Students

ECED828 – Creativity and the Arts: Contemporary Perspectives

2017 – S1 Online

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Co-convenor
Clare Britt
Contact via 9850 9883
X5B 290
Unit Co-convenor
Jenny Nicholls
Contact via 9850 9840
X5B297
Credit points Credit points
4
Prerequisites Prerequisites
[(ECED600 or ECED817) and (ECED602 or ECED819)] or [admission to MEChild or MEd or MEdLead or PGDipEdS or MIndigenousEd or MSpecEd or PGCertSpEd or MSocEntre]
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit focuses on the pivotal role of the arts in early childhood, particularly in the domains of music and movement, visual arts, and drama. Students are provided opportunities to enhance their capacity to use diverse resources that underpin high quality arts education. The unit provides a forum through which to critique contemporary issues in arts education, drawing on current research in early childhood and allied fields. Students will investigate current specialist pedagogies as a basis for developing personal approaches to the provision of early childhood arts education.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Demonstrate a critical appreciation of the expert body of knowledge focusing on the arts in early childhood.
  • Demonstrate a sound understanding of the ways in which young children use art forms to explore, create and communicate about their worlds.
  • Critically analyse and reflect on materials, processes and repertoire that underpin creative arts learning experiences in early childhood.
  • Demonstrate specialist expertise in facilitating a range of creative arts learning experiences with young children.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Reading journal 40% No 27 March 2017
Performance inquiry 30% No 28 April 2017
Applied task 30% No 14May 2017

Reading journal

Due: 27 March 2017
Weighting: 40%

The places and roles of the arts in young children’s lives can be conceptualised in many ways. It is essential for early childhood teachers to understand this variety and position children’s arts learning opportunities appropriately. For this assignment, you are required to find four current journal articles or scholarly book chapters that pertain to children and the arts in early childhood and critically analyse them.  For each article or chapter, you should:

  1. Summarise the content of the article/chapter.
  2. Explain how this particular approach to young children and their arts cultures/learning fits with contemporary views of children and childhoods.
  3. Name one issue that was raised in the article/chapter that has given you pause for consideration. Explain this issue, how you intend to explore this further and what changes you might make to your practice (and why) as a preservice (for Master of Teaching students) or practising (Master of Early Childhood students) teacher.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate a critical appreciation of the expert body of knowledge focusing on the arts in early childhood.
  • Demonstrate a sound understanding of the ways in which young children use art forms to explore, create and communicate about their worlds.

Performance inquiry

Due: 28 April 2017
Weighting: 30%

 

For this task, you are required to attend a performance that has been designed for children. Examples include (but are not limited to) a concert or a children's theatre performance.

To find appropriate performances, you could look in newspaper theatre directories, advertising from performance spaces, newspapers and other publications aimed at families and children, brochures in local libraries or community centres. For example, if you live in Sydney you might look at the The Sydney Opera House Kids at the House Program, Monkey Baa Theatre, Sydney’s Child magazine or your local paper. Art galleries and museums often have live performances for children throughout the year.   Other suggestions for performances and venues will be made via the unit iLearn site once everyone is enrolled. Please note that attending an exhibition at an art gallery or museum is inappropriate for this assessment task.

During your attendance, you should make notes that will later help you write your critique. Remember that performances for children rarely focus on just one artform (e.g. drama, music, movement or visual arts by itself).

Your critique should:

  • describe the performance (including its location and aim if this was made explicit);
  • comment on its suitability for its intended audience,
  • explain how the performance uses aspects of different artforms together and how effective this was, and
  • comment on the audience’s reactions and/or responses to the performance.

While this assignment is based on your opinions, normal scholarly practice is expected, so these opinions must be located within the wider literature and supported with current references.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse and reflect on materials, processes and repertoire that underpin creative arts learning experiences in early childhood.
  • Demonstrate specialist expertise in facilitating a range of creative arts learning experiences with young children.

Applied task

Due: 14May 2017
Weighting: 30%

MTeach students must complete Option 1. MECh students may choose Option 1 or Option 2.

