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:

• Comprehensive knowledge and experience in using various materials, tools, techniques and aesthetic means, both analogue and digital, and is able to assess the quality, suitability and use of various tools related to versatile work with images, graphic design and visual communication
• Knowledge of the main features of the historical development of international visual art, graphic design and visual communication
• Comprehensive knowledge and experience in documenting creative processes, linking relationships to relevant theory and practice and use this to reflect on the further development of didactic skills.

Skills

The candidate has:

• Knowledge of the principal theories of visual forms of expression of children’s culture

General competence

The candidate has:

• Comprehensive experience in planning, developing, implementing and evaluating the form, content and presentation style of physical and digital presentations and exhibitions.

Course Description

Image work, graphic design, visual communication (15 ECTS), year levels 1-7.

The course is divided into two parts:

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

Part 2: Graphic design and visual communication

Teaching and Learning Methods

The course includes the following teaching and learning methods:

• 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 program or an online study program including workshops.

Campus-based study program:

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 program 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 program, and students will work with different kinds of exhibitions and other visual documentation; the presentations will be emphasised and integrated into all the study program courses. Active participation in, and responsibility for, various common projects, for example, “Open Door”, constitutes a mandatory part of the study program.

Web-based study program with workshops:

Roughly three 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 program is characterized by alternation between practical creative work, theory and didactic reflection. Compulsory study trips may be carried out during the workshop meetings.

Students will gain experience in using a variety of methods and materials that will provide learning outcomes in relation to the requirements of the current curriculum for years 1-7 in primary and lower secondary schools. The course is characterised by an interaction between theory and practical work. Students will develop their ability to make decisions and defend professional practices. The course includes lectures, demonstrations, seminars, study groups, project work and visual presentations. The course also includes attendance at exhibitions.

The course is organised through portfolio assignments designed by the course coordinator.

The portfolio assignments relate to course requirements, progression, structure and learning objectives.

Through work on the portfolio assignments the student will receive guidance and feedback on the submitted work from various components of the study process. Through their studies, students will develop an awareness of their own development and learning process in the course.

Large parts of the course require obligatory attendance; information is given in the year-plan/semester plan/period plans.

The individual student is responsible for his/her own learning. This means that each student must keep themselves updated with respect to the syllabus literature and seek professional guidance. The acquisition of knowledge will, to a large degree, depend upon supervision of the learning processes and learning through action. Attendance and participation in an active, creative workshop environment is a fundamental and vital condition for gaining maximum benefit from the course.

Assessment Methods

All the coursework requirements must have been submitted and approved by the course coordinator before the final assessment.

The final assessment will be related to selected pieces of work from the whole of the study period and a specific final portfolio assignment.

A grade will be awarded on the scale from A to F, where A is the highest and E the lowest passing grade.

Please refer to Telemark University College Examination Regulations.

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