+44 781 464 2076 (UK) / +34 664 642 905 (Spain) ingrid@fotosynthesiscommunity.org.uk

MATHS, LITERACY & PHOTOGRAPHY

Fotosynthesis believes that education should be a two-way learning process and that children are given opportunities to explore participatory and collaborative artistic approaches to the curriculum, promoting self-development in children and teachers. Our staff has been trained by Duke University, USA in Learning Through Photography, methodology developed by Wendy Ewald, who has inspired this project.

We believe in learning from mistakes and that everything should be an experience. By making children think by themselves, you empower them.

“I believe the project was very helpful in terms of giving me ideas on how to teach maths using different resources and bringing everyday aspects to life for the children. Were engaged and enjoyed investigating and learning new things that will remain with them throughout their learning.”

— Year 4 Teacher, St Luke’s Primary School

LTP is a teaching philosophy and methodology developed by Wendy Ewald. in the 1960’s, that encourages children to explore their world as they photograph scenes from their own lives and to use their images as catalysts for verbal and written expression.

LTP is also Learning Through Participation emphasizing that the student learn from reflecting on their past experiences and make new discoveries.

Framed around universal themes such as surroundings, self-portrait, community, family, and dreams, LTP provides children and teachers with the expressive and investigative tools of photography and writing for use in the classroom.

In connecting picture making with writing and critical thinking, LTP promotes an expansive use of photography across different curricula and disciplines, building on the information that students naturally possess.

It has been developed because there is a need for more participatory learning and critical thinking instead of learning towards test. The benefits of the methodology are:

  • Strong emphasis on visual learning
  • Promoting self-expression
  • Communicating with the language of images
  • Acquiring language skills & enhancing writing skills
  • Unlock creative abilities and allow creativity in the classroom
  • Learning to use new technologies
  • Developing critical literacy and explore social themes
  • Cross-disciplinary learning
  • Learn through real-life experience & hands-on activity
  • Increase the attention span of the children
  • Learning from peers & from mistakes
  • Use outside spaces and bodies
  • Brainstorming
  • Play and have fun

The benefit of this methodology

“It is fascinating. I wish all teachers in our schools could be trained.”

-Year 4 Class Teacher

Inclusion

A great strength of this project design is that it really engaged children of all abilities. It supports the speech and language of children starting from a very low base, whilst it also offers children with more developed skills to extend their literacy, so it can work in a whole class context which is practical for schools.

Confidence

To come up with ideas themselves

To express themselves

Ability & Skills

  • Improved ability to use language with each other

  • Improves understanding of abstract and difficult concepts

  • Working as a team and listening to other children’s ideas

  • Extended vocabulary, inspired them to learn, spell and write new words

  • Ability to look at images and go beyond what is immediately apparent

  • Looking more closely around them, looking at each other and looking at new things. Increase curiosity and understanding of the world

  • Increased and developed their motor control abilities

“We would love to do photography every day, it has so much potential in opening children’s eye and mind. We feel that with the digital cameras, the children focus much more on what they are photographing and that they really remembered the photographic techniques you taught them before going out.”