THE struggles of cartoon character Asterix the Gaul against the might of the Roman empire will be taught in Scottish primary schools under the latest curriculum shake-up.
A unique collaboration between Glasgow University academics and teachers has paved the way for the French version of the 2013 graphic book Asterix and the Picts to be used in primary schools as a language resource.
The move is part of a wider initiative between the university and curriculum body Education Scotland to produce a range of new online teaching materials based on academic research.
A total of 12 resources have been created for pupils in primary and the first three years of secondary school, including the history of the Vikings in Scotland, political songs and poems and medieval history.
In addition, Polish films will also be used as a language resource while pupils can learn about the hundreds of Scots words used to describe snow.
Other topics focus on prehistoric monuments in urban areas, the art of storytelling in computer games and life in high rise blocks of flats.
Pupils will also learn about how others view Scotland through films such as Brigadoon and Loch Ness.
A scene from Brigadoon
The resources all take different forms, but generally consist of materials such as lesson plans, slide shows, workbooks, edited texts, audio files, videos and pictures or photographs.
Laurence Grove, Professor of French Text and Image Studies at the university, who help secure the copyright to allow the Asterix book to be used, said the familiar characters were an ideal way to engage pupils.
He said: “Asterix is the world’s biggest-selling book series because generations of children have been drawn into the stories.
“These books encapsulate a lot of human character, but they are also fun which means children will learn more about the French language.”
Launching the resources at Glasgow University, John Swinney, the Education Secretary, said he hoped other universities would be inspired to work on school materials.
He said: “What most excites me is that we are bringing high quality research from academics together with the skills and knowledge of teachers to make really exciting resources for all.
“The Asterix books were very much part of my childhood and it is lovely to see these stories and characters having such longevity and being used to inspire future generations.
John Swinney at Glasgow University
“I was also fascinated by the topic on housing in high places, which is a real insight into 20th century Scotland and the improvement in the quality of life that high rise living meant for so many, but also how that concept did not deliver everything that people had hoped for.”
The collaboration, which started as a pilot in 2014, is run by academics Professor Dauvit Broun and Dr Joanna Tucker and Lynne Robertson, from Education Scotland.
Mr Broun, director of the university’s ArtsLab, which supports research-led activities, said teachers and academics had produced original, creative and useful resources which could be used by any teacher in Scotland.
He said: “The strength of this scheme is that it allows researchers to work with schools in a way that is truly collaborative, and produces resources which speak directly to the needs of those actually working in the classroom.
“Working with school teachers has been extremely rewarding, since they approach the subjects in such a creative and open way, which challenges us researchers to rethink our own work.
“When designing this scheme, it was fundamental that the teachers be in the driving seat, steering what the resources would look like, since they have the real experience of what works in the classroom.”
Ms Tucker, arts and humanities innovation researcher, said the scheme was part of a new era where schools and universities would work together more closely.
She added: “As university researchers our work does not always fit directly with the subjects taught and examined in schools.
“The scheme demonstrates the common purpose of learning, regardless of whether it is in a primary classroom or a lecture theatre.”
Mrs Robertson said a group of senior education officers at Education Scotland had worked with the researchers to establish what would work best.
She said: “It is our job to take a decision on what aspects within the research areas will work in schools.
“Then our role is to help the university recruit the teachers that would be the right fit to work with the academics.
“A good example is the medieval resource where we have created about 30 different topics which lets children explore more than just the traditional subjects of kings and queens or battles.
“The kings and queens are there too and that is important, but this also allows them to explore the lives of ordinary people like them as well as what it would have been like to live at that time.”
Mrs Robertson said the flexibility within the resources was key to allowing teachers to chose what topics would engage their pupils, but everything included was backed up with high quality university research.
The scheme is funded by the university’s ArtsLab which supports research-led activities in the College of Arts).
ArtsLab pays for the teachers’ time while Education Scotland provides support for the scheme by recruiting teachers and curating the resources online.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel