to make a difference by thinking differently. The festival is based around three powerful words: reinvention, inspiration and transformation. All presentations will take as their starting point the themes of reinvention, inspiration or transformation. The festival also features bands, comedy, entertainment and great local food cooked by their pop-up restaurant.

The festival is open to anyone to attend.  Please contact St. Joseph’s Academy School Office on 01563 526144 for more information.