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Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

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Date posted: September 2024

Module Title Creative Teaching: Subject Leadership
Module Code AP405 (ITS) / EDP1015 (Banner)
Faculty DCU Institute of Education School Arts Education & Movement
Module Co-ordinatorMichael Flannery
Module Teachers-
NFQ level 8 Credit Rating 5
Pre-requisite Not Available
Co-requisite Not Available
Compatibles Not Available
Incompatibles Not Available
Coursework Only
Individual portfolio of A/R/T work (artist/ researcher / teacher) comprising personal art portfolio (50%) and completed tasks concerning creative teaching and subject leadership (50%)
Description

Drawing on their prior experiences of professional placement and of previous arts education modules, in module five students focus on visual arts education in the classroom and from a whole school community context. Students work on a personal art project informed by relevant visual research. From a creative teaching perspective, students build on their theoretical and practical knowledge of teaching visual arts and design exemplars for teaching visual arts that explore connections with inclusive education, global citizenship education, creativity, literacy and numeracy, sustainability, integrated arts or digital learning. Where possible, practice in the classroom forms part of their learning. In preparation for subject leadership, they analyse their role and responsibilities of subject leader and what kinds of initiatives they might initiate in light of emerging policies, whole school-self assessment and curriculum developments.

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate enjoyment of the process of art-making by designing and creating a variety of artworks in a choice of media including print, fabric and fibre, construction, modelling and drawing, paint and colour and digital media with a view to adapting these projects for use in primary classrooms.
2. Demonstrate, with reference to relevant literature, critical understanding of the value of visual arts in education and the role of a curriculum leader within the school.
3. Critically evaluate the work of artists historical and contemporary and explore their possibilities to inspire their and children’s art-making.
4. Plan, (teach and assess where possible) imaginative and engaging experiences for children’s learning in visual art with a view to creative and meaningful art-making and progression.
5. Work individually and cooperatively on chosen art projects.
6. Curate their portfolio of work with due attention to preparing a rationale and with due attention paid to any relevant mounting, framing, layout and overall design.



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Lecture20Art lecture/ workshops: Practical artwork across the strands (Drawing, paint and colour, print, form, construction, fabric and fibre); Art appreciation; Assessment in Art Education Art Education: Whole school and Yearly Planning. Art Project planning and teaching.
Independent Study105Independent work: Personal portfolio of artwork. Digital documentation of artwork, related ideation, research and reflections on process; Art appreciation: Gallery/ exhibition visits. Reading, research and resource evaluation: Value of visual arts, contemporary issues and challenges, school community arts, creative teaching, subject leadership
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

A focus on Educare as subject leader in Visual Arts Education
Building on prior specialisms in VAE in BEd2 and BEd3, this course continues students' preservice professional development in VAE so that they graduate with specialised knowledge, skills and values to exemplify creative teaching of visual arts in the primary school. The roots of the word education have been traced to two Latin words, educare and educere. ‘Educare’ means to train or to mould and reflects the importance of passing down knowledge, skills and values from educator to learner; in contrast ‘educere’ means to lead out or to guide, reflecting the idea that education must prepare a new generation with the knowledge, skills and values to anticipate and create solutions of challenges to come. Many contend that educere has been undervalued in western education systems and that education needs to encourage more questioning, thinking, ideating and creating (Bass & Good, 2004). This final module focuses on educere so that students can become a subject leader for VAE for their school community.

Personal art project and subject connoisseurship
Create a personal art project building on prior learning from previous visual arts modules and student preference. Interrogate a theme, informed visual and contextual research. Create preparatory sketches. Experiment with media and work on art pieces. Reflect critically on process and personal learning as artist/ researcher/ teacher. Curate body of work for assessment.

Examining Creative Teaching in Visual Arts and issues impacting quality provision
Analyse characteristics of creative teaching of visual arts in the classroom in light of relevant literature, the primary school visual arts curriculum’s expectations, the needs of diverse learners and the complexities of the contemporary classroom. Plan and co-plan arts-rich exemplars for creative teaching and assessment in the classroom, gallery excursions and whole school community arts projects. Evaluate visual arts education resources for creative teaching including websites, books, gallery resources and digital media.

Examining the role of subject leadership with regard to advocacy, organisation, partnerships and funding opportunities
Analyse the role and responsibilities of subject leader and what kinds of initiatives might subject leadership entail in light of emerging policies, whole school self assessment and curriculum developments. Examine visual arts education in relation inclusive education, global citizenship education, creativity, literacy and numeracy, sustainability, integrated arts and digital learning. Explore outreach connections with helpful agencies and funding opportunities such as creative associates, creative schools, artist-in-residence, TAP Teacher Artist Partnerships, Arts in Education Portal, ReCreate, Pushkin Trust, conferences.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment100% Examination Weight0%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
PortfolioIndividual portfolio of A/R/T work (artist/ researcher / teacher) comprising personal art portfolio (50%) and completed tasks concerning creative teaching and subject leadership (50%)100%n/a
Indicative Reading List

  • Bloomfield, A. & Child, J.: 2000, Teaching integrated arts in the primary school., David Fulton Publishers, Oxon,
  • Desailly, J.: 2012, Creativity in the classroom, SAGE Publications, London,
  • Sousa, D. & Pilecki, T.: 2013, STEM to STEAM: Using Brain compatible strategies to integrate the arts., C.A. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks,
  • Green, L. & Mitchell, R.: 1997, Art 7-11. Developing primary teaching skills, Routledge, London,
  • Sinclair, C., Jeanneret, N. & O Toole, J.: 2009, Education in the arts: Teaching and learning in the contemporary curriculum, Oxford University Press, . Oxford,
  • Perrella, L.: 2004, Artists journals and sketchbooks.Exploring and creating personal pages, Quarry Books, London,
  • Granville: 2012, (2012). Art education and contemporary culture : Irish experiences, international perspectives., Intellect, Bristol,
Other Resources

51272, Website, 0, Hugh Lane Gallery online educational resources, https://www.hughlane.ie/art-education-resources, 51273, Website, 0, National Gallery of Ireland school resources, National Gallery of Ihttps://www.nationalgallery.ie/explore-and-learn/schools/resources-schools-acmhainni-do-scoileanna, 51274, Website, 0, Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) - Primary School, Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMhttps://imma.ie/learn-engage/teachers-students/primary-schools/, 51275, Website, 0, The Tate Gallery - Online resources, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/teaching-resource, 51276, Website, 0, The Kennedy Arts Center Arts Edge website, http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators.aspx, 51277, Website, 0, Arts-in-Education Portal, https://artsineducation.ie/en/home/, 51278, Website, 0, ACERR Ireland The Arts and Culture in Education Research Repository for Ireland, https://acerrireland.org/,
Please find attached updated version of module Kind regards Michael

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