Learner Engagement Workshops - Dundee and Angus

The learner engagement team at Dundee and Angus College works with young people and students who struggle to engage with formal education. This segue group aims to provide participants with creative experiences to broaden their minds, increase confidence, improve self-esteem, and help them uncover new possibilities.

During a workshop I facilitated in June, I taught the young people the basics of spray painting, and worked with them individually to create an original piece. Some came at the task with a defined art style, other with a technique they had seen on social media that they would like to try. Some had no experience and a real hesitancy towards art, and others just enjoyed being able to enjoy the process.

One student found it particularly difficult to engage and would not take part in the spray painting process. I persevered, and manage to engage them with my ‘squiggle game’ even though they found it to also be very challenging. With their permission, and before they realised they were creating a piece to take home, I used my test canvas to play the game and add some of my own dingoes and illustrations to the piece, helping them to add their own elements and create something they were proud of and felt part of the creative process.