Introduction

The study programme emphasizes versatile creative work using various materials and techniques. Activities will be focused on visual art and forms of expression from different eras. The national, international and multi-cultural heritages will be highlighted in the study programme; the Sami culture is also an important part of the study programme. The study programme is aimed at teaching arts and crafts in year levels 5-10 in the lower secondary school. The content and structure will reflect the target group’s age, characteristics, maturation and development. Versatile and subject-related use of basic skills – such as being able to express themselves orally and in writing, reading, use of numeracy and digital tools – will be included as methods in production, documentation and reflection in the study programme. Theory and practice will be integrated in the study programme, and professional skills will be developed in the interaction between practical creative work, theoretical studies and practical training experience.

Target Group and Admission Requirements

Student teachers and teachers continuing their education.

Aim of the Programme

Arts and Crafts 1 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 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.

The candidate will be able 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 art and architecture.
• 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 and develop active skills regarding 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 subject didactics skills and the ability to reflect upon their own activities within the subject area. The candidate should be capable of organising and developing tasks suited to individual pupils.
• Develop the ability to act and to justify their professional practice.
• Use their period of teaching practice as an arena for experimentation and reflection with regard to the study programme.

Learning outcome

After successfully completing the study program, the candidate will have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence.

Knowledge

The candidate has knowledge of:

• The main trends in the visual arts and sculpture, and the development of modern art and crafts, design and architecture
• The main features of the discipline’s history, justification, content and methods

• The basic theories related to children’s and youth’s two and three dimensional visual language development; the visual forms of children and youth’s culture; aesthetic experience, play and creativity
• Current copyright laws and privacy when using sources, images and other resources in teaching
• Entrepreneurship and innovation

Skills

The candidate can:

• Develop an idea into a finished design and evaluate their own creative processes; displaying manual skills and be a good role model for pupils
• Experiment with and use materials, tools, methods and techniques in their work with images, sculpture, design and architecture
• Use digital tools in creative work
• Organize simple exhibitions, creating different types of presentations and activate pupils’ work with exhibition of their own products
• Use simple analysis tools and disseminate art and design culture in varied ways, and understand the relationship between various cultural expressions, children’s creative activities and their own work
• Use existing curricula for primary and lower secondary schools and formulate tasks that promote basic skills in art and crafts, and master learning-oriented evaluation practices

General competence

The candidate can:

• Use cultural differences in the pupil group as a resource in working with art and crafts, and utilize design variations as a basis for assignments and professional discussions
• Facilitate the use of digital learning arenas in instruction concerning subject material and in relation to his/her professional development
• Exploit the subject’s opportunities concerning re-use and sustainable development
• Use art and crafts in interdisciplinary theme- and project work, such as design and technology, and maintain the aesthetic dimension in education and in collaboration with other subjects

Curriculum and structure

Code Course title Credits O/V *) Credits pr. semester   S1(A) S2(V) K&H 501 Arts & Crafts 1: Images, Graphic Design, Visual Communication and Entrepreneurship 15.00 V 15   KH 502 Arts & Crafts 1: Design, Architecture, Sculpture and the Environment 15.00 V   15 Total: 0 0 *) O - Mandatory course, V - Optional course

The study programme is divided into two courses. Each course is divided into two parts.

The course K&H 501: Images, Graphic Design and Visual Communication (15 ECTS credits), Year Level 5-10.

Part 1: Art orientation and working with images using specific materials and techniques.

Part 2: Graphic design and visual communication

The course K&H 502: Design, Architecture, Sculpture, the Environment and Entrepreneurship (15 ECTS credits), Year Level 5-10.

Part 1: Crafts and design

Part 2: Architecture, sculpture, nature and the environment

Internationalization

During the course of the study programme students will participate in a study trip to Oslo or Copenhagen, where students will be given the opportunity of encountering art and design culture and gaining experience of how the disciplines of the study programme are approached in a multicultural context.

Telemark University College is associated with NORDPLUS, Nordflo and Edda which offers students the option of studying various Nordic courses within the subject area.

Teaching and Learning Methods

The study programme includes various teaching and learning methods such as:

• Workshop activities
• Lectures
• Demonstrations
• Class and study groups
• Theme- and project work
• Problem solving, individually / in groups
• Supervision and assessment
• Visual forms of presentation and dissemination
• Excursions

Students must submit their assignments and coursework requirements before the stipulated deadlines. In order to be awarded a final passing grade all the coursework requirements must have been approved by the course coordinator.

Teaching and learning methods will vary depending on whether students are enrolled on a campus-based study programme or an online study programme including workshops.

Campus-based study programme:

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.

Web-based study programme with workshops:

Two courses of 15 ECTS credits – about 3 hours per week, and through the college’s learning platform Fronter with online classrooms for discussion forums, online meetings, writing posts and presentations, submissions, etc. The workshop meetings will prioritize activities in the workshop, including training in the use of tools and machines as well as group projects that focus on creative processes. At the first workshop session students will be given an introduction in the use of the online learning platform Nefsis. Mandatory regular weekly teaching sessions are given in real time online. The students work mainly independently and in groups with online guidance by a teacher. The study programme is characterized by alternation between practical creative work, theory and didactic reflection. Compulsory study trips may be carried out during the workshop meetings.

Theory and Practical Training

Teaching practice in 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.

• Students who are taking the study programme, as part of a Bachelor’s degree will carry out an art or culture related dissemination project with students in the primary/lower-secondary school or with other relevant groups.

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 from the grades transcript will be averaged and a single grade entered on the diploma.
For further information refer to Telemark University College’s examination regulations.

Suitability

All students taking a teacher education study programme will be assessed for suitability. Suitability assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of the student’s academic, pedagogical and personal qualifications to work as a teacher. Continuous assessment of suitability will be carried out throughout the studies, and will be done according to specific criteria for assessment as specified in the Regulations for Suitability Assessment in Teacher Education established by the Ministry of Education and Research on 10 October 2005 pursuant to the Universities and Colleges’ Act, 1 April 2005 no. 15, § 4-10, sixth paragraph.

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