Collaboration Between Student Art Teachers and Communication and Digital Media Students Promoting Subject Specific Didactics in Digital Visual Learning Design

Author(s):

Mie Buhl(presenting / submitting)Kirsten Skov(presenting)

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

29. Research on Arts Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

29 SES 06 B, Audiovisual and Digital Media in Arts Education

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-23

15:30-17:00

Room:

W2.05

Chair:

Judit Onsès

Contribution

This paper presents research perspective on how the collaboration between communication designers and teacher trainers in visual arts facilitates the development of new forms of digital visual learning. Our discussion is based on an empirical project of developing a digital visual learning design. Student art teachers and teacher trainers took part in the design process performed by communication students. The project took its point of the departure in the act of Danish teacher education where student teachers must be educated in the practical use of digital visual media for art practices aiming at achieving the necessary competences to teach visual arts in school. This, however, challenges both student teachers as well as their lecturers in how to use digital media for doing artwork that goes beyond the well-known re-mediations (image processing or editing programs) of traditional media like painting, drawing or video. Thus, the project suggested the development of a visual learning design for achieving augmented reality (AR) experiences in urban environments and sharing them on social media. The purpose was to explore adequate approaches to work with digital media in visual arts education based on practices and reflective processes. The theoretical framework for our discussion of the empirical project draws on current discussions of learning designs and digital media in visual arts education (Peppler 2010, Rasmussen 2015, Buhl & Ejsing-Duun, 2015; Buhl, 2016).

Method

The choice of empirical design was based on the purpose of involving the future users in developing a visual learning design, and thereby drawing on visual art expertise in all phases of the design. The Design Based Research (DBR) approach (Amiel & Reeves 2008) was chosen in order to facilitate the collaborative aspect of the developing process. In DBR, a theoretical concept based on domain-specific knowledge forms the outset for forming of design principles that are tested, reflected, and enhanced. Three groups of communication students performed this process informed by: the currents in the domain of contemporary visual art education, the domain of AR and IT educational design and visual pedagogical research ((Dunleavy & Dede, 2014; Beetham, 2007; Buhl & Flensborg, 2011). DBR is a pragmatic research approach that combines iterative development of a design with research activities aimed at enhancing the design as well as developing theory and with an emphasis on the collaboration between the designer and the stakeholders. The project design discussed here, is the result of several iterations of similar course designs at Aalborg university, in which the basic principles of a pedagogical concept involving different constellations of digital technologies and cases were designed, tested, and renegotiated on the paradigmatic level, taking the situatedness of pedagogy into account. Our discussion of the potential for developing digital learning application from a collaborative approach is based on the visual design products, interviews and written reports, as well as shared experiences from the stakeholders in the project.

Expected Outcomes

The project revealed three digital visual learning designs, showing opportunities to work with AR experiences in very different formats, but beyond the traditional remediation programs. The designs showed different interpretations of subject specific didactics, which probably has to do with the interpretative positions of the two knowledge domains of the stakeholders. Furthermore, the project revealed different perceptions of subject specific didactics between student art teachers and their lecturers. Finally, the designs indicate that a collaborative approach may promote new aspects to subject didactics, where visual art didactics gain new opportunities from involving the domain of communication and digital media for developing learning resources. However, it must be concluded that more iterations of the empirical design must be conducted in order to test its usability.

References

Amiel, T., & Reeves, T. C. (2008). Design Based Research and Educational Technology: Rethinking Technology and the Research Agenda. Educational Technology & Society, 11 (4), 2008, pp. 29–40 Beetham, H. (2007): An approach to learning activity design. In: Beetham, H. & Sharpe, R. (eds.) Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age. Designing and delivering e-learning. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 26-40 (14 s.) Buhl, M. (2016) Theory-generating practice. Proposing a principle for learning design. Læring og Medier (LOM), Vol. 9, No. 15, 2016, p. 1-21 Buhl, M. & Ejsing-Duun (2015) Blended learning promoting new developments for Nordic master programs in visual studies and art education, ECEL Proceedings, Hatfield Buhl, M. & Flensborg (2011). Visuel kulturpædagogik, København: Hans Reitzels Forlag Peppler, K. (2010). Media arts: Arts education for a digital age. Teachers College Record, vol 112, nr. 8, p. 2118-2153 http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.700.7662&rep=rep1&type=pdf Dunleavy, M. & Dede, C. (inpress). Augmented reality teaching and learning. in. J.M. Spector, M.D. Merrill, J. Elen & M.J. Bishop (eds), The handbook og research for educational communications and technology New York: Springer http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1116077.files/DunleavyDedeARfinal.pdf Rasmussen, H. (2015). Digital Picture Production and Picture aesthetic Competency in It-didactic Design. Risk and opportunities for visual arts education in Europe. Proceedings, InSEA conferene, Lisbon, Portugal

Author Information

Mie Buhl (presenting / submitting)

Aalborg University

Communication

Copenhagen SV

Kirsten Skov (presenting)

UCC Campus Carlsberg Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Search the ECER Programme

Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
Search for authors and in the respective field.
For planning your conference attendance you may want to use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference
If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.