School curriculum reform and the Scottish War of Independence: a collaboration between Education Scotland and the University of Glasgow
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Humanities
Abstract
Education Scotland is the Scottish Government agency responsible for supporting and monitoring teaching in Scottish schools. This collaboration aims to transform Education Scotland's material for teachers and learners on a pivotal period of Scottish History, between Edward I of England's conquest of Scotland in 1296 and Robert Bruce's victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Over 90 % of schoolchildren in Scotland study this topic by age 15.
Education Scotland is keen to develop an approach that will advance the reform of the curriculum introduced in Scotland in 2010. Flexibility is at the heart of this reform, allowing teachers to choose material that is most relevant to the learners in their care. The full potential of this new approach can only be achieved by providing appropriate resources across all levels of schooling. Nothing like this is currently available for the Scottish War of Independence.
Education Scotland has recognised that the 'People of Medieval Scotland' database (www.poms.ac.uk), a major outcome of a recent AHRC-funded project (see below), has the potential to be used to create resources on a sufficient scale to transform the teaching of the Scottish War of Independence from early years to age 15. As a result, learners and teachers across the country will be able to view the topic through a range of perspectives, rather than being restricted to the well worn narrative of Wallace and Bruce and their battles. The aim is to give learners and teachers access to information on scores of individuals or groups during the War. This will allow them to explore the War through their own local perspective, and to approach the War through the varied experiences of individuals and groups from different walks of life. In this way, the Follow-On project will bring new insights and tools from the research of the 'People of Medieval Scotland' (PoMS) database into the classroom.
This can only be achieved through the collaboration of researchers and teachers. The aim is that the Research Associate, supported by the Research Administrator, will provide a mass of source-based material that can then by adapted for the classroom on the basis of feedback from teachers in Review Days. Teachers will then use this material in Workshops to create 'learning journeys' for all levels up to age 15. 'Learning journeys' are broader and more flexible than lesson plans. They provide questions and prompts that enable learners to explore a body of material in a way that is appropriate for their particular level. This leaves enough flexibility for the teacher to decide how best to deploy the resource in their own classroom. The learning journeys and accompanying source-based material will be accessed by learners and teachers on Education Scotland's free intranet for schools ('GLOW').
The project culminates in the creation of a Professional Learning Community of teachers on GLOW committed to sustaining and developing this material in the classroom.
The immediate beneficiaries of the project are learners and teachers, who will have a wideranging and flexible body of material designed specifically for their use, and based on innovative research of proven quality. Education Scotland will also benefit from having a resource that demonstrates the full potential of the reformed curriculum to meet the needs and interests of individual schools and localities.
In the longer term the project has the potential to challenge the cultural hegemony of the simple approach to the Scottish War of Independence typified by 'Braveheart'. By offering a broader understanding of the varied experience of this pivotal period of Scottish history to 90% of schoolchildren, the project has the potential to reduce the impact of the cruder views of the War of Independence, and change the nature of the War's significance for Scots in the longer term.
Education Scotland is keen to develop an approach that will advance the reform of the curriculum introduced in Scotland in 2010. Flexibility is at the heart of this reform, allowing teachers to choose material that is most relevant to the learners in their care. The full potential of this new approach can only be achieved by providing appropriate resources across all levels of schooling. Nothing like this is currently available for the Scottish War of Independence.
Education Scotland has recognised that the 'People of Medieval Scotland' database (www.poms.ac.uk), a major outcome of a recent AHRC-funded project (see below), has the potential to be used to create resources on a sufficient scale to transform the teaching of the Scottish War of Independence from early years to age 15. As a result, learners and teachers across the country will be able to view the topic through a range of perspectives, rather than being restricted to the well worn narrative of Wallace and Bruce and their battles. The aim is to give learners and teachers access to information on scores of individuals or groups during the War. This will allow them to explore the War through their own local perspective, and to approach the War through the varied experiences of individuals and groups from different walks of life. In this way, the Follow-On project will bring new insights and tools from the research of the 'People of Medieval Scotland' (PoMS) database into the classroom.
This can only be achieved through the collaboration of researchers and teachers. The aim is that the Research Associate, supported by the Research Administrator, will provide a mass of source-based material that can then by adapted for the classroom on the basis of feedback from teachers in Review Days. Teachers will then use this material in Workshops to create 'learning journeys' for all levels up to age 15. 'Learning journeys' are broader and more flexible than lesson plans. They provide questions and prompts that enable learners to explore a body of material in a way that is appropriate for their particular level. This leaves enough flexibility for the teacher to decide how best to deploy the resource in their own classroom. The learning journeys and accompanying source-based material will be accessed by learners and teachers on Education Scotland's free intranet for schools ('GLOW').
