EDAR 516: Visual Arts Curriculum & Teaching 1

Student Name: Heidi Wolfenden

Student Number: S00196837

Assessment One: Curriculum Analysis

Introduction
The design of the Victorian Curriculum has emerged as a result of complex debates in regard to
the kinds of knowledge and skills young people need in an increasingly globalised and
ever-changing world. The key purpose of the Victorian Curriculum is to clearly define a common
set of knowledge and skills for lifelong learning, social development and active and informed
citizenship. (Victorian Curriculum, 2015)

Explain the general structure of the Victorian Curriculum, The Arts and the
common curriculum concepts and aims across all strands.
The Victorian Curriculum is structured as a continuum across levels of learning achievement as
opposed to being strictly defined by years of schooling. This enables teachers to develop
learning programs to suit the varying needs of students and focus on actual learning levels, rather
than students assumed level, based on age.
Each learning area is structured in the same basic format. Educators are introduced to the
learning area through a clearly defined Rational and Aim. The general structure is then outlined
and teachers are introduced to a series of strands, unique to that particular subject. Strands are
defined as key organising elements within each curriculum area. (Victorian Curriculum, 2015)
Educators are then provided with general information as to what students should be learning in
the learning area, followed by a Scope and Sequence and Glossary of terms associated with
that particular curriculum area. (Victorian Curriculum, 2015)
The curriculum is then set out as a series of levels or bands. A description of what students
should be capable of is defined for each level. Content descriptions are also included at each
level, so that teachers can ensure that the content they are delivering is set at the right level for
each student. Lastly, an achievement standard is outlined for each level which describes what
students are typically able to understand and do, and are the basis for reporting student
achievement. (Victorian Curriculum, 2015)

The Victorian Curriculum outlines four general capabilities, which are sets of knowledge and skills,
which need to be taught explicitly across all learning areas. These are: Critical and Creative
Thinking, Ethical, Intercultural and Personal & Social. The Australian Curriculum also included
Literacy, Numeracy and ICT as general capabilities. (Australian Curriculum, 2013, 2014, 2015) Instead,
Victoria embedded these three important skill sets into the curriculum itself and these are not
areas against which teachers need to report student progress.
Three Curriculum priorities have also been embedded into the Victorian Curriculum across all
learning areas from F-10. These are defined as: Aboriginal & Torres Strait islander history and
cultures, Asia & Australias engagement with Asia and Sustainability. Understanding ATSI
histories and cultures is considered the top priority. (Victorian Curriculum, 2015)
Identify one strand of The Arts and explain the specific structure, aims/objectives, learning
outcomes, assessment statements.
Within The Arts there are five general Learning Areas, these are: Dance, Drama, Media Arts,
Visual Arts and Visual Communication Design.
The Visual Arts learning area includes the fields of art, craft and design. The Visual Arts Rationale
seeks to succinctly define why students need to learn the outlined curriculum, what is important
for them to know, how they are to learn it and through what concepts. Learning in Visual Arts is
immensely valuable, because it enhances students capacity to explore and expand their
understanding of their world and others worlds. Visual Arts provides the perfect vehicle for
students to develop a greater understanding of world cultures and their responsibilities as global
citizens. It is important for students to learn how to make art and respond to artworks using
visual arts knowledge, understanding and skills. As students progress they need to develop a
personal visual aesthetic and develop an appreciation and respect for the work of others.
Students will be required to understand the significance of Visual Arts from an historical context
and expand their capacity to make critical judgments about their own work and the work of
others. Teachers need to provide adequate scaffolding to enable students to develop greater
perceptual and conceptual understanding, critical reasoning and practical skills. (Victorian
Curriculum, 2015)

A number of aims are clearly defined in the Victorian Curriculum. Students are required to
develop their critical and creative thinking skills and increase their knowledge and understanding
of techniques, processes and technologies. Students should be encouraged to be curious,
experimental and imaginative. It is expected that they will develop their own personal aesthetic,
through making, responding, viewing, discussing, analyzing, interpreting and evaluating. The
students will be encouraged to develop their cognitive thinking skills and to think in increasing
complex ways. (Bloom et al.1956 Krathwohl, Bloom & Masia.1965, Simpson.1966, Harrow. 1972, Dave. 1975,
Anderson et al. 2000.)

