#143
(1985)
1. Statement of Intention
This teaching and learning sequence addresses Unit 2 Area of Study 2 The Collaborative Creative Practice from the Art Creative Practice Study Design (Accreditation period 2023 – 2027). The sequence devised reflects the combination of my emergent understanding of how to structure a VCE Unit and my proficiency with the creative practice. The 4 weeks dedicated to the unit, as outlined in the sequence and lesson plans, aims to engage students in a range of collaborative learning experiences that stimulate critical creative thinking strategies, interpersonal communication and time management skills that result in resolved collaborative artworks.
The fifth component in the Department of Education and Training’ High Impact Teaching Strategies Collaborative Learning, is imbued throughout the sequence and can be used to sustain the sense of collaboration and community fostered that the unit intends to foster. “Collaborative learning is supported by designing meaningful tasks. It involves students actively participating negotiating roles responsibilities and outcomes” (2019) is facilitated through a range of making and responding activities. The initial two classes explore collaborative practice through a selection of cultural contexts from Tanning and Ernst to Basquiat and Warhol to The Rogue Academy and are supplemented by smaller activities like Exquisite Corpse Drawings and a ceramic circle. Classes 4 – 7 require students to engage in practice-led inquiry that pairs material exploration of a range of techniques and process in art forms with investigation into social issues and cultural discourse. The hybridity of the creative practice in a collaborative context means that students can structure their contributions as they like, ensuring equal participation is upheld. The critique process reiterates the standardised practice of seeking feedback from peers and mentors and offers students further ability to collaborate through critical conversation. This also offers students whose projects rely on interaction or participation to conduct and document their work, then receive feedback.
Upholding the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) standards, the sequence demonstrates ‘Standard 2.2; organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence and 3.2; plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies” (n.d). The structure of the sequence explicitly references the components of “The Creative Practice: research and exploration, experimentation and development, refinement and resolution, reflection and evaluation” (VCAA, 2023 p.12). In doing so, learning intentions and success criteria can be targeted as the unit unfolds a remain consistent to the ways in which students collaborative creative practice’ develop. It is also crucial to leave time for the processes of making and responding to occur incrementally and spontaneously so that creative thinking and the utilisation of the interpretive lenses also take place.
Students develop a strong understanding of the Cultural Lens in this sequence and should have access to resources that decode the components of the interpretative lenses. Students will be immersed in close analysis of a collaborative creative practice by investigating time periods and their influence on art and artists, the influence of political events, spiritual or philosophical ethos’, economic change, accessibility, income and ethnicity on collaborative creative practice. They may also extend research from their previous units work on Indigenous’ practitioners and explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander discourse. Discussions about culturally appropriate practices and the use of Indigenous knowledge, imagery or artwork may also need to occur throughout the delivery of the unit, and extend into appropriate exploration of ideas, meaning and subject matter if students intend to explore potentially triggering, explicit or otherwise harmful creative pathways.
The Individual Reflection assessment task at the end of the unit lends itself to AOS 3 Documentation of Collaboration using the Creative Practice which asks students to evaluate their creative practice and presentation of finished artworks. As such, students reflect upon their decision making process throughout the collaborate creative process. They will describe how they have engaged with social and cultural discourse, developed a collaborative visual language, responded to or been influenced by the work of a collaborative duo or collective and assess how the process of collaboration shaped the outcome of their work.
Approaching the unit, teachers should aim to build a sense of community amongst students. Understanding that their participation is essential to the fruitfulness of these creative learning experiences can mean the difference between authentic and inauthentic collaborations and therefore, good and not so good artwork. Teachers should also behave as co-collaborators throughout the delivery of content and setting of tasks and expectations across the sequence. In this way, they become a creative mentor and contributor to the projects that each group develops.
2. Analysis of ICT and Website as Pedagogical Tools
ICT plays a role in each student’s digital literacy and is utilised in supplementary ways throughout this unit. Visual stimulus including artist references, key knowledge and task descriptions are delivered through a Google Slides presentation on display screens and smartboards. These presentations are accessible to students via a Google classroom, which extends student engagement by providing a digital space to view learning materials and upload their work for documentation and assessment.
The AISTL Professional Standard 3.4 describes that teachers “select and use resources; demonstrate a knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning” (n.d). The stimulus is constructed with appropriate referencing of imagery and live links that expand upon key information creating a degree of interactivity within the learning materials. Students existing ability to navigate their own ICT skills in the process of researching is relied on and supported where needed through one on one or group demonstration of appropriate research practices. Where necessary a class demonstration on how to conduct authentic arts research and how to target key search term to optimise results may occur. The learning materials are easily reproduced, meaning that where differentiation for students on an IEP or with varying learning needs, multiple version with moderated task outlines, expectations and formats can be referred to.
