Latest articles from the Innovate My School community.

For the whole of October, we’re bringing you articles from educators who are using amazing (and often strange) innovations for creatively bringing teaching and learning to life. This could be an exciting classroom activity, a tactic for saving time, or a method for engaging pupils of various ability. What’s more, the theme of Accelerating Creativity is being powered by Britannica Digital Learning UK, purveyors of online resources that bring classrooms and school libraries to life.

“Creativity is about thinking differently, as well as actually having the time to think,” said Khurshid Khan, managing director of Britannica Digital Learning UK. “It can be easy for teachers to simply plan a lesson, list a set of topics for students to read and have them learn the answers ‘needed’ to pass exams. However, engendering a love of learning through expanded content, personal research and creative approaches will lead learners into an appreciation of education beyond the strive for certification.”

Enjoy the articles ahead, and please do take away all the creative ideas you can!

Projects (35)

Turning museums into classrooms

The Kindergarten Starters has embarked on a unique approach to teaching Social Studies - we’ve turned the UAE’s 47 museums into our very own classrooms. Students began the Museum Project by visiting the Sharjah Islamic Museum to gain a deep understanding of Islamic Art, inventions and culture.

Why Art is a vital part of education

In recent decades, much research has been conducted on the structure of children’s education, and how the format of the school day impacts their ability to learn and grow. People in general benefit from regular brief breaks from desk work, and children, who are constantly growing and developing, need this time off from work more than most. One recent study, the results of which were written up for The ...

Image credit: Hamlet // British Broadcasting Corporation // Originally published on 8th January 2016.

Introducing modern pupils to Shakespeare’s characters

“Thinker”, “Hero”, “Avenger”, “Pioneer”, “Lover”, “Gossip”, and “Fool” are all words that remind us of types of characters in movies, plays, books, and perhaps our own lives. These one-word character descriptions immediately paint vivid portraits in the reader’s mind and can be a useful way for pupils, age 8+, to bring characters to life.

Creating tomorrow’s entrepreneurs

At what age do people become entrepreneurs? Is it one of the milestone ages of 16, 18 or 21? Is it not until they leave the sphere of education and enter the world of business?

Not just another brick in the wall: Play-based learning with Lego

Play must infiltrate the learning approaches in our classrooms. Surreptitiously, if need be, it has to once again steal into our classrooms and become embedded in our outlook, our approaches and strategies. Why do we advocate play? Play captures within it the elements required for building the right attitude to learning. Fearlessness, risk taking, taking loss and failure in your stride, working as a team and the joy and humility ...

Engage your pupils by making a film!

During the course of last year I came across A Tale Unfolds and it fascinated me. A combination of English and Computing skills combined; an opportunity to really engage the children in their learning. I had looked at those teachers who had successfully used it, such as Graham Andre and Rachel Preece-Dawson, and naturally I was keen to give it a go. When I won a trial of the scheme ...

Originally published on 14th April 2016.

Combining PBL and fiction books to bring the past to life

As a child, I was actively encouraged to read. I’d spend evenings going to bed reading about the Mary Lennox, the isolated and closed off child sent to live in a remote manor on the desolate moors of Yorkshire, or about Carrie, the evacuee who embarks on a new adventure to Wales to escape the bombing of London. The skill of the authors hooked me into reading further about ...

Ensuring great education in impoverished areas

I worked as a principal at a wonderful inner-city school in Ottawa, Canada. The school has a high immigrant population and many of our families live in poverty. This was my last assignment as principal and our little school afforded me wonderful opportunities to innovate and try new things.

Originally published on 24th October 2016

Revolutionising lessons with VR magic

How do you rev up your lessons without even starting the minibus? We’ve been trying some of the latest educational innovations with the intention of exploring their use in the classroom to enhance or improve the learning experiences of children and young adults.

Collaborating to develop students’ global competence

In today’s climate of rising nationalism, closing borders, and increasing tension in the world, the need for education around cross-cultural awareness and understanding is greater than ever. The advent of social media and other technology means collaboration between classrooms around the world has never been easier. So how can we, as educators foster, this vital skill of global competence? The concept of global competence ‘articulates the knowledge and skills ...

Learning through immersive travel

For twenty years I have been involved in taking students and educators down to countries in the Global South - Mexico, the Dominican Republic and, more recently, El Salvador. I started doing these trips because one of our high school students needed a teacher to bring down a group of really motivated students. I had no idea of what I was getting myself into and on that first trip, and ...

History and women's equality

Standing in the street as a costumed Suffragette throwing reasoned arguments during a ‘Votes for Women’ dramatization, I remember encountering a curious mix of responses. A melting pot of confusion (understandably, it’s not often a Suffragette march passes you by in 2013), interest and awe, but also criticism; “What are you complaining about? Women have the vote! What a pointless protest.” Accurate as it may be that British women have ...