EDAR504 - The Arts Curriculum

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Unit rationale, description and aim

Teachers must be equipped with knowledge and skills in The Arts disciplines and pedagogy in order to provide learning experiences for children.

This unit is designed to provide pre-service teachers with a critical knowledge and understanding of curriculum practice in Arts education in the primary school. Consideration is given to how Arts curriculum is shaped by broader educational policies and makes a unique contribution to the education of all students. Depending on jurisdictional requirements, unit content includes the study of Australian Curriculum: The Arts in Visual Arts, Music, Dance, Drama and Media Arts and other state documents and resources. Pre-service teachers examine how practical and critical knowledge in each of the Arts subjects is uniquely represented in relevant state and national curricula. Through understanding how Arts knowledge is represented in curricula and links to Arts practices in the broader society, students design activities and resources of contemporary relevance to support learning and teaching in the F-6 classroom. 

This unit aims to assist pre-service teachers to develop knowledge of how theoretical frameworks of meaning and value and research in each arts subject inform the representation of students’ learning in the F-6 continuum, subject content and pedagogical principles.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Critically evaluate how The Arts in curriculum are shaped by policy imperatives and ideology in state, national and global contexts and demonstrate knowledge of the distinct pedagogies of the disciplines of Visual Arts, Music, Dance, Drama and Media Arts (GA4, GA5; APST 1.2, 2.1)

LO2 - Design and implement learning sequences employing a range of teaching strategies, to engage students with diverse learning needs and cultures, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, in The Arts. (GA5, GA8; APST 1.3, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 3.2, 4.1)

LO3 - Locate, conceptualise, synthesise, evaluate and develop a range of resources, including the ethical use of digital resources, for engaging students in their learning in The Arts. (GA5, GA8, GA9; APST 1.3, 1.5, 2.1, 2.6, 3.4, 4.5)

LO4 - Demonstrate skills and understanding of assessment as strategies for enhancing learning in The Arts (GA5, GA8; APST 5.1)

LO5 - Evaluate teaching programs, including the literacy and numeracy demands, for effective learning within The Arts curriculum (GA4, GA8; APST 2.5, 3.6).

Graduate attributes

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL

On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:

Content

Following an introduction to The Arts as an area of study in the curriculum, The Arts disciplines will be investigated as distinct subject areas. It is envisaged that subject-specific investigations will prepare pre-service teachers to consider ways subjects within The Arts may be integrated.

Introduction to The Arts

• A critical evaluation of factors shaping Arts education in the Australian context:
• neoliberal agendas and policy in education
• standards based curriculum and teaching
• performativity and accountability
• integration, equity, diversity and Indigenous perspectives
• role and ethical use of ICT in Arts education and Arts practice
• Developmental research on student learning in The Arts, the nature of knowledge acquisition and implications for assessment
• Curriculum practice in The Arts – issues, myths and tensions
• The nature of pedagogical practice and role of the teacher in structuring learning in The Arts classroom
• The significance of The Arts in education as forms of aesthetic knowledge, self-expression, cultural literacy, communication, creativity, critical commentary and relational systems with a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and expressions
• Teaching strategies that explore and acknowledge The Arts from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socio-economic perspectives and contexts.
• Identification of a range of resources, including ICT, that can be used to enhance teaching and foster student learning across The Arts
• Exploration of explicit literacy and numeracy needs for students to succeed in the Arts and teaching strategies to assist students to achieve in these areas.
• Strategies that can be used to evaluate and modify The Arts teaching programs to improve student learning.

Visual Arts Education

• The distinctive nature of Visual Arts as a continuum of learning F-6
• Identifying and assessing students’ learning in art making and interpretation F-6 in relation to outcomes and/or achievement standards
• Pedagogical approaches to building students understanding of the art world through the concepts of artist, artwork, subject matter and audience
• Designing, structuring and implementing learning activities for different age groups which take into account the art-making practices of artists, designers, architects, crafts people, and interpretive practices of critics and art historians
• ICT in the Visual Arts classroom and Visual Arts practice
• Adopting viewpoints to engage students in investigations of contemporary and historical Visual Arts practices in local, Australian, Indigenous and global contexts.

Music Education

• The distinctive nature of Music as a continuum of learning F-6
• Identifying and assessing students’ learning in making and responding F-6 in relation to outcomes and/or achievement standards
• Pedagogical approaches to building students understanding of the elements of Music through concepts including pitch, duration, structure, tone, colour and dynamics
• Designing, structuring and implementing learning activities for different age groups which involve Music practices of performing, organising sound and listening
• ICT in the Music classroom and music practice
• Adopting viewpoints to engage students in investigations of contemporary and historical Music practices in local, Australian, Indigenous and global contexts.