The project culminates in the creation of a Professional Learning Community of teachers on GLOW committed to sustaining and developing this material in the classroom.
The immediate beneficiaries of the project are learners and teachers, who will have a wideranging and flexible body of material designed specifically for their use, and based on innovative research of proven quality. Education Scotland will also benefit from having a resource that demonstrates the full potential of the reformed curriculum to meet the needs and interests of individual schools and localities.
In the longer term the project has the potential to challenge the cultural hegemony of the simple approach to the Scottish War of Independence typified by 'Braveheart'. By offering a broader understanding of the varied experience of this pivotal period of Scottish history to 90% of schoolchildren, the project has the potential to reduce the impact of the cruder views of the War of Independence, and change the nature of the War's significance for Scots in the longer term.
Planned Impact
The immediate beneficiaries will be
(i) learners and teachers engaging with the Scottish War of Independence as part of Broad General Education (early years to age 15). As a result of this project they will have a wideranging and flexible body of guided material, available on Education Scotland's intranet (GLOW), that will allow them to explore the topic from many perspectives, according to their particular needs and interests;
(ii) teachers across the range of Broad General Education, who will have the support of belonging to a Professional Learning Community (on GLOW), enabling them to gain confidence and experience in teaching this pivotal topic through a wide range of perspectives (rather than simply Scotland v England, Wallace and Bruce), and to be supported in developing fresh material for the classroom from the project's outcomes on GLOW; and (iii) Education Scotland. As a result of this project they will have (a) the full potential of recent curriculum reform realised in a key topic taught in 90% of schools, and (b) they will have a resource that meets the requirements, identified in their recent Impact Review (September 2012), for a more precisely calibrated programme for the development of knowledge, understanding and skills in social studies; for effective transition from primary to secondary schooling; and for a more clearly identified progression in critical thinking and analysis.
The longer term beneficiaries will be the general public in Scotland. As a result of this project, they will be exposed, as pupils and parents, to new perspectives on the Scottish War of Independence. This has the potential to challenge the cultural hegemony of the simple approach typified by 'Braveheart', and offer a broader understanding of the experience of the War through the stories of individuals, groups and localities, which they will now have the opportunity to learn about in school. This, in turn, has the potential to inform Scottish identity insofar as this is expressed through an understanding of this formative period of Scottish history.
(i) learners and teachers engaging with the Scottish War of Independence as part of Broad General Education (early years to age 15). As a result of this project they will have a wideranging and flexible body of guided material, available on Education Scotland's intranet (GLOW), that will allow them to explore the topic from many perspectives, according to their particular needs and interests;
(ii) teachers across the range of Broad General Education, who will have the support of belonging to a Professional Learning Community (on GLOW), enabling them to gain confidence and experience in teaching this pivotal topic through a wide range of perspectives (rather than simply Scotland v England, Wallace and Bruce), and to be supported in developing fresh material for the classroom from the project's outcomes on GLOW; and (iii) Education Scotland. As a result of this project they will have (a) the full potential of recent curriculum reform realised in a key topic taught in 90% of schools, and (b) they will have a resource that meets the requirements, identified in their recent Impact Review (September 2012), for a more precisely calibrated programme for the development of knowledge, understanding and skills in social studies; for effective transition from primary to secondary schooling; and for a more clearly identified progression in critical thinking and analysis.
The longer term beneficiaries will be the general public in Scotland. As a result of this project, they will be exposed, as pupils and parents, to new perspectives on the Scottish War of Independence. This has the potential to challenge the cultural hegemony of the simple approach typified by 'Braveheart', and offer a broader understanding of the experience of the War through the stories of individuals, groups and localities, which they will now have the opportunity to learn about in school. This, in turn, has the potential to inform Scottish identity insofar as this is expressed through an understanding of this formative period of Scottish history.
