Supporting young learners and their teachers through lockdown
From remote learning packs to live-streamed workshops, find out how the Ashmolean Museum has been helping younger audiences connect with its collections during the pandemic.
Home to half a million years of human history
When England first went into lockdown in March 2020, staff at the Ashmolean knew they needed to find new ways to help young learners enjoy meaningful engagement with, and keep connected to, the museum’s world-class collections.
As the end of an extraordinary 12 months draws near, we take a look at some of the creative ways this has been achieved, and explore how — with help from supporters — even more people will have the opportunity to enjoy, learn from and be inspired by the Ashmolean’s remarkable treasures in the future.
Learning from home
When the coronavirus forced schools to close their doors to all but a few last spring, the museum’s Learning team jumped into action. Their mission: to build a digital treasure trove of Ashmolean-inspired content that would support curriculum-linked learning and play from home.
Today, those seeking inspiration can find a whole host of drawing and craft activities on the museum’s new home learning webpages. There are also jigsaw puzzles, short films and quizzes, and even instructions on how to import Ashmolean artworks into Animal Crossing….
…but perhaps one of the most exciting additions to the site has been a brand-new series of remote learning packs, specially created to support the national curriculum. Each pack focuses on a specific topic, such as the ancient Olympics or China, and features a mix of engaging activities and resources guaranteed to stimulate curiosity, enjoyment and learning at home.
‘I have just watched your video about the ancient Olympics. It was excellent… an ideal programme for my grandchildren (and all!) A very engaging, well-informed speaker on an interesting subject, treating her audience of children as if they were grown-ups.’
— ‘Ashmolean from Home’ participant
Learning in primary schools
In an ordinary year, the Ashmolean’s highly-regarded and popular education programme enriches and enlivens teaching in schools across Oxfordshire and beyond. To ensure the same could be said for 2020 — a far from ordinary year — the Learning team took their work online.
Between September and December, they developed and delivered seven brand-new live-streamed workshops to more than 500 primary school children nationwide. These innovative sessions allowed classes to ‘visit’ areas of the museum not usually open to the public, and discover items that wouldn’t ordinarily be accessible in a gallery-based session (lucky them!)
‘I just wanted to say a big thank you from me and my class for the super afternoon we had with you. There is so much we can use from today that will help the children to really get to grips with our topic, as well as produce some beautiful artwork.’
— Rachel Buchanan, St Michael’s Primary School, Marston
‘Here is some of the fabulous work produced by Ash class following our workshop with you this morning. Thank you so much for our wonderful sessions. All three classes reported back how much they had enjoyed them.’
— Jo Hunt, North Kidlington Primary School
Learning in secondary schools
As well as allowing pupils access to usually off-limits areas of the Ashmolean, these live-streamed sessions have also helped to reduce some of the financial and geographical barriers that may have prevented students from accessing the museum and its collections in the past.
Keen to make the most of these benefits during an otherwise challenging year, the Learning team have also worked hard to extend their digital outreach into secondary schools, as well as increase their virtual work with further education students and community groups.
By experimenting with a range of innovative digital approaches, including interactive live-streamed lessons incorporating both teacher and student feedback, they’ve seen some exciting new partnerships emerge and been able to significantly widen the museum’s reach too.
Supporting teachers
In addition to creating content for younger learners, Ashmolean staff have also been working hard to support their teachers.
The museum’s popular teacher training sessions have now moved online, and a whole host of additional resources uploaded to the website, including teachers’ notes, classroom activities, zoomable images and short films linked to curriculum themes.
Help us to enrich lives through digital learning
Previous fundraising efforts have contributed significantly to the success of the Ashmolean’s outreach efforts to date. Now, more than ever, the positive impact of such accessible activities and resources for individuals, schools and communities is clear.
To support this important work, the Ashmolean has launched a new fundraising appeal aimed at developing digital content and expanding live-streamed workshops for those unable to visit the museum in person. Follow the link below to find out more and pledge your support.
