Page 4 - The story of the Art of Learning
P. 4
Preface
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“In Art of Learning, you have fun while learning, and when
you are having fun it is easier for the brain to think it up.”
(Child, 8 years old)
There is a growing consensus internationally that
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in education; through art and culture, students can acquire
skills essential to thrive in the 21st century. The EU, UN, OECD,
researchers, national agencies, and educators worldwide have recognised
that young learners need more than basic skills, and that formal education should cultivate creativity and critical thinking skills of students to help them succeed in an increasingly uncertain and rapidly changing, globalised world.
Curricula that invite creative expression through the arts have tremendous future-shaping potential. Artmaking provides new languages and means through which to make sense of the world, engage in cultural critique, and take political action. Curricula can also cultivate critical appreciation and engagement with cultural heritage and the powerful symbols, repertoires, and references of our collective identities1
In EU, this is seen in the expansion of the STEM-approach (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) from STEM to STEAM where the A represents the Arts. Central to this expanded approach is the understanding that arts and creativity encompasses a set of mental attributes or habits of mind which enable young people to succeed both in school and as adults, also described
as innovative and entrepreneurial skills. However, there is a gap between the recognition of the importance of the arts and creativity, and the understanding and abilities to support and develop these skills. This Art of Learning 4STEAM- project aims to narrow this gap by creating space for innovation to happen, building understanding of how to support and develop arts and creativity
in children.
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changes that happens in the brains of students who experience art and culture as part of their
learning at school. Teachers and artists work together, using a specially designed teaching programme, which uses art based learning and creativity as an integral part of teaching. The primary objective of The Art of Learning (AoL) is to develop, implement and assess innovative and creative approaches in schools to develop children’s Executive Functions (EF). EF is a collective term for the control functions in the brain, and by addressing EF development, we reinforce the children’s capacity and ability to learn; essentially they learn how to learn. The AoL project builds on the 3 pilots implemented previously in
Ayrshire, Scotland in 2017 and 2018, and in Oppland, Norway in 2018. * UNESCO, Reimagining our futures together: a new social contract for education, 2021
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