INDIANA PROGRAM REVIEW

Visual Arts

Indiana University – Purdue University at Fort Wayne

Document # 1

A.  UNIT SUMMARY

Program Description

Top of Form

The Department of Fine Arts offers contemporary, comprehensive Indiana University degrees. The Bachelor of Fine Arts’ four-year program provides graduates with skills that enable them to pursue professions within the art field. The Bachelor of Arts in Education (art education) prepares students who are looking for employment teaching at the K-12 educational level. The four year Bachelor of Arts degree is a liberal arts degree designed for the student wanting a more well rounded and flexible criteria in their studies. The fine arts minor is offered to majors outside the Department of Fine to enrich a major area of study. The minor in art history is available for art majors and non art majors alike.

IPFW Department of Fine Arts students also benefit from the unique artistic expertise of a world-class faculty. At IPFW, students study and work one-on-one with dedicated and professionally active faculty specialists. The mission of the Department of Fine Arts is to educate students and the community in Fine Art. Degrees offered are Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), Bachelor of Arts in Art Education, Minor in Art History, and a Fine Arts Minor. A comprehensive explanation of each of the above programs is laid out in the IPFW 2006-2008 Undergraduate Bulletin. Students successfully completing the requirements of the Fine Arts degrees should be able to:

·  Understand the non-verbal language of art

·  Develop responses to visual phenomena, and organize perceptions and conceptualizations both rationally and intuitively

·  Become familiar with and develop competence in a number of art skills

·  Make valid assessments of quality in works of art

·  Become familiar with the major achievements in the history of art, including the works and intentions of leading artists past and present

·  Understand and evaluate contemporary thinking about art

The Art Education program at IPFW promotes and cultivates the role of artist/teacher as the ideal educator of the arts in schools today. With a solid background in studio arts, student teachers use their experience as artists to develop a philosophy that aims to create authentic art making conditions in their future positions as art educators. Art educators learn to advocate for the arts and are given learning opportunities both in school and museum contexts as they grow to share learning and understanding of visual arts education. The Bachelor of Art in Art Education requires 39 credit hours in General Education. A listing of classes that fulfill each Area of General Education requirements is at the front of both the Schedule of Classes catalog or the IPFW Undergraduate Programs catalog. The General Education Areas and their required credit hours are listed below. For a complete listing of required classes refer to the Department of Fine Arts Student Handbook or the IPFW 2006-2008 Bulletin.

The Department of Fine Arts, in cooperation with the College of Education, offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in art education and certification to teach at all grade levels. Students will learn the teaching fundamentals of the visual arts, as they prepare to meet the art education needs of schools nationwide. The IPFW art education degree provides a convenient, high quality, and affordable program for the students of northeastern Indiana.
The Bachelor of Arts in Art Education degree allows a graduate to teach elementary, middle school/junior high or high school art. This program is designed to give a student a solid foundation in the arts as you come to understand the role of the artist/educator. If you already hold a degree in Fine Art, it is possible to obtain certification to teach through the addition of the appropriate education courses providing you meet general university requirements. The Art Education degree is divided into 3 parts, 39 credit hours of General Education, 51 credit hours of Art Studio work, and 38 credit hours of Professional Education classes. A total of 128 credits are required for graduation.
The Art Education program at IPFW promotes and cultivates the role of artist/teacher as the ideal educator of the arts in schools today. With a solid background in studio arts, student teachers use their experience as artists to develop a philosophy that aims to create authentic art making conditions in their future positions as art educators. Art educators learn to advocate for the arts and are given learning opportunities both in school and museum contexts as they grow to share learning and understanding of visual arts education.
The Bachelor of Art in Art Education requires 39 credit hours in General Education. A listing of classes that fulfill each Area of General Education requirements is at the front of both the Schedule of Classes catalog or the IPFW Undergraduate Programs catalog. The General Education Areas and their required credit hours are listed below. For a complete listing of required classes refer to the Department of Fine Arts Student Handbook or the IPFW 2006-2008 Bulletin.

IPFW School of Education Conceptual Framework

In support of our School of Education Conceptual Framework, the Visual Arts Teacher Education Program in the Department of Educational Studies emphasizes the interrelated aspect of each of the six core components within its curriculum and program delivery. While individual courses may focus on some aspects of the framework more than others, we are confident that our courses and programs as a whole, embrace this central core of teacher training and development. Due to the current national testing and assessment movement, content Knowledge is critical for effective educators to comprehend. Educators need to understand how knowledge is constructed, how the processes of inquiry are applied, how domains of knowledge are established, how disciplines can be integrated, and how this information can effectively be communicated to students. Understanding content knowledge is critical however, it cannot be viewed in isolation from the other five components. Democracy and Community is the second key component that we encourage in the Department of Educational Studies. Educators need an understanding of the moral, cultural, social, political, and economic foundations of our community and society in order to foster democratic concepts within the school community. Effective educators understand that knowledge alone is not sufficient. Within the third component, Habits of Mind, our students practice critical reflection within the context of a compassionate, caring community with the goal of fostering these habits to engage learners in the critical aspects of the learning process. Without an understanding of Pedagogy, our students would not understand the multiple roles of the teaching such as facilitator, guide, role model, scholar, and motivator. Without an understanding of pedagogy, educators would not understand the diverse perspectives of learning and understanding and the social circumstances that they and their students bring to the educational setting. Without rich Experiences both in and out of the traditional classroom, candidate skills would lie dormant and unrefined. The last component, Leadership, provides our candidates the educational and social vision necessary to inspire others, both students and colleagues, to accept the educational challenges of the twenty-first century.

