The impact of revisiting art practice through teachers' CPD

Abstract

My context statement sets out the evolution and implementation of a CPD model for art education in the form of a trifold model based on Eisner (2005). Teachers are offered the opportunity of high quality training experiences as artists that provides on-going learning in their subject specialism of art. This informs them both as artists and art educators and subsequently in their classroom practice. Integral to the framework is the provision for training at an individual and a collaborative level. Their connoisseurship within the subject informs their expertise as an art teacher through enhanced knowledge and practical skills.

Innovatively the model underpins a new professional development framework that fulfils the need for continuing teacher learning in art education. It sets out the need for the provision of time, place and space for personal artistic development to enable full entry into their specialism in the classroom. Expertise as an artist and an art educator are seen as developing simultaneously. The interactions of the domains of the CPD model provide not only innovative opportunities for individuals to learn as artists and teachers but also to combine their work and learn with others in a zone of proximal development as described by Vygotsky (1978). This enables adult to adult learning.

The contribution to practice is the invention and application of an innovative CPD model for art education. This statement sets out how it was trialled within a cross-phase CPD offer that was sustained over a period of time. The interaction of the three domains of Collaboration, Being an Artist and Connoisseurship together with the additional notions of Being a Professional and Creativity enabled a variety of opportunities for the creation and development of expert art teachers.

Through the CPD model I deconstructed current art practice in education in order to develop a group of expert teachers and artists. This has led to practising art teachers achieving Master’s level qualification, accreditation, dissemination of ideas, sharing of expertise, delivering high quality teaching and effective classroom practice. It has benefitted the individual, the peer and the wider community and it has the potential to be used in other subject specialisms.

Date of Award	2019
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Winchester
Supervisor	June Boyce-Tillman (Supervisor) & Priscilla Erricker (Supervisor)