AT A GLANCE
Provision for learners:
British Postal Museum and Archive – collections of visual, written and physical records relating to the human story of communication, industry, and innovation over 400 years of development.
Royal Geographical Society – an organisation promoting geographical research and aiming to advance geography, nationally and internationally, to improve the understanding of our interdependent world.
The Science Museum - founded in 1857 containing historic collections, awe-inspiring galleries and inspirational exhibitions.
Sir John Soane’s Museum – a historic house designed and lived in by Soane and holding wide-ranging collections of antiquities and art.
Wandsworth Museum - holds collections, which tell the story of Wandsworth from prehistoric times to the present day.
Model for working with trainees:
Embedded/entitlement model - The placements were a formal and assessed part of the course with trainees expected to demonstrate standards achieved.
Future opportunities:
Explore ways to share the outcomes with more students – perhaps by showcasing events or by on-line resources. Students need to be able to observe the museums as visitors, but the aim of the project is to go beyond this so that they engage as learning professionals. This project used schools recruited by the museum or archive so that the students could experience teaching. We plan to move this element to the middle of the week so that there can be more emphasis on reflection and sharing outcomes. While £1,800 was made available to the museums or archives, the majority did not use this. The funds were used to engage schools and in one case, to cover staff time for the project. Budgets should be reconsidered for future programmes.
ITT PROVIDER
Name of project:
Creative thinking with museums and archives
Higher Education Institution:
Roehampton University
ITE Course (e.g. PGCE):
BEd Primary BEd
No of trainees involved:
10
Year group:
1 and 2
Subject area:
Cross-curricular
Logistics:
This project took place in term 2 after the students had completed a course module and were about to go on placement in schools. 1 day training session for trainees and museum/archive staff. 1 week paired placement at one of the museums and archives. £1,800 funding per placement was available to each setting.
Provider motivation:
This project developed out of MLA London’s existing Teacher Placement scheme, linking schools, museums and archives. The ITT pilot was developed to support teachers at the beginning of their professional careers. It supported Excellence and Enjoyment: A Strategy for Primary Schools (2003).
QTS Standards:
Q5, Q6, Q8, Q10, Q19, Q24, Q25, Q30, Q32
SETTING
5 museums and archives were involved:
British Postal Museum and Archive
Royal Geographical Society
Science Museum
Sir John Soane’s Museum
Wandsworth Museum
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
- Provide ITT students with in-depth experience of ways of working with museums and archives.
- Support learning for children and students
- Be sustainable
- Draw on the unique cultural heritage offered by museums and archives
- Build on existing knowledge and resources
- Benefit all partners involved
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Induction:
1 day focused on project overview, planning, logistics and evaluation. Attended by museum and archive representatives, students, an MLA London representative, a Roehampton representative and a creative practitioner, Veda Harrison
Contents included: Creative thinking activities, ‘What is creative thinking’, ‘Me as a creative thinker’, ‘creative characteristics’; fostering creativity in museums, Libraries and Archives; an introduction to Initial Teacher Training; project evaluation brainstorm; cross-curricular learning and creative questioning.
Students and staff worked together to agree the evaluation methodology.
Pre-placement visit to setting:
This included health and safety procedures, office practice and an overview of the collection. This was an opportunity for students to discuss the project informally with their hosts and to gain inspiration from the site.
Placements:
Students worked in pairs with their selected museum or archive for 5 days. They chose one or two items to work with and developed a short teaching activity using these items. Questions included:
- How can pupils explore these items?
- What are the cross-curricular or pastoral outcomes?
- What are the multi-sensory opportunities?
- How can students develop skills of observation, interrogation and questioning using these items?
In all but one placement the students were able to deliver their activity to a pre-booked school group.
Other activities were designed by the hosts and included:
- Planning for a school trip – logistics management and health and safety
- Artefact investigation
- Observation of children working with a sector professional
- A review of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council’s five Generic Learning Outcomes:
- knowledge and understanding
- skills
- attitudes and values
- behaviour and progression
- enjoyment, inspiration and creativity
OUTCOMES
Children
Most feedback was around enjoyment, inspiration and creativity, knowledge and understanding and skills.
Hosts
The hosts learned the importance of active sessions and appreciated the value of the scope of what a museum or archive can offer, as well as gaining insights about the ITT curriculum and how students are assessed.
Provider
The Roehampton tutor commented on the value of seeing the range of museums and archives available in London. She felt the project allowed students to observe methodology without fear and responsibility.
SURPRISES
The enthusiasm with which the students embraced the project surprised us most. Whatever the collection, they were excited by the prospect. There was initial concern that students who were placed with a local authority museum rather than a national museum would feel short changed but this wasn’t the case.
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
- Involving Roehampton from the start in the project planning.
- Ensuring that the placements met the university’s needs.
- Engaging the students and hosts in designing the evaluation methodology. This really helped them think about the learning outcomes for themselves and the pupils.
- Students need to be able to observe the museums as visitors, but the aim of the project is to go beyond this so that they engage as learning professionals.
