Recordings and resources from a week of online events (22-26 March 2021) exploring how we can all use our creativity to improve young people’s futures. A partnership event from Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan Partners and the National Creative Learning Network.
Creativity in leadership and learning is arguably more important now than ever before
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the need for education systems around the globe to transform so that young people are better equipped for a rapidly changing and increasingly complex world. How can we, individually and collectively, meaningfully contribute to this transformation?
Everyone has the potential to bring creativity into their leadership and learning, to use creativity skills in decision making and for identifying and solving problems. Our creativity is a valuable human resource which we need to develop and draw on to enhance our own and others’ practice, learning and wellbeing.
This programme of events included sessions for everyone interested in Creativity in Leadership and Learning, whatever their role, context or subject specialism. You can see the programme below, along with associated resources and recordings of a number of sessions.
Also see (below):
A fresh look at Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan
Downloads
Partnership resources
Events programme
Monday 22 March
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Time
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Session
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Presenter/Host
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09:30 - 10:15 |
Maker Mondays Design Sprint Maker Mondays has been created to inspire and develop curiosity, creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking. This five day sprint starts with a design challenge on Monday. Over the week, participants will research and develop ideas, sharing creative solutions on Friday. Join us each morning to find out about the next stage of the creative process. Recording of session on Google Drive. See resources below.
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Clare Hoare Creative Learning Officer Stirling Council
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10:00 - 11:00 |
COVID: a Creative Crisis or Creative Opportunity? (and what should schools do next?) The global pandemic has driven a wedge into the landscape of creativity. As it becomes clearer about when schools may re-open it is important we reflect on what we have learnt from the last 12 months of living with COVID and how we can apply these lessons to schools to develop a more creative and resilient society. Recording of session on YouTube.
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Ollie Bray Strategic Director, Education Scotland
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12:30 - 13:30 |
Play your “SKILLS” cards right How do we develop a consistent language of SKILLS that is shared by pupils, teachers and employers? Our fun and interactive cards game, developed through the Moray Skills Pathway to support dialogue around skills, allows our young people to develop and take ownership of their skills whilst giving practitioners a useful tool for assessment, profiling and learner conversations. Recording of session on YouTube.
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Maxine Garson ESO Skills 3-18
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14:00 - 15:00 |
Reframing Creativity: Considering school culture and the conditions needed to facilitate creative leadership Reflecting on inspection evidence, we will consider how school leaders can focus on the development of the features of school culture to support the successful implementation of change to support school improvement. See presentation below.
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Graham Parry, Teri McIntosh and Stuart Cathro, HM Inspectors
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15:30 - 17:00 |
Creativity is the ONLY answer Global leading experts will take you on a creative journey to creatively solve your own problems and then help answer the challenges we face in a post-Covid world.
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Global Leading Experts
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16:15 - 17:45 |
An Introduction to Creativity Across Learning Participants will:
- gain a deeper understanding of creativity across learning
- examine the role of creativity skills in teachers and learners
- have a good understanding of the support available for developing creative learning
- gain confidence in planning and assessing creative learning.
Recording of session on YouTube. Follow-up material - see below
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Charlotte Bennett and Lorna MacDonald City of Edinburgh Council
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16:00 -16:45 |
Creativity, Autonomy, Heutagogy and YOUR Role - Session 1 First, listen to practitioners share their experience (and the experience of their learners) of embracing the ‘unknown’ (and often ‘uncomfortable’) reality of authentic learner autonomy in order to encourage wild creativity. Then, jump into a challenge and experience it for yourself with your learners and share the ups and downs with a supportive community.
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Julie Watt, Katy Anderson and Stuart McIntyre, West Lothian Council
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Tuesday 23 March
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Time
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Session
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Presenter/Host
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09:30 - 10:00 |
Maker Mondays Design Sprint Maker Mondays has been created to inspire and develop curiosity, creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking. This five day sprint starts with a design challenge on Monday. Over the week, participants will research and develop ideas, sharing creative solutions on Friday. Join us each morning to find out about the next stage of the creative process. See resources below.
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Clare Hoare Creative Learning Officer Stirling Council
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10:00 - 12:00 |
Hack our way to a better world! Hackathons are design sprints that look to solve real world problems with creative thinking. In this session, you will take part in a mini hackathon, working in groups of peers to design solutions around issues of sustainability. Recording of session on YouTube.
