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Primary Art

Module description

The module will focus on extending the breadth and depth of your understanding of art education in several directions, in order that you can develop children’s art learning in a number of ways. These include:

• To help you develop a critical, reflective, and creative approach to teaching art that fosters children’s enthusiasm for learning
• To encourage you to appreciate the wider role of art in relation to cultural diversity and to use research to develop a contemporary and critical view of art education in theory and practice
• To gain a deeper understanding of approaches to teaching art in order to understand its place in the curriculum and ways in which it can relate to other subjects.
• To focus on leadership in art to enable you to evaluate and select materials, organize the subject within a school, and support your colleagues’ art teaching.
• To be aware of effective approaches for inclusive art education, both in and outside formal school settings
• To nurture your development as a reflective and autonomous professional practitioner who is able to identify strengths and areas for development in your subject knowledge and pedagogy, through evaluating current professional practice in relationship to developments in research and curriculum theory

Each of these strands is developed throughout the module. Peer learning and teaching is a feature of the module, both by sharing strengths within the art specialist group and by providing support for fellow non-specialist students.

Module aims - intentions of the module

Each of these strands is developed throughout the module. Peer learning and teaching is a feature of the module, both by sharing strengths within the art specialist group and by providing support for fellow non-specialist  students.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. identify and evaluate educational concepts and issues related to art and to engage in critical debate about current issues in art, drawing on evidence from theory, research and practice;
• 2. recognize pupils’ learning needs in art and interpret these learning needs in order to plan, teach, assess and evaluate lessons and schemes of work;
• 3. demonstrate confident academic and pedagogic subject knowledge to teach art in the primary phase of education;
• 4. demonstrate secure understanding of the statutory requirements of art in the National Curriculum;

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. critically evaluate the relevance of learning theory to practice;
• 6. synthesize relevant educational literature in support of an argument;
• 7. use appropriate technologies for data handling and writing in education;
• 8. present data and findings in an appropriate form;
• 9. use research data in support of an argument in education;

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 10. manage your own learning development;
• 11. learn effectively and be aware of your own learning strategies;
• 12. express ideas and opinions, with confidence and clarity, to a variety of audiences for a variety of purposes;
• 13. work productively in different kinds of teams (formal, informal, project based, committee based etc); and
• 14. think creatively about the main features of a given problem and develop strategies for its resolution.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

• The module introduces students to current thinking in the teaching of art and develops students’ pedagogic and academic subject knowledge in the wider field of art education.
• The course will include practical experience of a variety of classroom activities, which will aid you in developing confidence in teaching art and identifying links to other curriculum areas.
• Collaborative projects will also help you to understand art education in informal learning contexts, such as galleries.
• The role of the Primary art coordinator will be explored, as this is likely to be a position that you might aspire to in the future.

There will be a particular focus on the National Curriculum requirements for teaching art to children aged 7 to 11, as your school placements will be in Key Stage 2 classes. Additionally, art in the early years (Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage One) and Key Stage 3 will be considered.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

If a submitted assignment is deemed to be a Fail, you will be given feedback outlining what needs to be done to bring the assignment to a pass standard and one opportunity for resubmission will be allowed.

You can choose to resubmit a failed assignment ‘in year’ (i.e. before the final PGCE Assessment, Progression and Awarding Committee (APAC) in July). The resubmission would normally be made 4 weeks after receiving feedback on the first submission. Alternatively, you may opt to go to the PGCE APAC with the fail mark. You will then be referred to the Consequences Board who will confirm the conditions for resubmission of the work. Normally the resubmission should be by 1st September. You should discuss these options with your tutor.
Note: if you choose the second option, the award of PGCE will be delayed until the APAC following any successful resubmission (normally held in December).

If a specialist assignment is deemed to be a Fail by the Exam Board, the mark obtained on resubmission will be capped at 50%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Bowden, J., Ogier, S. & Gregory, P. (2013) The Primary Art and Design Subject Leader’s Handbook. NSEAD.
• Cox, S. & Watts, R. (eds) (2007) Teaching Art and Design 3-11. London: Continuum.
• Edwards, J. (2013) Teaching Primary Art. Harlow: Pearson.
• Hetland, L., Winner, E., Veenema, S. & Sheridan, K.M. (2007) Studio Thinking: the Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education. New York: Teachers College Press. (& 2nd ed. 2013)
• Hogan, J., Hetland, L., Jaquith, D.B. & Winner, E. (2018) Studio Thinking from the Start: The K-8 art educator’s handbook. New York: Teachers College Press.
• Key, P. & Stillman, J. (2009) Teaching Primary Art and Design. Exeter: Learning Matters.
• Ogier, S. (2017) Teaching Primary Art and Design. Exeter: Learning Matters.
• Wenham, M. (2003) Understanding Art: A Guide for Teachers. London: Sage.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

•see PGCE Primary Upper Primary Art page on ELE (http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/)

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

•see module ELE page

Key words search

PGCE Primary Upper Primary Art