HAMIDA KHATRI
creative therapy platform
Al-Murtaza School, Karachi, Pakistan
I express my sincere gratitude to Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE), non-profit organization in Newcastle, United Kingdom, and Vasl Artists' Collective, non-profit arts organization, Karachi, Pakistan, to allow and assist me in conducting an art integrated creative math workshop with Grade 6 students at Al-Murtaza Schoo, Karachi, Pakistan.
The workshop was part of Creative Partnerships (CP) project brought to Karachi by CCE with the aim to embed creative teaching and learning within Pakistani school system. I was part of Vasl Artists' Collective as a Project Coordinator, managing and coordinating the CP project in more than 12 schools as well as artists from the Pakistani art community.
For more information, please follow these links:
http://www.creativitycultureeducation.org/
http://www.creativitycultureeducation.org/ukpakistan-aice
http://ikon-gallery.org/event/artists-in-creative-educationuk-and-pakistan/
http://www.vaslart.org/xhtml/artnow/outreach/2014/cce/index.html
http://www.asef.org/pubs/asef-publications/3251-enabling-crossovers
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Day 1 | Al-Murtaza School
We started with our first day by doing a warm-up exercise then we sat in a circle, introduced ourselves and put a nametag on our shirts. While introducing the students were asked to disclose something naughty about themselves. This was initiated to break the ice and lower down the barriers between the teachers and the students. We then distributed folders with art supplies and stationary to the students for their convenience and easy understanding of the creative workshop.
We then started off by distributing colorful sheets of paper and an instruction sheet in making geometrical puppets. Because this workshop focused on teaching students geometry through creative art, they were asked to cut out shapes with specific measurements and to put those pieces together to form a puppet.
Being new to learning through such a medium, many of the students were unable to finish their puppets; hence we resumed in the next session.
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Day 2 | Al-Murtaza School
We continued with our self-geometrical puppets and taught students about Right-Angle Triangle and its properties.
After completion of the self-puppets, each student had to hang the puppet on the string, which was put across the wall in the class.
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Day 3 | Al-Murtaza School
In the third session, we handed over an exercise that focused to connecting the dots and measuring the angles. The three specific angles to be taught were Complementary, Supplementary and Reflexive Angles. After completing the exercise, we worked on our group projects directing our energies in connecting the pins with a string, which were already placed on the board.
Each group had to come up with a unique name and it was interesting to see how they responded to it.
After connecting the pins with the string, groups were asked to measure and name each specific angle on a flag and mark it on the board.
In the end they were asked to count the number of complementary, supplementary and reflexive angles and mention them on a given table.
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Day 4 | Al-Murtaza School
In the fourth session we discussed our previous group assignments.
We then worked on another exercise focusing on the same theme of connecting the dots, measuring the angles and counting the number of complementary, supplementary and reflexive angles.
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Day 5 | Al-Murtaza School
In the fifth session, we worked on angular structure by forming complementary, supplementary and reflexive angles through sticks and straws.
The activity continued in the nest session.
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Day 6 | Al-Murtaza School
We continued the same exercise in our sixth session. The teachers also assisted the students in understanding the concepts of complementary, supplementary and reflexive angles.
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Day 7 | Al-Murtaza School
In the seventh session we stuck out triangles onto a sheet, measured and named the angles.
We noticed that students understanding of the concepts of complementary, supplementary and reflexive angles has been progressive in each of the successive sessions.
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Day 8 | Al-Murtaza School
In the eight session we wanted to break away from academic learning and introduced an advanced creative dimension to our session.
We made two groups and assigned tasks in separate rooms. We already placed some supplies in the room and asked each group to make geometrical structures out of the provided material.
It was amazing to see some great structures constructed in such short time with a limited number of supplies. They formed bridges, cars, propelled fan out of bottles and used rope to tighten the loose ends to make a solid form.
Teachers also participated and it was good to see the teacher/student barrier to be lowered down by our last session.
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Day 9 | Al-Murtaza School
In the ninth session, we exhibited the creative products of all the students in a space where other students and teachers could visit and witness the results of the workshop, ask questions and get inspired to teaching in a similar fashion.
We also took group photographs with the Director of the school and faculty. Later we distributed the folders to each student as a gift.