Morecambe Bay Curriculum Think Tank

Think Tank

The Morecambe Bay Curriculum Think Tank is a group of students and ex-students from across all primary QTS routes at University of Cumbria who meet on a regular basis to discuss teaching approaches and to create learning materials to support the Morecambe Bay Curriculum.

Each Meeting

Each monthly meeting has a specific theme related to Morecambe Bay and during the meeting time ideas can be shared, discussed, explored and expanded on in the session.

The Main Aim

The main aim of this initiative is for students on Primary Teaching routes at University of Cumbria to be involved in a community of learning and to enjoy involvement in rich and purposeful professional teaching dialogue where they can work with others to share their collected professional skills, knowledge and thinking, all of which will be useful to their role as teachers, as team members and as potential subject leaders in schools in the future.

Wider benefits of involvement in this initiative include:

Development of place-based pedagogical skills
Development of subject knowledge related to a specific theme
Development of wider pedagogical approaches and transferable teaching ideas and skills
Development of personal communication skills
Establishing professional friendships, confidence and connections
Engagement in critical curriculum thinking
Enjoyment and empowerment in the process of creative curriculum design
Involvement in supporting local schools
Opportunity to take responsibility in curriculum design and to celebrate curriculum initiative

Resources

So far the Think Tank has discussed, researched and created a variety of place-based best practice learning templates, has researched a wide selection of learning resources related to aspects of Morecambe Bay, has helped to design the content and ‘look’ of the Morecambe Bay Curriculum Web Resource Shelf, has considered the use of board games as a local area learning resource and have been directly involved in working with children to create Eden Bear booklets.

On occasion the Think Tank has also welcomed special guests related to Morecambe Bay Curriculum learning, including a presentation about philosophy for children from Little Chatters, local headteachers and subject leaders and experts in aspects of local area learning. In addition members of the Think Tank attended and contributed to the Geography Subject Leader’s Conference in February 2023.

Tanya's Experience

"Being part of the Morecambe Bay Curriculum Think Tank has given me the opportunity to develop my own understanding of experiential learning and place-based best practice, in order to create lessons that excite and engage children. It is a great chance for a group of like-minded people, all at different stages in their education careers, to come together, develop ideas and see the Morecambe Bay Curriculum take shape. As I joined the Think Tank before I started my PGCE, it helped me to feel more confident when I began planning lessons during placements, and encouraged me to take a more experiential approach to my teaching practice. Now that I have graduated, I feel that being part of the Think Tank really has influenced my practice for the best, and that I can take my own experiences from the classroom to help develop the Morecambe Bay Curriculum further. I feel so proud to be part of something that is already being so well received within schools and has the potential to massively impact the way we approach education for the better."

- Tanya Fairclough