People |
ORCID iD |
Dauvit Broun (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
[Robertson, Lynne]
(2018)
Broad General Education @ The University of Glasgow
Tucker, J
(2014)
Crime and Punishment (People of Medieval Scotland Resource 7)
Tucker, Joanna
(2014)
Spies (People of Medieval Scotland Resource No.24)
Tucker, Joanna
(2014)
Castles (People of Medieval Scotland Resource No.4)
Tucker, Joanna
(2014)
Bishop Robert Wishart (People of Medieval Scotland Resource No.2)
Tucker, Joanna
(2014)
The Army (People of Medieval Scotland Resource No.26)
Tucker, Joanna
(2014)
Propaganda (People of Medieval Scotland Resource No.19)
Tucker, Joanna
(2014)
John Balliol (People of Medieval Scotland Resource No.12)
Tucker, Joanna
(2014)
Robert the Bruce (People of Medieval Scotland Resource No.22)
Description | Writing and working on thirty-two themed resources relating to the Scottish Wars of Independence and Medieval Life for Broad General Education, led to a more developed approach to translation and adaptation of sources, and of writing explanatory material, so that non-historians could understand the material intuitively. This was accompanied by the development of an approach to History itself as a discipline which placed centre stage the recreation of the past in the present through gaining an intimate experience of what is intrinsically remote. The project outcomes--the thirty-two themed resources (with supporting materials) and fourteen learning journeys--represent a significant increase in original bespoke material for Broad General Education in the interdisciplinary context of Curriculum for Excellence, This has been welcomed enthusiastically by teachers in CPD sessions, and has led to collaborations with the intranet for teachers (GLOW) and a network of teachers engaging with the project's outcomes. |
Exploitation Route | All the project's outcomes are designed for use in Broad General Education (early years to early secondary). This had led to the development of a broader scheme of collaboration between researchers and practitioners, with five similar projects nearing completion on: o Using comics to teach French o Scottish prehistory and contemporary society o Words for weather in Scots o Learning Polish through films o Scotland's transnational identities on film |
Sectors | Education Other |
URL | http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/studyingscotland/resourcesforlearning/learning/Contextsforstudy/medievalscotland/index.asp |
Description | The 32 resources and 14 learning journeys have been enthusiastically received in all local authorities in which CPD sessions were held, and by Education Scotland. This is leading to a new framework of collaboration between academics and teachers developed by Education Scotland and the College of Arts, University of Glasgow. The project has become the basis for developing similar projects where researchers and teachers collaborate in producing bespoke resources for the Curriculum for Excellence. Six projects have been completed (including topics listed below), and six more are nearing completion. o Using comics to teach French o Scottish prehistory and contemporary society o Words for weather in Scots o Learning Polish through films o Scotland's transnational identities on film In total, 14 such projects have been completed. A launch event was held on 21 January 2019 attended by the Deputy First Minister of Scotland |
Sector | Education,Government, Democracy and Justice |
Impact Types | Cultural Societal Policy & public services |
Description | Researchers & Teachers creating new resources for Broad General Education |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | Development and implemention of scheme with Education Scotland the meets need for bespoke original material for implementing Curriculum for Excellence, a key policy objective of the Scottish government. This is led by the Lead Project Officer (Joanna Tucker) and PI (Dauvit Broun) of the AHRC Follow-On project, and is based directly on the format and relationships arising from the Folloow-On project. |
Description | ArtsLab Knowledge Exchange |
Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Glasgow |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2015 |
Description | People of Medieval Scotland Resource Forum |
Organisation | NHS Education for Scotland (NES) |
Department | Glow Team |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Professional Learning Community on Education Scotland's intranet (GLOW) |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Researchers & Teachers creating new resources for Broad General Education |
Organisation | Education Scotland |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Lead Project Officer (Joanna Tucker) and PI (Dauvit Broun) lead collaboration in development of scheme enabling researchers and practitioners to create bespoke resources for Curriculum for Excellence in projects funded by the University of Glasgow College of Arts |
Collaborator Contribution | Senior Curriculum Officers give their time and expertise to implementing the projects |
Impact | Six projects were completed by April/May 2017 (listed below), with six more projects due to be completed by April 2018. The completed projects are: • 'Astérix chez les Pictes: Using Comics to Teach French' www.education.gov.scot/improvement/Pages/modlang1-asterix-chez-les-pictes.aspx • 'Words for Weather in Scots' www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/curriculumareas/languages/scotslanguage/supportmaterials/scotsthesaurus.asp?dm_i=LQE,3XAOC,K8AXWL,E5CGP,1 • 'Gwiazda Kopernika ("The Star of Copernicus"): Learning Polish Through Film' www.education.gov.scot/improvement/Pages/modlang2-star-of-copernicus.aspx • 'Prehistoric Monuments in Urban Contexts': Soon to be uploaded to the National Improvement Hub (Education Scotland) • 'Scotland in the world: How others see us in film' www.education.gov.scot/improvement/soc6-how-others-see-us-on-film • 'History of Weather': (Uploaded to 'Glow', the national digital environment for learning) |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | CPD session Wars of Independence and Medieval Life: Aberdeen