Art and Design Education
Pratt’s BFA and BFA/MA in Art and Design Education with initial New York State
teacher certification (visual arts, all grades) prepare students to approach teaching as a
creative process modeled upon and nourished by intensive studio preparation in the
context of contemporary art and design. First-year students take the Foundation Studio
Core curriculum, along with core Art History (AH) and Liberal Arts (LAS) courses, and
begin the curriculum art and design education in the fall of the second year. While
continuing with their required AH and LAS coursework, second-year students pursue
more focused courses in art and design education, as well as in their chosen studio-
core. In addition, fieldwork and student teaching experiences help students integrate
their studio core discipline knowledge with art and design education theory and
instructional practices. Within the BFA and the BFA/MA degrees in Art and Design
Education, students can opt to pursue two different paths: one in art and design
education with initial New York State teacher certification (visual arts, all grades) and
one in community art and design education.
The BFA/MA or five-year program provides students with opportunities to explore
related areas in the field of art and design education such as museum education or
community- based art and design education in the fifth-year. Grounded in theories and
practices in art and design education, students in the five-year program also complete
thesis research on curriculum. Students need to remain in good academic standing to
continue in the five-year program.
Graduates are proficient in their written and spoken communication about art and
design education in the context of contemporary art and design and qualified to pursue
creative and professional lives as visual arts teachers, art administrators, community art
educators, teaching artists, museum and gallery educators and more. Pratt’s location in
New York City’s thriving art and design education community offers ample opportunities
for students to network through fieldwork, student teaching, internships and summer
opportunities in the city’s schools, museums and community-based organizations.
Chair
Aileen Wilson
awilson2@pratt.edu
718.636.3637
Assistant to the Chair
Jonell Joshua
jjoshua@pratt.edu
718.636.3681
Academic Adviser
Erich Kuersten
718.399.4529
Art and Design Education Office
Tel: 718.636.3637
https://www.pratt.edu/art/art-and-design-education/
Faculty
Faculty Bios
In this drawing course students learn to draw as well as draw to learn. Students gain proficiency in the drawing process and develop analytical and expressive fluency in the language of the mark. The class is devoted to figure study with the model present.
In this drawing course students learn to draw as well as draw to learn. Students gain proficiency in the drawing process and develop analytical and expressive fluency in the language of the mark. The class is devoted to figure study with the model present.
This class will concentrate on the structure and attributes of value (light and shadow) in relation to general subjects both observed and imagined. Practice in the application of value in a wide range of conditions, in conjunction with line, will expand and complete the drawing vocabulary, and will be extended into all subsequent work. Though much of the course work is done in the presence of objects, it should be understood that an important outcome is the student's ability to develop a drawing by combining observed elements with those conceived in the imagination.
This course draws on each student's studio core and considers ways that the artist-teachers can adapt studio competencies to an educational setting. Through fieldwork observations and research, students will identify the concepts, skills, techniques, materials and language specific to each studio core. Students then begin to adapt, translate, and make studio learning accessible for the diverse abilities and interests of individual learners and groups of learners. This course requires 15 hours of fieldwork in a k-12 settings. The class will take several all-day field trips on the day of the scheduled class meeting. Therefore, students must leave this day free for those trips.
New York City's neighborhoods and institutions serve as a lens through which to examine how educators, social activists, artists, and policy makers frame, debate and negotiate racial, economic and social inequalities among the city's youth. The course challenges the deficit model approach to addressing inequality and in doing so questions assumptions about purposes of education within the context of an ongoing struggle for democratic rights and opportunities. Through an institutional study of a school and its neighborhood, students explore youth, family, and community assets. Leadership and agency. Students analyze and synthesize evidence, take into account different viewpoints and perspectives, and apply their findings to professional practice. This course includes 20 hours of fieldwork in K-12 settings
Through discussion on select readings form the literature on art and design pedagogy, combined with site visits and observations, students analyze how learning takes place as a dynamic interaction between a given educational and sociocultural context. Making connections between their own and other studio cores and pedagogical knowledge, students apply and adapt instructional, planning assessment tools to design innovative lessons that address the planning and assessment tools to design innovative lessons that address the diverse needs and interests of learners in a variety of K-12 settings.
This course focuses on the pedagogical knowledge and skills necessary to teach diverse learners in public schools and other educational settings. Through fieldwork observations, readings, and discussion, students analyze and synthesize effective, evidence-based strategies for teaching and working effectively and inclusively with all school-age pupils. Students further challenge the dominant deficit model approach to teaching in diverse settings by recognizing and acknowledging student assets. This course includes 55 hours of fieldwork in a K-12 setting.
Students engage in a series of studio activities investigating a wide variety of materials, concepts and processes in art and design. Analyzing the possibilities and limitations of these three areas, student's knowledge expands beyond the traditional art room. Innovative and emerging practices inform studio activities as students translate and adapt contemporary ideas that invite learners to make new meaning.
Students engage in a series of studio activities exploring digital/interactive technology, and new ways of working with image, sound, and text in art and design. Innovative and emerging practices inform studio activities as students translate and adapt contemporary ideas to produce new meaning for a variety for learners. The student teaching experience serves as the context for conceptualizing and planning experience serves as the context for conceptualizing and planning experiences for diverse learners while addressing the limitations ad possibilities afforded by time, budget, class size and space.
