Sketchbook Circle:The 2012 Ofsted report on Art, Craft and Design Education “Making a Mark” clearly states that 75% of art teachers had not had any subject specific CPD in the two years previous to the report. The “case for change”, (Department for Education, 2010), noted “convincing evidence that collaborative professional development is more strongly associated with improvements in teaching and learning…(and)…appears more likely to produce changes in teacher practice, attitudes or beliefs and in pupil outcomes.”

 

As the TEA programme developed we saw the need, more and more, to create opportunities for teachers to work together.Sketchbook Circle began as a conversation between myself and Elinor Brass. She already exchanges sketchbooks in a small circle of artists and I suggested that we offered this collaborative idea to TEA participants. The first Circle which ran from January 2013 to January 2014 involved 29 participants. The second Circle currently running has over 100 participants. Many local art teacher networks have adopted the idea too, so we have a Circle in the North of England and a Circle in the South West of England for example. Some schools have set up Circles for their students to work in.There is an element of initial organisation that precedes any Circle, large or small, and once that is done, the Circle should self generate and support itself. The use of a social media platform to support the work (in this case, Facebook and Twitter #teacpd #sketchbookcircle) allowed playful exchanges between sketchbook partners and also served as a record and archive of the work produced month by month. It also encouraged reflective practice. As defined by Donald Schon, reflective practice involves thought-fully considering one's own experiences in applying knowledge to practice while being coached by professionals in the discipline (Schon, 1996).

 

Sketch book Circle:Setting up a Circle:

 

Start by inviting participants. Set a deadline for responses. Email everyone a copy of a form which asks for contact details, explains the project and also acts as a kind of a contract between participants.

 

These extracts are from our recent Circle project:Description:The project operates on a monthly cycle and begins on ( insert date).A circle of artists will be arranged so that everyone has an artist either side of them who have a different artistic discipline.Everyone starts with a book of their choice to work into. (The only criteria is that it just be able to fit through a letterbox.) They make a piece of work (or a few pieces) in the book and then they post it to the person next to them in the circle. (So everyone posts the book in the same direction.)There is a month for everyone to make a piece of work (or pieces) in response to the work received in any way you choose. Then you post it back to where it came from.Your sketchbook is just a place to document the making. You do not only have to work directly into it.The idea is that you are having two in-depth conversations with those two artists either side of you.We ask everyone involved to sign up to the conditions of the circle, which is that you must send your sketchbook back at the end of the month. Some months there will be the time to make a large amount, other months is might be just a few marks.Ownership:Ownership is collective until the end of the year. The project will end in (insert date) and at that point all sketchbooks are returned to the initial owners.It is a good idea to document your work each month by scanning or photographing it. Use the Facebook page to create a gallery and archive.

 

Sketch book Circle:Communication:Please exchange contact details with the two artist you are collaborating with. It might be good to send a message if your sketchbook is going to be a day or two late.We will use a Facebook group as a place to share our work so we can get a glimpse of what is happening at the other side of the circle, we can comment and encourage. It is the chance to ask questions, share thoughts and opportunities. More information on this to follow.”The agreement form encourages a code of conduct between participants and they are expected to keep to deadlines or inform each other if they can’t meet a deadline. It’s a professional dialogue, a trusting partnership.Sketchbook Circle does need the organiser to make some decisions about how to partner participants. You might request information in the agreement form about their current practice. So, for example, partnering a Photographer with a Textile artists might be more interesting, for obvious reasons. You could also consider geographical locations and partner people who are physically distanced from each other.Participants keeping a record of their work does help in the very odd instance that a sketchbook becomes lost in the post. It is advisable to have books sent by recorded delivery to ensure that they arrive. In the early stages books are quite light, but they can “grow” and then require more care with packing and sending.

 

An online archive of images using a platform such as Flickr is useful, although Flickr has a size limit on a free account. www.flickr.com/photos/teacpd/sets/72157635257182066/The direction that the work goes in is unpredictable, so participants might develop ideas as film, animation, photography, installation and record these inside or outside of the sketchbook.

 

Sketch book Circle:Creating the Circle:It is a Circle but you only interact with two people. The organiser should either draw a diagram or create a visual format which puts everyone into a circle. This would involve any criteria you choose for selecting partners. The group don’t have to know all the other Circle participants but the organiser needs a record of this and also an email contact list. This information needs to be collated from the returned participant form.The best way to describe it is that it works like a pendulum on a clock. You (as participant) send one to the right and receive one from the left. You always have a sketch book, sometimes the one you started, sometimes the one you were sent to respond to.If all participants choose to communicate via FaceBook then you operate that as the platform for communication. But, use email for those who don’t, and also as a back up.Sketchbook Circle works better over a longer period of time. We have set it as a year long cycle with monthly exchanges, but there are many possible variations ,according to the needs of the group and the project aims.