EDF5849 Early childhood and primary arts

This unit explores creative childhoods through the lens of arts-based learning. It focuses on practices, learning theories, and pedagogical innovations with a special focus on the creative, aesthetic and imaginative ways that children engage with visual art, dance, drama, music and media arts. Through seminars and workshops you will explore arts practices, design processes, media and content knowledge. In turn you will create a portfolio of arts experiences that are analysed through theoretical and pedagogical insights of relevance to early childhood and primary contexts. You will also take on the role of creative educators who plan multi-modal arts learning for children across the early years and primary years. Throughout the unit you will explore how children make meaning through learning in, about and through the arts. In addition, you will explore the possibilities of creative curriculum through analysing, planning and evaluating arts learning in early childhood and primary contexts. You will explore how the arts connect to home, community, regional and inter/cultural awareness. You will explore how the arts enables children to communicate in multiple ways that link to environment, sustainability, culture including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Asia and Pacific perspectives and information and communication technologies (ICTs). Within the unit you will develop a broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.