Over the past year, Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery have been working with Anglian Ruskin University Peterborough (ARU Peterborough), supporting BA (Hons) Primary Education Studies students with their learning development.
Peterborough Museum have been working with future teachers, on their Live Brief assignment with a key objective to ‘inspire creative thinking’ in the classroom. The students were tasked to create a lesson plan inspired by any item, of their choosing, in the Museum’s collection. The students were given a unique session that included a tour of the museum with tools and examples of how you can use objects to enhance lesson plans and children’s learning development. They were then set to pick an object and theme to form the basis of their lesson plan.
Peterborough Museum is home to a variety of fascinating collections for students to be inspired by – resulting in ARU Peterborough student lesson plans incorporating things like the Victorian Operating Theatre Gallery to explore the history topic of Victorians or Roman Roads for a geography lesson. The collaboration has been a great success and gave the students a unique opportunity to develop their own learning development by expanding their practice, knowledge and skills outside the normal parameters of the course.
Kerry McMichael, Lecturer Practitioner, Anglia Ruskin University Peterborough, said “The BA (Hons) Primary Education Studies students recently embarked on a unique and dynamic learning experience with the Peterborough Museum. The Live Brief collaboration inspired our students to select an artefact from the extensive collection at the museum and design lesson plans which promote creative pedagogies. Participating in this authentic opportunity provided the students with a purposeful and real-world experience that enriched their learning, bridging theory with practical application, and equipped them with skills vital for their future roles in education.”
These pivotal partnerships between museums and educational establishments provide exceptional opportunity for experiential and social learning that often cannot be simulated elsewhere.
Peterborough Museum offers an award-winning Schools and Learning Programme that supports pupils learning of all ages. In addition, the museum offers a CPD (Continuing Professional Development) programme for teachers to support the teaching of local history. For more information how Peterborough Museum can support your educational organisation visit peterboroughmuseum.org.uk/learning
or email museum@peterboroughlimited.co.uk.