CREATIVITY

On Saturday 5th March, Berkhamsted School in Hertfordshire will host TLAB16, a not-for-profit education conference run for teachers, by teachers. This year’s TLA (teaching, learning and assessment) conference will centre around exploring the importance of imagination and performing at the highest level. Running from 9.00am to 4.00pm, TLAB16’s theme is “Imagine, Believe, Achieve”. The event is now in its fourth year, and welcomes educators from all types of schools. Tickets, including lunch and refreshments, are priced at £50 per person via the TLAB16 Eventbrite page.

November saw the exhibition ‘Permission to Fail: Sketchbooks of Graphic Designers, Illustrators, and Photographers’ at The School of Design Gallery at Mount Ida College, Massachusetts. When we see exhibitions of art it's always a showcase of final, finished pieces, the highlights of an artist's body of work over a number of months or indeed years. This exhibition is interesting in that it is showing all the 'failures', the disasters, the unsuccessful pieces that went into making those final pieces.

 

Behaviour management is something that applies to the playground just as much as it does the classroom. By implementing the correct behaviour management techniques, playtimes and lunch breaks can run smoothly, leading to positive learning outcomes.

 

Innovate My School are teaming up with literacy / film champions A Tale Unfolds to run a film-making project for schools during the summer term. Aided by WeVideo, the initiative will look to improve literacy rates in half a term by at least one sub-level or two APS. It will also radically increase pupil engagement, through digital film-making and video-editing, by allowing them to make their own short films. The project is free to schools, and will be running until the end of the 2015 summer term.

Dublin’s Larkin Community College has been working with the Abbey Theatre to bring a terrific new surge of creativity into their classrooms. The legendary theatre, also known as Amharclann na Mainistreach and the National Theatre of Ireland, has been working with the local college on their Theatre-Making and Citizenship programme. According to the Irish Times, this initiative has seen students hugely invested in creative learning.

3D printing is steadily transforming the world through innovation, speed, localised manufacturing and empowering the creativity of the individual. Where computers and mobile technology changed the world and the landscape within education, 3D printing adds another dimension to learning and gives rise to the next generation of engineers, designers, entrepreneurs, artists and industry innovators. The notion to innovate and excite the classroom, to transform learning processes and to introduce the ability to simplify complex design processes can all be achieved with a 3D printer. Here, I discuss how the concept can be used across the curriculum.

I’m a writer. Sometimes I write for children. I’ve worked on children’s TV series, computer games, comics and I write children’s books. When I visit schools, children ask if I’m famous. I tell them that I’m not famous, but it doesn’t matter. Writers don’t need to be famous, they just write. Dental assistants don’t require widespread public recognition, they just pick up teeth. Teachers, after days at the front, like holidays in the sun – in anonymity. Not being famous doesn’t mean you’re not good at what you do.

During my primary-teaching career of over 40 years, I found that making films with pupils was a perfect way to increase engagement and progress through what becomes covert learning, as they get completely wrapped up in the excitement of having a real purpose for their work; a film premiere in their school or even the local community. For children who live in today’s digital age, it is the perfect way to combine the school’s primary agenda (to show improvement) with that of a child; to have as much fun as possible.

It’s likely that the majority of British school pupils play video games. From smartphones to games consoles, there are a lot of games available to them. Here, teacher-in-training and gamer Matthew Banfield explores the possibilities that the incredibly popular Minecraft presents to schools.

Working in education, you have most likely heard of Minecraft. This game has captured a generation, giving people who play the game an unlimited space to explore and express themselves. The game may well have taken over your classroom through the huge amount of merchandise available, from pencil cases to books.

Video can be a powerful instrument for learning, but how to make the most of it? Video innovators Trilby have the ideal system for sharing movies from classroom to classroom.

A South Shields school has adopted an innovative teaching aid in order to inspire its pupils. Stanhope Primary School, who houses up to 210 pupils, has chosen to innovate its school with video-sharing app and online storage service TrilbyTV.

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