Awe is an emotion that can be triggered by being around something larger than yourself, that’s not immediately understandable. It's that feeling you get when you look up and see millions of stars in the night sky; witness a beautiful landscape or set eyes on an artwork for the first time. Museums and galleries, historic settings and buildings can all provoke awe. And you can foster more of it in your programmes by thinking carefully about the artworks, objects you include, the questions you ask and the information you share. How about you try to sprinkle some awe-moments throughout your next guided tour or educational programme?So today, I’m talking about what awe is, why it’s important and sharing 6 ways you can create awe-inspiring experiences with art and objects. At the end I’ll be sharing 3 things to look for to check you’ve succeeded in inspiring awe in your audience. LINKSSupport the showDacher Keltner quote taken from Psyche - How to Fill your Life with More Awe Every Day Dacher Keltner & Jonathan Haidt Approaching Awe: A Moral, Spiritual and Aesthetic Emotion Dacher Keltner's 8 Wonders of Modern Life

This week on the podcast: I’m delighted to be talking to Jo-Anne Sunderland Bowe and we're talking about how to teach with objects.  Jo-Anne is director of Heritec Limited, a UK-based heritage education consultancy which works on European collaborative projects. Jo-Anne has a keen interest in object-based learning and creative and critical thinking. in today’s chat we talk about the values that drive her work and her passion for object-based learning and teaching.We talk about what object-based learning means and dive into the processes around it - collective thinking, collaborative action, inquiry dialogue and the acts of wondering. Jo-Anne discusses the many benefits of working with objects and shares her tips for how you can better engage your audience with objects. I hope our chat inspires you to think about how you might use objects of any kind to engage your audiences.LINKSSupport the Show Masterclass - How to use slow listening to engage the senses and make connections with objects Creative SchoolFlinders University Objects in Teaching and Learning wheelJo-Anne Sunderland Bowe on LinkedInHeritec websiteHeritec on Facebook

For our thirtieth episode, I’m delighted to be talking to Catherine Chastney. Catherine is an art educator and owner of social enterprise I Picture This. Catherine’s work focuses on bringing art and the joy of discussing art to older people, from creating conversations in care homes, to creating art cards during lockdown and working with people living with dementia. In this chat we explore the strong values that guide Catherine's work - she is passionate about that anyone can look at and discuss art, she loves using art to bring people together and to improve wellbeingWe talk to about the toolkit she has just published with the Wallace Collection for Looking at Art designed for anyone working or volunteering in care settings and, of course, her work with people living with dementia. Catherine shares some wonderful tips for discussing art with people with dementia - from creating trust seeking permission, active listening and creating space.This conversation will inspire you to think about how you might use art to bring people together, create conversations, forge connections and ultimately improve wellbeing. LINKSSupport the Show Masterclass - A dementia-friendly approach to art I Picture This on InstagramI Picture This on FacebookI Picture This on LinkedInI Picture This websiteToolkit for Looking at Art  

So in today’s episode I’m talking about how to develop a reflective practice in your work. A reflective practice is simply the art of thinking about or reflecting on what you do. It is a way of recognising, capturing and articulating what we’re learning on a moment by moment basis.By following any of the suggestions in this episode, you will develop a questioning approach to your work. You will stop and pause to think about why things are as they are and how they might be in the future. You will consider the strengths and areas of development in your own practice and consider how to develop your skills.First I'll share more about what reflective practice is and the benefits of introducing reflection as a practice into your work. Then I'm going to share 7 different ways you can use to develop your reflective practice  and 3 tips to get you started. LinksSupport the ShowEpisode 6 - 6 thinking routines you should have in your repertoire - including ESP+ICIPD Guide to Reflective Practice

Today I’m focusing on colour. Colour is one of the 7 elements of art along with shape, line, form, texture, value and space. It's a vast subject - but today I don't want to focus on colour theory or the science of colour. Instead, I want to get you thinking about how you approach colour with your audience during an art discussion. I’m going to look at different ways you can create discussion about colour with your groups to get them engaged in artworks. Colour is important because it can make you feel something, even if the artwork itself doesn’t at first glance. Colour is the hook to get audiences curious about artworks and wanting to know more. So, listen in for some different ways that you can engage your audience - any audience - in discussion about colour.LinksSupport the ShowColour Shape LineColour Shape Line videoArt Palette Google Arts and CultureColor Explorer Google Arts and Culture

Today I’m delighted to be talking to Kenia Santos - an educator based in Brazil with specialisations and interests in art history, philosophical inquiry, social and emotional learning, thinking routines and slow looking. We discuss how she uses thinking routines in her work to encourage and develop slow looking,  how she keeps her teenage students engaged for 3 hours in her art classes and how we can develop empathy through slow looking.Kenia is a passionate educator, slow looking enthusiast and a self-described art history nerd; a cat lover, free spirit and a friendly soul. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did! LinksSupport the Show Masterclass - How to Develop Empathy through Slow LookingCLIL - Content and Language Integrated Learning Kenia Santos WebsiteKenia Santos on InstagramKenia Santos on LinkedInKenia Santos Email

