The nature of teaching and learning when using a painting as a central stimulus across the curriculum

The study qualitatively explores why and how five UK primary schools operationalised a project that uses a painting as a central stimulus for teaching and learning across the curriculum, as promoted by the Take One Picture scheme run by the National Gallery, London. On analysis, it was found that teachers at two of the schools mainly approached Take One Picture primarily as an art project, whilst teachers at the three other schools mainly approached the scheme in a more cross-curricular way. Using a multiple within-case analysis approach, data was collected through interviews and a questionnaire from 25 teachers to explore teachers’ understanding of the Take One Picture scheme and their expectations for undertaking a project. This data, alongside data from log journals compiled by the teachers, was used to explore the operationalisation of projects teacher-by-teacher. In addition, pupil outcomes, as perceived by the teachers and actual pupil outcomes contained in the log journals, were analysed to consider whether teachers’ expectations were borne out. It was found that on the whole teachers planned for their expectations and these were realised in pupil outcomes. However, in some cases where teachers expressed an expectation to encourage creativity or to follow pupil interests, this was not apparent in the way they planned or in pupil outcomes. Furthermore, the nature of teaching and learning in these projects was shown to be heavily teacher-led. Also, these projects tended to be planned by teachers in the schools that took a primarily art-based approach. In contrast, projects that were more cross-curricular showed greater signs of encouraging individuality and originality from pupils. These latter projects regularly involved experiential strategies, as characterised by Dewey (1938), identified in the study as (i) encouraging individual responses from pupils beyond the parameters of practising an art technique, and (ii) making connections between the painting and other stimuli and/or known pupils’ previous learning experiences. The analysis suggests that the inclusion of experiential strategies both helps to encourage creativity (if the definition of creativity used includes the concept of originality) and increase cognitive challenge. In addition, the data shows that those teachers who worked in partnership with artistic practitioners, or had art expertise themselves, tended to plan in a more instructional, less experiential way. Overall, the study offers a contribution to knowledge by showing that in art education some teaching and learning strategies seem more effective than others in providing opportunities for pupils to develop creative skills, and that these strategies link to high cognitive demand.