Journal of Useful Investigations in Creative Education
Abstract Though technology is making access to reading easier, universities still see a significant lack of reading compliance. According to one study, only 5% of students complete over 75% of the given reading material. This article makes an honest observation on several factors surrounding this, exploring reading as a skill and attitudes and identities towards …
Abstract Inclusive of socio-economic disadvantage, young people from a variety of backgrounds and characteristics are underrepresented in Higher Education (HE) in England. While attainment at secondary school strongly predicts whether a young person might go into HE, it is also difficult to disentangle attainment at Key Stages from the cyclical influence of prior disadvantage. Creative …
Abstract One room, three learning spaces for creative education. This image-led investigation shows how a standard blank room can be effectively transformed into three different kinds of learning environments: a lecture hall, a computer room and a studio. Research has shown that effective design of teaching spaces is beneficial to the learning experience and contributes …
Abstract The aim of this reflection was to investigate the extent to which one of my teaching spaces is inclusive and accessible for my students that will be using it. With inclusivity and accessibility being increasingly discussed within a university setting, it felt important to look at the spaces I use when teaching my workshops …
Abstract This essay reflects on the role of the main learning theories in the delivery of the illustration curriculum. Each theory is introduced by way of a brief summary. I then discuss its merits and / or drawbacks and show how it fits in with teaching illustration as a discipline. Having set the scene from …
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Abstract The Alexander Framework invites us to reflect on our underlying beliefs and assumptions about teaching and learning. In this article, Rebecca Fairley, Programme Leader for Textiles at the Open College of the Arts, provides an example of how the Alexander Framework can help educators achieve new perspectives on how they approach their teaching. Published …
Continue reading "Using the Alexander Framework to reflect on approaches to teaching"
Ray Martin highlights the sobering findings emerging from Kate Hatton's book on the state of inclusivity in arts higher education. Published on 11th March 2020 | Written by Ray Martin | Photo by Allie Smith on Unsplash ‘Art education has generally been conservative, repetitive and exclusive,’ says Kate Hatton, editor of Towards an Inclusive Arts …
Continue reading "Could do better? Inclusion in higher education arts institutions (review)"
Ray Martin sings the praises of Terry Barrett’s new book on the studio crit. Published on 30th May 2019 | Written by Ray Martin | Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash A crit is a fearsome thing. It can be ‘gladiatorial, combative and unforgiving’, says Peter Day, who found that students were fundamentally ‘fear focused’ …
This piece is an exploration into the micro and macro levels of curriculum design, starting from a fundamental building block ‘If This, Then That’. These are small component parts that progress in a logical and linear fashion into a larger concept network that aims to embody the course ethos within an Arts University and then …
Continue reading "If This Then That: a wider view of curriculum design"
Elliot Einser’s theory of connoisseurship has been influential in the discourse around assessment of arts disciplines for forty years – and still is. It claims that judgments should be based on the fact that assessors are like connoisseurs: able to discern, discriminate and thereby identify good work, as well as being able to explain the …
