REPORT INFORMATION ON THE INSPECTION ON THE QUALITY OF LEARNING AND TEACHING IN ART

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1 An Roinn Oideachais agus Scileanna Department of Education and Skills Subject Inspection of Art REPORT Caritas College Drumfinn Road Ballyfermot Dublin Roll number: 60732H Date of inspection: 6 February 2012

2 REPORT ON THE QUALITY OF LEARNING AND TEACHING IN ART INFORMATION ON THE INSPECTION Date of inspection 6 February 2012 Inspection activities undertaken Review of relevant documents Discussion with principal and teachers Interaction with students Observation of teaching and learning during four class periods Examination of students work Feedback to principal and teachers MAIN FINDINGS The art department has a high whole-school profile. Art is a popular subject choice for students. Class groups are relatively large. Students attainment in some crafts and 3D work is very good. Excellent displays of student work are displayed in the public areas of the school. Aspects of subject delivery need to be enriched and brought up to date through planning, information and communication technology (ICT) usage, and focussed attention on the learning value of activities and assignments. Excellent work is underway with Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP) students. Students in some class groups work on large 3D sculptures when they have finished their assignments. This is good challenging practice in differentiation. MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS Planning documents should be extended. Greater attention should be given to setting out the learning outcomes, differentiation strategies, assessment criteria, Assessment for Learning (AfL) processes, and higher-order skills. The kiln should be commissioned, and used to extend and enrich students experience of working in 3D, and to widen the range of crafts available. ICT should be used regularly as an art department tool to strengthen students engagement with visual arts culture, and to increase teaching through the visual medium throughout junior and senior cycles. A quality-of-learning focussed audit of all group projects needs to be undertaken with a view to aligning project activities with student s current abilities, and to promoting the acquisition of basic and higher-order skills. The learning value of all assignments should be carefully gauged, especially where significant time-spend is required. 2

3 The linking of art elements usage to the generation of imagery from imagination and observation should receive greater emphasis in the planning, delivery and assessment of the courses and programmes taught. INTRODUCTION Caritas College is a voluntary secondary girls-only day school. The school provides a wide range of programmes including the Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP), Transition Year (TY), the Leaving Certificate Vocational Preparation Programme (LCVP) and the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA). The principal is committed to maximising the potential of Art for the academic, personal and vocational development of students. TEACHING AND LEARNING There is a strong emphasis on teaching the formal art elements and basic skills. This has been done successfully. Very good papier-mâché sculpture was seen. Commendably, proactive creativity had been developed by many of the students through this activity. Appliqué and needlework techniques were used in a graphic design assignment that formed part of a presentation for JCSP celebration day. Students were encouraged to develop designs which had a shared theme across the class group. Strong learning was evident here. Students were required to conform to a particular set of technical requirements, and while these were worthwhile, the assignment would have been improved by allowing students more creative choice and opportunity for making more personal statements. Very good puppetry was seen, with high levels of technical and expressive standards. Extension of the range of crafts is recommended, so that the balance intended in the junior cycle curriculum is realised to a greater degree. Care should be taken to maximise students experience by promoting a different set of crafts in senior and junior cycle. A mint-condition kiln is not currently in use. The firing of clay-modelling artefacts and hand-built pottery would be an appropriate use of this valuable facility, and would enrich 3D learning from first year through to Leaving Certificate. It is recommended that use of the kiln for appropriate activities is planned for soon. There is good scheduling and time management of the Junior Certificate State Examinations Commission (SEC) project. A very ambitious large-scale graphic design group project was underway in first year. Many students needed to have better basic skills to allow them to benefit from this project. Group-work activities with an uneven or under-considered learning potential for students should not be allowed to monopolise the school year, or the individuals personal learning time, or diminish students opportunity for learning and mastery as individuals. A quality-of-learning focused audit of all group projects should now be undertaken. This audit should consider their value and effectiveness as vehicles for individuals learning and development, for the attainment of higher-order skills, and for the requirements for breadth and balance in the syllabus. Good teaching was seen in the preparation of a presentation for JCSP celebration. Students were learning design and technical skills as part of a collective 2D approach 3

4 predetermined by the teacher. Good learning was evident and this is commended. There could have been less overall control and more room for students self- expression, as the assignment itself was narrow enough to allow for this without distorting its purpose. SUBJECT PROVISION AND WHOLE SCHOOL SUPPORT Two teachers deliver Art, which is a popular choice for students. Timetabling is satisfactory, budget is adequate, and two spacious rooms are assigned to the art department. Management of resources for learning needs some focussed intervention. The customised pottery/sculpture area in one of the art classrooms, which is fitted with a sink and mintcondition kiln, is currently used for storage, and not for its specialised purpose. It is recommended that this area be cleared, and used to develop modelling and ceramics as learning opportunities for junior and senior cycle students. In the medium term, management should also ensure that subject department planning for using the kiln in the firing of clay modelled artefacts and hand-built pottery is developed. Assessment criteria were the least well articulated part of the planning seen; this needs remedy. Clear linkage between learning outcomes and assessment criteria should be developed. Overuse of SEC criteria during the early and middle stages of courses should be avoided. Instead, the emphasis should be placed on AfL. In one room, there was neither a standard blackboard, electronic whiteboard, nor ICT device. Some arrangements such as paper flipcharts should be used until whiteboards or ICT, which are imminent, can be installed. Clear-cut strategies should be devised to utilise the subject s potential for literacy and numeracy enhancement. Links between visual culture beyond the classrooms and learning processes within them were not notably strong. ICT should be used for giving art, design and architecture materials stronger, integrated presence in course delivery. It is recommended that comprehensive planning for ICT use be carried out. Art personnel should be supported to acquire the skills to use ICT as a tool in widening students artistic experience. PLANNING AND PREPARATION Department and teacher planning documentation need to be made more extensive, detailed and practical. The approaches and methodologies to be used in realising the aims and objectives of the junior cycle syllabus for Art should be specified in greater detail. It is recommended that this be done through the design of assignments with a strong learning focus, rather than as simple activities, or artefact making to a template. Better delineation of aims and objectives for learning outcomes should be integrated into planning for the subject. A review of the learning content of assignments needs to be part of the review of the planning and course delivery. Individual lessons were well-planned, and the organisation of activities during these lessons was good. Pre-preparation of materials and tools was excellent, and the lessons flowed well as a result. 4

5 Records are kept of subject department meetings. Class records of attendance and scores for assignments and assessments are maintained. The draft findings and recommendations arising out of this evaluation were discussed with the principal and subject teachers at the conclusion of the evaluation. Published November