Notes on Sage Handbook / Ch 22 / Key aspects of teaching and learning in the visual arts / Alison Shreeve, Shân Wareing and Linda Drew / P. 5 Learning in Visual Arts
• Live projects. Projects set in conjunction with industry practitioners.
• Event-based learning. Learning off site, engaging in ‘real-life’ projects in the community, with schools, in galleries and industry.
• Group learning. Using role allocation in teams to replicate the conditions of practice (particularly essential in performing arts, media, and other team-based practices) to undertake projects, enter exhibitions or put on a show together.
• Artists’ talks. Practitioner talks can offer opportunities for providing insights into the wider world of practice and give an insider view of the practice. Students should have opportunities to engage in conversations and activities based on these talks.
• Consultancy. Students can act as consultants to industry, working collaboratively with industry partners to solve issues they identify.
• Simulating conditions of industry. This offers equal access for all students to experience what it is like.
• Peer learning. Student-to-student mentoring.
• Learning in work. Through short-term activities or through longer-term accredited work placement opportunities.
This list is great, precisely what I’ve been pushing for with my Course Leader to be integrated into the curriculum.
P.8 Assessment
Happy to say that I’ve employed all of those bullet points in my curriculum design for the first term.
P. 11 Technical Skills
Noted down that I would like to employ the buddy system with YR2 students as well as ‘deconstruction of artefacts’ exercise I trialled in my micro-teaching.
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VALUES
What value/s in Art & Design education?
Creativity
Taking risks
Experimentation
Collaboration
Reflection
How do we (or can we) practice those values?
Creativity – briefs, space to experiment
Taking risks – no penalty for failing
Experimentation – providing tools to try
Collaboration – group-work, partnerships with external practitioners
Reflection – space and time to reflect afterwards
How do we inscribe those values into the curriculum?
Creativity – set briefs, days/weeks for idea generation, experimentation
Taking risks – assessment not based on trying and failing but the attempt to try something new
Experimentation – technical workshops, testing
Collaboration – PBL groups, briefs based on team work
Reflection – space and time for reflection at end but this is hard to find the time, reflection keeps occurring days, weeks, and even years after
What does this mean for my daily pedagogical encounters?
Keep encouraging students to play, experiment, set the tone in the beginning of the curriculum, don’t make them feel bad for trying something new and failing.
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SUSTAINABILITY
How do we reclaim the buzzword, and what can we we do with it?
Beats me, I tried to incorporate into the curriculum and half the students loved it, half didn’t care for it. Reasons being some aren’t interested in the topic, some don’t feel it’s relevant to them and some feel they can’t do anything about it. We did, however, get a good number of positive feedback from the student evaluations this year pertaining to how they felt they learned more about the climate crisis and how they can make change. When prompted with listing 3 things they valued about the unit, there was, “Introduction to the true meaning of working towards creating change for the Climate Crisis” and “Empathising with people and planet.” 🙂
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TEACHING IN ART, DESIGN, COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA
What are we ultimately trying to teach? Is it knowledge? Self-knowledge? Or creativity? Process vs. outcome? Skills, approaches, methods, techniques? Resilience, confidence, trust? All of the above, or something else?
All of the above
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EVALUATION IN ART & DESIGN
What is evaluation for? What should it be for, and how can we implement that?
Good question, Masters says that you are a master at your area, innovation in the industry, bringing something new to the field, skilled practitioner