CES@

2024.7 Cambridge

Join us for our Shaping Creative Possibilities in Education Conference 10- 13 July 2024

While schools talk of preparing young people for the future, they inevitably have their feet in the past. Curricula have only begrudgingly realized that they can be broader, multi-disciplinary, different from the ones teachers studied in their own pasts; pedagogies draw on instructional designs that too instinctively default to be didactic and teaching for recall rather than for deep understanding; and assessment systems find grades and marks – often with ‘one right answer’ and normally conducted using pencil and paper examinations in stuffy the simplest way of ranking students.
Drawing on experiences from the Creativity Collaboratives, the symposium will invite delegates to consider how schools can change their curricula, develop a repertoire of creative instructional approaches and radically rethink their approaches to assessment.

Co-Organiser

Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge Faculty of Education is committed to the highest standards of research and teaching and is a significant contributor to the improvement of educational policy and practice in partnership with schools, colleges and other educational agencies both in the UK and internationally.

The Faculty is one of the largest groups of educational researchers and teacher educators in the UK. This reflects a strategic commitment by the University of Cambridge to contribute to excellence in all phases of public education, both nationally and international

Agenda

Sessions

Jeff M. Poulin

Educationalist, Cultural Administrator, and Social Entrepreneur

Abstract:

How we describe our work, impacts how we do our work” is a statement offered by a veteran arts educator during a 2019 global study about the impacts of artistic, cultural, and creative learning. The findings proposed a new vernacular for describing the outcomes of arts education (Poulin 2019a) and the interconnectedness between public policies, educational pedagogies, and organizational practices(Poulin 2019b). It has long been understood that constructivist learning theories are far divorced from students’ conceptions of learning (Cakir 2008) and the expectations of educational systems (Khalaf and Zinn 2018). This presentation will share a new body of work, suggesting the use of “creative capabilities” such as creative thinking, cultural consciousness, connectivity, and citizenship to inform the pedagogical design, organizational practices, and public policies which are aimed at cultivating creativity in youth(Poulin 2023). The speaker will provide educators and school leaders with access to a new framework and tool to engage learners in critical self- reflection (Brookfield 1995) about their creativity – the outcomes of which have shown impacts in expanding an educator’s teaching practice, a school’s learning assessments, and student’s creative outcomes.

Eddie Woo

Mathematics Teacher & YouTube Educator

Abstract:

Creativity is just connecting things. [Creative people] connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things,” said the late Steve Jobs. In this session, we will explore and experience creativity by connecting ideas and concepts that you might not expect to be related. This will prime us as school leaders to synthesize new things that fit each of our school contexts. Put on your thinking cap and get ready to descend into the learning pit!

Bio:

Eddie Woo teaches mathematics at Cherrybrook Technology High School. His YouTube channel, Wootube, has more than 1.8 million subscribers and 160 million views of his everyday classroom lessons. Within the NSW Department of Education, he leads the Mathematics Growth Team, a statewide program of instructional leaders focused on engaging and evidence-based teaching practices. He is a Professor of Practice at the University of Sydney, working with preservice teachers in the Sydney School of Education & Social Work. In 2018, he was named Australia’s Local Hero in the Australian of the Year Awards and listed as one of the Top 10 teachers in the world by the Global Teacher Prize. He is an internationally published author, TED speaker, and TV host of ABC’s Teenage Boss and Channel 10’s Ultimate Classroom.

Pat Thomson

Professor of Education- The University of Nottingham and The University of South Australia

Zoe Tidemann

Drama Educator, Researcher, and Teaching Artist

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