The V Series

What and where is imagination?

This course shows teachers how the visual system works in conjunction with imagination and the formation of new ideas. It forms a solid platform to explore other modalities of creative thinking, by starting at the beginning and looking at the brain. It is the science of seeing which is a foundation of creativity.

Teachers are being asked to teach for Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication and Collaboration (4C's). This short course is the start of a practice to do so.

This course provides a comprehensive understanding of creativity by looking into the neuroscience behind activating the imagination network (in the brain).

This practice is targeted to build capacity in professional staff and schools; making room for visual processes in order to develop more imaginative capabilities.

What blocks imagination?

To be imaginative and creative we need to see things in new ways. This is a visual process via visualisation (minds-eye) and related capabilities. This course illustrates the predictable blocks that inhibit imagination in order that we may move past them. This program plants the seeds for Critical Thinking.

Perception forms a pillar in our ability to interpret the world around us. Vision is our dominant sense, therefore visual perception plays an important role in our ability to think critically but also to be blinded by a world we don't want to see.

This course is creative, we use vision sciences to look into thinking, perception and intpretation. We looking into illusion, delusion and do it via the 7 See's.

The 7 See's is a concept created by imagineer.me to help build visual skills that become the foundation of imaginative thinking and creativity. The 7 See's also lay the foundation of Critical Thinking.

Learning to think in pictures

The ability to think in pictures, make new connections (mentally), externalise them via visual art, symbolism and metaphor primes our brain to connect abstract associations. Those new associations can be seen as new thinking, new thinking creates new possibilities.

This program is an exercise for the imagination. The benefits transcend art-making and flow into other possibilities. Indigenous Australians have a unique and sophisticated way of interrelating language, symbolism, narrative and metaphor. These skills aid the development of imaginative thinking.

This course is a fusion of 8 interconnected Aboriginal pedagogies along with traditional Western methods of symbolic thinking.

How to get visual / spatial

Visual note-taking/mapping is the most efficient way to encode information. Thinking in pictures and drawing relationships fuses knowledge and understanding. Vision is our dominant sense and we constantly create visual images in the brain that strengthen imagination skills.

Seeing & moving ideas around as symbols (visual-spatial) is a learned practice. It is done both in the mind and on the page. imagineer.me’s concept is unique in that we use visual art as a basis for the programs and activities. Though we do not teach traditional practices of visual art, or Aboriginal culture - we use visual strategies as pedagogy to help people become more creative & imaginative, employing abstract visual spatial techniques through visual learning maps.

Creativity in Practice

When we draw our ideas & think in pictures, we generate ideas that are non-sequential, place-based & connected in multiple ways. This is critical for the imagination and underscores place-based methodologies which are inherent for Aboriginal people. Place-based (spatial) mechanisms help us understand concepts. It should be noted these same mechanisms underpin creative thinking. This is a valuable knowledge exchange for all Australians. Young & old, Indigenous & non-Indigenous.

This course is an innovative approach to learning creativity, expanding thoughts and ultimately how to move from imagination into creativity in order to see new possibilities. This program is about putting ideas into practice to achieve re-imagined outcomes.

Indigenous Skills Transfer

Aboriginal pedagogy is an effective method of teaching significant concepts such as storytelling, metaphor and symbolism. This program gives teachers, creative learners and visual arts practitioners the pedagogy and resources they need to be successful in both the classroom or in practice.

In this course we work with the 4 C’s: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication and Collaboration and the 8 Ways. These disciplines are highly valuable in the creative/ideation process & something we all benefit from. Visual storytelling in an important future skill as visual technologies take over more and more of our communication and learning experiences.

You don't have to be a teacher to do this course, you may simply be interested in better developing storytelling skills via visual processes.

Visual Perception and Aboriginal Pedagogy for Sensory Knowledge

Aboriginal people use their senses for knowledge. Modern science has learned the value of old traditions such as meditation and sensory perception in the development of imagination and original thinking. This program is the fusion of neuroscience with traditional Aboriginal knowledge.

Mindful Visual Art Project

The Lily & the Billabong is a personal journey, a deep dive to the depth of your imagination. Via visual art, visualisation and mindfulness, participants are invited to explore themselves.

The program helps imagineers' reach the flow state while developing an understanding of "unfocused attention" so that it can be achieved more often.

Consider this program adult "PLAY". Learning through PLAY provides opportunities to discover, create, improvise and this strengthen our capacity to imagine. This program is for anyone, in any field or area seeking to develop more critical and creative thinking foundations.

A program for visual, spoken and written text.

The Peach Program, is a professional development short-course for teachers that uses practical and engaging classroom activities utilising visual learning. The program is designed to be an intrinsic motivator for interpretive skill building in figurative language.

The project helps teachers help students to recognise patterns and interpret them. Students then make new connections and develop skills of application. They will increase their ability to interpret and make meaning of literary devices. The program is adaptable to your class and their level of learning.

All classroom resources are supplied for the teacher.

Aboriginal & Western Pedagogy for Early Learning

This program is designed to give pre-school and Early Learning teachers the pedagogy and resources they need to be successful in the classroom with cross-cultural language, communication and comprehension skills.

This program also provides for visual, spatial and sensory development with 10 Cross Cultural activities to be developed over the year as children "play" with the activities. Play provides opportunities for children to learn as they explore, create, visualise and imagine.

All activities are embedded with skills development in the 4C's and the 8 Ways.

Visual Thinking for Literacy

Many of us are visual thinkers. Learning how to use visuals/visual art/symbols and metaphor in the structure of essays, creative writing & other formal forms of literature not only help Aboriginal people follow a process more powerfully it helps the rest of us to become more creative as the visual mind is attached to the imagination centre in the brain.

This short course helps learners "see" the the concepts they are writing.

THIS COURSE IS IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Visual thinking for students

Lauren Elise Barlow, Head Teacher of Creative and Performing Arts, guides students in Years 10 to 12 in a dynamic and hands on online-learning course.

As students undertake their Senior Years Certificates, they embark on a journey which demands sustained practice and a balanced emotional approach. The course equips students with creative concepts and strategies to ride the wave of their senior year’s studies. Students build reflective and critical thinking practices as they seek to understand the process of learning itself and how to draw out their own path to success.

This course was designed to support Year 10, 11 and 12 students looking to strengthen their own capabilities independently or can be implemented into a school’s senior years curriculum to support subject classes or whole cohorts. All activities are embedded with skills development in the 21st Century 4C’s, creative, spatial and visual strategies.