Museum collaboration benefits trainees

On a visit to Bedford Museum and the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery in late 2006, University of Bedfordshire third-year BEd trainee teachers explored ways artefacts can be used for stimulating literacy work through activities such as creative writing exercises, role-play and deconstructing objects.

They then selected a museum piece to use as the basis for their assignments: a short film or dramatic interpretation, accompanied by a mini-lecture, explaining the educational theory supporting their work. The project enabled the trainees to explore new teaching styles and approaches to engaging pupils, while discovering the transferable teaching process of using artefacts and locations in their lessons.

The aim of the collaboration was to create new ways to present primary English lessons to Foundation Stage, KS1 and KS2, while giving trainees insight into how museums can work with schools.

Contact Jo Roberts (jroberts@bedford.gov.uk ) for further details