Module EDUC3311: The Work of Art: Professional Skills and Work Placement in the Visual Arts

Department: Education

EDUC3311: The Work of Art: Professional Skills and Work Placement in the Visual Arts

Type	Open	Level	3	Credits	20	Availability	Available in 2021/22	Module Cap	15	Location	Durham

Prerequisites

• Students should have taken at least two of the following modules: EDUC 1011, EDUC 1441, EDUC 2331, EDUC 2371, EDUC 2391, if not taken as a co-requisite. This is a selective module, students must be successful at an interview prior to their registration being accepted.

Corequisites

• Either EDUC 2331, or EDUC 2371 or EDUC 2391, if not already taken as a prerequisite, or EDUC 3301, or EDUC 3302 or EDUC 3261.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• to enhance students' transferable, intellectual and practical skills
• to provide students with meaningful work experience in the field
• to enhance students' employability potential through problem-based learning and the use of I.T.

Content

• 'The Work of Art' is in two parts. The first part of the module involves a series of workshops/masterclasses with academic staff and museum and gallery professionals. The second part of the module involves a 4 week work experience placement in a museum or gallery. The Module Convenor has developed close links with a number of institutions including the Oriental Museum, Durham World Heritage Site, MIMA, BALTIC, the Hatton Gallery and the Globe gallery in Newcastle, who have agreed to take students on this programme. Students engage in a project-based work placement, where they can explore a possible career, while meeting professional practitioners and developing skills and acquiring experience. The Module Convenor guides students towards their placement and the project is agreed between the host institution, the student and the module convenor. Projects may involve archival, curatorial, presentation, learning, educational work as well as arts administration experience. Considerable emphasis is placed on practical skills.

Learning Outcomes

• Fluency in using subject specific-terminology
• Understanding of the relationship between theory and practice
• Knowledge of the work of specific arts professionals
• Familiarity with the environment that shapes professional practice in the field
• Understanding the importance of insurance, security, conservation, advertising/publicity & public relations
• Detailed knowledge of Health and Safety issues in the field
• Awareness of how skills relate to job opportunities

• Students should be able to:
• Undertake a practical project in the field
• Develop analytical and problem solving responses
• Think critically about the culture of display
• Gain experience in the correct handling of art objects
• Support ideas with appropriate use of exposition and activity
• Negotiate and assess a variety of theoretical and practical approaches

• Use relevant professional terminology
• Enhance written and verbal communication skills
• Develop listening skills
• Develop practical museum/gallery skills
• Practise problem solving skills
• Promote skills effectively to prospective employers
• Develop a sense of personal responsibility

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module is taught through a series of workshops in which practical and professional skills are developed. The curriculum is developed through group-work activities in which the students examine themes and issues. The classes use a variety of teaching materials: practical exercises, digital projection, web-based resources, Discussion Board and Directed Study. The Work Placement is supervised, but students will be required to work independently for the most part.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Frequency	Duration	Total/Hours
Workshops	5	various	2 hours	10	■
Tutorials	6	various	1 hour	6	■
Preparation and Reading				24
Work placement	1		4 weeks	160	■
Total				200

Summative Assessment

The summative assessment is a reflective report. Work placement modules in English universities are generally assessed using either a reflective report or journal. In their report students are required to: explain the nature of their host institution; outline their role within it; demonstrate the hard and soft skills that they have acquired and developed; provide details of activities undertaken and elaborate on a small number of tasks; reflect upon their practice and use theoretical sources to evidence and develop the points that they make. The reflective report assesses the student’s report writing skills, their skills audit, their understanding of the relationship between museum theory and practice, and their ability to think critically about museum practice in general, the institution in which they were placed as well as their own practice.

Component: Portfolio		Component Weighting: 100%
Element	Length / duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Reflective journal	2000	100%

Formative Assessment:

i) Informal formative assessment is offered in the context of workshops/masterclasses. The Report Writing Workshop and the Theory Masterclass in particular help students to prepare for their summative assessment using individual and group activities. ii) One-to-one tutorials provide opportunities for informal assessment and feedback on progress as the placement evolves. Tutorial sessions provide opportunities for discussion of plans for the summative assessment. The module convenor visits each student at least once in their host institution and part of the visit offers formative feedback on their plans for the summative assignment. iii) Informal formative assessment will be offered by host-institution staff involved with the placement.

---

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University