EEA411 - Primary Arts Education: Focussed Study

Unit details

Content

Subject to the availability of staff in particular discipline-based arts education areas, students will select one of the following discipline-based arts curriculum areas for study:

• Dance;
• Drama
• Media arts
• Music;
• Visual arts;

Visual arts and Media arts —Students will engage in the theoretical and practical application of a range of visual forms within various social and cultural contexts. The emphasis will be on ways of implementing these in Visual arts / Media arts lessons that also incorporate assessment and record keeping strategies. Within a studio and computer workshop environment, students will have practical experience with a range of visual communication materials, techniques and processes which will include both three dimensional and two dimensional forms (for example, digital technologies, painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture). The outcomes of these practical explorations will provide students with teaching and learning support materials that may be incorporated into the development of Visual arts/Media arts curricula, for teaching within the Arts and in the broader curriculum. Students develop experiential knowledge and understandings that will assist them in implementing Visual arts and Media arts programs within current State/National curricula guidelines and informed by selected international arts education best practice. Students will also examine ways to develop students’ aesthetic and visual literacy in the Primary Visual Arts / Media Arts specialist and/or generalist classroom.

Dance – The Art of Making Dances. Students will be introduced to the elements of dance as an art form through both theory and practical workshops within various social and cultural contexts, both past and present. Students will be involved in creating, making and presenting and critically appraising dance. Stimuli for Contemporary Dance making include activities exploring the use of props, text, animals and the environment, using the choreographic process for problem-solving in Math/Science, traditional African dance & drumming, body percussion and the teaching of popular social dance, as well as devising appropriate dance activities for learners with intellectual and physical disabilities. Students will explore practical applications of dance in the educational context considering integration within the arts and applications in the broader curriculum.  Students will record, devise, apply and evaluate dance activities in accordance with the Victorian Essential Learning Standards in order to understand how dance communicates as a discipline as well as a medium for learning across all domains. This will form the development of a Dance in Education curriculum kit (including photography and film) for teaching and learning support materials appropriate for the Primary generalist and Performing Arts specialist.

Drama – Drama Adventures in the Primary Classroom. This class is designed to provide an introduction to drama as an art form and its applications in the primary classroom. Drama Education theory will be considered in conjunction with practical workshops during which students will have the opportunity to become involved in creating, making and presenting drama and exploring and responding to drama in order to develop a practical understanding of the ways drama can be applied in the primary school.  Activities include improvisation, drama games, story telling, puppetry and performance making. Drama strategies such as ‘teacher in role’ and ‘mantle of the expert’ will be considered.   The potential of drama to engage, motivate and offer enjoyable approaches to teaching and learning across curriculum areas will be explored. Students will be involved in planning and evaluating drama in accordance with current arts curriculum documents and will be encouraged to apply their ideas for drama during their Professional Experience placement.

Music - This class will engage students in further development of skills and knowledge through exploration of music as an art form. Both the theoretical and application of a range of current methods and approaches to teaching music (for example Kodaly, Orff and Dalcroze) will be undertaken. Students will have opportunities to become involved in creating, making and presenting music and exploring and responding to music in order to develop a practical understanding of the ways music can be applied in the primary school. Students on all campuses will learn the basic techniques of music performance and improvisation on a variety of tuned and non-tuned instruments including the voice, and, in the process, achieve basic music literacy. Students will develop understandings of cultural context and aesthetic perception. Aspects of the Interdisciplinary domain and ICT will be covered as students explore the computer as a music production tool and also consider the use of technology as a medium for music learning and as a music information resource. The outcomes of these practical explorations will provide students with a range of teaching and learning support materials that incorporate appropriate assessment and record keeping. Students develop experiential knowledge and understandings that will assist them in implementing Music experiences within current State and National Curricula and from selected international arts education programs.

Assessment

Assessment will vary according to the selected discipline-based arts curriculum area but will total 4000 words or equivalent. Assessment will focus on students' demonstration of knowledge and skills relating to the selected art form and to apply appropriate teaching methodologies to classroom teaching as well as curriculum design and development in the selected discipline art strand.

Field days: Two days of field experience will contribute towards the field -day requirements for this degree.

Unit Fee Information