Exploring Impressionism Through Music, Art, and Poetry

Impressionism in Motion: Poetry, Paint, and Performance

In this session, we explored how Impressionism manifests across the creative spectrum—from Shakespeare's timeless poetry to luminous paintings and the dynamic rhythms of music. Through thoughtful discussion and multimedia, the group reflected on how artists in all media seek to capture the fleeting, the emotional, and the ineffable.

🌿 Shakespeare in Bloom: A Literary Tribute Through an Impressionist Lens

To honour William Shakespeare's birthday (April 23), the session opened with a tribute to his poetic genius. The group read and reflected on Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"), noting its evocative imagery, rhythmic progression, and emotional depth. These qualities mirror key aspects of Impressionist art:

• Sensory language creates a vivid, almost painted scene: golden sunlight, rough winds, and the passage of summer days.

• The sonnet's structure—three quatrains and a concluding couplet—was likened to visual layering, gradually building to a moment of emotional clarity.

• Shakespeare's emphasis on beauty, time, and transformation parallels the Impressionists' focus on fleeting moments and shifting light.

This tribute positioned Shakespeare as an early master of capturing ephemeral emotion, much like the painters and musicians explored later in the session.

🎨 Brushstrokes of Light: The Evolution of Impressionism in Art

This segment explored how Impressionist painters broke away from classical norms to portray everyday scenes with immediacy and feeling. The discussion touched on key developments:

• Artists began working en plein air (outdoors) to observe and quickly depict natural light and atmosphere.

• Synthetic paint pigments allowed for brighter, more varied colour palettes and techniques like juxtaposition, where side-by-side hues create optical blending.

• Impressionism responded to the rise of photography, shifting the artist's role from documentarian to emotional interpreter.

• The conversation also noted the transition into Post-Impressionism and Expressionism, which built upon Impressionist freedom with deeper abstraction and symbolism.

Participants appreciated how Impressionist painters aimed to share how a moment felt, not just how it looked—a goal shared across many creative forms.

🎼 Sound Made Visible: Beethoven and the Music of Emotion

The session concluded with a visual representation of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, using colour and motion to animate the music's structure. This inspired a discussion on how music can be experienced visually:

• Motifs and dynamics were shown through animated visuals, highlighting rhythm, tension, and contrast.

• This multi-sensory approach helped participants better understand musical form and recognise how repetition and variation create emotional impact.

• The concept of a "motif" was compared across disciplines: in music, as a melodic phrase; in painting, as a recurring visual element; and in literature, as a repeated symbol or theme.

This final section emphasised how technology allows for richer, layered learning experiences, bringing abstract concepts to life across media.

🔗 Takeaways: A Unified Artistic Language

• Impressionism is about more than technique—it's about expressing the inexpressible, capturing moments of emotion, movement, and light.

• Whether in a sonnet, a symphony, or a sunset on canvas, artists across disciplines use symbolism, structure, and sensory detail to shape meaning.

• Exploring these connections encourages deeper appreciation and cross-disciplinary creativity.

📚 Looking Ahead

• Next week's topic: Symbolism, as a natural progression from Impressionism's focus on perception and mood.

• Continued exploration of intersections between art, music, and literature.

• Plan to refine online presentation tools for a smoother participant experience.

We hope you enjoyed our creative journey through Impressionism in art, literature, and music. Let the colours, sounds, and stories inspire you—and don't forget to share your thoughts in the comments below. We'd love to hear from you!

Productive Failure: A Student’s Perspective- Sunbeam School Varuna

Introduction

In the work of educational researcher Manu Kapur, the concept of Productive Failure challenges the belief that students should always aim to get the correct answer right away. Instead, Kapur suggests that failing in the early stages of a task—when it is meaningful and structured—can actually lead to stronger

understanding and deeper learning. This approach encourages us to view mistakes not as setbacks, but as powerful learning tools.

The Traditional Approach to Learning

In most classrooms, success is usually defined by how quickly and accurately a student arrives at the correct answer. Students are often:

- Taught formulas and methods before trying to solve problems.

- Encouraged to memorize procedures.

- Praised for speed and discouraged from making errors.

- Evaluated mainly through tests and grades.

While this system works for some, I’ve often found that it doesn’t leave room for real exploration or questioning. Personally, I remember struggling with math problems in class—especially when I didn’t understand the method right away. I used to feel like I was just “bad at it,” but in reality, I needed more time to try, fail, and truly make sense of the problem.

The Concept of Productive Failure

Manu Kapur’s research introduces Productive Failure as a learning design where students are given a complex problem before being taught the solution. They are encouraged to:

- Attempt different strategies.

- Work in groups to explore ideas.

- Make mistakes and discuss them.

- Reflect on what didn’t work and why.

What’s powerful about this is that the struggle isn’t wasted—it prepares the brain to absorb the correct concept more meaningfully during instruction. For example, in a science class, instead of being told how an electric circuit works, students might first try to light a bulb using wires and a battery on their own. Even if they fail, the confusion they experience will help them pay closer attention when the teacher later explains the concept.

My Personal Experience with Productive Failure

One of the best examples of Productive Failure in my own experience was during a group project in school where we had to build a simple water filtration system. We were not given instructions—we had to figure it out ourselves. Our first attempt was a complete failure: the water remained muddy, and our structure collapsed. At first, it felt frustrating and embarrassing. But when we discussed what went wrong and researched better materials, we ended up building a working model. That success felt much more satisfying than if we had been handed the steps in the beginning. Through that failure, I not only learned about water filtration—I learned how to think critically, collaborate, and persist. These are skills that don’t come from just getting the right answer the first time.

The Teacher’s Role in Productive Failure

Just like in Kavita Ghosh’s book Wanted Backbenchers and Last Ranker Teacher, where she encourages teachers to see beyond grades and labels, Kapur’s idea also asks educators to take a more open and supportive role. Teachers should:

- Let students attempt challenging problems before teaching them solutions.

- Create a classroom culture where mistakes are accepted and even celebrated.

- Guide students to reflect on their thinking processes.

- Encourage perseverance and resilience rather than just perfection.

Conclusion

Productive Failure turns the fear of failure into a powerful learning experience. Manu Kapur shows us that it’s okay to struggle—in fact, it’s necessary. As a student, I’ve realized that the moments I learned the most were not the ones where I succeeded right away, but the ones where I failed, reflected, and tried again. If more classrooms adopted this mindset, learning could become more engaging, less stressful, and much more meaningful for everyone. Failure, when guided well, doesn’t stop learning—it deepens it.

Sunbeam School Varuna PLC

Faizan Ahmad

Amit Mittal 

Isha Hora Chopra

Mohd. Imran