Course Design Plan

Synthesizing needs analysis, learning theories, and learning objectives

Course

Introduction to Art

Target Audience

Freshmen and sophomores in 2- and 4-year colleges and universities, but also appropriate for high school seniors. No prerequisites for this course.

Background Information

General education course with overall learning goal: To gain appreciation into the arts by looking at reasons we make art, how we make art, the role art plays in cultural and historical contexts, and how art can be used as a communication tool for social and political issues.

Timeframe for course development (start date of February 2018 and end date of August 2018):

  • Course objectives, outline, and layout of content and navigations (storyboards) - 2 weeks

  • Stakeholders’ approvals of course design - 1 week

  • Course content creation - 2 months

  • Subject matter expert review of course content - 1 month

  • Stakeholders’ approvals of course content - 2 weeks

  • Content ingestion and course assembly in LMS - 1 month

  • Course review (QA) alpha testing- 2 weeks

  • Corrections and revisions - 2 weeks

  • Course review (QA) beta testing - 2 weeks

  • Final revisions and stakeholders’ approvals - 2 weeks

  • Production; published course in LMS - 1 week

Design Model and Learning Theory Approach

The design model will be a blend of backward design with Gagne’s because for a course focusing on appreciation, the overall outcomes and performance assessment to show relevancy become more important to set up expectations. Backward design will help to eliminate unnecessary content that do not tie or align to learning objectives that feed into course outcomes (terminal objectives). Gagner’s instructional events will help to create a relevant, engaging course with a focus on retention and application of knowledge (e.g., the vocabulary of art and design) to all types of assessments and performance criteria.

While Gagne’s instructional events are considered behaviorism, the approach promoted by this course is cognitivism as the concepts and skills developed in this course are meant to help learners think critically and develop their own perspectives through analyses, discussions, and reflections.

Course components:

  • Resources: Articles, museum and other cultural websites, videos, fine art images Activities: Discussion posts, self quizzes

  • Assessments: One-page analyses, studio projects, exhibition proposal

Course Format

Online delivery although can be easily adapted for a hybrid course delivery as well. Since assessments require peer reviews and discussion boards, the course will be somewhat asynchronous within a specific timeframe.

There will be 4 lessons to be completed over 8 weeks.

Content structure can be found at https://www.dropbox.com/s/tgnsoo71gf1d3ft/OSU_M1Assign_ContentStructure.pdf?dl=0.

Scope/Coverage

Course Introduction

  • What Is Art?

  • Why Study Art?

  • ​How to Respond to Art (Feldman's Method of Art Criticism) ​

Visual Language of Art

  • Elements of Art and Design

  • Principles of Art and Design

Processes and Media

  • Two-Dimensional Media

    • Paintings

    • Drawings

    • Prints

    • Book and Paper Arts

    • Photography

  • Three-Dimensional Media

    • Architecture

    • Sculptures

    • Installations

    • Mixed Media

    • Decorative Arts

    • Fashion

  • Four-Dimensional Media

    • Performances

    • Digital Arts

    • Film and Videos

Global Art History Timeline (Prehistoric to Today)

Themes and Functions of Art

  • Community and Politics

  • Spirituality

  • The Natural World

  • Stories and Histories

  • Life and Death

  • Self-Expression

  • The Human Figure

  • Aesthetics

​Course Objectives

Accurately apply visual language in formal analyses of works of art.

Examine techniques, media and materials used by artists that allow them to create their individual styles through identification and analyses.

Summarize main characteristics and examples of major artistic movements and styles in written comparisons and written or oral analyses.

Evaluate the functions, contexts, representation, and communicative nature of art (social, spiritual, political, etc.) in written comparisons and exhibition proposal/presentation.

Sample Lessons

Visual Language of Art (covers elements and principles of art and design)

Terminal objective: When looking at art and design in any environment (condition), a learner (audience) should be able to accurately apply visual language (behavior) in written or oral analyses of the art mentioning at least 3 to 5 elements and principles (degree).

Enabling objectives:

  • Given some works of art and design (condition), a learner (audience) should be able to examine the values and importance of studying art (behavior) in written or oral reflections noting at least 2 to 3 values or reasons (degree).

  • Given some works of art and design (condition), a learner (audience) should be able to apply Feldman’s method of looking at art (behavior) in short one-page analyses that include all of Feldman’s steps (degree).

  • Given a studio project (condition), a learner (audience) should be able to experiment with elements and principles of art and design (behavior) by incorporating at least 1 to 2 elements and principles in his/her work of art (degree).

Activities and assessment examples:

  • Discussion Post: Short Written Reflection. After going through learning materials, students can assess what others say the importance of art is and share their own view with peers.

  • Self-Quizzes. As students go through learning materials, students will conduct some practice checks to test knowledge and understanding of the elements and principles. Remediation and additional teaching moments provided.

  • One-Page Analyses: After going through learning materials, students will write analyses of works using the vocabulary of art and design and Feldman’s method.

  • Studio Projects. For a more interactive learning, students will work on some small studio projects such as creating a collage using at least a few elements and principles they’ve encountered in this module/unit, and then upload images of their creations to share and discuss for grading.