Students apply the insights gained through previous coursework, reading, and observation as they participate in a professional teaching situation in either a NYC public elementary school or a NYC public secondary school. Under the guidance of a NY State certified visual arts instructor, students work for 20 full days at their assigned sites--observing, assisting and ultimately teaching independently. An ADE faculty member observes the students at their sites 3 times over the course of the semester and leads 4 on-campus seminars that serve as a forum for reflection, analysis, and inspiration. Lesson plans and artwork from lessons taught, as well as issues related to classroom management, curriculum development, and school culture are the subjects of discussion.
This course focuses on approaches to teaching about contemporary digital art and design, and the use of instructional technologies in the 21st century art classroom. Students will develop an understanding of collaborative online learning platforms, digital learning resources, and tools to create a connected learning environment. Gaining hands-on experience through interactive tutorials, students will be challenged to apply their knowledge of technology to K-12 and informal learning settings. The course will meet for 3 hours a week over a 5 week period.
Instructional technologies (computer art, video, and other film processes) are introduced to those without previous experience while students familiar with design hardware and software further evaluate and develop educational strategies and applications in K-12 and informal learning settings. Through a series of studio projects, discussions, and papers, students explore how digital technology, while enhancing teaching and learning, can also be a tool for creative expression and a means of individual and social change. This course will meet for 3 hours a week over a 5 week period.
This course focuses on the in-depth investigation into the creative use of specific digital tools and applications that are most commonly and widely used in K-12 classrooms through hands-on explorations and discussion. Students will develop an understanding of the relationships between technology, culture, are and design, and education with a particular emphasis on new and emerging media. While gaining authentic experience through interactive tutorials and discussions, students will be challenged to apply their knowledge and the creative use of technology to K-12 and informal learning settings. The course ultimately encourages students' playful, transformative, and meaningful inquiries into new and emerging media and forms.
Out-of-school and after-school programs offer a balance of academic, recreation, enrichment and cultural activities to children and young people and play an increasingly significant role in improving youth development outcomes. Students in this course learn to plan and implement art and design experiences to help children and young people acquire the skills and attributes they need to succeed in school, cultivate interests and contribute to their communities. Students, together with the on-site supervisor and course instructor, identify specific skills related to their area of interest.
Partnering with a community-based organization working with children and young people, students in this course will collaborate with program participants on projects that will communicate ideas and explore subjects of personal, social and political significance. Students will learn to integrate the knowledge, skills and values of their major to inform projects conceived and developed in concert with young people. Pratt students, supervised by faculty, will support children and young people in the conceptualization and realization of photography projects over the course of the semester. The course will investigate the key aspects of participatory photography including ethics, facilitation and collaborative frameworks.
This course supports students as they prepare to meet the demands of the profession in K-12 settings. Students will complete NYS certification requirements in K-12 Visual Arts and prepare materials to facilitate employment. Guest speakers will present on best practices reflection evolving trends in K-12 art education. As they observe and interact with students, parents and communities in their co-requisite student teaching placements, students will hone their understandings of the socio-cultural dimensions of teaching and learning and identify individual research interests.
ADE 404 Student Teaching Students apply the insights gained through previous coursework, reading, observation, and prior student teaching experience as they participate in a professional teaching situation in either a NYC public elementary school or a public secondary school, depending upon which age group the student worked with in the prerequisite course: ADE 304, Student Teaching in NYC Public Schools. Under the guidance of a NY State certified visual arts instructor and an ADE faculty member, students work for 30 full days observing, assisting and ultimately teaching independently as they plan and prepare their EdTPA submissions for NYS certification.
Partnering with The Center for Art, Design, and Community Engagement K-12, students in this course will collaborate with children and young people attending an out-of-school program in art and design, the Saturday Art School. Students will learn to integrate the knowledge, skills and values of their studio-core or major to inform art and design projects conceived and developed in concert with young people. Students, supervised by faculty, will support children and young people in the conceptualization and realization of studio-based projects over the course of the semester culminating in a curated exhibition. Under the guidance of faculty, students work for 13 days on campus planning and teaching children and young people.
Partnering with The Center for Art, Design, and Community Engagement K-12, students in this course will collaborate with children and young people attending an out-of-school program in art and design,the Saturday Art School. Students will learn to integrate the knowledge, skills and values of their studio-core or major to inform art and design projects conceived and developed in concert with young people. Students, supervised by faculty, will support children and young people in the conceptualization and realization of studio-based projects over the course of the semester culminating in a public gathering to celebrate the work. Under the guidance of faculty, students work for 13 days on campus planning, and teaching children and young people.
A research-based, capstone course in which students curate their learning by contextualizing their studio and teaching practice within historical and current issues in the field of art and design education.
Art, Community and Social Change, is a hands-on exploration of urban art and design and their relationship to local communities. Through research and realization of a community-based project students will study and work with local community based organizations. Students will explore the following questions as they do their research and work on a community-based project: How do artists, designers, organizers, architects and art educators shape and develop a sense of social responsibility at the community level? How do they become informed about and learn from the communities in which they work? How can art and design contribute to community-based efforts to address urban issues such as gentrification, community health, and larger structural issues such as racism, gender discrimination, and sexism.