City |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Introduction and demonstration to teachers of project's new resource of 32 themes (and supporting documents) and 14 learning journeys on Wars of Independence and Medieval Life for Broad General Education in Curriculum for Excellence Enthusiastic response |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | CPD session Wars of Independence and Medieval Life: Aberdeenshire |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Introduction and demonstration to teachers of project's new resource of 32 themes (and supporting documents) and 14 learning journeys on Wars of Independence and Medieval Life for Broad General Education in Curriculum for Excellence Enthusiastic response |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | CPD session Wars of Independence and Medieval Life: Argyll and Bute |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Introduction and demonstration to teachers of project's new resource of 32 themes (and supporting documents) and 14 learning journeys on Wars of Independence and Medieval Life for Broad General Education in Curriculum for Excellence Enthusiastic response |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | CPD session Wars of Independence and Medieval Life: Comhairle nan Eilean Siar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Introduction and demonstration to teachers of project's new resource of 32 themes (and supporting documents) and 14 learning journeys on Wars of Independence and Medieval Life for Broad General Education in Curriculum for Excellence Enthusiastic response |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | CPD session Wars of Independence and Medieval Life: Dumfries and Galloway |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Introduction and demonstration to teachers of project's new resource of 32 themes (and supporting documents) and 14 learning journeys on Wars of Independence and Medieval Life for Broad General Education in Curriculum for Excellence Enthusiastic response |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | CPD session Wars of Independence and Medieval Life: Dundee City |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Introduction and demonstration to teachers of project's new resource of 32 themes (and supporting documents) and 14 learning journeys on Wars of Independence and Medieval Life for Broad General Education in Curriculum for Excellence Enthusiastic response |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | CPD session Wars of Independence and Medieval Life: Fife |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Introduction and demonstration to teachers of project's new resource of 32 themes (and supporting documents) and 14 learning journeys on Wars of Independence and Medieval Life for Broad General Education in Curriculum for Excellence Enthusiastic response |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | CPD session Wars of Independence and Medieval Life: Highlands (Dingwall) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Introduction and demonstration to teachers of project's new resource of 32 themes (and supporting documents) and 14 learning journeys on Wars of Independence and Medieval Life for Broad General Education in Curriculum for Excellence Enthusiastic response |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | CPD session Wars of Independence and Medieval Life: Highlands (Kyleakin) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Introduction and demonstration to teachers of project's new resource of 32 themes (and supporting documents) and 14 learning journeys on Wars of Independence and Medieval Life for Broad General Education in Curriculum for Excellence Enthusiastic response |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | CPD session Wars of Independence and Medieval Life: Moray |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Introduction and demonstration to teachers of project's new resource of 32 themes (and supporting documents) and 14 learning journeys on Wars of Independence and Medieval Life for Broad General Education in Curriculum for Excellence Enthusiastic response |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | CPD session Wars of Independence and Medieval Life: Scottish Borders |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Introduction and demonstration to teachers in Borders of project's new resource of 32 themes (and supporting documents) and 14 learning journeys on Wars of Independence and Medieval Life for Broad General Education in Curriculum for Excellence Enthusiastic response |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Four workshops with ten teachers leading to writing of 14 learning journeys for all levels of Broad General Education |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Writing of 14 learning journeys for all levels of Broad General Education in the Curriculum for Excellence Enthusiastic response from teachers in CPDs |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/studyingscotland/resourcesforlearning/learning/Contextsforstudy/... |
Description | Interview on BBC Radio Scotland |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Joanna Tucker interviewed on Stephen Jardine's radio show, 23 January 2019 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Interview with Glasgow Herald |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Article by Andy Denholm, 'The new syllabus' published in the Herald on 22 January |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Launch by Deputy First Minister of Scotland of project resources and spin-off resources on Education Scotland Improvement Hub |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Launch by Deputy First Minister of Scotland of 'BGE@UofG' scheme, including project resources and spin-off resources on Education Scotland Improvement Hub. This was attended by members of the media (e.g., Glasgow Herald), children from St Joseph's Primary School, Shotts, Lanarkshire, teachers and members of university staff |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/Broad%20General%20Education%20@%20Glasgow%... |