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Mark Irwin and Jen Hodson Education Scotland
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13:00 - 14:00 |
Multi-generational Learning: From Huts to Tiny Houses Imagine spending time in a wood, in a cosy hut that you have designed and built yourself. When we set out to achieve this dream, we had no idea of the breadth of the learning journey we’d be taking. My granddaughter and I will share our family’s story so far.
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Lorna Jackson and Mischa Oliver
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14:00 - 15:00 |
Embedding Skills in the classroom This workshop introduces the importance of skills development both now and for the future, preparing young people for the changing world of work. It explores how teachers can embed skills development and build creative skills conversations into their classroom teaching practice.
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Elizabeth Dumbell and Susan Rees Skills Development Scotland
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15:00 - 16:00 |
Creative Learning at Home Creativity is becoming increasingly important in the learning and teaching environment. Please join this session to explore how you can help develop your children’s creativity in the context of home learning. See presentation below.
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Susan Bell Barbara Atherton Susan Bell Kirsty Harker Madeleine Conn NPFS
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15:30 - 16:30 |
Getting the Craic - practitioners and leaders discuss the realities of promoting creative learning in practice Practitioners (3-18) and leaders discuss why they continue to drive creative approaches to learning in these challenging times. See presentation below.
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Miriam MacDonald Professional Learning Team Highland Council
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16:30 - 17:30 |
Teachers as Creative and Lifelong Learners - The Role of Collaborative Professional Learning This workshop will provide an opportunity to consider the role of professional learning in enhancing creative and lifelong learning. With a particular focus on the Creative Learning Plan’s values-based goals, input and discussion will highlight collaborative professional learning that empowers and embeds change. Recording of session on YouTube. See presentation below.
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Peter McNaughton Executive Officer, ADES
Pauline Stephen Chief Executive and Registrar, GTCS
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17:30 - 19:00 |
The Secret Creativity Service - Glasgow CREATE with Vox Liminis Vox Liminis have developed a teacher resource inspired by an event in Glasgow, where participants were invited to play, explore and create within the fictional world of The Secret Creativity Service. This interactive session will help you find creative ways to use and adapt this resource in your own classroom. Teacher resource - The Secret Creativity Service (PDF)
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Rosie Reid Vox Liminis
Ailsa Ramage Glasgow CREATE
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Wednesday 24 March
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Time
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Session
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Presenter/Host
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08:00 - 08:45 |
A Creative Breakfast Blether Creating collaborative communities begins with conversation. Come and join us for an early morning blether to engage collaboratively and creatively! Have a second device available if possible (e.g. laptop + smartphone). See presentation below.
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Lynne Williams and Andrew Pearce Co-creator and learning designer Single Steps Learning.
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09:30 - 10:00 |
Maker Mondays Design Sprint Maker Mondays has been created to inspire and develop curiosity, creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking. This five day sprint starts with a design challenge on Monday. Over the week, participants will research and develop ideas, sharing creative solutions on Friday. Join us each morning to find out about the next stage of the creative process. See resources below.
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Clare Hoare Creative Learning Officer Stirling Council
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10:00 - 11:00 |
The Dundee City Partnership approach to a seamless learner journey An innovative partnership approach by key education partners seeking to implement effective skills profiling from primary school, throughout secondary, into college and beyond. See presentation below.
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George Junor SDS National CIAG Education Manager
Karen Watson SDS National CIAG Education Executive
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11:00 - 12:00 |
Creative approaches to designing the curriculum at Dyce Primary School Our curriculum has a strong focus on learning across the four contexts. Each month, a theme is explored through a series of linked activities with strong connections to the local community. See presentation below. Recording of session on YouTube.
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Jenny Watson Liam Sturrock, DHT Gillian Hewitt, DHT
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12:00 - 13:00 |
Falkirk Learning for Sustainability Framework – an example of creative and collaborative leadership This session shares the creation of a framework which supports educational settings with their implementation of Learning for Sustainability as a cross-cutting theme. It demonstrates how this framework provides strategic structures within which practitioners can engage in creative curriculum-making with pupils and peers. See presentation below. Recording of session on YouTube.
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Yvonne McBlain Jane Jackson, curriculum support officers Falkirk Council
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13:30 - 14:30 |
Online Learning #NEXTNORMAL - early years and primary Lynn Taylor and Stephen Bullock will challenge our thinking with big questions about curriculum making and share their work with e-Sgoil developing and delivering innovative digital learning that respond to the refreshed narrative for Scotland’s curriculum and play pedagogies. See presentation below. Recording of session on YouTube.