 

Option 1 - Learning experiences

For this  task, you are required to prepare an outline of a set of arts learning experiences. Please note that you are not required to submit a series of plans.  You should:

1. Provide a brief (hypothetical) situational analysis that outlines the context of the birth- 5 years learning environment for which you have chosen to plan. You should consider things like data about the age(s) of the children, the physical environment, human and other resources, the philosophy of the Centre.

2. Select a work or series of works at the Museum of Contemporary Art (can include parts of the permanent MCA collection and/or online collection)*.

3. Explain why you have chosen this artwork/exhibition as a site for visual arts learning experiences for the children you have described above.  You must include information about the elements and principles of art that will underpin the children’s work around this exhibition and a précis of the artist(s), their work and techniques that will need to be incorporated into your proposed teaching and learning experiences.

4. Outline a series of up to five sequential visual arts learning experiences based on the artwork/exhibition.  Remember that these are not full plans, but overviews of elements and principles, content and the like.  You do need to show how your proposed learning experiences will be guided by the Early Years Learning Framework.

*It is strongly recommended that students who live in and around Sydney make time to visit the MCA and explore the museum’s permanent collection. Entry to, and tours of the permanent collection are free. Those students who live outside of Sydney may choose an exhibition from a local museum or gallery, or may choose to base their research on the MCA Collection Online which can be found athttp://www.mca.com.au/collection/all/

Option 2 - Individual project

MECH students may consult with your tutor to present a theoretically oriented essay based on a current MCA exhibition.

For this assignment, you need to prepare an expository text (one-sided argument) that argues for the use of art museums (specifying a current MCA exhibition) as sites for early childhood arts education.

Your essay should situate children fully and critically engaging in the arts as ways of making meaning with and for others.  You should consider things like: literal and expressive symbolization; bodies of knowledge that underpin semiotic systems; the development of metalanguage, and the importance of aesthetically sensitive, critical thinkers.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate a sound understanding of the ways in which young children use art forms to explore, create and communicate about their worlds.
  • Critically analyse and reflect on materials, processes and repertoire that underpin creative arts learning experiences in early childhood.
  • Demonstrate specialist expertise in facilitating a range of creative arts learning experiences with young children.

Delivery and Resources

Technology

Students will require reliable internet access to download or stream lectures, and submit assessment tasks. Access to such technology is available on-campus if needed.

Lecture and Tutorial Times

Internal students are required to view 10 lectures by streaming from iLearn, and attend seminars on Mondays 12.00-2.00pm according to the following schedule:

Introduction and Overview Seminar - Online - Week of 27 Feb

Music Seminars - X5B Rm 292, 10.00-12.00pm 27 Feb, 6, 13, Mar

Drama Seminars - X5B Rm 145, 10.00 - 12.00pm 20, 27 April 3

Visual Arts Seminars -  X5B Rm 284 10.00-12.00 10 April, 1, 8 May

Online students are required to view 10 lectures by streaming from iLearn, and complete the online activities for each module.

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Each week, students are expected to engage fully and critically with the unit readings and other preparatory tasks (e.g. discussions with colleagues, self reflection, posting to the unit discussion board) prior to class.

At Macquarie, it is assumed that each credit point involves approximately 3 hours of work per week over the semester. So for this 4 credit point unit, the notional workload would be 12 hours per week over the 15 week semester. This estimate is based on average student performance. Some students may achieve their desired grades with this amount of effort while others may require more time due to a desire to achieve very high grades or a need to clarify conceptual understandings.

Presentation of written work

All work should be proof-read carefully prior to submission, be free of mechanical errors (e.g. spelling and grammatical inaccuracies) and prepared according to APA style.

Submission of Assessment Tasks

All assessment tasks are to be submitted via the unit iLearn site using Turnitin. No assignments will be accepted in hard copy. 

Assessment items must be submitted on or before the due date.  Late work will attract a penalty of 5% of the available marks for each calendar day late. 

Requests for extensions must be made via Tracker before the assessment item is due.  Please advise the unit convenor as soon as possible of other claims relating to severe illness or misadventure on the due date.  These claims must be carefully documented. 

