2006 - Volume 25: Number 2
Inspiration into Installation: An Exploration of Contemporary Experience through Art
HORN, SHERIDAN
Volume 25.2
This article discusses the ways in which a fine art department has successfully enabled pupils, staff and the local community to gain access to exciting and wide-ranging art experiences. Through the creation of temporary installations and exhibitions the art department at Trinity School regularly becomes a gallery resource centre for part of the year. Children across all key stages create art inspired by artists in residence (including an artist teacher) in response to challenging contemporary issues. In 2005 three collaborative installations were produced in response to a potentially disruptive phase within the educational establishment. ‘Sleep-Eternal Rest’ involved pupils’ contributions to the installation, gallery visits and the study of different artists’ work. For the exhibition ‘Flesh, Fur and Feathers’, a resident artist worked with students in response to a hanging deer, game and a table laden with fruit. In a building about to be demolished a group of recently graduated artists collaborated on an exhibition entitled ‘Somewheretogo’. This collaborative partnership led to art becoming a central resource for different curriculum areas as well as PSHE. The success of the venture led to pupils’ own work becoming an accessible artistic resource, to which they themselves could respond. As well as avoiding the potential limitations of exam-driven targets and assessment, it became a source of enrichment in personal, educational and creative terms.
Interior Design in Architectural Education
GÜREL, MELTEM Ö & POTTHOFF, JOY K
Volume 25.2
The domain of interiors constitutes a point of tension between practicing architects and interior designers. Design of interior spaces is a significant part of architectural profession. Yet, to what extent does architectural education keep pace with changing demands in rendering topics that are identified as pertinent to the design of interiors? This study explores interior design-related coursework taught in accredited architectural programmes in the United States. Two methods of collecting data are used: self report from architectural programme chairs and content analysis of web-site posted programme catalogues describing course content. The findings show that many interior design concepts are not well addressed in the architectural curricula [1]. On average, only 0.44% of program content is dedicated to curricula focusing on knowledge and skills in shaping interiors. These findings offer a parameter to educators who are involved in assessing and reforming architectural education by expanding issues of design in general. The authors contend that the pedagogical approach in architectural programmes would benefit from the inclusion of more interior design concepts and through such education efforts the stature of interior design is likely to be improved.
Problem Based Learning in Constructed Textile Design
SAYER, KATE; WILSON, JACQUIE & CHALLIS, SIMON
Volume 25.2
Staff observing undergraduate students enrolled on the BSc Hons Textile Design and Design Management programme in The School of Materials, The University of Manchester, identified difficulties with knowledge retention in the area of constructed textile design. Consequently an experimental pilot was carried out in seamless knitwear design using a Problem Based Learning approach, to determine whether or not this method of learning was more effective for design students. This paper investigates the effects of the trial on the student volunteers and documents the shift of focus from teacher to student centred learning. It also outlines plans for future curriculum developments in other areas of constructed textile design.
The impact of formal assessment procedures on teaching and learning in art and design in secondary schools
MASON, RACHEL & STEERS, JOHN
Volume 25.2
Assessment is widely considered to be the most significant issue affecting art and design practice at secondary level. The paper begins with an historical overview of developments in and critiques of assessment procedures in the England, Wales and Northern Ireland since the inception of GCSE examination. This is followed by a report of an attempt to carry out a systematic review of research on the impact of assessment on the art and design curriculum in secondary schools. Author conclusions and findings from eight studies subjected to in-depth analysis are discussed together with the implications of the review exercise for art education policy, practice and research.
Five Trends of School Arts Education Reform in Taiwan
HWANG, REN-LAI
Volume 25.2
In the torrents of globalization and social transition in Taiwan, it is particularly important to reinforce a sense of cultural subjectivity and localisation, and promote new trends of arts education that emphasise the development of self and spirit. The fundamental principles of these new trends are: (1) that the purpose of arts education is to cultivate students’ humanistic literacy, (2) the content of arts education is developed from an interdisciplinary approach, (3) arts curriculum is predominantly constructed on and implemented within the value framework of the nuclear culture, (4) arts education has to place emphasis on an integral process of comprehensive exploration, critical reflection, and creative construction, and (5) the instruction methods of arts education need to be artistic and humanistic. This article describes the contents and implications of the new trends of arts education reform in Taiwan.
‘We've already done that one’ – Adolescents' repeated encounters with the same artwork
HUBBARD, OLGA
Volume 25.2
This article explores the way young people’s responses to an image evolve when they engage with it a number of times. An analysis of the sequential encounters of six adolescents with a Renaissance painting reveals that, as they gained experience with the picture, the youngsters probed for increasingly deep layers of meaning in the work. Specifically, on their second encounter with the painting, the students showed greater sensitivity to visual information, and they incorporated their own experiences and knowledge into the meaning making process more actively than on their first encounter. The study also shows that, once the participants had established a relationship with the artwork on their own terms, they seemed eager to discover contextual information about it. However, far from accepting this information as ‘authority,’ the young viewers considered it critically and used it to deepen, expand and revise their personal visions of the painting.
