Friday 29 March 2019
Cost
Early bird rate: £70 members, £90 non-members – available until 15th February 2019
Standard rate: £90 members, £110 non-members – if booked after 15th February 2019
Programme
This regional conference looks to demystify and unpack the concept of creativity, looking at what it means in practice, and its value for those working with children. It will explore ways to help extend children’s thinking and learning, maximising their creative exploration of resources and the world around them, and examine the vital role of the adult in supporting this process within delegates’ professional contexts. Through a series of keynotes and workshops, this conference will engage with both the theory and practical elements surrounding creativity, to help encourage best practice in early education and raise outcomes for children.
9.30 Registration opens
10.00 Welcome and introductions
10.15 What do we mean by creativity?
Pete Moorhouse
In this keynote, Pete will explore what we mean by the term ‘creativity’, exploring the elements that contribute to its key characteristics as a concept. He will focus on ways in which we can observe and extend young children’s creative and critical thinking, highlighting the importance of these skills for providing a solid foundation for lifelong learning. Pete will outline how creativity is vital for responding to life’s challenges and opportunities, for well-being, and for an enriched cultural life. He will also emphasise the importance of monitoring progression in children’s creative development, particularly in relation to disadvantaged children, and then offer ways to identify and enhance this within your practice.
10.45 How to nurture creativity
Anni McTavish
The creative process is not always comfortable. It takes self-belief, confidence and determination. Both adults and children can be heard to exclaim, “Oh, I’m not creative!” or “No, I can’t do that”. Anni’s presentation will explore how babies and children’s creativity and thinking develops, and how adults can nurture this across all areas of learning. She will also explore the benefits of building a creative community, and how this can be fostered within the context of your setting.
11.15 Refreshment break
11.30 21st Century digital creativity
Debi Keyte-Hartland
This presentation explores the possibilities for creativity in the 21st Century focusing on the strong need for visual communication, the expression of ideas, and collaboration within an educational setting. Debi will share opportunities to engage with digital media in transdisciplinary contexts that are rich in creativity and expression, illustrated through educator case studies of recent research in this area, and how this can feed into your daily practice.
12.00 Breakout: Workshop Choice
Choose between one of the three following workshops:
Thinking outside of the box – with Pete Moorhouse
This workshop will involve getting creative through a couple of practical exercises, before analysing them to become more aware of the contributing thinking skills involved, as well as reinforcing the techniques needed to observe children’s creative and critical thinking. It will also reflect on possible open questions that educators can pose to nurture and extend children’s thinking, to continue to provide opportuntiies for children to develop their learning.
What if…? – with Anni McTavish
This session will expand on some of the ideas outlined in the keynote about growing and nurturing creativity. Participants will have the opportunity to take part in some fun, practical arts-based ideas, and tune into their own creativity. There will also be the chance to hear about the successful Creative Thinking and Learning Project, now available as a free online resource. It will give delegates the opportunity to discuss how they might incorporate some of these ideas and further develop positive interactions to enhance creativity in their settings.
Visual Communication: generating rich contexts of critical and creative thinking – with Debi Keyte-Hartland
In this workshop, the idea of visual communication and theory drawing will be explored. Participants will be able to engage in a hands-on way with ideas that can be used directly in the classroom that generate rich contexts of critical and creative thinking. The session will conclude with a viewing of a film that captures this transdisciplinary learning experience in action with children, to reveal and demonstrate how visual communication can look when media and subject areas are blended in ways that are conducive to the illumination of children’s thinking.
13.00 Lunch and networking
14.00 Breakout: Workshop Choice
Choose between one of the three following workshops:
Thinking outside of the box – with Pete Moorhouse
What if…? – with Anni McTavish
Visual Communication: generating rich contexts of critical and creative thinking – with Debi Keyte-Hartland
15.00 Panel discussion and plenary
15.30 Close
The programme and timings may be subject to change.