Framing Curiosity: Photography as a Tool for Young Learners

Pete Moorhouse explores creativity, its key elements, and ways to nurture young children’s creative and critical thinking.

In this presentation Pete Moorhouse will give a clear understanding of what we mean by creativity, look at the elements that contribute to the characteristics of creativity, and focus on ways in which he can observe and extend young children’s creative and critical thinking. He will highlight the importance of these skills for providing a solid foundation for lifelong learning, for responding to life’s challenges and opportunities, and for well-being. He will also emphasise the importance of monitoring progression in children’s creative development, particularly in relation to disadvantaged children, and then offer ways in which this could be undertaken, based on his research at Bristol University.

In this workshop he will explore how photography is a powerful tool for communication and creative expression. It is an open-ended and versatile medium. It is visual, but it is also about language—as it has so much capacity to stimulate and open up dialogue by allowing children to express their thoughts and their way of seeing the world, and then to talk about their images—encouraging children’s voice and self-expression. For the teacher, it gives a unique insight into the children's interests.