Connect, transform, learn: Achieving visual literacy in the art classroom

Abstract

The visual arts are dynamic, constantly undergoing change. As art educators continue to navigate the early twenty-first century, it is apparent that a revision of teaching practice to parallel rapid change is necessary if we are to successfully engage and empower students to communicate visually. The impact of rapidly advancing technology has necessitated a shift from more traditional teaching approaches based on theories of instructivism, cognitivism and behaviourism to a more learner-centred constructivist approach. Emergence of the contemporary knowledge economy has highlighted the strength of connectivism as an enabler between teachers, learners and beyond the classroom. Transformational learning can be realised when the art teacher uncovers a pedagogical paradigm that aligns learning experiences with the learner. Through a blend of traditional and technological practice, an authentic connection to students' own lives can be established. Highlighting outcomes of art students as evolving artists, this chapter investigates strategies that successfully develop visual literacies through authentic textual discourse and connected experience. Deep personal understanding is established, together with highly individual, yet rigorously informed, student perspectives.