Learning Experiences of Museums and Galleries

This week we headed to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum where we walked round the different exhibitions and participated in a clay workshop. I was particularly looking forward to this trip to the museum and art gallery as I have been there several times before and it always brings back happy memories of when I was a child.

First of all we were taken into the workshop area where the children are taken on school visits. We were shown the different types of activities that the children partake in. We were given different objects from the time of Victorians and asked to think about what its purpose was, allowing us to touch the object and use our imagination as to what its function could be. During the workshop we made clay heads to express our creativity and imagination. When seeing the works of famous artists that have created clay heads we  were inspired and got our own chance to create a clay design.

Museum and Art Gallery visits are a way to inspire learners, no matter the age, gender or ability as gallery education is a way of developing critical thinking and  to encourage determination (Taylor, 2006). As the Department for Education (DE)  (1991b,p. 63) states, “Galleries and museums have become an increasingly valuable educational resource for the development of art education in schools.” Furthermore the DE  goes on to state that pupils get a hands on experience of developing an appreciation of a variety of art, artefacts and craft and design within their local area. In addition the DE encourage schools that visits to and work within museums and galleries should become an intregal part of the curriculum (ibid, p. 63).

The art that I have witnessed in schools is usually related to the topic or the interdisciplinary learning that the class are currently working on. This agrees with OfSTED (1993), as in the schools studied  it was usually found that art was not a stand alone subject and it was ‘often only used to support other curriculum areas and insufficient account was taken of the specific skills and knowledge associated with the subject’ (OfSTED, 1993, p. 11). In contrast the use of art within a gallery or museum would allow teachers to look specifically at art just for art’s sake. There would need to be a lot of discussion, evaluation and response before and after the visit within the classroom, (Xanthoudaki, 1998). The children could continue their learning and work back in the classroom and it is agreed that when pupils get a chance of viewing and handling ‘original works of art… this often had a positive effect on the quality of their work.’ (OfSTED, 1993, p.6). Therefore hopefully inspired and creative art pieces would be produced by the children.,

There can be several potential barriers that can cause problems when schools want to visit museums and art galleries. Additional adult cover is required when on a trip, transport difficulties, associated costs, problems getting permission and risk assessments completed, unrealistic expectations about what can be provided at the place and communication problems with the museum or art gallery,(DSMC, 2003- 2004). However it is important that schools overcome these barriers as can be seen from the previous paragraphs the many benefits of visiting museums and art galleries. I hope to be a teacher that would encourage my school to allow me to visit a museum or art gallery so the learners can have the best opportunity and experience for example at Kelvingrove.

A key aspect of the visit was getting to view the painting “Windows In The West”by Avril Paton as I completed quite a lot of work on it last year throughout the Integrated Arts module. I was surprised at how large the painting was but even so there was a feeling of intimacy from it and I could imagine myself living in the house or playing round about it as a child. I felt myself getting lost within the painting and escaping in to it.

 

References

DCMS (2003-2004) Inspiration, Identity, Learning: The Value of Museums. [Online] Available: [Accessed 20 February 2018]

Department of Education and Science (DES)  (1992) Art in the National Curriculum (England) (London, HMSO).

OfSTED, (1993) Art Key Stages 1,2 and 3: first year 1992-1993: the implementation of the curriculum requirements of the Education Reform Act (London, HMSO).

Taylor, B. (2006) The enquire – programme: communities of critical enquirers, in: B. Taylor (Ed.) Inspire learning in galleries (London, Engage). [see also http://www.en-quire.org/]

Xanthoudaki, M (1998). Is it always worth the trip? The contribution of museum and gallery educational programmes to classroom and art education. Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol. 28, No. 2, ProQuest Central

What is Steam?

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and maths.

However,STEAM is STEM + ART = STEAM. 

There are three main principles to STEAM found on the stemtosteam.org website;

• to include art and design at the heart of STEM
• to have art and design in the school curriculum
• to encourage employers to take on artists and designers to help with new ideas in companies

Statistics from Edudemic (2015) states that in the USA by end of the year 2018 there will be a lack of skilled workers in the STEM subjects possibly as many as three million. Also in the USA in 2008, a very small percent of degrees achieved were in engineering (4%).  Therefore this proves that there needs to be more done in education today to encourage the STEM subjects. One way of encouraging more students to participate in these subjects is to include the arts and for it to become STEAM. The arts is very beneficial to be included within STEM as the arts can ‘build confidence, develop motor skills, and hone their decision making and problem solving skills,’ Edudemic (2015, p.2)  Furthermore, STEM subjects tend to lack the creativity and innovation element and this is where STEAM can integrate the arts within STEM subjects and make them relevant for children in society today and help them with their lifelong learning and their future careers.

Educational Closet, (2017, np) suggests that STEAM will create students who are more willing to ‘take thoughtful risks, engage in experimental learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration and work through the creative process.’ This should result in pupils becoming ‘innovators, educators, leaders and learners of the 21st century,’ (ibid,).

The following two videos give an explanation as to why STEAM is significant in the curriculum today and how the arts can be an integral aspect of STEM subjects.

Hawkins (2016) acknowledges that there are many benefits of art-science, STEM projects and these should be taught across the curriculum. I feel that indispilinary learning provides many opportunities for STEAM learning. I have been in schools where the children have had to design and build a bridge that would carry a small toy car. This included technology, engineering and art and design tasks bringing a lot of the STEAM subjects together. Also another challenge that a teacher used when I was on work experience was to get the the children to design a bird box for the school garden. Here the children had to work in groups of four, draw their plans, use junk materials to show their design and then the best two were discussed, peer assessed, analysed and were built using proper materials for the school garden. This learning was linked with the real world making it more relevant to the children and purposeful. Using art and design within the STEM subjects to help with these challenges helped the children ‘not to just to make new knowledge but to think in different ways about the problems they encountered,’ Hawkins (2016, p.52).

As a teacher I can see the value of STEAM within the curriculum. It is an ideal opportunity for learning across the curriculum and for subjects to work together. Learning through STEAM  is a way of bringing an integrated educational experience that is enhanced through the integration of art and design which will benefit the STEM subjects. ‘STEAM removes limitations and replaces them with wonder, critique, inquiry and innovation,’ Education Closet (2017, np). Furthermore STEAM develops creativity and as Education Scotland (2015, p.51) states that one of the main features of highly effective practise is that ‘ Creativity skills are recognised, articulated and valued by practitioners and learners.’ Creativity is no longer seen just for entertainment but for the progressive development of the learner. Many skills are developed through creativity, especially enquiry, critical thinking and innovation. These skills would certainly be developed through STEAM challenges and projects.

References

Educational Closet. (2017) What is steam? [Online] Available: https://educationcloset.com/steam/what-is-steam/ [Accessed 4 February 2018]

Education Scotland. (2015) How good is our school? 4^th ed. Scotland: Crown.

Edudemic Staff (2015) STEM vs. STEAM: Why the “A” Makes a Difference http://www.edudemic.com/stem-vs-steam-why-the-a-makes-all-the-difference/

Hawkins, H (2016) Art -Science and (Re) Making Worlds: Shaping Knowledge, Transforming Subjects, Challenging Institutions. Zurich: De Gruyter

STEM to STEAM (2018) [Online] Available :  http://stemtosteam.org [Accessed 4 February 2018]