EducationThinking Teachers - Professional DevelopmentCase Study: Newly Qualified Teacher Training Programme Case Study: Newly Qualified Teacher Training Programme
Manchester City Council commissioned Manchester Art Gallery’s schools and colleges team to develop and deliver a training programme for all newly qualified teachers in the city.
We developed the training to support teachers to take risks in delivering the curriculum creatively, demonstrating how artworks can inspire new ways of working, while also addressing the practical aspects of visiting museums and galleries.
The programme includes these practical sessions:
Step inside a story
Teachers learn how to use artworks to develop pupils’ literacy skills. Through a series of drama and questioning techniques, teachers encourage pupils to ‘read’ artworks and create stories. This approach will inspire and support pupils to develop characters, plot and descriptive prose and can be used in the classroom as well as in the gallery.
Dive into drawing
Teachers discover how to use artworks to investigate industry, community and the environment. Focusing on journeys, teachers explore historical paintings and objects connecting to water, the ocean, harbours and the seaside. They create responses using a range of mark making techniques such as drawing, painting and printing that can be further developed back in the classroom.
Jump into a journey
Teachers take a trip around the Gallery, using a variety of speaking and listening approaches to inspire writing activities. They bring some of the people and places in our paintings to life, creating characters and exploring different settings, through role play, co-operative group work and discussion. The methods can be adapted to use in different cultural settings and the school environment.
Teachers’ feedback
“When I leave I am going to arrange a visit to use the paintings around the gallery to create a narrative and advance the plot.”
“I will visit the gallery and other galleries in Manchester more often to gather ideas to use in Art Club, consider what exhibitions are coming up and talk to fellow teachers about the opportunities at Manchester Art Gallery.”
“I will come back to the gallery and encourage my class to ‘dive into drawings’ and analyse paintings further.”
“I have been opened up to the possibilities of using gallery visits as models of critical studies, breaking down the social and political barriers which prevent people from analysing artworks …”
