‘The Times They Are a-Changing', a famous Nobel laureate wrote. So are the competence requirements for the future. The EU, UN, OECD, researchers, national agencies and educators worldwide have all recognised that young learners need more than basic skills. Reasoning and problem solving, understanding what we are reading or hearing; exercising choice and self-control; being creative and flexible and adjusting to changes. By building synergies between art and education, this creative partnership is addressing exactly that. The main objective of The Art of Learning for STEAM project (AoL4STEAM), is to develop, implement and assess the innovative and creative Art of Learning – approach (AoL) in schools to develop children’s Executive Functions (EF) (a collective term for the control functions in the brain, consisting of working memory, inhibition and cognitive flexibility). In order to achieve this main objective, the project will develop and test the AoL- approach in Norwegian and Hungarian primary schools. The strategic creative partnership is made up by: -T-Tudok, Hungary -Creativity Culture Education (CCE), UK -Innlandet County Council (ICC), Norway – leading partner Our hypothesis is that the children participating in AoL will increase the development of their EF more than children not participating. Through addressing the development of EF we are reinforcing the children’s capacity and ability to learn; they learn how to learn. The project will be linked to a self-funded research project led by Innland Norway University of Applied Sciences (HINN), to investigate if EF is improved through the AoL4STEAM. The project is truly innovative by integrating art, creativity and national curriculums in the development, testing and dissemination of an AoL Handbook. Combined with a long-term research component on EF, this evidence-based approach may be internationally ground-breaking and lead to new and sustained learning practices to address 21st century skills. It is important to that note that this Erasmus + project is part of a larger collaboration. The key focus here is the development of briefs, training manuals, 96 sessions, quality assurance and observation tools combined into AoL Handbooks and Storybooks (each in 3 languages). The six main outcomes of the AoL4STEAM is: 1. Develop and test the Training of Artist module (ToA) and recruit, train and support the 14 artists who will work in schools with teachers and learners for 2 years. Intellectual output 1: Create the Training of Artist manual 2. Develop and test the Training of Teachers module (ToT) and identify, involve and support the 35 teachers and teacher’s assistants in participating schools. Intellectual output 2: Create the Training of Teacher manual 3. Create and test the 96 AoL-sessions integrating art, creativity, national curriculums and addressing learners affected by Covid-19. Created in English, Hungarian and Norwegian. Intellectual output 3: Create 96 sessions 4. Implement the holistic AoL-approach in schools (2 sessions a week for 48 weeks over 2 years). Professional development for teachers, reinforcing the children’s capacity and ability to learn through arts and creativity. Target group: 500 learners in 14 selected primary schools in Hungary and Norway. CCE will serve as mentor, co-developer, trainer and advisor. 5. Further develop our partnership (T-Tudok, CCE and ICC): reinforce our network, strengthen our professional development, promote learning opportunities and exchange ideas. Partners will plan, implement, evaluate and disseminate the AoL approach collaboratively, benefiting from each other’s skills, experiences and knowledge. 6. Assess, publish, distribute and disseminate the results of the project. The AoL approach will be assessed by the partners and associate research partners, and the results from the project will be disseminated through our regional, national, European and international network. Intellectual output 4: Collect the results through a Storybook and develop an online web portal to share AoL Handbook and Storybook. The key expected results of the project could contribute to: -A better understanding of what happens to children who actively participate in art-based activities. -Give insight into the “utility” of arts and culture and its value in supporting EF and learning. -Contribute to innovative, interdisciplinary, creative and competence-based teaching methods in school. -Increasing the value of the role of the artists in education via programmes such as DKS. -Better understand the development of EF, and how underdeveloped EF can be addressed. -Broad use of the AoL approach by sharing the practical AoL Handbook and Storybook.
The primary objective of The Art of Learning for STEAM project (AoL4STEAM) was to develop, implement, and assess the innovative and creative Art of Learning – approach (AoL) in schools with the aim of nurturing children's Executive Functions (EF), which encompasses critical cognitive control functions such as working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. One of our key expectations was that children from more disadvantaged backgrounds, often faced with academic challenges, would make substantial advancements in their EF development. By doing so, we aspired to bridge the attainment gap between these children and their more advantaged peers.
Education has the most transformational potential to shape just and sustainable futures, and in order to fulfill that potential EU, UN, OECD, researchers, national agencies and educators worldwide have all recognised that young learners need to be able to problem solve, to reason, to exercise choice and self-control; to be creative and flexible, and be able to adjust to changes. These skills are key competences for the future. By building synergies between art and education, this creative partnership has addressed this need. Our hypothesis was that the children participating in AoL would increase the development of their EF more than children not participating. Through addressing the development of EF we have been reinforcing the children’s capacity and ability to learn; they learn how to learn. We applied for this project because we firmly believe in the transformative potential of education to shape a just and sustainable future. Our project, through the creative partnership that combines art and education, directly addresses these recognized needs. We are proud to report that we have successfully achieved our intentions in addressing the pressing educational needs identified in the project proposal. Through our creative partnership, which integrates art and education, we have witnessed development of executive functions (EF) in the participating children.