Teach-Make is a two-year teacher development project, delivered by Imagineer in partnership with University of Warwick, University of Central Lancashire and Highly Sprung.
Teach-Make follows on from work with teachers during The Imagineerium. It supports primary school teachers to use a more TAME approach in their classrooms. Teachers position children as responsible for their own learning and motivate them to want to find out more.
Teachers, imagineers and academic educators will develop their approaches to designing Schemes of Work and their skills in a range of making practices used across the arts and sciences. Seven new Schemes of Works will be created and then used in Coventry classrooms and shared with other teachers.
The Schemes of Work draw on the structure of the TAME, shaped by a shared commission developed by the teachers, and undertaken with an identified community of practice. In a series of workshops, imagineers explore with teachers how as maker-educators they use active and embodied approaches, use space differently and help children develop and reflect on their situated knowledge. Teachers work together and with imagineers to see how these might be used in the classroom.
We have been meeting as a whole group (both online and face-to-face) as well as in ‘ensemble’ groups of teachers and imagineers. We plan to introduce other classroom teachers in the West Midlands region to the TAME model and the schemes of work (SoW) produced, with the view of extending nationally in the future.
As a small-scale development project, Teach-Make is being extensively monitored and researched in order to develop the TAME model for use by and in schools.
We are grateful for the ongoing support of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Teachers have commented about the project:
‘I now have a better understanding of what children are capable of, and I am breaking the habit of giving them too much information at the beginning of a task.’ (Teacher)
‘I do like the concept of the “community of practice” whereby everyone works together to solve a problem. Each person has a valid contribution, the staff and children working side by side, each idea given worth and time to discuss or pull apart’ (Teacher)
‘An inspiring, intriguing and eye-opening project, which brings learning to life and ignites a flame of excitement, for teachers and learners.’ (Teacher)
‘Teach Make has given me the confidence to use a more physical and active approach by including movement in many areas of my teaching’ (Teacher)
Here is a taster of the emerging themes, or Schemes of Work, being created by the teachers in Teach-Make:
“Our commission is for the children to develop something which enhances and develops the eco-systems within our school environment. The scheme of work that we are creating is one which encourages the children to think about their current surroundings in school, but also within the wider world.”
“Children will be exploring ways in which we can live more aligned with nature by creating a ‘Coventry of the Future’ using only natural resources. They will learn about habitats, cityscapes and what changes we can make in our daily lives in order to protect and preserve the world that we live in.”
“Our SoW explores the plight of refugees. As a community of craftspeople, children will work collaboratively to invent and build an escape craft for shipwrecked Michael (Kensuke’s Kingdom). Empathy and understanding of real-world social problems will require and motivate development of cross-curricular knowledge and skills.”
“Children will realise that a shelter can take on any form, not just a physical form. A shelter can be refuge from an emotional storm as well as from a rainstorm. Themes will include homelessness within the UK as well as around the world. We will look at how friendly shelters can be designed economically, also, how can we provide emotional shelter for the homeless and refugees?”
“Children will have the opportunity to explore real-world problems raised by ‘The Water Princess’ story. Their commission will be to help families in remote villages access, transport and purify fresh water. Working in groups and with support, they’ll develop a piece of technology that would benefit these communities, learning specific skills to construct their design and about working together.”
“Our SoW will start with children imagining being deserted on an island. Using our forest area and experts, they will experience a range of survival skills. An emergency charity will commission and support the children to solve a water related problem; they will investigate how current scientists and designers have tried to solve such problems.”
“The children will explore the effects that creating and storing power has on the environment. They will learn what makes an energy source renewable or non-renewable and investigate the different ways humans harness the power of nature to create an energy supply. They will be commissioned to collaborative design ways to generate power in an environmentally friendly way.”