3. Learning Sequence
The learning sequence design reflects my interpretation of the scale of Unit 2 AOS 2 in relation to key content and the production of authentic collaborative experiences within the creative practice. The following plan structures the unit over 12 classes across 4 weeks; 3 x 80 minute classes per week. This allows for time to introduce the unit, engage students in research-based inquiry, practice-led inquiry, critical feedback, presentation and reflection. The flow of the unit is supplemented with some preliminary stimulus in the slides presentation attached in the submission folder. This intends to help visually deliver the unit and provide reference points for students, as an accessible document that is shared on a school approved learning platform, such as google classroom or Stile.
This learning sequence refers to The Creative Practice explicitly; “Strategy 3: Explicit teaching; when teachers adopt explicit teaching practices they clearly show students what to do and how to do it” (DET, 2019). The sequence outline below demonstrates which components of the unit are being addressed at each stage of the Collaborative Creative Practice and can be a document shared with students to affirm their understanding of the way the creative practice is “interrelated and iterative” (VCAA, 2023 p.12).
Weekly Slide Presentation (Key content, activities and task descriptions)
4. Annotated Links to Support the Learning Sequence:
Artist References: (CLICK LINKS TO OPEN RESOURCE)
Picasso x Gjon Mili | 1949
An account of the spontaneity of collaboration and its ability to be singular and improvised. Example of the way two makers individual vision’ can create a fusion of visual motifs.
Tanning x Ernst | 1950 – 1970
A historical account of the way collaboration can connect artists with each other. It accounts the way individual styles, methods and subject matter can change when your collaborator is a significant other. Any excuse to teach surrealism is a good one.
Jasper Johns x Robert Rauschenberg | 1967 – 1973
Explores the way collaboration can incite change amongst cultures, communities and industries; an inherent instinct in the artist. Potent mixed media works: print, collage, drawings
Basquiat x Warhol | 1980s
A well-known collaboration of two key artists from the post-modern period. Basquiat and Warhols’ partnership was described by Keith Haring as a “Third, distinctive and unique mind”. Their trust and methodology are a great precedence to set for the way students should intend to work together.
Bernd and Hilla Becher | 1967 - 1997
Exemplar for teaching collaborative photography and the typology format. Lends itself to collaboration quite easily; visually aligning subject matter that is uniform; through aesthetic similarity, thematic likeness, or the opposition to conformity as a form of unification.
Heath Peak and Ivan Morison | Contemporary
Contemporary long-time collaborators, Peak and Morison create performance based, site specific installations and public events that explore the impact of change and violence through site, activism and architecture. Socially engaged practice that demonstrates how practitioners create noise or attention through demonstration, protest and presence.
The Rogue Academy | Contemporary
A creative collaborative agency run by Artist and Researcher Fiona Lee and Artist and Educator Amanda Shone facilitating socially engaged inquiry-led artworks that rely on participation and interaction. A great example of the way public art can be used to collaborate; artist and viewer/participant, multiple artists in public spaces, the interrelationship between the art object, the space and the viewer.
Teaching Resources:
ART 21 | https://art21.org/read/teaching-with-collaboration/
A first person POV Case Study for teaching collaborative art – unpacks the intentions of collaboration in relation to artmaking and learning and draws parallels to its individual and communal benefits as people age.
MAGMA | https://magma.com/
Collaborative Digital Art Platform: ideal for teaching students with digital art interests; bridging technical competencies between Art CP, Art ME, Media and Visual Communication Design
NGV National Gallery of Victoria | https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/learn-program/vce-art-creative-practice/
NGV runs programs to support learning, especially to the VCE study designs. Workshops, seminar, webinars and online resources can be found to engage the collaborative unit.
TEACHING COLLABORATION IN THE ARTS | https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/articles-and-how-tos/articles/educators/skills--assessment/working-together-teaching-collaboration-in-the-arts/
Explores the holistic, academic and communal outcomes of collaborative art practice. Bridges the greater intentions of collaboration between primary, secondary and tertiary learning and the way collaboration through art making can be a lifelong process. Can be used to remind leadership of the way that the arts foster community and inclusion.
WE ARE TEACHERS | https://www.weareteachers.com/collaborative-art/
Introductory activities; to engage students in initial collaborative dialogue these simple activities can be used and scaffolded to support higher and lower learning levels.
References:
Admin 2020, Art Fervour, Exploring the Greats, art fervour.com, https://artfervour.com/co-creating-brilliance-famous-artistic-collaborations/
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (n.d.). Australian professional standards for teachers. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/standards
Department of Education and Training (DET) 2019. High impact teaching strategies: Excellence in teaching and learning.
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/support/high-impact-teaching-strategies.pdf
Lee, F and Shone, A, 2016 ‘The Rogue Academy’, about https://www.therogueacademy.com/about/
Roberts, R 2022, Target Learning: Visual Communication Design, Richard Roberts https://targetlearning.com.au/target-learning-vcd/faq/
SGV (State Government Victoria) 2023, HITS (High Impact Teaching Strategies), Strategy 4 – The Worked Example, https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/practice/improve/Pages/hits.aspxx
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) 2023. Victorian curriculum: VCE, VCE Study Design, Art: Creative Practice, https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/curriculum/vce/vce-study-designs/ArtCreativePractice/Pages/Index.aspx