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Room for improvement What makes the perfect creative space? Bubble-wrap chairs and spinning tables were just some of the original ideas proposed by a school’s art club.
Year group: 5 Subject:
Art and design
Scheme of work:
3C: Can we change places?
NC p1a, p1b, p2c, p4a, p5b programme of study:
In this project you will see evidence of pupils:
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• making connections and seeing relationships
creativity:
• envisaging what might be
find it!
• exploring ideas, keeping options open.
The project story Working in a real-life context captured the pupils’ interest.
Open-ended questions helped the pupils to think imaginatively.
The pupils envisaged how different spaces could be transformed by rearranging furniture, or changing colours, for example.
The pupils made connections between the task, their own experience of art and design, and other people’s needs.
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The teacher who ran the club gave the year 5 pupils a challenging brief: to research and model the ideal space for making art. She explained that their work would contribute to national research into creative spaces, funded by the Clore Duffield Foundation. The project lasted for about a term, with the pupils spending an hour a week after school working on designs and models. The teacher began by giving the pupils a clear mission: to find spaces in school that would lend themselves to practical and creative learning. Together they walked around the inside and outside of the school looking at spaces. The teacher asked open-ended questions – such as ‘Is this a good space for working in? Why? Does it have to be multi-functional? Could we improve it?’ and ‘What if we got rid of this partition?’ – to get the pupils thinking creatively. The pupils responded with some interesting and thoughtful observations. They eventually decided that the library (a small Victorian building separate from the main school) would be a good space to turn into an art room. They came up with a long list of reasons, including: ’it’s a big space’, ‘strong shapes’, ‘objects for inspiration’, ‘big sinks’, ‘heating’, ‘air conditioning’. The teacher noted all of their ideas and extended their thinking by asking, ‘What would happen in the art space and who would use it?’ ‘What would help people to work creatively?’ ‘What are the needs of others who might use the space?’ The pupils came up with thoughtful, considerate responses, drawing on both their knowledge of other children, the teachers, the caretaker, for example, and their own experiences.
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You will see the teacher promoting creativity by: • setting the pupils a real-life challenge
creativity:
• asking open-ended questions
promote it!
Giving the pupils free rein with a variety of materials encouraged them to experiment.
The pupils played with ideas, experimenting with shapes, materials and textures.
The outcomes ranged from fantastic ideas and themes, to practical (but still imaginative) solutions.
• giving the pupils a free rein.
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Back in the art club, the pupils began to sketch designs for the library space. The teacher encouraged them to work in groups of three or four to create three-dimensional models, and gave them a wide range of materials (including card, pipe-cleaners, coloured paper, fabric and recycled materials). The pupils were so enthused by the task that many of them worked on their designs at home, researching furniture and use of space, and collecting interesting materials and objects to add to their models. They eagerly anticipated the weekly art club and were keen to share and develop their ideas. To the teacher’s delight, the pupils suggested holding an exhibition of their work. They invited the headteacher, other children, teachers, governors and parents, and talked enthusiastically to visitors about their designs. Paul pointed out the importance of having a good source of light in his design: ‘I’ve thought of these kind of windows: when it is a sunny day, they spell “creativity” on the wall.’ He went on to talk about how to solve the problem of the mess created by using clay on a pottery wheel: ‘I’ve made a kind of plastic round shape to go around the pottery wheel so it stops the clay from going everywhere.’ He also wanted desks and stools that retracted into the floor: ‘If we need to do something on the floor, we can get the tables and stools out of the way.’
7 Most of the pupils showed that they could see designs in their mind’s eye and translate them into 3D models. Working together, the pupils developed and modified each other’s ideas.
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Jenni had come up with a different solution to providing a flexible space – using bubble chairs. ‘You can take out the popper and they will go flat so you put them back in the cupboard.’ Another group liked this idea and, with the teacher’s encouragement, developed it by proposing bubble-wrap chairs that deflate and sink into the ground. Richard designed tables with a wheel set into them that spin to get different colour paints. He also suggested a table with different coloured backgrounds, so that pupils could experiment with which would suit their work best. Jamie came up with a novel solution to the problem of disposing of rubbish: ‘A bin on the wall like a saucer, and you put things on a black object with a fan inside. This blows up into the bin and it sorts the stuff into different categories like paper and cans.’ By the end of the project, the pupils had invested so much creative energy into their brilliant ideas that they began to wonder whether they could actually be brought to life. The school is now investigating how to turn some of their designs into an art space for the school and community. A successful bid to the local education authority has secured funding to relocate the school library and create an art suite where the library is now.
What the teacher said ‘The pupils’ designs and models were very impressive, but it was the ideas, thought and investigation that made this project so valuable. The way they thought about the use of space and materials showed a fearless attitude and gave rise to imaginative, intuitive ideas. This project has captured the attention of the headteacher, governors and parents. Adults are listening to children, respecting and valuing their ideas and taking them seriously.’
Ref: QCA/04/1292 © Qualifications and Curriculum Authority 2004