Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to speak to 150 arts teachers, ICT heads, administrators and a handful of industry specialists at the AQA Creative Education Conference in Birmingham, UK.
The education team here at Nesta believe that children are inherent makers who "bake" pies with mud, share stories with their invisible (and visible) friends, create YouTube videos of their friends dancing to popular songs, and have mastered manipulating tablets and touch screens to draw.
In response to last week's post, @Carloper posed some great questions: what "mastery" are we measuring? If kids are learning in a more open environment, why do we insist on assessing them in a closed, traditional way?
In my first official teaching job I was a swimming teacher for kids aged 4-12 at a summer program in Japan. Terms like 'classroom management', 'student-centered learning' and 'collaborative learning' did not exist in my vocabulary, and 'flipping the class' meant doing somersaults underwater.
![Twitter icon [original]](http://admin.nesta.org.uk/library/images/Twitter-button_34x35.jpg "Twitter icon [original]"){kind=small}
Follow our daily updates on Twitter @nesta_uk
![Linked in icon [original]](http://admin.nesta.org.uk/library/images/LinkedIn_button_34x35.jpg "Linked in icon [original]"){kind=small}
Take part in the discussion on our LinkedIn group
![Facebook icon [original]](http://admin.nesta.org.uk/library/images/facebook.jpg "Facebook icon [original]"){kind=small}
Share your views on our Facebook page
Sign up for our regular updates for the latest news and opportunities.
T +44 (0)20 7438 2500
F +44 (0)20 7438 2501
Nesta Operating Company, a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with company number 7706036 and charity number 1144091. Registered as a charity in Scotland number SC042833.