It is also considered important that students develop a respect for diversity and come to value
the histories, cultures and traditions of their own culture and that of others.
2

The structure of the Visual Art curriculum is divided into four strands, all of which involve both
making and responding. The four strands are Explore & Express Ideas, Visual Art Practices,
Present & Perform and Respond & Interpret. Students learn through the process of creating art
and as a viewer of a variety of artworks, including their own. Students also need to understand
Visual Conventions, be able to investigate the viewpoints of the artist and audience and explore a
variety of techniques, processes and materials. (Victorian Curriculum, 2015)

The Visual Arts: Foundation-Level 10 is made up of six bands, Foundation Level, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 78 and levels 9-10. There is an achievement standard set out for each band or level. This
statement clearly defines what students should be able to do, when they have reached the end of
that level. The achievement standards provide a useful guide for teachers, when they are required
to make an assessment of their students progress. (Victorian Curriculum, 2015)

Examine the conceptualisation of the learning content and assessment across

Year 7-10 that underpins and informs the curriculum
Visual Art teachers are expected to develop their learning and teaching program based on the
four strands, Explore & Express Ideas, Visual Art Practices, Present & Perform and Respond
& Interpret. A content description is provided for each strand and each band level. The content
description describes, specific and discrete information identifying what teachers are expected
to teach and what students are expected to learn. (Victorian Curriculum, 2015)
When the Visual Art teacher is planning their teaching and learning program for Years 7-10 they
generally refer to Levels 7-8 and 9-10. The level of complexity required by students is greater as
they progress through these levels. Students at this stage are expected to engage in higher order
thinking and develop their abilities to plan, design and create artwork and also to analyse and
evaluate (level 9-10) a range of visual artworks. (Bloom et al. ,1956 Krathwohl, Bloom & Masia, 1965
Simpson, 1966, Harrow, 1972 Dave, 1975 Anderson et al. ,2000.)

Each content description outlined in the Visual Arts Victorian Curriculum has a corresponding
code, for example: VCAVAR038, and elaborations. Elaborations are described as non-mandated,
advisory examples that provide guidance on how the curriculum may be transformed into a
classroom activity or learning opportunity. (Victorian Curriculum, 2015)
Teachers can use this information as a helpful guide, when developing lesson content.

Conclusion
The Victorian Curriculum had been developed as a hybrid of the Australian Curriculum (Aus) and
the previous Victorian Essential Learning Standards (Vels).The emergence of state and territory
hybrids means there are now multiple versions of the Australian Curriculum operating across the
nation, rather than one homogenous version. (Savage, 2015) This can lead to confusion for
teachers, as they continually try to adjust to changes in Curriculum each year and as they move
from one state to another.
3

It could be argued that the Victorian Curriculum has become somewhat over complicated, as an
attempt is made to cover everything. The extensive use of jargon and long-winded explanations
tend to reduce the clarity of the communication.
Adoniou questions what the consumers of the curriculum, the students themselves, might have
wanted, had they been asked for their input. She suspects that they might have wanted things
that never feature in the curriculum- relevance, purpose, excitement, humour. Although these
are not curriculum content descriptors, they could make worthy cross-curriculum priorities.
(Adoniou, 2015)

Overall, the Victorian Curriculum provides teachers with a strong framework, to help them to
structure their teaching in such a way, as to improve the overall quality of students learning.
However, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that the curriculum needs to allow for
flexibility and should encourage a joy of learning.

References

Adoniou, M., Savage,G. Louden,B. (2015) The Conversation. What will changes to the national curriculum
mean for schools? Experts respond. Retrieved from: http://theconversation.com/what-will-changes-to-thenational-curriculum- mean-for-schools-experts-respond-46933
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority.
F-10 Curriculum. General capabilities. Introduction. Retrieved from:
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/overview/introduction
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (2015) Victorian Curriculum Foundation-10.
Retrieved from: http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/

Wikipedia (2016) Blooms Taxonomy.

Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_taxonomy#CITEREFK