The traditional lecture-style guided tour is dead, long live the interactive tour! Well, it’s not actually, it’s still alive and kicking in some quarters, but in my opinion it shouldn’t be the way we think about guided tours in the 21st Century. Traditional lecture-style ‘walk and talk ‘ guided tours with an expert guide are still fairly common and in some places are still a standard way of ‘presenting’ an historic site, a city or a museum to the public.Things have definitely changed in the last 10 years since I started this journey of teaching others how to transition to a more discussion-based approach, but there is still work to be done.If you feel you talk too much on your tours or you overshare information, this podcast episode is for you. If you would like to have more interaction with your participants then today I’m sharing 10 easy ways you can implement NOW to make your tours more interactive - that means more of a two-way conversation rather than a one-way lecture.So, here are 10 easy ways to make your guided tours more interactive.LinksSupport the ShowEpisode 4 The 5 Golden Rules for Asking Brilliant QuestionsEpisode 10 10 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Asking Questions Episode 15 How to Use Artworks to Improve your Questioning SkillsThe TM WEEKLY Newsletter - every Friday in your Inbox!

This week’s episode is inspired by recent classes in the Visible Thinking Membership where we've been exploring the concept of using drawing and sketching for slow looking and observation. When people are learning how to draw, they actually learn how to observe first. And being a sketcher makes you a better observer - it’s as though you are seeing something for the first time when you’re trying to draw it. Today I’m talking about using drawing as an observational exercise. It’s not a test of how good your drawing skills are, it’s a test of how to use your eyes. 👀 Using drawing as a tool for slow looking enriches and enhances what you see. So here are 3 thinking routines that you can use for slow looking, extended observation and drawing. And at the end of this episode I’ll be sharing some ways to get over drawing apprehension - that feeling of nerves when someone asks you to draw. How can you help your group to feel comfortable and enjoy drawing with you? So do stick around to the end for those ideas too!LinksSupport the ShowHow to Use Slow Complexity Capture to Slow Down and Explore ObjectsWays Things Can be ComplexSimon Brooks Education

Today I’m really excited to be chatting to Louise Thompson - a museums and wellbeing consultant as well as the health and wellbeing manager at Manchester Art Gallery for the past 9 years. We’re talking how about art and objects can be used to learn wellbeing skills and improve mental health.Louise has over 12 years experience of arts and health practice and is hugely passionate about using culture and creativity to improve people’s wellbeing.We discuss:Louise’s work and some of the wonderful projects she’s worked on recently - the Becoming a Mum art therapy project during lockdown and the pioneering Mindful Museum at Manchester Art Gallery.how artworks can create a sense of community and how art and cultural collections can make us feel less alone and more connected.how attitudes to mental health have changed over the past few years and how museums, art and objects can play a role in improving wellbeing and mental healthmindfulness and the particular type of mindfulness that informs Louise’s work - trauma-sensitive mindfulness - and how cultural institutions are brilliantly placed to teach mindfulness in a trauma-sensitive way.Louise shares so much value in our chat - make sure you listen to the whole episode to catch it all!LinksSupport the Show - https://buymeacoffee.com/clairebownMasterclass -The Mindful Museum: Using Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness to Engage with Cultural Collections https://thinkingmuseum.com/product/the-mindful-museum/Well Mindful website https://well-mindful.com/Louise Thompson on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/well_mindful_/Louise Thompson on Twitter https://twitter.com/Louise_Tea_Becoming a Mum https://manchesterartgallery.org/learn/becoming-a-mum/Lead art psychotherapist for Becoming a Mum - Sarah Greaves Sarah Greaves Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahgreavesart/The Mindful Museum https://manchesterartgallery.org/learn/mindful-museum/

Have you ever asked a question that was greeted with nothing but silence? You look around and all you can see are blank faces.The silence is scary because you don’t know what people are thinking. It could mean anything. You wait a little longer and still nothing happens. Just the sound of tumbleweed rustling by….You've just experienced a 'tumbleweed moment' - a period of dead air or silence. And it’s awkward and uncomfortable - not just for you but also for your participants too. You don't know what people are thinking and your mind races to think of something to fill the silence. But what if you had some steps to work though to help you get over this moment? Well, help is at hand. Today I'm sharing some practical ways to get over a tumbleweed moment.And at the end I’ll be sharing some advice about avoiding these moments in the first place - so stick around and together we’ll make sure you never have to hear the terrifying sound of silence again! LINKSSupport the show! https://buymeacoffee.com/clairebownEpisode 10 - 10 common mistakes to avoid when asking questions - https://thinkingmuseum.com/2021/06/24/10-common-mistakes-to-avoid-when-asking-questions/