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Culture and arts case study: Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland encourages imaginative use of the built heritage as a resource and process for active, cross-curricular learning.
Visits to historic sites have a particular role to play in 'joining up' learning outcomes. Well-planned visits, integrated with classroom studies, can provide that significant extra dimension to pupils' learning which deepens understanding, sparks creativity and provides a meaningful context to develop skills for learning, life and work.
Historic Scotland's Education Unit provides extensive support for teachers wishing to take advantage of the free educational visits scheme. In the spirit of encouraging integration with classroom learning, the Investigating Historic Sites series of free published and downloadable support materials provides guidance for teachers who are unfamiliar with a theme or site as well as ideas for preparatory, on-site and post-visit activities.
Suggested learning activities can be used as a starting point for pupils to set their own research goals. Ideally pupils, if properly prepared, will be setting their own on-site agenda and understanding the purpose and relevance of their visit. Free CPD sessions at many of our sites aim to help teachers develop the skills to use historic sites effectively to support classroom teaching.
On-site support for teachers comes in various forms. The annual schools programme, at over 30 different sites across Scotland, offers cross-curricular learning opportunities for early years, primary and secondary pupils. Many of these strive to be as flexible as possible in terms of content and timing and can be tailored to the needs of individual teachers, whilst sites which benefit from dedicated education officers, local learning officers or rangers offer an even more personalised service. At a small number of sites, P7 pupils have been trained as Junior Guides and give costumed tours of 'their' local site to visiting primary school pupils, a superb example of the Curriculum for Excellence working in practice.
The Education Unit intends to ensure that the Curriculum for Excellence is at the heart of its strategic development and encourage even greater use of built heritage to support teaching.