Art Pedagogies
Internationalising the Student Experience: Perspectives from Australian Domestic Pre-service Teachers with a Focus on Performing Arts
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jane Milloy, Renée Crawford, Louise Jenkins
Research in Australia on internationalising the student experience has almost exclusively focused on international students. Whilst both domestic and international students have an equal role in facilitating internationalisation processes, research continues to report that intercultural interaction and cultural learning are not automatic outcomes of the higher education experience. However, the development of intercultural skills and competency are important components of internationalising the student experience. This research reports the outcomes from an investigation that explored the Australian domestic pre-service teachers’ perspectives of internationalising the student experience phenomenon with a focus on performing arts. The data collection methods included a survey, semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory formed the theoretical framework on which the research was based. As such, the exploration focused on the skills and capabilities developed through the cultural diversity on campus, in the classroom, through the internationalisation of the curriculum, and any social interaction. The survey results indicated that pre-service teachers had experienced limited internationalisation at higher education and the in-depth case study confirmed this. There was little evidence of internationalisation of the curriculum and intercultural interaction.
Canadian Perspectives on Arts Based Research in Art Education Doctoral Dissertations
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Darlene St. Georges, Anita Sinner
This paper looks at the pedagogical turn to art in research. It forms part of a three-year SSHRC funded study that is investigating how art education doctoral programs are evolving with the inclusion of creative, and arts-based dissertations, involving partner universities in Canada, Finland, Spain and the United Kingdom. In this paper, lead researchers from Concordia University review the last decade of doctoral dissertations in art education, and profile the research of a doctoral candidate engaged in creation-research based in critical artistic practice and pedagogy. This review offers insights into the potentials of arts-based educational research. We will discuss how programs are accommodating shifts towards arts-based and artistic research; how students and faculty take up arts research at our respective universities; we ask how and why arts research is performed within education institutions; and propose future possibilities and directions for arts-based researchers.
Blending Graphite with Pixels: Natural History Illustration Online
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Bernadette Drabsch, Andrew Howells, Clare Lloyd
Art education in Australia sits at a cross-road of uncertainty. While our low student to teacher ratios are important for providing one-on-one advice in the studio we are often accused of being indulgent and non-progressive. So how can we respond to these issues and survive in an increasingly hostile environment? This paper provides a reflective account from a small group of art-educators and instructional designers from the University of Newcastle tasked to deliver traditional drawing skills online while providing a learning atmosphere similar to the conventional face-to-face studio classes. Developing and delivering the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) ‘Drawing Nature, Science and Culture: Natural History Illustration 101’ was full of challenges, as it was the first practice-based short online course designed for a high number of students. The results of the first offering were positive and proved that alternate teaching methods can be successful in engaging a diverse group of learners. Although the online course was never intended to replace the on-campus classes, it demonstrated that teaching specialised skills-based techniques online is possible and blended learning might be a viable option for art education in the future.
