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Da Vinci: Art of Thinking

"A project to explore how distinct types of knowledge can come together to form a deeper, truer, and more interesting understanding of the world." - Ms Charlotte Woodhead, Head of Lower College

The curriculum at CLC is designed to foster a curiosity about the world and to equip students with tools to question, reason and communicate articulately. In September 2023 College launched the Da Vinci: Art of Thinking project for LC2s, a new initiative to nurture our students’ passion for learning.

The interdisciplinary project helps pupils develop tools to explore and understand the world around them, by looking at the interconnectivity of knowledge. Pupils explore rules for good thinking and how knowledge interacts across subject disciplines.

LC2 students consider a selection of pioneering thinkers and are urged to think creatively and critically, developing their awareness of the benefits and limitations of diverse ways of thinking, including how different types of knowledge and perspective interact.

All sessions practice and develop students’ ability to work collaboratively and with respect for one another, and to think creatively and critically about how they know the world around them.

Why Da Vinci?

Leonardo Da Vinci serves as a role model for applying the scientific method to all aspects of life, encompassing art and music.
His artistic and inventive genius continues to inspire artists and scientists alike, even centuries after his death. Despite being renowned as an artist, Leonardo da Vinci's scientific and inventive pursuits exemplify him as a true Renaissance thinker.

A Renaissance learner is an individual with talents and proficiencies in cognitive, physical, and social endeavours. This term emerged during the Renaissance and stemmed from the humanist tradition. Traditionally, Renaissance individuals excelled as philosophers and possessed charismatic qualities.

As part of the project, students take part in interdisciplinary workshops on:

Philosophical Enquiry
Classical Pioneers
Engineering
Knowledge through the lens of Music
The Visual Arts

The Project culminates in a Summer Exhibition. Students collaborate in small groups to create a presentation board showcasing their response to one of several suggested questions, demonstrating that they have considered a variety of different possible responses. They present their exhibition to LC1 students and to a small group of SFC1 IB students.

"I think that participating in Da Vinci: Art of Thinking has expanded how I think about things and how I approach problems. I am very grateful for my Da Vinci teachers for doing this." - Eliza, LC2 student