Dance Education

• The distinctive nature of Dance as a continuum of learning F-6
• Identifying and assessing students’ learning in making and responding F-6 in relation to outcomes and/or achievement standards
• Pedagogical approaches to building students understanding of the elements of Dance through concepts including action, dynamics, time, space, relationships and structure
• Designing, structuring and implementing learning activities for different age groups which involve Dance practices of composing, performing and appreciating
• ICT in the Dance classroom and Dance practice
• Adopting viewpoints to engage students in investigations of contemporary and historical Dance practices in local, Australian, Indigenous and global contexts.

Drama Education

• The distinctive nature of Drama as a continuum of learning F-6
• Identifying and assessing students’ learning in making and responding F-6 in relation to outcomes and/or achievement standards
• Pedagogical approaches to building students understanding of the elements of Drama through concepts including collaboration, role play, context, dramatic tension, contrast, time, space, focus and mood
• Designing, structuring and implementing learning activities for different age groups which involve the Drama practices of performing and appreciating
• ICT in the Drama classroom and Drama practice
• Adopting viewpoints to engage students in investigations of contemporary and historical Drama practices in local, Australian, Indigenous and global contexts.

 Media Arts

• The distinctive nature of Media Arts as a continuum of learning F-6
• Identifying and assessing students’ learning in making and responding F-6 in relation to outcomes and/or achievement standards
• Pedagogical approaches to building students’ understanding of the elements of Media Arts through concepts including languages, representation, audience, technologies, codes and conventions
• Designing, structuring and implementing learning activities for different age groups which involve Media Arts practices including making and appreciating
• ICT in the Media Arts classroom and Media Arts practice
• Adopting viewpoints to engage students in investigations of contemporary and historical Media Arts practices in local, Australian, Indigenous and global contexts.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Pre-service teachers will be involved in a variety of teaching-learning strategies to progress and demonstrate their understandings in this unit.

EDAR504 is designed to be offered as a mixed mode or on campus unit. Given the curriculum in each of The Arts subjects involves art making activities, provision needs to be made for pre-service teachers to engage in authentic experiences in order to appropriately address unit content.

In addition, pre-service teachers will also be involved in a variety of teaching-learning strategies including:

• Lectures – which will include some interactive learning situations
• Seminars or tutorials – which will include student-led discussions and group work
• Reading guides – which will involve students in both directed reading for the unit as well as self-directed study materials
• Collaborative and co-operative learning opportunities through practical workshops, visits to galleries, museums, performances
• ICT as a tool for learning. Students will implement basic operational skills and information technology skills in developing effective ICT resources for significant teaching and learning episodes.

A digital core for each of the Arts subjects within The Arts will provide a basis for developing content in the various locations in which this unit is offered.

This is a 10-credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 150 hours in total.

Technology Enhanced Learning

The unit will include a Learning Environment Online (LEO) site to enhance teaching and learning, as well as in assessment, as a means of communication, production and feedback.

Assessment strategy and rationale

The assessment will relate directly to the achievement of the outcomes above.

Assessment tasks will address the particular range of Arts subjects offered in the various jurisdictions and comprise two assessments.

Minimum Achievement Standards

In order to pass this unit, pre-service teachers are required to submit and participate in all assessment tasks.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Arts Curriculum Documents - various state/territory and national authorities

Other Arts references

Bresler, L. (2007). International handbook of research in arts education. Dortrecht, Netherlands: Springer.

Caldwell, B., & Vaughan, T. (2012). Transforming education through the arts. New York: Routledge.

Dinham, J. (2014). Delivering authentic arts education: Visual arts, drama, music, dance, media (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning.

Edwards, L. (2013). Music and movement: A way of life for the young child (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Eisner, E., & Day M. (2004). Handbook of research and policy in art education. Reston: National Art Education Association (NAEA).

Gibson, R., & Ewing, R. (2011). Transforming the curriculum through the arts. South Yarra, Vic: Palgrave Macmillan.

Maras, K. (2010). Age-related shifts in the theoretical constraints underlying children’s critical reasoning in art, Journal of Australian Art Education, 33(1), 20-28.

Poston-Anderson, B. (2008). Drama: Learning connections in primary schools. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.

Purcell Cone, T., & Cone, S. (2012). Teaching children dance (3rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Scarratt, E., & Davidson, J. (2012). The media teacher's handbook. New York: Routledge.

Wright, S. (2012). Children, meaning-making and the arts (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia.