EDF5849 · Early childhood and primary arts

Overview

This unit explores creative childhoods through the lens of arts-based learning. It focuses on practices, learning theories, and pedagogical innovations with a special focus on the creative, aesthetic and imaginative ways that children engage with visual art, dance, drama, music and media arts. Through seminars and workshops you will explore arts practices, design processes, media and content knowledge. In turn you will create a portfolio of arts experiences that are analysed through theoretical and pedagogical insights of relevance to early childhood and primary contexts. You will also take on the role of creative educators who plan multi-modal arts learning for children across the early years and primary years. Throughout the unit you will explore how children make meaning through learning in, about and through the arts. In addition, you will explore the possibilities of creative curriculum through analysing, planning and evaluating arts learning in early childhood and primary contexts. You will explore how the arts connect to home, community, regional and inter/cultural awareness. You will explore how the arts enables children to communicate in multiple ways that link to environment, sustainability, culture including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Asia and Pacific perspectives and information and communication technologies (ICTs). Within the unit you will develop a broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.

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. demonstrate critical understanding of children’s creative learning through the arts in early childhood and primary arts curriculum (visual arts, media arts, music, dance, drama)
2. explore your own creative arts skills across a variety of materials and design processes suitable for young children and develop pedagogical practices for early childhood and primary contexts
3. demonstrate an understanding of theoretical and practical knowledge to effectively plan, teach, document and evaluate quality learning in the arts that engage learners of diverse backgrounds and abilities
4. develop and show an understanding of how the 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. apply socially and environmentally active ways to move arts education towards sustainability
6. demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the teaching of the arts with students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background.

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. *Subject to variation due to professional experience requirements

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