Creativity Collaboratives Nottingham
Case Study: Teaching for Creativity at Carrington Primary school
Carrington School enjoyed having creative artist Mo Langmuir lead sessions combining environmental science and outdoor art installations with the subject of outdoor spaces and the environment.
This fusion of art and learning was shown to be engaging, interesting and beneficial for the children and everyone involved in the project. Teacher, Hollie Sail, said it enhanced pupils’ learning as “the art had a number of different components that allowed the children to think creatively in different ways and link it to their understanding or space, the moon, and people who have been on the moon”. She mentioned how much the children enjoyed the experience and the legacy it left behind: “The children absolutely loved the experience – they ‘went on moon walks’, painted ‘moon rocks’, made clay aliens and bought items from home in for a time capsule. The outcome is something that is in our playground as a sensory garden so it can be used by a number of pupils for the years to come.”
Not only did the children learn about the environment and space travel, but they were also able to gain valuable experience collaborating and working together to create something. Hollie also said she took a lot away from this experience: “As a teacher I often now feel very constrained by demands of assessments, targets, timetable demands and other pressures that can really narrow your focus. Working with an artist so full of ideas and creativity was so refreshing and I feel I would like to regularly work on projects that broaden the children's experience like this.” She confirmed that she absolutely would love to see more room for creativity in the curriculum in the future!
Website: Carrington Primary School
Written by Jemima Corrie
I’m Jemima Corrie, a Year 2 student on the BA Education course at the University of Nottingham. For my placement, I have taken on the role of Educational Journalist for the Creativity Collaboratives Project in Nottingham. The position appealed to me as I am passionate about encouraging creative teaching and learning methods in schools, which is exactly what the project is all about.
My school visits and interviews with teachers involved in the project confirm that combining the arts with curricular learning objectives absolutely enhances students’ learning at school.