What have blue whales, Sir Bradley Wiggins and Lego got in common? They were all subjects of a busy day of SOLE work last Friday at Greenfield in Room 13!
We had many great SOLE sessions in Room 13 last week and a particularly busy day of sessions on Friday where questions about railway factories, humour in performance, the biggest living things on planet earth, the world’s greatest toys and what you’d need to win the Tour de France were all were explored. This is all part of the School in the Cloud project, the brain child of Professor Sugata Mitra of Newcastle University.
Did you know that one of the largest living things on earth is the giant sequoia, also known as General Sherman tree, which can be found located in California’s Sequoia National Park. This is just one of the interesting and valuable facts discovered by pupils throughout the day. Comments from the young people suggest they were inspired in the space, exploring learning independently with the chance to share their findings with their peers.
We were very pleased to welcome Dom and Alec from Highbury College in Portsmouth to Greenfield and Room 13, as well as colleagues from Durham University and Newcastle University. They travelled to see the space, as it is one of two in the UK and only seven in the whole world. It was an interesting day of observations, questions and ideas! Watching the sessions and talking to staff and students has left our visitors feeling inspired and energised about enquiry based learning and SOLEs, it’s great that we can share the knowledge and skills of the staff at Greenfield, and advise other educational professionals in their own work.
The visitors from Highbury College said on Twitter afterwards “Awesome day – thanks so much for your hospitality and allowing us to witness the great work you are doing! Truly inspiring!”
It’s great to be working with partners across the country and in places such as Australia, Holland and California to influence teaching and learning. The School in the Cloud research will continue over the next three years at Greenfield, as we continue to inspire creative learning. Visit www.greenfield-arts.co.uk for more information and to keep up to date with the research.