The Unit Assessment System

The Unit Assessment System (UAS) in the School of Education at Indiana University – Purdue University at Fort Wayne was created in response to a professional responsibility to ensure that our programs are of the highest quality. This dynamic assessment system is continually evaluated to insure that 1) instruction and curriculum are aligned with professional, state, and institutional standards (e.g., the Conceptual Framework and Mission Statement); 2) courses, field experiences, and programs are efficient; and 3) content knowledge and the demonstration of teaching that leads to a student teaching experience that reflects the attainment of core concepts.

A key component of the UAS within the Visual Arts Teaching Program is the systematic review of the on-going teacher candidate portfolio. This portfolio is introduced in our Invitation to Teaching course (F300) and students are provided a copy of the Guidelines for Preparing a Portfolio that they continually refer to as they progress through our program. Instruction in the Visual Arts Teaching Program professional course sequence is a faculty team effort. Professional Teacher Education courses are currently offered in two clusters with a culminating experience of 16 weeks of a student teaching experience. Faculty teaching in these block courses normally meet at the beginning and end of each semester to discuss levels of organization and changes that need to address emerging issues and improvement of the program. Portfolio checkpoints are located at four distinct locations within the program: F300, at the conclusion of Blocks I, II, and at the exit portfolio during the student teaching semester. At each portfolio checkpoint, candidates are provided feedback to allow them to continually build and revise their portfolios up to their student teaching experience. The Visual Arts Teaching Program engages in a continuous review process and the School of Education Unit Assessment Taskforce receives data from the unit assessment system on an annual basis for review.

The School of Education Assessment System

A candidate record or file is established for all applicants to the School of Education teacher education programs. This school-wide assessment system is structured around several data gathering components. All candidates are assessed at several benchmark points 1) admission to teacher education with minimum grades in specific course, minimum completion hours, minimum grade point average, and passing scores on the Praxis I exam, 2) retention in teacher education based on minimum grade point average, 3) eligibility to student teach, 4) eligibility to graduate and/or complete requirements for licensure (including passing scores on the Praxis II exam), 5) completion of a successful student teaching experience, and 6) the completion of a passing exit portfolio discussed above.

Teacher Education Courses

Below is a list of teacher education courses required of all Visual Arts Teacher Education candidates. Required content specific pedagogy courses are located in Document # 2. See the following link for campus course descriptions. http://bulletin.ipfw.edu/content.php?catoid=1&navoid=5

EDUA F300 EDUC M201 EDUC 430

EDUC H340 EDUC M323 EDUC P250

EDUC K201 EDUC M330 EDUC P253

EDUC K206 EDUC M333 EDUC W200

EDUC M101 EDUC M425 EDUC X401

Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of a beginning teacher as outlined by the INTASC Standards.

Program Field Experiences Chart

Course #/Title or Program Requirement / Purpose of Field Experience / Number of Required Hours in P-12 Classroom / Candidate Required Tasks
M101 (with W200) / Facilitate the use of technology hardware and software with children. / 3 / Plan, implement, and reflect on using technology (internet activities and software) with children.
M201 (with P250) / Supervised field experience during which candidates apply knowledge gained in the college classroom. / 30 / Use observational data to experience and address the candidates’ understanding of the physical, social, and intellectual environments of secondary classrooms. Demonstrate evidence of applying INTASC standards as well as all information gained in coursework.
M201 (with P253) / Supervised field experience during which candidates apply knowledge gained in the college classroom. / 30 / Use observational data to experience and address the candidates’ understanding of the physical, social, and intellectual environments of secondary classrooms. Demonstrate evidence of applying INTASC standards as well as all information gained in coursework.
M401 (with M448) / Supervised field experience during which candidates apply knowledge gained in the college classroom. / 30 / Plan and implement content experiences; perform formal and informal assessments; other tasks as assigned by Cooperating Teacher. Demonstrate evidence of applying INTASC standards as well as all information gained in coursework.
M470 (ms practicum) / Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of a beginning teacher as outlined by the INTASC Standards. / 6 weeks FT / Candidates engage fully in the planning, implementing, assessing (e.g., student learning), and evaluating of the effectiveness of their teaching. Demonstrate evidence of applying INTASC standards as well as all information gained in coursework.
M480 (student teach) / Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of a beginning teacher as outlined by the INTASC Standards. / 10 weeks FT / Candidates engage fully in the planning, implementing, assessing (e.g., student learning), and evaluating of the effectiveness of their teaching. Demonstrate evidence of applying INTASC standards as well as all information gained in coursework.