Christiane Herth
Part of the InSEA conference 2018 in Helsinki. http://taide.aalto.fi/fi/research/insea/
Teachers often adopt didactic models mimicking the ones they experienced, either as pupils or as university students while preparing the didactic part of their recruitment exam. Those modelling experiences are now questioned by the introduction of competency-based curricula and the existence of the Common European Framework for Visual Literacy. For some, it means a radical shift in their methods.
The workshop looks into the way some teachers adapt to this change. It is based on a qualitative study with visual art teachers in the French context. The study showed that visual art teachers have mostly a constructivist conception of learning and are confident in the capacity of the students to participate actively in the learning process. But when asked about the effectiveness of the learning situations, the teachers often have an ambivalent position. Although they are convinced to create the conditions of an active construction of knowledge and competencies, they express a lack of confidence in the possibility to identify or measure the learning outcomes.
The teachers’ position on their work’s contents, methods and purposes results from a complex web of professional settings, beliefs and values as well as from their personal and artistic journey. The workshop, through the presentation and discussion of teacher practices and learning situations, will try to clarify how these parameters come to play.