Initiatives

SAPEA in the Gallery

SAPEA is developing several exciting initiatives with community partners. Our major community partner is the Art Gallery of South Australia. We are very excited to be working with them to develop programmes that inspire critical thinking and learning for students and teachers.

Why Philosophy in the Art Gallery?

“Philosophy” is literally, the love of wisdom. More than this, though, philosophy is about the pursuit of deeper knowledge about all things, as well as a methodology to undertake these pursuits.

In P4wC education we talk about there being two parts to philosophy;

Big ‘P’, which is the formal subject of philosophy which includes studies into life, ethics, meaning and reason.

And then there is little ‘p’, which is pedagogy; which is the way we teach something. In this case a pedagogy would be something like the Community of Inquiry, or Problem-Based Learning. It’s how we approach teaching and learning in a systematic way.

Since philosophy is not just a subject its processes are able to be applied to all areas of thinking and learning to help us gain a deeper understanding about all studies. Within the visual arts this is particularly significant in the development of critical and conceptual thinking.

Philosophical questioning in the Arts is vital as it allows students;

  1. To develop Critical and Creative Thinking Skills
  2. to develop a conceptual understanding of art and an artist’s process
  3. to develop language to express their feelings
  4. to develop language to describe artworks
  5. to develop a deeper connection to artworks
  6. to develop and understand their personal values
  7. to develop and understand their tastes and opinions
  8. to consider different forms of communication
  9. to develop questioning skills that are applicable across disciplines

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TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
IN THE ART GALLERY

We offer interactive learning for educators of all year levels and subject areas. Educators have the opportunity to engage with learning that supports the development of creative, critical and collaborative thinking in students. Participating educators will receive a Facilitator Induction Certificate at the end of the day, which prepares them to facilitate at a formal Community of Inquiry.

Contact us to find out more. 
  

Self-Guided Philosophy Walks
in the Art Gallery 

SAPEA is developing a collection of resources to support educators undertake self-guided sessions in the Gallery.
  • The walks will start to be available in term 4 of 2019
  • SAPEA will develop teacher guides and student worksheets
  • SAPEA will develop teaching resources for Preparing to come to the Gallery as well as Following Up in the Classroom activities.

Are you interested in our walks? Let us know what you want from a critical thinking tour of the gallery.

Doing thinking activities in public places helps students to understand their wider world.