 

There is no opportunity for resubmission of assessment items for this unit.

Unit Web Page

The iLearn site for this unit can be found by pointing your web browser to http://ilearn.mq.edu.au

Students will be required to utilise this facility during the unit to access lectures, assessment materials, interact with colleagues and keep up to date with developments in the unit.  It is important that you familiarise yourself with the site and its operations early in the semester.  If you have questions about navigating the site, it is important that you direct these to one of the teaching team as early as possible.

Changes Since Last Offering

No major changes have been made since the last offering of this unit. 

Textbooks and Study Materials Prescribed text

Wright, S. (Ed.). (2012). Children, meaning-making and the arts (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia.

Additional resources

The following additional resources are deemed useful for the material covered in this unit.  They are available from the University Library.  Additional resources may be made available on e-reserve in the library as the semester progresses.

Althouse, R., Johnson, M. H. & Mitchell S. T. (2002) The colors of learning. New York: Teachers College Press

Bresler, L., & Thompson, C. M. (Eds.). (2002). The arts in children’s lives: Context, culture and curriculum. Dordrecht: Klwer Academic.

Bridges, D. (1994). Music, young children and you. Sydney: Hale and Iremonger.

Campbell, P. S. (1998). Songs in their heads : music and its meaning in children's lives. New York: Oxford University Press.

Craft, A., Jeffrey, B. & Liebling, M. (eds). Creativity in education. London: Continuum.  Davidson, J. (1996). Emergent literacy and dramatic play in early childhood education. Albany, NY: Delmar. 

Deans, J., Brown, R., & Young, S. (2007). The possum story: reflections of an early childhood drama teacher. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 32(4), 1-6. #

Edwards, L. (2006). The creative arts: A process approach for teachers and children. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. 

Edwards, L. Bayless K.M. & Ramsey, M.E. (2005). Music, a way of life for the young child (5th ed.). New York: Merrill. 

Eisner, E. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. New Haven, Ct: Yale University Press.  Gallas, K. (1994). The languages of learning: How children talk, write, dance, draw and sing their understanding of the world. New York: Teachers College Press. 

Gandini, L., Hill, L., Cadwell, L. & Schwall, C. (Eds.). (2005). In the spirit of the studio: Learning from the atelier of Reggio Emilia. New York: Teachers College Press.

Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: the theory in practice. New York: Basic Books. 

Gardner, H. (1994). The arts and human development. New York: Basic Books. 

Hammett, C.T. (1992). Movement activities for early childhood. Champaign, Il: Human Kinetics. 

Hendy, L. & Toon, L. (2001). Supporting drama and imaginative play in the early years. Philadelphia, Pa: Open University Press. 

Isenberg, J. & Jalongo, M. (2001). Creative expression and play in early childhood. (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. 

Joyce, M. (1993). First steps in teaching creative dance to children (3rd ed.). Mountainview, Ca: Mayfield.

Kolbe, U. (2005). It’s not a bird yet: The drama of drawing. Byron Bay: Peppinot Press.

Kolbe, U. (2001). Rapunzel’s supermarket: All about young children and their art. Sydney: Peppinot Press.

Matthews, J. (1999). The art of childhood and adolescence: The construction of meaning. London: Falmer. 

Matthews, J. (2003). Drawing and painting: Children and visual representation. London: Hodder & Stoughton. 

Pointer, B. (1993). Movement activities for children with learning difficulties. London: Jessica Kingsley. 

Schiller, W. (Ed.) (1996). Issues in expressive arts. Curriculum for early childhood. Amsterdam: Gordon & Breach. 

Schiller, W. (Ed.) (2000). Thinking through the arts. Sydney: Harwood Educational Publishers.

Shreeves, R. (1990). Children dancing (2nd ed.). London: Ward Lock International. 

Smith-Autard, J.M. (1992). Dance composition: A practical guide for teachers. London: A & C Black. 

Spurgeon, D. (1991). Dance moves. Sydney: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. 

Stinson, W. (1990). (Ed.). Moving and learning for the young child. Reston, Va: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. 