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Stephen Bullock and Lynn Taylor Education Scotland
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14:30 - 15:30 |
Wonder Fools - Positive Stories for Negative Times Positive Stories for Negative Times is an international participatory project by Wonder Fools in association with Traverse Theatre created during the pandemic in response to the lack of physical spaces for young people to participate in creative activities. We will discuss the process, challenges and successes of the project. Recording of session on YouTube.
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Robbie Gordon Wonder Fools
Jonathan McLean, Interim Creative Learning Officer, Creative Scotland
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15:30 - 16:30 |
International Series: In Conversation with Trevor MacKenzie Trevor MacKenzie will share his passion for inquiry-based learning and how this constructivist approach to instruction can foster student agency and increase engagement for our students. Trevor will discuss how teachers can plan to teach from an inquiry stance, and how students can sharpen their inquiry skills throughout the experience.
YouTube recording of the event.
Additional resources: Four inquiry qualities at the heart of student-centred teaching Bringing inquiry-based learning into your class How to ease students into independent inquiry projects
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Annette Beaton Lead Specialist
Julia Fenby Education Scotland
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16:30 - 18:00 |
Creative Conversation: Don't play with me, 'cos' you're playing with fire A conversation that focusses on the importance of creativity and play-based learning within educational settings, with guests Ollie Bray and Suzanne Zeedyk, facilitated by David Cameron. YouTube recording of the event.
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Linda Lees City of Edinburgh Council
David Cameron
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Thursday 25 March
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Time
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Session
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Presenter/Host
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09:30 - 10:00 |
Maker Mondays Design Sprint Maker Mondays has been created to inspire and develop curiosity, creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking. This five day sprint starts with a design challenge on Monday. Over the week, participants will research and develop ideas, sharing creative solutions on Friday. Join us each morning to find out about the next stage of the creative process. See resources below.
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Clare Hoare Creative Learning Officer Stirling Council
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10:00 - 11:30 |
What is the place of creative, systems leadership in raising attainment? Raising educational attainment and improving subsequent life choices is a challenge for not only those working in an education environment but also for young people, families, communities and other public services. It requires leadership practice at all levels that draws from systems thinking and the ability to work across boundaries in order to maximise creative learning opportunities.
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Karen Lawson Collective Leadership for Scotland
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11:30 - 12: 30 |
Design Thinking in Practice Stirling’s 2019/20 Ready for Work group worked in collaboration with a local primary school on solutions for more effective use of their playground. See presentation below. YouTube video: Ken Robinson - Why is Creativity Important in Education? YouTube video: Andreas Schleicher (OECD) about Creativity and Critical Thinking Skills YouTube video: Paul Collard - Creativity, Culture and Education (UK) - about Creativity and Critical Thinking YouTube video: On Creative Learning, with Paul Collard and Bill Lucas
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Clare Hoare Creative Learning Officer Stirling Council
Esther Harrington Ready for Work Learning Coordinator
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12:30 - 13: 30 |
What does creative leadership in the classroom look like? A virtual staffroom Bring your lunch and join us for an informal virtual staffroom chat about being a creative leader in the classroom.
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Julia Fenby Education Scotland
Barbara Atherton Creative Learning Plan
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14:00 - 16:00 |
Exploring Creative Leadership – a Conversation How should we be as leaders? In a conversation with education leaders, Joan MacKay, Head of Curriculum Innovation at Education Scotland, will explore their own sources of creativity and how they use their own creativity skills to make a difference through their leadership and in their lives.
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Joan Mackay Head of Curriculum Innovation, Education Scotland
Carrie Lindsay Chair of ADES, Executive Director for Education and Children’s Services, Fife Council
Martin Boyle Executive Director, Glasgow Colleges Regional Board
Shirley Stuart HT North Walls School, Orkney,
Greg McDowell HT West Calder High School, West Lothian
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16:00 - 16:45 |
Creativity, Autonomy, Heutagogy and YOUR Role - Session 2 After jumping into the challenge and experiencing it for yourself with your learners and share the ups and downs with a supportive community. Get back together to reflect, question, and laugh (probably)!
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Julie Watt, Katy Anderson and Stuart McIntyre, West Lothian Council
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16:30 - 17:30 |
Creative Thinking – A New Qualification In August 2021 secondary schools across Scotland will pilot the new Creative Thinking qualification. This will be resourced and supported by Daydream Believers. You are invited to be part of this exciting opportunity and help put creative thinking at the heart of the curriculum.
