Creative Learning Environments

Creative Learning Environments – Schools building competences to lead and learn in a rapidly changing world.

Participating partners are City of Kalmar in Sweden, Guldborgsund in Denmark, Klaipeda district in Lithuania. Rostock County Council and the Hanseatic City of Rostock in Germany.

Project manager’s words

Proud and creative students are better equipped for the future

School should not just be about reading, writing and listening. Use of the languages of art and culture provides better creativity and better learning to reach school objectives. The CreatLearn work at schools in Klaipeda (Lithuania), Guldborgsund (Denmark), the City of Rostock and County Council Rostock (Germany) is on. In different schools and in different ways students, teachers and culture experts, such as artists, actors and film makers are experimenting and finding new ways of using culture and thus culture creative teaching methods at school. Representatives of the most creative companies in the world, such as Apple and Facebook state that they have no use for employees that must be led; they need people with their own creative approach to the world, people who can identify needs and possibilities by themselves and to take a creative approach in developing new businesses for their companies. We hope our project CreatLearn will encourage that kind of creative attitude with young people...

Our common project theme is ever so important; Civil courage. Last autumn workshops for students took place in the frame of the CreatLearn project at the cooperating schools. This spring further workshops will be implemented. In October this year all partners will meet for the final conference and for evaluation and dissemination of the project findings in the different partner countries. One important outcome will be an “inspiration book”,developed in by all project partners based on their best practice reports, for everybody who wants to be a part of “schools building competences to lead and learn in a rapidly changing world”. Please read the reports from work in progress by our partners below.

Björn Samuelsson, Project Leader, Kalmar, Sweden, bjorn.samuelsson@kalmar.se

SWEDEN

CreatLearn in City of Kalmar

A main subproject within CreatLearn at the Södermöre School in Kalmar has been the production of “artistic cubes” on the theme “Civil courage”. Rebars have been welded to cube-shapes with the side size of one meter. The students had the chance to give their understanding of “civil courage” an artistic interpretation working on these cubes. 16 items where produced. All cubes where compiled with special lighting to make them glow expressive in the dark. Students at the Lars Kagg upper secondary school in Kalmar, studying to be electricians, where asked to contribute with their lighting ideas and to produce the technical acquirements, which they enthusiastically did. Since we wanted this project to be “for real” we wanted to give the students access to a public space for display. So the illuminated cubes are now shown in the Kalmar City Park, hanging from the trees, giving quite a magic contribution to the wintery park at night. Students being proud and creative are better equipped and more self-confident for their future lives than those who do not trust their own ideas. The four head teachers who are members of the Södermöre CreatLearn- group were awarded the Södermöre part of Kalmar municipality price for best contribution by employee 2012, for their excellent work in the CreatLearn project.

DENMARK

CreatLearn in Guldborgsund Municipality

Forum Theatre in CreatLearn, Guldborgsund – Teacher Training Part 2 20-21. February Gill Dowsett from Theatr Fforwm Cymru provided part 2 of the teacher-training in Forum Theatre for 20 teachers from Guldborgsund, who during March will make own workshops at Fjordskolen, Eskilstrup- and Stubbekøbing Schools. Forum Theatre, aka Theatre of the Oppressed, is widely recognized as an excellent tool for working with Human Rights and democracy, but when working with F.T in a school-contexts you usually meet situations / histories of exclusion and bullying. As seen from the list below “Forum Theatre must be real”. Forum Theatre is working with stories from real life. Working with Forum Theatre was a an early stage of CreatLearn chosen by the teachers in Guldborgsund as being the primary training-topic and medium during the project, as it is possible for everybody to learn the techniques within a limited amount of time – and since it in an excellent way is fitting into the overall project-theme of “civil courage.”

A compendium / reminder Forum Theatre Training compendium was made from the training in order to remember all the exercises, and beyond this Theatr Fforwm Cymru allowed us to copy the DVD from their book “Emotional Intelligence” as well as the small booklet “Just Fun” which is including a long row of exercises and games, which is an important part of the Forum Theatre skills, in order to create a safe, relaxed and positive space. Beyond these, the “Bible” of Forum Theatre is probably the book “Games for Actors and Non-Actors” by Augosto Boal, which for the Danish translation is named “Spil” and is available from Edition “Drama.”

GERMANY

CreatLearn in the Hanseatic City of Rostock

In the second half in 2013 of our project the pupils learned samba arrangements on the basis of a samba rythm language. The Pupils works in two groups with surdos and caixa in one, and with repinique, tamborim, agogo and shaker in the other. The pupils learned social competences in growing to a group. The Danish teacher visit in October, the pupils showed what they have learned and played together whit the guests a samba arrangement called ”I like samba, cookies and coffee”. The pupils made two performances at two Christmas concerts whit this arrangement.

