Details for CRS236 Creative Arts

This subject examines contemporary philosophies in creative arts education for children from birth to 12 years. It asks Teacher Education Students (TES) to enhance their creative capacities and develop a knowledge base in the areas of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment for early childhood and the K-6 Creative Arts syllabuses developed by NESA and ACARA. The aim is to build understanding and skills in critically analysing and evaluating contemporary theory, content and issues in Music and Visual Arts as well as Drama, Dance and Media Arts, as applied in the early childhood and primary classroom contexts. It equips TES with teaching methodologies and practical strategies to effectively teach Creative Arts, with an emphasis on assessment, examination, reporting and curriculum evaluation. 

Quick Stats

• Currently offered by Alphacrucis: Yes
• Course code: CRS236
• Credit points: 10

Subject Coordinator

Prerequisite

EDU101 Foundations in Christian Learning and Teaching or 40 credit points 

Unit Content

Outcomes

1. Apply a Christian centre/school or alternate centre/school context to Creative Arts in an early childhood context for specific learning needs; 
2.  Develop student-centred innovative and well-designed lesson sequences that demonstrate skills and techniques within each of the Creative Arts forms;     
3. Analyse Creative Arts materials choices relative to student age, culture and faith backgrounds; 
4. Prepare, program and assess concepts, skills and techniques across the Creative Arts forms appropriate to the learning stages for levels K-6. 

Subject Content

1. Introduction: Teaching strategies for identifying and developing creative expression; making, performing and appreciating Creative Arts, including Music, Drama, Dance, Media Arts and Visual Arts; thematic issues; performing, composing and creating in a range of contexts; integrated with other KLA’s; embedded literacy and numeracy concepts; Creative Arts from a Christian Worldview and alternate school contexts; place of primary creative arts in the continuum of learning from early childhood to Year 12. 
2. Creative Arts in early childhood – rationales for prioritizing creative arts education in the early childhood period. Creative arts for literacy and numeracy development. Impacts of creative arts education on developing motor skills. Social and emotional development through collaborative and individual learning in the creative arts. Development of self-esteem and confidence in creative  capacities. Advocacy in early childhood creative arts education. 
3. Philosophical foundations for creative arts education; linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic diversities; 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; physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how these may affect learning; Australia and its region e.g. Australian Indigenous, Chinese, Indonesian, Islamic, Indian; models of pedagogy for teaching and assessing creative arts; a range of strategies for teaching, assessing and reporting on Creative Arts curriculum. 
4. Models of pedagogy for teaching in the Creative Arts from early childhood to Year 6; teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds; knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities; a range of strategies for teaching Visual Arts and Drama practices; advanced techniques in the use of, and teaching methodology for a range of mediums; checklists, scoring rubrics, student log, student/group projects, multimedia recording and portfolios, school-based record keeping and stakeholder communication. 
5. Years K-6 Creative Arts Syllabus and related curriculum including aim, objectives, outcomes, content, course requirements and key terms; ways of differentiating curriculum to meet the diverse needs of learners in the Creative Arts classroom; principles for programming, teaching strategies and assessment for Years K-6; using curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans,  class projects in art, craft and design and technology e.g. cross-curricula potential, literacy demands of Creative Arts lessons and the language of critique; role and value of Creative Arts in the broader school curriculum and the relationship between Creative Arts, numeracy and literacy; Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies. How to sequence tasks within a lesson that build upon each other, meet students where they are in their learning and help them understand the progression of skills needed to attain mastery. 
6.  Assessment for learning: Principles and practices of assessment and reporting in the Creative Arts: Embedded formative assessment approaches. Feedback strategies supporting creative experimentation and the development of technical skill. Visible Learning strategies and community involvement. Creating assessment tasks and marking rubrics. Strength-based reporting on learning in Creative Arts for early childhood and primary aged students. How to use formative assessment practices to gather and interpret information about student learning as learning is taking place – for example, use of simple, low-key assessments such as exit slips, quick quizzes or targeted oral questioning to prompt students to articulate their reasoning and identify common student misconceptions. 

   How to design summative assessment to assess students against a standard or benchmark to gain an understanding of the level of mastery attained. 

   How to produce and use developmental rubrics with criteria tailored to the specific task and/or work samples so that students understand what is expected. 

   How to provide feedback as learning is taking place that is specific, honest, constructive, and clear, and uses explicit teaching strategies to re-teach concepts, scaffold, or correct misconceptions as necessary. 

7. Class projects in art, craft and design and technology – cross-curricula potential, literacy demands of Creative Arts lessons. Classroom control – application of behavioural management theories, managing students with challenging behaviours, conflict resolution, group dynamics and moderation.
8. Creative Arts design, creation, promotion, and distribution; how to incorporate the use of ICT in the early childhood to Year 6 Creative Arts classroom. 

This course may be offered in the following formats

• Blended learning (comprised of a week-long on-campus seminar with online learning for the balance of the semester)
• E-learning (online)

Please check the timetable to see when this subject will next be offered at Alphacrucis University College.

Assessment Methods

1. Minor Essay (30%)
2. Lesson Plan and YouTube Clip (30%)
3. Assessing a Unit of Work (40%)

Prescribed Text