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Helena Good SDS
Ruth Cochrane Napier University
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Friday 26 March
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Time
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Session
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Presenter/Host
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09:30 - 10:15 |
Maker Mondays Design Sprint Maker Mondays has been created to inspire and develop curiosity, creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking. This five day sprint starts with a design challenge on Monday. Over the week, participants will research and develop ideas, sharing creative solutions on Friday. Join us each morning to find out about the next stage of the creative process. See resources below.
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Clare Hoare Creative Learning Officer Stirling Council
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10:00 - 11:00 |
IDL: Ambitious learning for an increasingly complex world Following from the IDL thought paper, this workshop will explore what value an IDL approach can bring to learning and will share some service design tools to re-ignite conversation on Interdisciplinary Learning. See presentation below.
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Elizabeth McGuire Senior Education Officer
Andrew Brown Senior Education Officer Education Scotland
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11:00 - 12:00 |
‘This Is Who We Are’: North Walls School, Hoy North Walls School has been working with Hidden Giants through 2019-2021, supported by the Creative Learning Network. The focus has been to develop pupil-led learning through creative curriculum design.
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Emma Gee Arts Officer Orkney Council
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11:00 - 12:00 |
Say YES to the mess – Leading through systematic change How we are coming together to keep children, young people, and communities safe, healthy, and thriving in Aberdeen through the formation of the Fit Like Hubs. Youtube video: Say YES to the mess – Leading through systematic change.
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Iona Mitchell Children First
Margaret Stewart Aberdeen City Council
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12:30 - 13:30 |
Any of this making sense? A virtual staffroom Stirling and Hidden Giants would like to invite you to our virtual staffroom. There are no biscuits, only great conversations about reimaging learning. Bring your lunch and your experiences and together we will try to make sense of it all.
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Clare Hoare Creative Learning Officer Stirling Council
Paul Gorman Creative Producer, Hidden Giants
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13:30 - 14:30 |
Arts in Education Recovery Group An Introduction to the Arts in Education Recovery Group (AiERG), with presentations from member organisations Starcatchers, Catherine Wheels and YDance on respective projects related to Creativity in Learning and Leadership.
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Jonathan McLean, Interim Creative Learning Officer, Creative Scotland
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14:30 - 15:30 |
Creative Leadership and Curriculum Design in a Remote Learning Setting Curriculum development and leadership development are intertwined. Using the context of one strand of the National e-Learning Offer, specifically the partnership of e-Sgoil and Education Scotland, this session will focus on initiatives in S1-3 programme including the craft of curriculum design.
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Andrew Brown Senior Education Officer Education Scotland
Marc McWhirter DHT e-Sgoil
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16:00 - 17:00 |
Collective Sense Making Campfire Join us for a conversation with an end-of-week vibe. We will reflect on what has happened during the festival, try to make sense of it, and figure out what it all means as we move into the weekend. Bring your stories, put your feet up, and we’ll toast your marshmallows.
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Julia Fenby Education Scotland
Paul Gorman Hidden Giants
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A fresh look at Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan
Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan Partners and the National Creative Learning Network are working on a refresh Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan. We want to ensure the Plan is appropriate for our current and future context and that everyone in Scotland’s education system can relate to the Plan and know they are playing an important part in achieving its vision. We are sharing draft statements with stakeholders and invite all event contributors and participants to connect with them with a view to discussing them over the week.
Vision
The Scottish education system enables everyone to recognise, develop and apply their creativity to ensure they thrive in an increasingly complex and changing world.
Mission
To embed creativity at the centre of Scottish education and adopt a collaborative culture where all learners are empowered, creative and confident.
Our values-based goals are to:
- Collaborate
We will engage and participate through collaborative, sustainable and impactful networks and relationships, so that conditions are right for creativity to flourish across all places of learning.
- Empower
We will co-create the conditions and environments in which all learners lead their learning and apply their creativity.
- Embed
We will ensure creativity is embedded, prioritised and actively informs curriculum rationale, and that all learners’ creativity is explicit throughout their learning journey.
Downloads
PDF file: Creativity in Leadership poster (1.2 MB)
PDF file: Schedule for the Week (in one view)(176 KB)
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Follow-up from Sessions
PDF file: Presentation - Reframing Creativity: Considering school culture and the conditions needed to facilitate creative leadership (1.3 MB).
