Introduction

Art and Handicrafts, one-year programme, is based on the national curricula, General Education Teacher Education and the Subject Teacher: Practical & Arts Subjects established by the Ministry of Education and Research on 3rd April 2003. Art and Handicrafts is an aesthetic subject where creative work forms a basis for the development of fundamental professional skills in teaching art and handicrafts in primary and lower secondary schools and music and art schools. This involves work processes that pose both theoretical and practical challenges to the students. The study programme consists of four modules, each of which is worth 15 ECTS credits. Art and Handicrafts 1 is taught over two semesters, and includes the courses/modules Art and Architecture, while, Art and Handicrafts 2, includes the courses / modules Design and Visual Communication. The study programme emphasises images, applied-art forms and sculpture as they are expressed in various materials. By alternating between theory and practice, the students will develop personal skills and the ability to justify their professional choices. On this basis, the study programme will provide a platform for personal development and encourage an awareness of the field's possibilities and values with respect to the individual, school and society. A multicultural approach will be stressed.
The current curriculum for primary/lower-secondary schools will be a vital tool in achieving the objectives of the study programme.

Target Group and Admission Requirements

The target group will include students in general teacher education study programmes who desire a basic education in crafts, design and working with arts and handicrafts, as well as teachers seeking specialisation or a refresher course in the subject as it is presented in LK06.

Students must meet general admission requirements or apply for admission on the basis of prior experiential learning.

The study programme may be studied as:

• An obligatory course in the Subject Teacher: Practical & Arts Subjects study programme.
• An elective course in the 3^rd or 4^th year of the general teacher education study programme.
• A continuing education course for teachers.
• Part of a multi-subject Bachelor’s degree.

Aim of the Programme

Arts and Handicrafts is an arts and culture subject; a subject of expression, communication and skills in which practical, creative work is essential for the development of final competence. The study programme is intended to have a subject didactics profile related to teaching and instruction in primary, lower secondary, and music and arts schools. Students will develop their knowledge, experience and creative skills. In this way, understanding and experience of the aesthetic values expressed in a variety of materials; communication; function and didactics will be reinforced. The study programme will develop students’ awareness of the subject’s possibilities and values, in which man, learning, culture and the environment are central.
Students will learn to:

• Increase their knowledge, awareness and ability to express themselves through aesthetic creative work using a variety of materials.
• Master the use of creative processes in problem-solving, product development and aesthetic creative work.
• Systematically develop the necessary fine motor skills and technical knowledge required in order to be able to realise ideas and produce concrete results.
• Develop their ability to independently formulate and solve problems.
• Develop basic skills in arts and architecture.
• Be able to draw on theories of form, colour and composition in order to evaluate their own creative work and that of others.
• Experience and acquire knowledge of art and design culture within the specialist subject field and develop active skills regarding our culture’s traditions and renewal.
• Acquire knowledge and experience of relevant research and development work within the subject field.
• Visualise and document the creative process from idea to finished product.
• Acquire skills that involve subject didactics skills and the ability to reflect upon their own activities within the subject area. Students should be capable of organising and developing tasks suited to individual pupils.
• Develop the ability to act and the ability to justify their professional practice.
• Use their period of teaching practice as an arena for experimentation and reflection with regard to the study programme.

Further Education opportunities

• One-year course of studies in General Teacher Education study programme and in Subject Teacher: Practical & Arts Subjects study programme.
• Continuing education course for teachers who have completed their teacher or pre-school teacher education.
• Foundation qualification for admission to Master’s degree programme in Art & Design Education.
• The study programme may be included as a part of a multidisciplinary Bachelor’s degree.
• General foundation for further studies in arts subjects.

Curriculum and structure

Code Course title Credits O/V *) Credits pr. semester   S1(A) S2(V) Total: 30 30 *) O - Mandatory course, V - Optional course

The subject material from the target areas is organised into four courses:

1. Visual Communication
2. Design
3. Arts
4. Architecture
   

Teaching and Learning Methods

Students work mainly independently and under supervision of a teacher in the workshop. Through guidance in the workshop sessions, theory and reflection will be related to the student’s own creative work. Lectures, seminars and various types of externally-oriented activities will be included in the teaching and learning methods; this will include exhibitions and digital presentations.
Various group processes may be included as part of the learning methods.

The study programme will be characterised by alternation between practical creative work, theoretical orientation and didactic reflection. Visits to various exhibitions, collections, museums and galleries will be included in the study programme, and students will work with different kinds of exhibitions and other visual documentation; the presentations will be emphasised and integrated into every aspect of the study programme.
Active participation in, and responsibility for, various common projects, for example, “Open Door”, constitutes a mandatory part of the study programme.

Theory and Practical Training

Teaching practice in the primary or lower secondary school (2 - 4 weeks, depending on which study programme the students follow) is a mandatory part of the study programme. The composition of the practice groups may vary in number depending on the purpose and need.
Students should refer to the National Curriculum for primary and lower secondary schools when choosing teaching and learning methods.

Assessment Methods

Students are responsible for keeping themselves informed about assignments, deadlines, programme requirements, etc. Work will be submitted in a portfolio, assessed and allocated a grade.

Lectures, seminars, introductions and reviews are considered within the rule of 80% compulsory attendance.
The assessment should be part of the learning processes and a means for the student to both develop understanding of the goal of the study programme, and to gain insight into their own suitability for the teaching profession.

Examination

Each course is evaluated separately on the basis of the contents of the portfolio with exhibited products.
Grades A-F will be awarded, where A is the highest and E is the lowest passing grade.

The grades for each of the four modules will be entered on the diploma. The four grades will be averaged to a single grade.
For further information refer to Telemark University College’s examination regulations.

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean