Art Education

Art Education Department Mission

The mission of the Art Education department is to create articulate, judicious, and socially conscious art educators who can effectively translate the language and process of an artist into a teaching philosophy that encourages informed and active decision-making skills and critical inquiry.

Art Education Program Description

Teaching artists share their expertise, knowledge, and skills to motivate others to learn about, think about, and create art. The Art Education program at RMCAD is designed to develop a strong artist practice in unison with effective and appropriate education techniques and knowledge.

RMCAD Art Education students understand young people’s experiences in relation to society and advocate for the arts as a literacy that contributes to the development of the global community. Art Education majors develop their ability to communicate ideas, experiences, and events at a sophisticated level through an undergraduate education focused on creativity, innovation, leadership, conceptual thinking, and technical expertise.

The RMCAD Art Education teacher preparation program is approved by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE). RMCAD graduates in Art Education are prepared to apply for a K-12 teaching license in Art with the Colorado Department of Education. The program is designed in accordance with CDE and the Colorado Performance-Based Standards for Colorado Teachers and knowledge of: literacy, mathematics, standards and assessment, content standards, classroom and instructional management, individualization of instruction, technology, and democracy, educational governance, and careers in teaching. Coursework supports the Statutory Performance Measures of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the Colorado Model Content Standards for Visual Arts, and the National Art Education Association.

RMCAD Art Education graduates are leaders, innovators, and thinkers poised to enrich the profession. They can inspire young learners to become communicators, critical thinkers able to reason and analyze, researchers, problem solvers, group contributors, and responsible artists who consciously consider personal and societal values.

Educated to be lifelong learners, graduates are conversant with the role of education with technology; contemporary art; the language, concepts, and skills of art; the history of ideas and events; and they believe that everyone should have the opportunity to explore ideas and meaning in and through the arts. Additionally, the strong studio art backgrounds the graduates have gained at RMCAD help to inform their teaching and personal art practices.

Students enrolled in the RMCAD Art Education program must complete and pass the fingerprint requirement and Colorado Bureau of Investigation background check during the first term enrolled in an Art Education course. The PRAXIS test must be taken and passed by the teacher candidate before s/he can apply to CDE for teacher licensure. Additionally, teacher candidates must be prepared to student teach for 16 weeks during their final term at RMCAD which may not coincide with the RMCAD academic calendar. This degree program is offered only in hybrid format and is not available solely online.

RMCAD’s Art Education BFA only allows graduates to become licensed to teach art in the state of Colorado. Students seeking licensure outside of Colorado should contact their Program Chair and/or Student Advisor for assistance in identifying the correct educational state agency.

All full-time and part-time Art Education students must achieve a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 by the end of their first semester and for the duration of the Art Education degree program. Failure to meet these requirements may delay registration for Art Education core courses and delay projected graduation.

Art Education Online

The intent of the Art Education Online program is to expand upon the College’s undergraduate degree offerings to both on-campus and online students by providing access to the College’s existing BFA degree in Art Education to a wider range of students. The program contributes to RMCAD’s overall focus on artists, designers, and educators. This online program provides students with a solid foundation in technical, aesthetic, critical, and practical skills necessary to succeed in post academic K-12 education environment. Offering online programs is central to RMCAD’s strategic plan. The mission, vision and value statements adopted by the Board of Directors support online program development as a core strategy to promote excellence in teaching and learning and expanding access to educational programs in the arts.

The purpose of our teacher preparatory curriculum is to develop a strong artist practice in unison with effective and appropriate education techniques and knowledge. This approach supports the growth of Teaching Artists who learn to share their expertise, knowledge and skills to motivate others to learn, think, and create art. Required extensive Field Experience Hours in K-12 schools build a strong understanding of youth development in relation to the global community. RMCAD’s Art Education students have a sense of purpose to communicate ideas, experiences and events at a sophisticated level that focuses on creativity, innovation, leadership, conceptual thinking and technical expertise. The purpose of the Studio Emphasis (Animation, Graphic Design, and Illustration) is to allow students to further their personal exploration in the field of Art and Design. This practice supports the department belief that an art educator must also be well versed as a professional studio artist. These two practices in unison prepare our students with a strong foundation upon entering the field of education after graduation.

Program Outcomes

Art Education Program Learning Outcome Rubric

The Art Education Department uses Colorado Department of Education (CDE) Educator Preparation Standards, which include Educator Preparation Teacher Quality Standards (5.0 - 5.04), Educator Preparation English Language Learner Standards (EL), and the Visual Arts Standards (Grades K-12) (4.04).

CDE Defining Practices in the Visual Arts	RMCAD Program Learning Outcomes
Arts-Based Research Arts: Arts-based research practices include inquiry that is part of artmaking and research approaches that are artistic in nature. Pedagogical strategies guide students into forming a question, finding resources, making, analyzing the results and looking at next steps is aligned with established research forms. Arts-based research is able to address complex issues to deepen understanding and engage empathy.	Apply art-based research techniques in instruction. Implement various pedagogical approaches that best support learning through arts instruction.
Agency: Artistic agency is the acknowledged ability to make choices and create change.	Develop lessons and instruction that represent the importance of making choices and creating change through art.
Instructional Practices: A “master” educator is one who is continuing to learn and improve. “Mastery” can be seen as engagement in processes of continual learning. Art teachers can actively construct learning experiences that build off of students’ prior understanding and support growth.	Utilize various forms of feedback and learning experiences to support continuous development as educators.
Assessment Practices: Assessment in the arts classroom involves a variety of practices to monitor and track student learning through describing, collecting, recording, scoring, and dialogue. Effective assessment techniques can improve classroom instruction, empower students, heighten student interest and motivation, and provide the teacher with continuous feedback on student progress.	Apply a variety of assessment practices in order to develop and support classroom instruction, motivation, and continuous feedback on the learning process.
Artistic Praxis: Artistic praxis encompasses various reciprocal relationships that occur when learning by making art. The making may precede the forming of a concept. It includes relationships between critical reflection and action, material and envisioned image, and lived experience and final product.	Connect personal art making processes to development as educators.
Synthesis/Creative Thinking: Synthesis is the combination of parts or elements to form a whole. It includes the creative processes of finding visual problems and creating unique solutions by combining multiple ideas, and influences.	Explore issues, ideas, artifacts, and events to apply creative thinking while producing work. Create assumptions, contextualize information, identify problems, and conceptualize responses.
Professional Practices: Teachers demonstrate professionalism through ethical conduct, reflection, and leadership.	Demonstrate professionalism in the field through ethical conduct, reflection, and leadership.
Composition: Teachers demonstrate professionalism through their attention to composition in works produced or created. Artists/Educators seek to be models of high standards in art and education.	Produce quality work that meets high expectations regarding structure, grammar, and attention to detail.

Programs

Bachelor of Fine Arts

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