The internship is a learning experience for art and design education students. It provides students with an opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills in a practical setting, while obtaining new knowledge and skills in preparation for practice in the field. Students deepen their knowledge about important applied aspects of the field, enhance their professional skills in a real-world context, build their professional network, and inform their career choices. Additional faculty-supervised activities provide the opportunity for an in-depth reflection on the internship experience.
This studio course investigates the close connection between the contemporary worlds of fashion and performance art. The use of narrative has become an important part of a fashion concept, just as it is in performance art. In fashion design, the body is much more than an instrument or a means; it is our expression in the world, the visible form of our intentions. This course explores an expanded definition of fashion to include the body's presentation in the public sphere through; research on the work of historical interdisciplinary artists, the design of objects to be worn by the human body that are performative, and the performance of these projects.
This class provides an in-depth theoretical and practical understanding of the growing field of museum education. It includes an examination of the changes occurring in art educational paradigms within the museum world, the evolving nature of museums as institutions with educational missions, along with learning and interpretive theories unique to the museum context. The class provides an extensive hands-on component devoted to the special methods, practices and skills associated with teaching with artworks, and in designing educational projects, programs and innovative learning experiences within the art museum settings. The course also explores critical issues facing the field through theory, practice and the analysis of case studies, including audience diversity, collaboration with schools and communities, the rethinking of museum missions and practices, and the use of new technologies. In addition to the examination of theories underlying contemporary museum education, the course will constitute a strong practicum preparing artists' and designers' museum education work. Finally, the course also introduces the contemporary threads in the reconceptualization of museum education as artistic practice at the intersection of institutional critique and participatory and social practice. The course aims to broaden educational horizons and critical perspectives, while equipping students with practical strategies in new learning environments. Many classes will be held in NYC museums, where students will work with objects in various collections, Course Description: and where they will interact with a variety of museum professionals.
In this course, students explore the questions raised in Saturday Art School and Student Teaching in galleries, after school, and in the public schools. An interdisciplinary approach to research in the development of curriculum, the use of narrative to understand behavior, the value of motivation in classroom management, assessment, working with students with disabilities and special needs, and some practical ways to respond to and analyze works of art are discussed.
The internship is a learning experience for museum-based art and design educators. It provides students with an opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills in a practical setting, while obtaining new knowledge and skills in preparation for practice in the field of community-based art and design. Students deepen their knowledge about important applied aspects of the field, enhance their professional skills in a real-world context, build their professional network, and inform their career choices.
This class is an advanced class in museum education. This advanced course specifically engages students in an in-depth engagement with three important dimensions of museum education, namely: 1/Teaching in gallery and museum environments, 2/creating a sustainable program, and 3/ conceptualizing and implementing innovation in the field.
This studio course examines the role of puppetry as an educational tool, a major form in the history of art, and a unique and contemporary language of object,gesture, and story. The course considers puppetry's unique blending of media such as painting, sculpture, costume, set, and sound design and emphasizes puppetry's innovative combinations of multi-media and narrative effects. Student projects are based on a specific style/s of puppetry-- found/performing objects, shadow figures, and rod puppets. Students apply the techniques related to each style as they expand upon their ideas about the traditional languages and materials of art.
This studio course explores interdisciplinary approaches to performance and their application to contemporary puppetry. Using the unique and contemporary language of object, gesture, and story, the course explores the ways in which puppetry and performing objects can serve as elements of hybrid contemporary performance art. This exploration considers the integration of costume, set and sound design into the performance projects. Students work on a final project based on any form or a combination of the following forms of puppetry: string puppets, hand puppets, body puppets and masks, large-scale outdoor parade puppets, and miniature paper/toy theater.
The internship is a learning experience at a discipline-related professional site. It provides students with an opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills in a practical setting, while obtaining new knowledge and skills in preparation for professional work or graduate school. Students experience the application of coursework lessons into a real-life context, thus enriching their education. They deepen their knowledge about important applied aspects of their discipline, enhance their professional skills in a real-world context, build their professional network, and inform their career choices. Additional faculty-supervised activities provide the opportunity for an in-depth reflection on the internship experience.
The mission of Art and Design Education is the preparation of artists and designers as accomplished educators who can work effectively with pupils in diverse cultural contexts and apply interdisciplinary perspectives in a variety of educational settings, including schools, museums, and community organizations. Students work collaboratively with their peers, community members, and professionals in the field, while they learn to develop lessons and construct environments that promote critical inquiry and creative practice. Through individual and community practices students become engaged artists, educators, and researchers. When students complete their degree program they will:
- Integrate studio knowledge and skills—grounded in contemporary art practice—into the art and design curriculum
- Articulate, apply and reflect upon knowledge of pedagogy and instruction in art and design education.
- Apply knowledge of learners, belief in their ability to learn, and cultural awareness to planning and instruction.
- Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively within school and community contexts to promote culturally relevant pedagogy and equitable learning opportunities