EDF1063 · Creative connections 1: Visual arts

Overview

This unit introduces and extends your understanding of creativity and its role in art-making within pre-school, early years and early primary contexts. You will engage in a range of practical workshops and lectures, while also participating in embedded art experiences with children. You will explore a range of art-based materials, processes, events and pedagogical strategies that support the creative potential of the young child through the visual arts. You examine how the visual arts offer diverse and meaningful ways for children to creatively connect with their world while also fostering ecological connections with the environment, sustainability, and community and cultural contexts (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Asia and Pacific perspectives). In the process, you will develop competencies as teachers, artists and researchers while also nurturing your own awareness of art in contemporary society, creativity, ecological awareness and critical thinking skills. By undertaking visual art experiences you creatively explore given themes and practical approaches that extend your knowledge of materials, technologies and techniques appropriate for young children. Through theory and practice, you investigate and critique models of art pedagogy, strategies for inclusive teaching and the planning and evaluation of quality art experiences. A focus of the unit is the embedded ‘Arts Reach’ experience that sees you engaging with school or kindergarten contexts to facilitate guided visual art experiences with children. You will develop a repertoire of visual arts strategies and pedagogical approaches for young children as informed by experiences across art-practice, teaching and research. In turn, these experiences are utilised to make creative connections with the environment, sustainability, community and cultural contexts. This unit provides the foundation for EDF1064 Creative connections 2: Music and performing arts.

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.

Learning outcomes

1. develop an understanding of the role of creativity and the visual arts in young children’s learning
2. demonstrate skills in working creatively in the arts across a variety of materials and processes suitable for young children
3. demonstrate an understanding of theoretical and practical knowledge to effectively plan, teach, document and evaluate quality learning in the visual arts that engage learners of diverse backgrounds and abilities
4. develop and show an understanding of how the visual arts enable children to communicate in multiple ways that link to environment, sustainability, community and culture (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Asia and Pacific perspectives) and information and communication technologies (ICTs)
5. communicate arts-based research through clear presentation, proficient and appropriate writing, well-designed layout and cohesive and selective use of images and text
6. apply socially and environmentally active ways to move art education towards sustainability.

Workload

The minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per teaching period comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Usually, you can expect to engage with: • 24 hours of scheduled learning delivered on campus via weekly/regular directed learning activities; and • the remaining hours to be allocated towards self-directed/independent study Scheduled learning activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.