ART 2420 - The Child as Cultural Construct (3)

When Offered: Fall; Spring
GEN ED: Junior Writing in the Discipline (WID)
Students will study the cultural, empirical, and personal image of the child and how these collective beliefs influence the practice of art education. Specific topics include: recognizing the child as cultural construct, the teacher and child as co-constructors of knowledge, the value of a child’s aesthetic, and authentic assessment. The class will be a combination of written responses, class discussions, research observations, technological applications and a community collaborative art experience as it relates to contemporary visual culture, to the image of the child and to the child’s art making. Theories of art education that illuminate the vital importance of personal experience, public memory, intertextuality, and cultural narrative will be examined. Various models for assessing student performance will be studied with special attention given to creating assessment tools that deconstruct the practice of knower and non-knower and construct practical instruments.
Prerequisite: R C 2001 or its equivalent and Art Education Candidacy Portfolio Review. The Art Education Candidacy Portfolio Review will be waived for majors in the Department of Family and Child Studies.