statement of intention
UNESCO advocates for art and creative practice as having a rightful place in the education of every child due to its duality to develop individual capabilities, as well as promoting cultural diversity and participation (UNESCO, 2006).
Creativity, interpretation, innovation, and cultural understanding are highly valued skills in the new and emerging industries of the 21st century (Garrett, 2009). Arts education provides students with the essential tools to cultivate these abilities, particularly in the secondary school context where equipping young adults with these skills are more important now than ever before.
Designers must be students of culture who can inherently understand how social, cultural experiences and environment can affect our interpretation, therefore the meaning of visual messages is shaped by the interplay of form and content (Davis & Hunt, 2017). However, these elements cannot be utilised unless a designer is attuned to their cultural, social or environmental contexts. Unit 3, Area of Study 2 focusses on building this capability in its aims to provide students with an understanding of the role of visual language on communicating information, and the influence of technological, economic, cultural, social and environmental factors on making design decisions (VCAA, 2002, p.34).
VCAA’s (2023) VCE Visual Communication Design (VCD) Study Design emphasises the students’ exploration of the Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver phases of the design process, which echoes the three stages of learning These stages in the study design are aligned with the Double Diamond Design Process Model which visually represents the steps taken in the design and innovation process, irrespective of methods and tools used (Design Council, 2024).
DISCOVER: Initial ideas or inspiration and establishment of user needs: market research, user research, observation, insight gathering- surveys
DEFINE : interpretation and alignment of findings to project objectives: analysis, synthesis
DEVELOP: design-led concepts and proposals iterated and assessed: ideation, multi-disciplinary working, testing and prototyping, review and improvement
DELIVER : Process outcomes finalised and implemented: refinement, production, evaluation and further feedback, launch of outcomes
How the planner incorporates High Impact Teaching Strategies
The High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS) framework should be referred to when creating lesson sequences so that all teachers can ensure that there is a common language and standards employed for planning, monitoring and reflecting on classroom practices (Department of Education & Training [DET], 2020).
Creating this unit planner reflects the HITS practice of ‘Structuring Lessons’ and has helped me develop a better understanding of how sound lesson structures reinforce, scaffold and optimise learning processes and outcomes. The first column outlines the Area of Study (AOS) and the outcomes expected, which will help guide the teacher in the HITS practice of ‘Setting Goals’. Not only does having a clear learning intention clarify what content needs to be planned, but it also ensures students understand what is required and the capabilities that they can achieve. If teaching these units, it would be beneficial for all students to have a clear outline of the Study Design so that they can track their own learning and progress to the success criteria for each Area of Study. The transparency of sharing learning intentions is a foundational step in ‘Explicit Teaching’ practices, another HITS that is reflected in the planner’s focus on clear teaching instructions and the student tasks modelled from them.
In Bruner’s work ‘Towards a Theory of Instruction’, he identifies four main components of his cognitive learning psychology- Predisposition, Structure of Knowledge, optimal Sequencing of material and Reinforcement (Bruner, 1966). His theory advocates for instructional design that guides learners through a sequence of steps until they master the content or problem. According to Bruner, learners should be able to understand the material, reorganize concepts in new ways, and apply their knowledge to new contexts.
I drew from Bruner’s pedagogical approach when teaching VCD classes as a pre-service teacher and in the development process of my yearly unit planner. Creating a planner as a tool for scaffolding students’ learning will act as a guide to creating structured lesson plans based on Bruner’s ideology that learning should serve future needs by making performance more efficient and creating transferable skills (Stapleton & Stefaniak, 2019).
Newton (2005) claims that thinking ahead is a part of thoughtful designing and that evaluation in designing should be part of an on-going process, rather than just done at the end. The structure of the study design supports this sentiment, with key skills of analysis and evaluation as part of Outcomes 1-3 (VCAA, 2023). My aim as a teacher will be to consider how to plan lessons underpinned by an evaluative mindset, particularly for students who may have a more chaotic approach to problem solving or may tend to be more passive or inactive learners who lack confidence to evaluate spontaneously throughout the design process. This structure could be a reflective tool to ensure that I am thinking ahead to ensure optimal results, considering prompts such as:
Is the Knowledge Resource present and can the students find it for themselves?
What will the context be for the Focussed Activity and how many should be presented within the lesson?
How will I draw things together to consolidate learning as part of the Closing Event?
Can I extend learning in any way beyond this?
Figure 3.1 above highlights the importance of focussed activities geared towards all aspects of designing and making, and how an idea can be developed through direct experiences with knowledge resources enabled by the educator letting their students try for themselves as part of the process to learn (Newton, 2005).
Key features of the planner:
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Each Area of Study and Outcomes are aligned with prompting design question for students and teachers to engage with.
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The planner considers the VCAA timeline and school term weekly timeline. Instead of aligning these two timelines week for week, I have made the decision to set the school weekly timeline to be 2 weeks ahead of schedule. This allows some flexibility for unexpected disruptions and ensures that the students are kept on track- setting them up for success to meet each deadline.
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The planner has been designed in alignment to the school year calendar. This factors in shorter school weeks and/or days due to school events, excursions or public holidays. I have specifically noted down events impacting Year 11 and 12 students, especially since the latter often have a busier final year.
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The class tasks section outlines the key focus of each week with a mindset catering to differentiated learning- a key element of the HITS Framework that aims to lift the performance of all students regardless of skills or knowledge. The breadth of content can be adjusted by the teacher to cater to the strengths and areas of improvement for their specific class, and lists extension activities. Incorporating critical thinking in both theoretical and practical tasks throughout each lesson will enable students to “explore, experiment, create, analyse and critique; ultimately discover multiple meanings in artwork” (ACARA, 2010, p.3)
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The Resources section should be utilised with the accompanying resource links included in the professional folio. These are for the teacher’s reference to guide them in the digestion and delivery of content.
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The inclusion of due dates of assessments and authentication meetings are pivotal for meeting the criteria and outcomes set out by the Study Design. To prepare students for submission deadlines, I have allotted some time in class and for homework, as well as planning due dates for ‘drafts’ and ‘soft submissions’ so that the students have time to apply feedback.
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Staff meetings at this school occur weekly with allotted times for collaboration towards shared learning and development goals. With many teachers working cross-disciplinary and with many year levels, ensuring that these meetings are included in the planner is vital for the success of the teachers but also for the students. Engaging with fellow Art/Technology colleagues ensures consistency of the content presented and its outcomes across all subjects and classes.
Final thoughts…
The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA, 2008) identifies the significance of the Arts sector in the Australian curriculum. The Arts can be valued as a critical quality pedagogy, with Ewing (2010) affirming that art and design can be a mode of transformative learning that spans commonalities across multiple disciplines through its intrinsic nature. The exploration involved and the knowledge gained from this unit has increased my passion to hone my teaching practice so that I can be an advocate for The Arts, the power of creativity and to support the dreams of future design students.