Background
The idea originated from Leonardo di Vinci who was born on
the 15th of April 1452. He had a passion for Art and Science. His most famous
pieces of work are:
1. The Last Supper
1. The Last Supper
2. The Mona Lisa
3. The Vitruvian Man
4. The Foetus in the Womb.
3. The Vitruvian Man
4. The Foetus in the Womb.
What is the Leonardo Effect?
Unknown Author (2011) stated that the Leonardo Effect is an interdisciplinary teaching method that combines Art and Science to improve children's learning outcomes across the curriculum.Hickey and Robinson (2013) agreed and claimed that the Leonardo Effect is a teaching method that integrates subjects and develops pupil skills.
What is its importance within Education?
Research suggests that the Leonardo Effect allows children
to creatively develop ideas, to become more confident as collaborators and to
produce astonishing results in primary schools.
Hickey and Robinson (2013) claimed that the Leonardo Effect
creates an essential link between Art and Science. It places a great emphasis
on play, views teachers as merely facilitators of learning and develops the element of exploration.
Unknown Author (2011) stated:
By giving wings to
children’s curiosity, and allowing teachers to be more creative and flexible in
the classroom, the Leonardo Effect stimulates autonomous learning, and enables
children to make connections across the learning landscape. Children rise to
the learning challenges and surpass ceilings set by traditional approaches (Unknown Author, 2011, p.1).
What are the benefits of the Leonardo Effect?
1. It allows pupils
to think for themselves.
(Seen as a method of independent learning)
(Seen as a method of independent learning)
2. Development of
social skills
3. Child centred
4. Integration of all areas of the curriculum
5. Direct process
with clear results
What are the drawbacks of the Leonardo Effect?
1. Difficulty to maintain and control authority over class.
2. Element of risk
3. Funding (Currently
funded by NESTA)
4. Difficulty introducing this curriculum design into secondary education due to 'rigid' subjects.NESTA (2011) encouraged the use of the Leonardo Effect because:
Children who had been disengaged and not at all motivated have ‘come
alive’ and were now ‘fanatical about’ the project work and doing so much more
than anyone had expected or thought they were capable of. They were offering to
talk and explain and share ideas, carrying out additional activities, tasks and
research of their own volition (NESTA, 2011, pp.
1).
TES (2008) believed that
encouraging pupils to be curious and letting them decide how to explore their
ideas further has had amazing results.
Case Study
In 2012 Dr Ivor Hickey was interviewed by a
Catmose college student. Hickey is a part-time educational
lecturer and a professional training provider for schools linking Art and Science as 'one' subject. Hickey explained the use of the Leonardo Effect within education and its effectiveness.
He stated that the Leonardo Effect began 5 years ago, when a meeting took place that discussed Science is not 'creative' and Art is not an 'academic' subject. The idea to combine and integrate both subjects together derived from this conversation. He then stated that through sufficient funding from various organisations the programme was able to run in primary schools.
He stated that the Leonardo Effect began 5 years ago, when a meeting took place that discussed Science is not 'creative' and Art is not an 'academic' subject. The idea to combine and integrate both subjects together derived from this conversation. He then stated that through sufficient funding from various organisations the programme was able to run in primary schools.
Hickey (2012) stated that 'The Leonardo Effect was not only beneficial for
Creativity, Art and Science, but it also had a substantial effect on Literacy.' An example he provided was a primary school boy on the verge of expulsion however, the Leonardo Effect improved his learning and grades (especially literacy). His reading grade hopped 2 levels in a just one term!
He argued that the
Leonardo Effect aids countless children with learning, 'Especially those who did
not find conventional schooling very exciting.' The Leonardo Effect values pupil contribution as
they are fully involved in the planning and design of their own learning.
Ivor
Hickey specified that in the future, to further improve learning he would incorporate
the Leonardo Effect into secondary schools, as it has demonstrated its effectiveness
in primary education.
Personal Reflection
During a seminar lesson we were divided into groups of four. Each group was given an element e.g. Earth, Fire, Water or Gas. Our group was given the element 'Water'. The seminar task was to fill the page with words associated with our element (Water). Each group had the opportunity to add additional words to other groups work. Next, we had to chose ONE word from the entire spider-diagram and complete a 5 minute presentation on our chosen topic. Our chosen topic was ‘Tsunami’. The following week we presented a detailed power point on the topic of “How does a Tsunami occur?”. We provided definitions, diagrams, case studies and statistics to support our answer. I believe this method is useful as it allowed me to use my problem solving skills and take control of my own learning.
Bibliography
Hickey, I. and Robinson, K. (2013) The Leonardo Effect. Oxon: Routledge
Phillips, L. (2014) Enquiring
Minds: The Art vs Science debate. The Fibonacci sequence. Lecture 4, p. 13.
The Leonardo
Effect. (2011) Interdisciplinary
Education. http://www.leonardoeffect.com/ (Accessed:
23 November 2014).
Hepburn, H. (2008) The
Leonardo effect takes flight. (TES Article) https://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=2571081 (Accessed: 23 November 2014).
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