By Paula Briggs

Guided sessions can provide an invaluable way to pass on knowledge and open minds, whether you are working with a small or large group, or even whole class. AccessArt has been using guided sessions as warm-ups very successfully for many years, with children from as young as 5, through to adults and teachers CPD.

This short resource explains how you might run a guided session, and what kinds of themes work best.

• What is a Guided Session?

  A guided session is a session in which the facilitor or teacher talks pupils or students through a process or area of exploration, whilst they undertake that exploration. The whole group works at the same pace, led by the facilitator. Guided sessions require that the students and pupils work quietly (so they can hear the facilitator), and that the facilitator takes an active, verbal role throughout the session.

  Guided sessions are usually brief but intense, usually lasting 5 to 15 minutes.

• What are the Benefits of Running a Guided Session?

  Guided sessions can:

  • Help establish a shared experience
  • Help open minds to new ideas, techniques and materials
  • Enable the whole group make similar progress by creating a sense of pace (more hesitant students are encouraged onwards and there is little time for lack of confidence to get in the way)
  • Help share the responsibility of making art (i.e. the facilitator takes some of the weight away from the pupils/students by verbalising the process as the student undertakes the process
  • Create a body of work for reflection
  • Prepare the group towards the next step
  • Enable the facilitator to better understand the ability/understanding of pupils/students

• What Kinds of Activities are Suited to Guided Sessions

  Guided sessions work best when used during activities which focus upon an exploration of media, or an exploration of a particular approach. For example:

  • An exploration of a particular media, such as watercolour, charcoal or pencil
  • An exploration of a particular way of working, for example, making drawings inspired by sound

  Guided sessions work well when used as the very first introduction to a material, but equally they can be used to create a sense of community with more experienced students.

• How to Set Up a Guided Session

  Guided session require that the students or pupils are quiet and settled, so make sure each student has everything they need before the session starts. Avoid students moving around the room and disrupting the session by having all materials by each student. This might include:

  • Paper
  • Drawing materials
  • Subject matter (if you are doing any kind of observational drawing)

  Think about how the room is set up. If you are using desks, you might consider moving them so as to create a circle and enable all students to face inwards. However you set up the room, make sure all students will be able to hear the facilitator.

• The Role of the Facilitator

  During a guided session the facilitator should try to:

  • Be clear about the aims of the session and set expectations
  • Be clear about the structure of the session (have notes in front of you as you talk)
  • Sound confident and enthusiastic (the voice of the facilitator is key to a guided session)
  • Keep focussed
  • Be encouraging (intersperse your monologue with comments directed at pupils)
  • Keep to a timeframe: allow enough time for students to try each activity whilst also maintaining a pace so there is no hanging about or waiting.

• What Happens after a Guided Session?

  Always allow time after a guided session, and ideally before the follow on session, to look at the work produced and reflect upon it as a group.

• Examples of Guided Session Activities

  See the examples below.

See how primary school pupils responded to the AccessArt Village in Mansfield Central Library

Making an Ink and Wax Village with Pupils in Mansfield

This was a very special day for Sheila Ceccarelli from AccessArt, as she got to meet and work with sixty, year five pupils from Berry Hill Primary School in Mansfield Central Library, with colleagues from Inspire Arts Service, who had previously facilitated the development of the AccessArt Village across Nottinghamshire.

See This Resource Used In Schools…

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To Connect

At the beginning of the project it was important to take time getting used to each other, the learning space and the surrounding environment. Below is a list of considerations you may find helpful to use in your own learning spaces. Be aware of the daily sounds, smells and other textures of life in your learning space; a constant humming noise or flickering light may be stressful for a child with autism. Allow time for everyone to feel their way in the space; connections may be made through the use of different senses and body parts.

To Conceal

During the six week project, the group explored different themes and actions, some of these were displayed through learning schemas. In week 2 we experimented with different ways to conceal ourselves and objects; schemas such as enveloping and enclosure were exhibited by the group.

To Colour

Two of the sessions explored the theme of colour. The first was rather abstract, I asked questions such as; What does colour smell like? What does colour feel like?
For a child on the autistic spectrum, a question like this may be confusing, some autistic people think and understand literally. So instead of directing these questions at the children, I answered and speculated on them myself. These abstract questions became vehicles for the workshops documented below.

To Construct

In my final post on the project, I want to reflect on the theme of To Construct… looking at the different ways we constructed during the project. Please remember this is a personal and artistic reflection, based on the ideas I presented and the (emotional and physical) reactions and responses of the children and their families, who inspired changes and the development of the project as we experienced it.

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