The Nottingham Apprenticeship Model: schools in partnership with artists and creative practitioners

Abstract

This article documents the collaborative research and development of an apprenticeship model of learning for the arts. It focuses on teachers working in partnership with artists and other creative practitioners. The model is rooted in theories of social learning and cognitive apprenticeship. It was developed and tested through collaborative research, some of it action research. The aim was to explore and test the model for appropriateness and for its impact on the learning of all participants (children, teachers, creative practitioners). The model was found to be useful as a guide to the organisation of children's learning in the arts. Moreover, using the model had a positive effect on the inclusion of children on the margins into wider school learning. The model was also useful in facilitating the professional development of the adults concerned: teachers, artists and others.

Acknowledgements

This research could not have been completed without the help of Karen Chantrey Wood and the teacher researchers: Sonja Adams, Judy Berry, Anne Holt, John Naylor, Jo Reid, Philippa Weekes and Holly Wilson

Notes

1. Similar arrangements in other Creative Partnerships are described in Best et al. (2004).

2. In secondary schools the subject specialist in art or performing arts is often an artist in their own right.

3. The complete planning chart can be obtained from Creative Partnerships Nottingham.

4. See, for instance, Creative Partnerships Nottingham website.