Dialogic Art Gatherings as a tool to motivate learners while enhancing teaching methodologies

The Mikiel Anton Vassalli College, Malta School of Art facilitated a training session on May 2021 with the Director Curriculum headed by Ms Sandra Ebejer, Mr David Degabriele – Assistant Director responsible for Art, Ms Charmaine Zammit, Education Officer for Art in Middle and Secondary Schools and Mr Augusto Cardinali, Education Officer for Art in Primary Schools, together with Ms Maria Vieites Casado and Ms Pilar Fernandez the Spanish partners and representatives of the Erasmus+ project EnlargeSEAS.

 
The aim of the session was to introduce Dialogic Art Gatherings to the Dipartiment of Curriculum. Dialogic gatherings are one of the Successful Educational Actions (SEAs) identified by the INCLUD-ED research (FP6, European Commission, 2006-2011). They involve the collective construction of meaning and knowledge based on dialogue with the whole student body or people participating at the gatherings.

Victor Galea, Head of College Network introduced the session explaining how such educational actions have a direct positive effect of the motivation of learners, because these encourage active democratic participation.  
Maria Vieites Casado from CREA (Community of Research on Excellence for All) presented the theoretical and scientific base of Dialogic Art Gatherings. “Such actions drastically reverse the way time is organized in the classroom. In fact, research shows that through Dialogic Gatherings, learners talk and discuss up to 85% of the total time, whereas in traditional settings, the teacher occupies 90% of the learning time. This of course completely changes the way students acquire knowledge, giving greater focus to life experience and the sharing of these experiences” explained Ms Vieites Casado while giving examples of good practices from other European schools. 
 
Pilar Fernandez English Literature tutor at I.E.S Alfonso II School in Oviedo, Spain presented the experience of her school in implementing Dialogic Literary Gathering, explaining the method used to prepare for and facilitate such initiatives. She also highlighted the benefits of such initiatives in motivating all learners to participate more during classes. Results at the school showed that performance in assessment improved by 10% in classes where Dialogic Gatherings were implemented. In real terms, this means the an additional 2 students from each class are able to successfully complete assessments and progress to the following year.

Umberto Buttigieg, Administrator of the MAVC Malta School of Art, explained the implementation process at the school in Malta, stating that the Dialogic Art Gatherings leave a beneficial impact also on the practice-based segments of the art lessons. Mr Buttigieg explained that: “This is because students are encouraged to think creatively and critically about the art works presented. Moreover, such pedagogical approaches integrate the concept of the art work with the students’ own thoughts, feelings and life experiences. Thus, learners are then able to create works that reveal their personal viewpoint”. 

Sandra Ebejjer, Director Curriculum within the MFED, commended the initiative and expressed her willingness to support such actions and initiative across a variety of subjects at different levels even in mainstream education. 
The meeting is one of the actions organized in fulfillment of the Erasmus+ Project: EnlargeSEAS, aimed at exploring and implementing successful educational actions in the Visual and Performing Art schools in Malta and Gozo, and to disseminate such finding with colleagues and policy makers in Malta. The Mikiel Anton Vassalli College has been involved with this project since 2019.