I'm passionate about facilitating meaningful changes in educational practice that are sustainable beyond my contact time with the school. I don't offer a standardised package of workshops, but instead work with the school community to help them refine a project brief that fits their current context and help them progress towards their aims.
My philosophy towards creativity is that it grows from controlled risk-taking and not being afraid to be wrong. Interesting and elegant solutions during problem-solving are built on successive layers of improved failure and asking “what if?”. I work hard to nurture learning environments that are challenging but supportive and engaging, often taking co-learning as a starting point so that children (and adults) take an active role in their learning development.
I can draw on a wide range of practical skills, knowledge and techniques that includes, but is not limited to:
* Immersive experiences and “wow” projects that make challenges come to life within a narrative framework
* Application of ICT such as blogging/social media, web design and podcasting as well as its use as a planning tool, for example use of wikis and collaborative documents.
* Sculptural and craft-based making skills
* Games mechanics (strategies for motivation and gauging progress)
* Re-imagining of everyday spaces
* Animation using ICT (for example, using Scratch)
* Simple electronics and interactive objects
* Familiarity with science experiments and scientific, investigative methods
* Mapping
* Use of new media, including use of GPS-triggered mediascapes outside the classroom
The delivery of these can all be backed up with examples of how I use them within my everyday art practice out in the wider world.
I have good rapport with young people, staff and parents as well as excellent negotiation and planning skills. In the classroom I am adept at improvisation and deflecting questions in a way that puts the onus on answering them back onto the pupil – the best way to learn.
| Resources provided |
I have a selection of resources and reference materials I can provide, depending on the project being undertaken. |
| Resources required |
Entirely dependent on each individual project, but a commitment to collaborative working and exploration of possibilities is a great starting point! |
| Fees |
Fees are negotiable depending on the nature of the project, distance travelled, materials provided, duration of contract etc. Rates for planning, preparation and delivery are in the range of £200 - £250 per day, with hourly rates or inclusive project rates also negotiable for different contexts. |
| Insurance |
This artist is insured. |
| CRB Disclosure |
I have had an Enhanced Disclosure check within the last three years and can provide evidence of this request.
CRB checks DO NOT relieve you from your child protection responsibilities and duty of care towards
children and young people.
A criminal record shown on a disclosure does not prevent an artist appearing in the Directory,
unless it is a
schedule One offence under the Children and Young Person’s Act 1933. It is your
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I have a reflective approach to my work, which is fully documented online. A full list of the main projects I work on is maintained at: http://www.npugh.co.uk/projects, with information specifically relating to schools available at http://npugh.co.uk/tag/schools/
My CV is available from: http://www.npugh.co.uk/cv
Project 1
A Song for Skatz, Linden Primary School, Leicester. (A Creative Partnerships project, Spring 2009)
"How can we can increase the subject specific scientific vocabulary of children in Year 3 through creativity?" - this question was addressed through the use of an immersive experience having points in common with the Mantle of the Expert approach.Over the course of 4 days, 60 Y3 pupils led a mission to help a travelling minstrel bring the light back to his planet by helping him to write a song containing the knowledge needed to understand light and shadows.
Monday:iGenca agent Agent N appears in school, sets up an investigation area and asks for the pupils' assistance in finding what it is she's been sent to Linden School to investigate. Working in teams, the pupils use The Anticipator and their observation skills to work out where the 'something very exciting' will happen.
A Song for Skatz: using The Anticipator from nikkipugh on Vimeo.
Tuesday:Agent N receives messages classified as 'super top secret' from her boss, Agent A, and asks the pupils if they would like to be recruited as special agents so they can help. After identifying what the necessary skills are and devising suitable tests for them, all pupils are successfully accepted as special agents and discover that iGenca scientists have discovered distant planets where the light has begun to disappear. The special agents' first task is to discuss what the consequences of permanent darkness on Earth would be and to investigate what it would be like.
A Song for Skatz: What would it be like if the light disappeared here too? from nikkipugh on Vimeo.
The special agents do various indoor and outdoor activities whilst blindfolded and Agent N passes on the discovery from Agent A that there is a travelling minstel called Skatz who the special agents must guide from a distant dimension over to Linden School. The special agents successfully piece together clues from the iGenca scientists' research and figure out how to draw and use 'humming paths' on the playground to steer Skatz to them. The humming paths are decorated with welcome messages and pictures relating to light. The special agents discuss how long they think it will take for the message to reach Skatz and volunteer to hum at home in case that helps.
Wednesday:A Song for Skatz: a stranger arrives from nikkipugh on Vimeo.
A disorientated stranger stumbles across the field and is identified as being Skatz by the special agents. Skatz and the special agents have a conversation in which they share details of their everyday lives. Skatz tells us the news that he has come to Linden School because he thinks the pupils can help him re-write the forgotten song that used to hold all the information about light and shadows. The light disappeared after his people forgot the song, so they hope if they write the song again it will bring the light back.
In groups, the special agents work on different activities that explore how shadows and the sun can be used to tell the time; how shadows can be made to look strong, faint and twisty-scary by holding objects in front of a lamp in different ways; and how different types of light and different types of transparent, opaque and translucent objects affect how Skatz's solar-powered spiders move. The special agents also spend more time finding out about Skatz and Skatz begins to teach them about how songs work.
Thursday:The special agents continue to work with their teachers, Skatz and Agent N to compile vocabulary and knowledge into a song for Skatz to take back with him.
The song is rehearsed and then performed as part of a farewell ceremony during which Skatz disappears. News comes via the iGenca scientists that both Skatz and the light have returned safely. The special agents reflect on what hey have achieved and speculate on how Skatz and his people will be celebrating the success.
There is documentation and an evaluative post mortem of this project available at
http://npugh.co.uk/blog/how_to_wow_introduction/
Project 2
Babington 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!, Babington Technical College, Leicester. (Part of the Come Alive with Science programme, 2009)
Working with a group of under-engaged Year 8 girls to investigate how to make Science lessons more interesting for them. As a culmination to the project the pupils planned and presented a Science fair for their families to present the physical and narrative science demonstrations they had developed.
Co-delivered with movement artist Miriam Keye.
Babington 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! from ignitescience on Vimeo.
The project blog and summary video is available at
http://babington54321.wordpress.com/