LEARNING WHAT YOU DON’T ALREADY KNOW: Schools, culture and digital technology
I’m about to start working with six primary schools on a series of relatively small projects looking at creative learning, in preparation for changes likely as a result of the recent Rose Review of the primary curriculum. One of the schools is particularly interested in how ICT can help children learn and make global connections.
When I read their research question it reminded me of something I wrote in an evaluation report last week.
“Teachers can only ask about what they already know exists”
I visit so many schools through my work with Artsmark national and NW teams and this is evident to me over and over again. Examples of culturally diverse arts activity is too often boxed off as ‘multicultural week’ (ie a random mix in a whole school festival for one week at the end of the summer term); or the Black History Month or Chinese New Year projects. Or steel drums. It’s great, and indeed essential, that children in both urban and rural areas are accessing cultural activity most schools didn’t go near ten or so years ago.
However it would be so much more exemplary for more schools to look beyond these same formats to explore black history the other 11 months of the year; or Chinese life in any of the other 51 weeks available.
It would be especially innovative and relevant to see schools working more with contemporary examples of culture, not just historical ones.
Going back to my original statement, I know the reason many schools follow such trends is because they can only do what they know. What they know is often based on what the teachers in schools down the road know; or what a local authority advisor knows.
Which is why I think it’s important schools are able to get support from other external practitioners, project managers and consultants. The wider the pool of knowledge at their disposal, the more options become available to them, which has to be a good thing for the pupils and for staff’s own professional development.
So whilst I’m thinking that perhaps the school with the action research question has seen another school with a video link up to a twinned school in South Africa, I’m hoping to be able to invite them to look at a programme that is tailor made for their own unique aspirations.
First stop will be some research on my part, and hopefully theirs too, via Futurelab, the organisation aiming to “transforming the way people learn through innovative technology and practice” to see what can happen when you put what exists now back in the box, and look at what things could be like…
For the record, I know there are some schools already working on incredibly innovative projects and approaches to teaching and learning. I’m hoping that more and more will start to follow their lead.
The image, by the way, comes from OOKL. An ICT project I acted as education and cultural consultant for during its Culture Online funded pilot phase. It uses mobile phones to collect and share work from museums and other cultural venues. Find out more at www.ookl.org.uk