Toye, N. & Prendville, F. (2000). Drama and traditional story for the early years. London: Routledge. 

Vecchi, V. & Giudici, C. (Eds.) (2005). Children, art, artists. Reggio Emilia: Reggio Children. 

Warren, K.(1999). Hooked on drama. The theory and practice of drama in early childhood (2 ed.).Katoomba: Social Science Press. 

Young, S. & Glover, J. (1998). Music in the early years. London: Falmer.

Young, S. (2003). Music with the under fours. London: Routledge Falmer. 

 

Journals

Art Education

Arts Education Policy Review

Australian Art Education

Australian Journal of Early Childhood

British Journal of Music Education

Childhood Education

Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood

Drama Australia (NJ)

Early Child Development and Care

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

European Early Childhood Education Research Journal

General Music Today

International Journal of Education and the Arts

International Play Journal

Journal of Aesthetic Education

Journal of Art and Design Education

Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance

Journal of Research in Music Education

Journal of the Educational Drama Association of NSW

Music Education Research

Music Educators Journal

Psychology of Music

Research in Drama Education

Research Studies in Music Education Studies in Art Education

Youth Theatre

Young Children

Unit Schedule

Feb 29 

 

 

 

 

 

Feb 27

Unit overview

What constitutes the arts in early childhood?

The nature of creativity

The arts as symbol systems

Arts literacies

Bodies of knowledge

The importance of metalanguage

 

 

Music

Musicking in early childhood 

Musical elements 

Repertoire (birth-3 yrs) 

Mar 6

Music

Musical development 

Generative approaches to planning

Repertoire (3-5yrs) 

Mar 13

Music

Approaches to planning and authentic assessment

Children’s voices in assessment

Effort actions and embodied symbols

Mar 20

Drama

Forms and conventions of drama

Dramatic play in early childhood 

Mar 27

Drama

Teachers and children working in role: process drama (how to plan, structure, question in and out of role,

and incorporate elements of drama)

April 3

Drama

Pathways into drama: Finding the pretext

Using literature in drama

 

Apr 10

 

Visual Arts

Ways of knowing – disrupting dichotomies

Histories and Tensions in visual arts education

Image(s) of the child in teaching in the visual arts

Aesthetics and connecting with the world

Elements and Principles – the metalanguage of the visual arts

Doing, Understanding and Appreciating – seeking complexity and connection

May 1

Visual Arts

Graphic Languages & Symbolic Meaning Making

The languages of

  • Drawing
  • Painting
  • Clay
  • Collage
  • Sculpture
  • Wire
  • New Media

Co‐construction, Community and Collaborative works

May 8

Questions of Creativity

The Role of the Teacher

The Environment

Resources and Materials

Time

Assessment and Evaluation

Fostering Connections

  • With cultures
  • With communities
  • With art worlds

 

 

Learning and Teaching Activities

Online activites

Students enrolled in online study only are expected to actively engage with and participate in the online activities that have been created for each arts module. These activities are designed to correspond with the face-to-face classes that internal students complete. Students who do not contribute online may jeopardise their capacity to be awarded a Passing grade in this unit.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html​

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

PG - Capable of Professional and Personal Judgment and Initiative

Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Critically analyse and reflect on materials, processes and repertoire that underpin creative arts learning experiences in early childhood.
  • Demonstrate specialist expertise in facilitating a range of creative arts learning experiences with young children.

Assessment tasks

  • Performance inquiry
  • Applied task

PG - Discipline Knowledge and Skills

Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Demonstrate a critical appreciation of the expert body of knowledge focusing on the arts in early childhood.
  • Demonstrate a sound understanding of the ways in which young children use art forms to explore, create and communicate about their worlds.

Assessment tasks

  • Reading journal
  • Performance inquiry
  • Applied task

PG - Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Demonstrate a critical appreciation of the expert body of knowledge focusing on the arts in early childhood.
  • Critically analyse and reflect on materials, processes and repertoire that underpin creative arts learning experiences in early childhood.

