Abstract
This Collaborative Autoethnography reports on a teacher’s journey into planning and implementing arts-based pedagogy to meet the learning needs of students with learning differences in a school in Singapore. According to the Dyslexia-SPELD Foundation, a specific learning disability is generally recognised as resulting in the child (or adult) ‘learning differently’ and so this term is used to avoid negative labeling of students at this school. In 2016, the Rain Tree School (pseudonym) began to trial arts-based pedagogy as a way of engaging students and helping them to succeed with their studies. This included the addition of an arts-integration teacher to the staff (Ulrik), whose brief was to teach, and to help classroom teachers to teach all curriculum areas using arts-based pedagogy. Through collaborative autoethnography with a university academic also involved with the school (Reesa), the challenges of differentiating learning and working in collaboration with teachers of varying arts-based pedagogical abilities and appreciation are explored and reflected upon. With the current school focus of arts-based pedagogy for Mathematics and Literacy, the researchers reflect on lessons learned, the effectiveness of various arts-based approaches and techniques, and the way forward to best meet the needs of this group of ‘different’ learners through the Arts.
Presenters
Ulrik StrodlSTEAM Teacher, Specialist, The Winstedt School, Central Singapore, Singapore Reesa Sorin
Art Therapy/ Education Consultant, Reesa Sorin, Art Therapy for Wellbeing, Queensland, Australia
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Learner Diversity and Identities
KEYWORDS
"Arts-based pedagogy", " learning differences", " staff development"
