Induction+materials

This page contains information & downloadable documents that you may find useful whilst working in schools ... The New Zealand Curriculum (2007) * [|Information on the New Zealand Curriculum] * [|Engaging with the New Zealand Curriculum from an Arts perspective] Teaching and Learning * [|The act of teaching - pedagogy] * [|Management of students] * The Best Evidence Synthesis: Quality teaching for diverse students in schooling is intended to contribute to the development of evidence-base for policy and practice in schooling. The purpose of this document is to contribute to ongoing and evolving dialogue about pedagogy amongst policy makers, educators and researchers that can inform development and optimise outcomes for students in New Zealand schooling. Quality teaching is identified as a key influence on high quality outcomes for diverse students. The evidence reveals that up to 59% of variance in student performance is attributable to differences between teachers and classes, while up to almost 21%, but generally less, is attributable to school level variables. * Click to download a summary of the findings. Health and Safety in Schools * [|Health and Safety information] Ethical Behaviour in Schools * [|The Teachers' Council Code of Ethics]> * The Cambridgeshire County council has developed a code of conduct document that may be useful. Download it As an Artist, how can I involve myself in Schools? There are three main types of involvement for artists working in schools. Artists can take the role of maker, presenter or instructor/facilitator. Each type of involvement contributes to pupil learning, but does so in a different way. 1. Making Making emphasises the process of professional art-making from initial ideas to ‘finished’ performance of piece of art-work. The artist concentrates on making his or her own piece of work on school premises (sometimes as a commission for the school). • Projects which show the artist as maker enable students to observe a particular creative process • A commissioned piece of work contributes to the school environment and serves as a long-term reminder of the artist’s visit Examples: visual arts, crafts and writing residencies 2. Presenting Artists present a completed piece of work to an audience in a school. • Presentation enables artists to bring high-quality arts experiences into schools • It demonstrates the performance skills of professional artists (e.g. actors, story-tellers, dancers and musicians) Examples: writers giving readings from their work; musicians giving concerts and recitals; theatre/dance-in-education performances; live art performances and events. 3. Instructing/facilitating When artists take on the role of instructor/facilitator, they help students and teachers to make and/or present their own work (e.g. by demonstrating techniques and working alongside pupils and teachers). • Artists assist students and teachers to be practically involved in the arts and to become makers and presenters themselves • Because the artist has enabled teachers and students to develop their skills, there is potential for related work to continue in the school after the project has ended Examples: any art form; workshops and residencies Each of the three types of involvement is valuable in its own right but the greatest benefits are to be found when artists in education projects combine two or three approaches. Adopting just one type of involvement has potential disadvantages: for example, an artist who is solely involved in making his or her own work, without the direct involvement of students and teachers, is in danger of being treated as a ‘live exhibit’ on show to the rest of the school. Presentation is valuable, but if students and teachers do not have a clear understanding of the context of the work and an opportunity to explore the issues raised, they can be left wondering how to respond. Artists who are confined to the role of instructing/facilitating (e.g. simply demonstrating artistic techniques) can be mistaken for teachers by the pupils, who then miss out on the special experience of working with a professional artist. By combining approaches, schools can maximise the benefits of arranging for a professional artist to visit the school. Most projects use two or three approaches, although they may emphasise one of them. Instructing/facilitating is the most common element, and this is valuable because it provides the most direct contact and interaction between artist and student, and enables students and teachers to build up skills which they can transfer to new situations after the artist’s visit has ended. Here are two examples which show how artists can successfully use more than one type of approach. FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS We have identified the following features that characterise successful projects: • The project addresses a school need • It builds on the strengths of artists (e.g. artistic/technical knowledge and skills) and teachers (e.g. teaching skills, knowledge of the curriculum and of their students’ needs). Artists are not expected to be substitute teachers • It is part of the ongoing work in the school - the school provides a context, support for, and development of, the artist’s contribution • Artists and teachers are committed to making the project a success. There is a real sense of partnership between artists and teachers, which is built up through negotiation of the project’s aims and content • The project’s aims are ambitious yet achievable. There is a shared understanding of the aims and how these are to be realised in practice • The budget supports joint planning, review and evaluation as well as funding contact time between artists and students