Assessment tasks

  • Reading journal
  • Performance inquiry
  • Applied task

PG - Research and Problem Solving Capability

Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Demonstrate a critical appreciation of the expert body of knowledge focusing on the arts in early childhood.
  • Demonstrate a sound understanding of the ways in which young children use art forms to explore, create and communicate about their worlds.
  • Critically analyse and reflect on materials, processes and repertoire that underpin creative arts learning experiences in early childhood.
  • Demonstrate specialist expertise in facilitating a range of creative arts learning experiences with young children.

PG - Effective Communication

Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Demonstrate specialist expertise in facilitating a range of creative arts learning experiences with young children.

Assessment task

  • Applied task

PG - Engaged and Responsible, Active and Ethical Citizens

Our postgraduates will be ethically aware and capable of confident transformative action in relation to their professional responsibilities and the wider community. They will have a sense of connectedness with others and country and have a sense of mutual obligation. They will be able to appreciate the impact of their professional roles for social justice and inclusion related to national and global issues

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Demonstrate specialist expertise in facilitating a range of creative arts learning experiences with young children.

Assessment Presentation and Submission

Please follow these guidelines when you submit each assignment:

  • Allow a left and right-hand margin of at least 2cm in all assignments.
  • Please type all assignments using 12-point font and at least 1.5 spacing.
  • All assessments must be submitted through turnitin in .doc or .pdf format for submission.
  • Assignment cover sheets are not required; academic honesty declarations and the like form part of the Turnitin procedure.

 

Draft Submissions & Turnitin Originality Reports

  • You may use Turnitin’s Originality Report as a learning tool to improve your academic writing if this option is made available in the unit.
  • You are strongly encouraged to upload a draft copy of each assessment to Turnitin at least one week prior to the due date to obtain an Originality Report.
  • The Originality Report provides you with a similarity index that may indicate if plagiarism has occurred. You will be able to make amendments to their drafts prior to their final submission on the due date.
  • Only one Originality Report is generated every 24 hours up to the due date.

 

When preparing your assignments, it is essential that:

  • You must retain a copy of all assignments before submission, and retain the copy until your final grade for the subject has been received;
  • Marks will be deducted if you submit your assessment late (refer to the ‘late assessments’ section below for more details);
  • Unless there are exceptional circumstances, no assessment will be accepted after the date that the assessment has been returned to other students.
  • If an assessment is considered to be below passing standard, another staff member on the unit will provide a second opinion. No failed assessment may be re-submitted.

Assignment extensions and late penalties

Applications for extensions must be made via AskMQ at https://ask.mq.edu.au as a "Disruption to Studies" request before the submission date. Students who experience a disruption to their studies through ill-health or misadventure are able to apply for this request. Extensions can only be granted if they meet the Disruption to Studies policy and are submitted via ask.mq.edu.au. This will ensure consistency in the consideration of such requests is maintained.

In general, there should be no need for extensions except through illness or misadventure that would be categorised as unavoidable disruption according to the University definition of same, and currently available at:

http://students.mq.edu.au/student_admin/exams/disruption_to_studies/

Late submissions without extension will receive a penalty of 5% reduction of the total possible mark for each day late (including weekends and public holidays). You are reminded that submitting even just 1 day late could be the difference between passing and failing a unit. Late penalties are applied by unit convenors or their delegates after tasks are assessed.

No assessable work will be accepted after the return/release of marked work on the same topic. If a student is still permitted to submit on the basis of unavoidable disruption, an alternative topic may be set.

Students should keep an electronic file of all assessments. Claims regarding "lost" assessments cannot be made if the file cannot be produced. It is also advisable to keep an electronic file of all drafts and the final submission on a USB untouched/unopened after submission. This can be used to demonstrate easily that the assessment has not been amended after the submission date.

Referencing:

All assignments should cite and provide full bibliographical details of all material that you have used to inform or support your ideas. At the Institute of Early Childhood, students are required to use the American Psychological Association (APA) referencing procedures. Full details about how to cite and reference correctly can be found in Perrin (2015) or the APA Publication Manual. 

 

Highly recommended text

Perrin, R. (2015). Pocket guide to APA style (5th ed.). Wadsworth: Cengage Learning.