Architectural Design Education: Designing a Library, Public Communication and Information Center in the Manufacturing Zone of Central Eskişehir Turkey, a Case Study
CAGLAR, NUR & ULUDAG, ZEYNEP
Volume 25.2
It is a fact that architectural design education has become the focus of an extremely complicated set of issues and conscientious debates. Therefore, to extend and challenge educational understanding in architecture it becomes crucial to exchange pedagogical practices. In this article, a specific theoretical approach and teaching methodology, which supports the necessity of contextual study in the architectural design studio, is presented. The article presents an overview of the design studio process by illustrating the case study “Library and Public Communication and Information Center Design in the Manufacturing Zone of Central Eskişehir” in Turkey.
A Cross-Cultural Study of Art Teacher Education in Taiwan and England
LO, MEI-LAN
Volume 25.2
This aim of this research was to investigate art teacher education in Taiwan and England to gain insights into two art education systems with a view to improving art teacher education in Taiwan. To achieve this aim, a cross-cultural study using a multi-method approach was adopted and data was collected over three years of full-time study in England and four academic years of reflection on teaching in art teacher education in Taiwan. This research revealed how complex and hazardous it is to state categorically what the similarities and differences really are between two art teacher education systems, especially in a subject as ill-defined as art. Nonetheless, this study did produce some important differences in the two art teacher education systems in aspects of (i) government regulations and institutional provision, (ii) theoretical underpinning, (iii) art curriculum policy and delivery, and (iv) cultural differences affecting art teachers’ attitudes and values.
Pre-adolescents’ perceptions of competence, motivation and engagement in art activities
PAVLOU, VICTORIA
Volume 25.2
This paper presents the findings from a small scale qualitative study which focused on pupils’ perceptions of competence and motivation towards art experienced in school. These are considered as very important in shaping learning and teaching processes. In particular, the paper focuses on the role that perceptions of competence play on pupils’ quality of involvement and achievement in art. Participants were chosen based on age, gender and their stated perceptions of competence. Sixteen 11-12 year olds were interviewed in groups and individually. Pupils’ perceptions of competence are identified as a key factor in determining pupils’ initial engagement and level of engagement with art activities. Moreover they are thought to be important in shaping their learning preferences at an age when pupils’ uncertainty about their abilities in art making is getting stronger. The results are situated within the framework of achievement goal theory and have implications for teaching strategies and for ways of responding to pupils’ learning preferences.
The Advantages of a Rooftop Garden and Other Things
VANDE ZANDE, ROBIN
Volume 25.2
Design education is an aesthetic and humanistic approach for teaching how to contribute to the improvement of the conditions that affect everyone’s lives. This article offers an overview of some important concepts to teach young people about regeneration design and the future of our changing environment. It is becoming increasingly evident that we are immersed in vital ecological relationships and with that awareness comes the undertaking of responsibly sharing the planet with non-human life, of the need to live within environmental limits, and of ways to create communities that enhance life. There is movement toward a transition from a society preoccupied with consumerism and exploitation, to one that gives priority to a more sustainable future. Underscoring the importance of this issue are three regeneration principles adhered to by many city planners, architects, and product designers: smart growth, sustainable development, and new urbanism. Each has a slightly different set of theories and practices but all have a common thread in restructuring efforts for cities and buildings to be aesthetically, economically, and ecologically healthier places for human and non-human life. Students should be taught that life-enhancing design embraces inclusiveness, is built to human scale, is eco-effective, is aesthetically enriching, and is embedded in social responsibility.
Teaching Now with the Living: A Dialogue with Teachers Investigating Contemporary Art Practices
PAGE, TARA; HERNE, STEVE; DASH, PAUL; CHARMAN, HELEN; ATKINSON, DENNIS & ADAMS, JEFF with: BENJAMINS, REBECCA; DICKENS, CAROLE; GIGG, CAROL; HUTCHINS, HANNAH; LAW, ANDY; MORRIS, JULIET; OVINGTON, MARY JO; SANDERS, PETER; THOMPSON, ELAINE; WARD, HENRY & WHELAN, LESLEY
Volume 25.2
The Education Departments of Tate Modern and Goldsmiths College collaborated with a group of teachers to find out what they understood by the term contemporary art and to discover the conditions that enable contemporary art practices in the classroom. We explored questions with eleven teachers, from both primary and secondary schools, during the Autumn of 2004. Although the cultural/ethnic context of the schools the teachers worked within was diverse, they shared a commitment to working with contemporary art in the classroom and exploring new pedagogies in this field. Their engagement with contemporary art and their revealing and compelling experiences are documented, contextualised, and summarised. Samples of the discussions form the substance of this article. This is preceded by an analysis of the success of socially-orientated contemporary art in the wider global context and its contrast with the omission of these practices in many schools. Conclusions have been tentatively drawn about how the curriculum may be better served by the use of contemporary art, as well as the means by which new learning methods might be facilitated.