GERMANY

CreatLearn in Rostock County Council

A new school joined our CreatLearn-team this autumn: the special school in Güstrow: a 6th grade with 10 pupils. Recently they took part in a Gamelan workshop at the Carl-Orff Music School in Rostock. They enjoyed very much playing together as a real team and while playing having to rely on their class mates. It felt good to experience that everyone can play an instrument!The stories about living in a foreign country (Indonesia) with quite different traditions were very interesting.

INVITATION!The regional school in Schwaan now has translated the invitation for the art project week from 18th – 22nd of March into English and sent it to each partner:

Art project - The world is colourful - we are strong together

Professor-Franz-Bunke-Schule Schwaan- project, Supported and supervised by Creatlearn. Participating countries : Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Germany

When: 18.03.2012-22.03.2013

Where: Professor-Franz-Bunke-Schule Rudolf-Breitscheid-Straße

16 18258 Schwaan, Phone: 03844-813695, Fax: 03844-813736, Homepage: www..schule-schwaan.de, Email: regionale-schule@schwaan.info. Petra Paul, Birgit Dünow

Program overview

Workshops from Monday to Thursday, 18.03.-21.03.2013 (08.00-13.00) Workshop details:

Elementary school:

Monday – Thursday: Textile printing , Linoleum printing , Stretcher frame painting , Theatre project “Big no ton” Masks plaster

Monday – Tuesday: Handicap sport, Action theatre

Monday, Wednesday: Thursday Lectures in the library

Thursday: Learn to relax - exercises

Secondary school:

Monday – Thursday: Light and shadow balloons, Work with nature materials , Sport against violence – handicap sport , Graffiti – presentation of one’s personality, Film project , Media technology – Video and photos, Theatre workshop (13.3.-15.3.2013) , Classroom design, Felting , Metal art , School chill out lounge , Wood art, Making a wall carpet , Installations for presentations of art objects, Drum course, Dance theatre Presentation day: Friday, 22.03.2013: Gala in our assembly hall (13.00-15.00) Presentation of our results , Spring Market.

Fjordskolen from Denmark will be participating for some days. The pupils and the teachers will be workingtogether with the German pupils in different workshops. The 6th grade from the special school in Güstrow will also participate in several of these workshops. The school would be very happy to welcome many of you!

LITHUANIA

CreatLearn in Klaipeda district

All project activities are organized keeping to a half year (August – December, 2012) plan. It was agreed in reference group meeting how to administrate the events of 7 schools network arena's creation groups, which consist of 18 clubs and studios in five schools and unite 267 students and 20 teachers. It was decided every month to fill in student’s activities and attendance statements and practice reflection sheets. 8 reference group members, 6 professionals and 4 municipality education policy makers foster and encourage project participants. 75 persons participated in 2 reference group meetings, 3 inspire workshops and 1 target group meeting. They discussed the process of the project and solved occuring problems. Local reference group make project progress checks. 75 teachers (not only from project schools) participated in 3 seminars lectured by professionals. They adjust new methods and skills obtained in the trainings in their lessons and extracurricular activities (clubs and studios). Participants of seminars highly appreciate new experiences and consider them adjustable in activities for students (usage of scenography models in theatre studio rehearsals, earthernworks integration in technology lessons, creating historical learning surroundings etc.). Know-how exchange workshop of Time Travel was of a great success for 32 participants. Museum and culture centre staff were involved into activities of the workshop.

At the end of every month students reflect their achievements in the project activities: “We became more friendly and got acquainted with the students from other schools, we enjoy the possibility to interpret sketches in the play“, tell the students of theatre studio. “It is a nice chance to get new skills on modelling, designing and sewing the decorations for the mystery play, it is great we‘ve got the new sewing machines “, share the impressions the design club participants. “We‘ve learned how correctly join different parts of moulded forms and create a final product – an apple“, relate the earthernwork studio learners. “Lithuanian folk rock was a source of new experiences in singing“, conclude young singers of the choir. “ It was so impressive to learn the steps of Lithuanian folk dance and to accept its new style“, point out the dancers. It is impossible to mention all the student’s thoughts and impressions, but the fact is that they all get new skills and experiences participating in the project. The joy of creation captured both students and teachers and all the occurring technical problems seem to be minor and unimportant Postcard campaign “How do I like to learn at school“ is one of the project activities. Due to this event, the workshop of making postcards for all art teachers was arranged. The international lecturers from Kalmar Regional Museum (Sweden) presented Time Travel as a new method how to create historic environment for integrated teaching. The seminar and the workshop for Klaipeda district educators took place at Vezaiciai manor where the events of the end of the XIX century were reproduced. Teachers concluded that in any surroundings it is possible to find historic roots which can be used effectively for students teaching to recognize their identity and foster civil courage. What is more, it can be a mighty tool for bringing school and local community together.

The main principle in our project realization activities is that knowledge, practical skills and competences obtained by teachers at project seminars and workshops should be successfully transfered to students developing their creativity.

Please follow our work at www.creatlearn.org