The power of sketchbooks in schools
Mandy isn’t your typical art teacher. She has some of the lovable art teacher trademarks like a passion for creating and funky red spectacles, but she also has a deep appreciation for the power of the sketchbook which sets her apart from the rest. All of her students create sketchbooks that they carry with them for months, even years to explore different drawing and creating techniques.
Sketchbooks and school seem as if they go hand in hand. At The Big Draw, we know that children don’t learn to draw, they draw to learn which is echoed in Mandy’s work. However, sketchbooks can be difficult to check, mark and evaluate as they are intensely personal creations.
Today, we’re here to shine a light on Mandy’s work to showcase the power of taking pencil to paper to explore the world around us…
Interview: Devon Turner in conversation with Mandy Barrett.
BD: We’ve been fascinated to hear about how you use sketchbooks in your teaching. Your students learn from an early age to explore concepts through sketching and creating with various tools and mediums.
MB: Since starting teaching in 2003, I have always used sketchbooks with my class of children. I come from a creative background and studied art as a specialism, in primary education at Bretton Hall College. I can’t imagine teaching an art lesson without sketchbooks being integral to the projects and schemes of work we facilitate with children. It is how artists develop and consider ideas, plot and plan. So as class teacher, I have always ensured the 30 children in my care have used sketchbooks, as a space for developing initial ideas and a space where they can develop their own creativity. I began my career with children in Year Two (aged 6 and 7) they took to the concept of using them really well. I find if you introduce sketchbooks as early as you can, children are very willing to try new ways of working.
It was when I took on the role of art teacher at Gomersal Primary School in 2014 that I was able to really embed the creative use of sketchbooks across the whole school. I now have the pleasure of teaching all of our Key Stage Two children for their art lessons and also support our younger children with their art lessons too. This has allowed time to really embed the use of them throughout our school. Our children are now so used to working in their sketchbooks, the creative process doesn’t need teaching to them – it comes naturally.
BD: Could you tell us a bit about some of your favourite sketchbook stories? What memorable student creations have just stuck with you?
MB: The first year we began to fully embed their use across the whole school was a very memorable year. Seeing children work freely inside a ‘school book’ – without the need for a date in this corner and an underlined learning objective here and a title there, was refreshing to see on a large scale. The smiles as they asked “Can I do this…?” and the shocked faces as they then said “Are you sure..?” There are also the children who really shine when they are able to work in this way… the children who didn’t necessarily show any creative ability prior to beginning their sketchbooks. It’s a joy to see them develop as artists!
I always really enjoying working with our Year Three children during our Stone Age topic. Their sketchbooks are bulging and bursting with ideas and they really enjoy working straight onto the pages with messy materials. It is also lovely to take a step back and watch our Year 6 children as they really embrace their books and are beginning to truly develop their individual styles of working. But I think the best part is both seeing the children’s faces as they proudly take their books home at the end of the year and the joy as they begin the blank pages of their new one at the start of the next year.
BD: What have been the successes and challenges of using sketchbooks in your classroom?
MB: The successes are certainly seeing so many children enjoy learning in this way. It has taken time, but we now don’t often get children who say they “don’t like art”, or are reluctant creative learners anymore. The majority of our children thoroughly enjoy using their sketchbooks, as it’s a way to express themselves individually. Our children are now more creative in their way of working, they are able to problem solve while asking and answering questions. They are certainly more curious!
One of the biggest challenges, was finding time in the busy school timetable to fit in quality sketchbook time, for our children. We have overcome this by dedicating a full morning or full afternoon every week, to our creative art curriculum. This now gives time for the children to work in their sketchbooks and also time to create large scale and ‘best’ artwork too. We haven’t lost anything from our timetable in doing this, we have just been more creative with our use of time, helped heavily with our cross curricular links with visual art.
BD: How have the sketchbooks changed the school? We know the power of the pencil and don’t underestimate the fact that an initiative like introducing sketchbooks to every student would have a major impact.
BQ: At the beginning of our whole school sketchbook journey, our children needed to be taught how to create individual responses, from ideas given to them during their lessons. This encouraged our children to be more curious and creative in their thinking. It enables our end outcomes to differ from each other rather than churning out 30 pieces of artwork that are all identical in design and thought process. Our children are now naturally more creative in every lesson. The use of sketchbooks has also changed the way our children work in other lessons too. A sketchbook gives children the chance to explore and develop in an individual way. This way of working is not just exclusive to art and sketchbooks use. Our children create topic books, for example when learning in history and it also helps the creative learning process when considering scientific and maths problem solving.
BD: During the coronavirus pandemic when it hasn’t been possible to come together in the beloved art room space, how have you been connecting with students and encouraging them to continue expressing themselves in their sketchbooks?
BQ: We left school in such a blur when lockdown began, so the children left their sketchbooks in school. We can hopefully pick up their sketchbook journey when we all return – whenever this may be. With this in mind the first home learning task I set via our school art blog, was to create their own homemade sketchbook. They were asked to save bits of cardboard, old envelopes and find anything they could in their homes to bind together to create a book. Since then I have been setting weekly tasks for different year groups via our school art blogs and the school website. Many children have contacted me through email or our school art Twitter feed to share what they have been creating. This has given me an opportunity to continue interacting with some children in a creative way.
BD: Finally, do you keep a sketchbook? Might we be able to have a peek?
MB: I certainly do keep sketchbooks. I keep one alongside each year group I teach, in school and often complete the same tasks I have asked the children to (when time allows). It’s a great way to show children how to approach different tasks, they’re often intrigued to see my work in comparison to theirs. It also acts as a great way to collect ideas as an art teacher. I’m constantly flicking back through the pages of my books to see how we tackled a task in previous years. I try to work in these sketchbooks through the eyes of a child. “If I was asked to create …… at 8 years old, how might I tackle it?”
I also keep personal sketchbooks. As an artist myself, I think I prefer to work in books instead of producing art on pieces of paper or canvas. The children enjoy looking through my personal books too, they’re great discussion pieces and show the children that we’re not just creating our sketchbooks in school because we’re expected to work in books. They are ‘real’ and many artists work in this way. It’s important that children know this.
Thank you Mandy!
If you were inspired by this interview with Mandy and would like to find out more about what teachers can do with The Big Draw Festival, head to over to the 'Drawing in Schools' page on our website.
Registrations are now open for The Big Draw Festival 2020: A Climate of Change! Find out more about the benefits of becoming an organiser here and other ways to support The Big Draw's mission here.
