Change To perform and transform knowledge through artistic methods in visual art education

• Aesthetic practice is needed as one of the perspectives in school but also in teacher education. A change has lately occurred in the perception of and approach to aesthetic knowledge in society, as well as in teacher education. A previous educational context emphasized "the knowledge gained through the senses" and teachers as cultural creators, while in the ongoing teacher education reform in Sweden the aesthetic aspects of learning are more marginalized and lessened in importance in different ways. In the arts knowledge is created with and through various forms of interpretation as well as performative and transformative activities. What unites aesthetic learning processes and learning from a cognitive focus point is that learning occurs through mediated actions. The learner can process, absorb and use information, thoughts and feelings through his or her own creativity, which in turn can be used as a source of broadening and deepening the learning experience in many ways. An ongoing discussion problematizes and questions the aesthetics role in relation to learning from different angles in school subjects (OECD-report, 2013). Research shows that aesthetic aspects does not have a direct impact on learning in other subject, but enhances learning in the own field. A central concept in the area of aesthetic learning is creativity. Learning consists of different dimensions where aspects of creativity and imagination are included. Imagination and memory are interdependent and interact in learning. In artistic training is creativity connected to the mastery of an art form. In the process of artistic practice are abilities that are useful on a more general level included. Like the ability to handle uncertainty and failures as well as innovation. The aesthetic languages can be viewed as communicative language forms that are as basic skills in the design of knowledge from an artistic and aesthetic perspective. The artistic field provides methods of learning in a tertiary field, where uncertainty, variability and change are essential elements (Bauman 2002). The experience of meaningfulness in learning is linked to transformative quality in the creation of the learning act. An educational approach that describes transformation as part of knowledge-development combines the arts (art practice) and aesthetic learning. In the art teacher education at the University of Gothenburg the artistic, didactic and theoretical aspects are combined. Artistic reflected practice is used as a method for creating a more participatory education as well as inclusive thinking in education and society. A profile has developed where active citizenship, performativity, Socratic dialogue and student’s co- and self-assessment are parts of the educational practice. In the educational practice visual culture is problematized in relation to school and society based on socio-cultural theory and visual culture studies. In the courses the students work with projects in which site-specific, situated learning in the public space as well as socio-cultural and intercultural aspects are highlighted (participation in culture, assignments, contemporary art). In the ongoing development work regarding the methods in which students participate in different ways with community (sustainable art education, social and environmental sustainability), aspects of sustainable development on the basis of educational and environmental perspectives are included. One of several foci in the artistic investigations of the students is interaction between art and the environment which includes for example community art-projects. The aim is to elucidate specific areas of artistic education and highlight these issues on the research field. The students are assessed (process and product assessment) and work themselves with assessment of their creative work with a special matrix developed for this reason. In the educational practice blogs are used to document the progress and development of the students learning processes and as a means of mediator in the dialogue between student and teacher, for example as a common base in tutorial conversations. To assess and critically examine works of art, knowledge of arts education and to visualize non-formulated levels of artistic practice is based on a tradition since the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris from the 1800s, but goes back even further in time (Lymer 2010). Schön (1987) argues that the assessment of practical art work has its own methods of measuring knowledge in action. According to Dewey (2005) critique and evaluation are integral parts of both the educational tradition and artistic work, where experience-based learning is a common ground. A research study by Lindström (1999) shows that it is possible to make visible - and thus create methods to assess - the non-linguistic or non-formulated levels of knowledge.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

visual art education

teacher education

performative artistic practice

transformative learning

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)