Themes and Functions of Art ( covers art’s social and functional roles and as a form of communication or expression)

Terminal objective: When looking at art and design in any environment (condition), a learner (audience) should be able to evaluate the functions, representation, and communicative nature of art (behavior) in written comparisons of works and by putting together an exhibition proposal (degree).

Enabling objectives:

  • Given some works of art and design (condition), a learner (audience) should be able to classify works of art (behavior) based on themes and functions in classification and matching quizzes or activities (degree).

  • Given some works of art and design (condition), a learner (audience) should be able to infer from examples of art how they can serve as forms of communication and representation (behavior) in written or oral analyses of the works without using notes (degree).

​Activities and assessment examples:

  • Discussion Post: Short Written Reflection. After going through learning materials, students will share and discuss with peers works they found to be representative or communicative of a community issue, self-expression, etc.

  • Self Quizzes. As students go through learning materials, students will conduct some practice checks to test knowledge and understanding of the common themes and functions of art and design. Remediation and additional teaching moments provided.

  • Exhibition Proposal. For the final summative assessment (project), students will put together an exhibition proposal (in a creative format) that synthesizes all the lessons’ topics and essential questions using open source images and written descriptions to support their selections of art or design.

Delivery Method

Best LMS would be Canvas with each lesson its own module set in linear progression, but content and assessments can be easily adapted for our LMS delivery depending on institutional requirements and preference.

Each lesson starts with an introduction to the topics and objectives, followed by readings and videos with self-quizzes and discussion posts interwoven. Small studio projects and one-page analyses are assessments given at the end of each sub-lesson in a module.

Accommodations

Internal motivation

Feedback will be given throughout the course, along with discussion posts focusing on analysis and reflection. The final project is an exhibition proposal where learners will put themselves into the shoes of a collector or curator. The choices they make and their rationale are all benefits in terms of decision making and critical thinking.

Life experiences

The course is set up in a scaffolded manner that start with vocabulary or language that will then be applied in learners’ analyses and reflections. The progression and activities will get learners to see what’s around them, build their “looking” or analytical skills, and help them become aware of the art, architecture and design that surround them.

Goal-oriented

Learning to “look” or “see” in art improves analytical skills, and therefore critical thinking that can be applied to everyday conversations and on-the-job functions.

Relevancy-oriented

Activities are tied to learning objectives and then to overarching learning outcomes. Many activities include hands-on studio projects and exploration in museums or art and design in everyday places.

Practical

The exhibition proposal (summative assessment) is practical in that it would be similar in nature to proposals and presentations that many learners would have to do (or are already doing) at their jobs. They need to use various aspects of critique, make judgment calls, and be able to back up or support their choices.

Respect

Discussion posts will be learner driven with instructor input where appropriate, but they are supposed to be spaces for learners to share ideas, reflect, and respectfully respond to each others analyses and build confidence in how they view art and various perspectives.

Self-Actualization

The studio project assignments would speak to creativity, and would require problem solving when thinking and making decisions about how to approach compositions, select materials, etc.

Esteem

The discussion posts, analyses and reflection assignments are meant to build learners’ confidence in talking about art and sharing ideas, leading up the final, summative assessment of putting together an exhibition proposal.

Love/Belonging & Safety

The course is meant to provide a safe learning environment and to make art accessible to everyone through the activities (discussion posts, analyses, reflection assignments, and studio projects) and learning materials offered in the lessons that are set up in scaffolded manner.

Physiological

While not something the content and assignments will be able to address directly, I’d encourage learners to manage their time wisely especially in preparing and working toward the final project so they do not lose sleep and appetite, which would affect their emotional response and critical thinking.

ARCS and motivation activities

For attention, in a course such as this one, visuals and media will play a major role and be starting points for dialogue. The exhibit proposal put learners into the shoes of being curators or art collectors, and at the same time, shows them how proposal factor into everyday careers regardless of subject area. The scaffolded framework of the course along with constant feedback and dialogue between learners and instructors lead to confidence building, practice and reinforcement, and hopefully toward appreciation of art (which I consider to the biggest reward in this course).

Retention

Course outcomes and learning objectives that fall under each are set at the planning stages of the course. Given that it’s a visual arts subject, learners will have to engage with images, videos, and other performance media on a regular basis, but will also have opportunities to participate in making art.

Activities, along with self-practice quizzes, are scattered throughout the lessons to build retention and allow learners to apply vocabulary and concepts so that they’re not always reading, looking at images, and watching videos. Instead, they’ll be responding to questions with feedback (that are more like hints and tips) and communicating with others about what they’re seeing and feeling and explaining why. Extraneous information such as the history of art is kept to a minimum because while such information is important for contextualize works, the bigger goal of the course is getting learners to analyze and appreciate art (whether at an introductory or deeper level).

Conclusion

The design plan is a start to creating a project management plan and to making sure content and assessments align well to learning objectives and course goals. In terms of limitations, this one document does not capture everything, and additional documentation will be needed to create all learning objectives and map content (resources) and assessments. As noted, a separate project management plan is needed.