PDF file: Teachers as Creative and Lifelong Learners – The Role of Collaborative Professional Learning (3 MB)
PDF file: Creative Learning at Home (2.5 MB)
PDF file: Getting the craic - creative approaches to learning - the realities and challenges (1.9 MB)
PDF file: A Creative Breakfast Blether - Mentimeter (Large file 4.1 MB)
PDF file: Maker Mondays Design Sprint - Day 3: Ideate example (St. Edward's Primary) (430 KB)
PDF file: The Dundee City Partnership approach to a seamless learner journey (1.8 MB)
PDF file: Falkirk Learning for Sustainability Framework – an example of creative and collaborative leadership (1.4 MB)
PDF file: Jamboard - Getting creative with LfS (533 KB)
PDF file: Online Learning #Nextnormal Early Years And Primary (1.7 MB)
PDF file: Design Thinking in Practice (2.8 MB)
PDF file: Creative approaches to designing the curriculum at Dyce Primary School (3.4 MB)
PDF file: IDL: Ambitious learning for an increasingly complex world (4.2 MB)
PDF file: Curriculum Leadership and Curriculum Design in a Remote Learning Setting (4.4 MB)
Partnership resources
Websites
Maker Mondays Design Sprint website
Google Drive: Design Sprint resource folder
Google Drive: Day 2 Design Sprint resource folder
Google Drive: Day 3 Design Sprint resource folder
Google Drive: Day 5 Design Sprint resource folder
What are creativity skills?
Agora - the school with no classes, no classrooms and no curriculum.
Creative Bravery Festival - celebrating acts of bravery to help transform and rethink the way we educate.
Daydream Believers - gives pupils access to 'real world' experiences through free online resources created by industry experts to help them develop essential skills.
HundrED - is a global education non profit organisation whose mission is to help improve education through impactful innovations.
1000 HUTS - guidance on designing and building your own hut.
Positive Stories for Negative Times - a national participatory project by Wonder Fools in association with Traverse Theatre.
Articles and publications
Creative School Leadership (draft), Bill Lucas
IDL Thought Paper, Education Scotland, NoTosh and a Co-Design team from across Scotland
Safe Face to Face Working by Cultural Practitioners During Covid-19 Restrictions - Eight Case Studies, Arts in Education Recovery Group
Four Inquiry Qualities at the Heart of Student-Centered Teaching - by Trevor MacKenzie
KQED - Bringing Inquiry-Based Learning Into Your Class - by Trevor MacKenzie
KQED - How to Ease Students Into Independent Inquiry Projects - by Trevor MacKenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt
The Lego Foundation: What do we mean by Learning through Play
The Lego Foundation: Learning through Play in Schools
The Lego Foundation: The Play Spectrum (page 10)
International School of Billund (ISB): The What If School
Project Zero - Harvard Graduate School of Education: Pedagogy of Play Project
Future Learn: Coping with Changes: Social-Emotional Learning Through Play
Upstart Scotland: Play Is The Way
Upstart Scotland: How can we have a national conversation about education if teachers are gagged?
The Guardian newspaper: A manifesto for investing in children
BrainWorld: The Importance Of Play: An Interview with Dr. Jaak Panksepp
Raise Ready Kids: Child’s Play Is Serious - Don’t Interrupt
Oxford University Press: Reflections on the cultural history of play
Cambridge University Press: Therapeutic value of play
PubMed: Free play and children's mental health
Luath Press: Scotland After The Virus
Learning resources
e-sgoil Early Years and Primary resources:
Thinglink – Explore with Dug
Thinglink – This week’s first level learning space
Thinglink – This week’s second level learning space
Thinglink – Explore Rabbie Burns and Scots learning space
Thinglink – Explore Chinese New Year and Festivals learning space
City of Edinburgh Council
PDF file: An Introduction to Creativity Across Learning - Follow-up material (353 KB)
PDF file: 3-18 Creativity Skills - Progression Framework (269 KB)
Skills Development Scotland (SDS)
My World of Work is brought to you by Skills Development Scotland – Scotland’s national skills agency. My World of Work is the online home for career information and advice.
Technological and societal disruptions are coming at us thick and fast. Whilst we cannot predict the future, we can prepare for a future that is increasingly unpredictable. Scotland’s citizens need the skills not only to cope with the change but to thrive in it, and more so to be able to exploit novelty and create change for themselves. The Skills 4.0 paper (PDF) proposes a model of these skills for the future.
YouTube video: Skills Development Scotland national education team - Skills Development Scotland professional learning, e-learning modules for teachers and practitioners, which support an understanding of career education and provide practical approaches to embedding it in to the curriculum. There are 7 e-learning modules in total:
- Introduction to CES
- Embedding Skills
- Embedding LMI
- Career Management skills
- Introduction to My WoW
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