We took our theme from Walker Evans' famous description of the affordances of one kind of approach to photography that was emerging in the 1930s:

As well as being a fairly good description of our presentation style, we liked this quotation because it echoed some of the themes of the newspaper, dealing as it does with notions of chance and wrongness. We also quoted Jerry L. Thompson whose 'Why Photography Matters' kept me company on the train:

Rather than answering these questions directly we talked about our game of #photopedagogy:

We then had an opportunity to discuss some of these ideas with delegates, encouraging them to play their own game of #photopedagogy on the NSEAD Facebook page. 

The conference was really enjoyable. It's only the third time Chris and I have met in person. As Susan Coles, the ex president of the NSEAD, writes in the paper:

Judging by the epic scope of the #photopingpong game still in progress on FB (138 returns of serve at the time of writing), the PhotoPedagogy concept seems to have struck a chord.

-- Jon Nicholls

Welcome to the new Photopedagogy website and blog. Over the last couple of years we have noticed the growth in the number of photography courses being established by colleagues across the UK. This is really encouraging, not only because we love photography and are excited by opportunities for students to study the subject, but also in the context of the effects of the EBacc and the overall squeeze on arts and creativity in schools. Whilst we don't have any accurate statistics about the increase in the number of photography courses specifically, our sense is that there is a growing need for colleagues to connect with each other, to share good practice, debate the nature of the subject and seek support for the development of exciting initiatives.

For example, the NSEAD's Facebook Group 'Through the Lens' provides a fantastic support network. We are very grateful for the support of the NSEAD and other leading organisations in developing this resource. Our aim in establishing this website is to enhance existing networks and develop the capacity of colleagues to refine and develop their practice through a deep engagement with photography pedagogy.

Our aim is to invite colleagues to write guest blog posts, contribute longer articles and share tried and tested lesson plans on the site. We are keen to showcase examples of good practice by students in our Gallery pages, both the process and the products of their creativity. We aim to harness the wealth of talent and expertise amongst existing photography teachers in order to support colleagues new to the discipline and extend the quality of debate about what it means to study photography at this point in the history of the medium.

The site is in its infancy and, so far, features resources that we have largely created ourselves. Our aim is to expand its range and quality considerably over the coming months. We hope you find the site useful and see its potential. If you'd like to get involved in creating content for the site, please get in touch. Thank you for your interest so far and we look forward to working with you in the near future.

Jon and Chris