Design Technology - International School of Duesseldorf

The Visual Arts
PHILOSOPHY
We believe in providing a broad, balanced, cyclical arts curriculum, based on
practical learning, in which students of all abilities can grow aesthetically and
creatively in the areas of music, visual art and theatre arts. Knowledge and
Understanding, Application, Reflection and Evaluation, and Personal Engagement,
learned within the separate arts subjects, can be applied across the curriculum,
providing students with strategies to become lifetime learners. A wide range of
assessment strategies are used, with the developmental workbook forming a
common thread between the arts subjects.
The visual arts are an integral part of the MYP and are a requirement for all students
until the end of the 10 th Grade. After that time, students may advance to the IB Visual
Arts, as part of the IB diploma.
Central to the IB philosophy is the concept of a balanced curriculum for a broadly
based education. The visual arts offer unique learning opportunities, which can
contribute to the quality of the general curriculum.
Visual literacy for all of our students, regardless of previous experience, is the main
goal of our visual arts program. To this end, we have designed courses to enhance
perception, develop artistic confidence and to practice skills for life long enrichment.
Through critical studies, students learn to analyze works of art and reflect about the
world of art from different cultures. This research is recorded through written and
visual entries in their development workbooks.
One feature of our visual arts classes is the importance given to the production of
works of art. The studio is a creative and motivating environment for personal and
collaborative visual expression and communication. The works of art are given full
representation in exhibitions and displays, both in the school and at other venues.
The Visual Arts Program
The visual arts courses in grades 6 to 10 are designed according to MYP
Assessment Criteria.
• Knowledge and Understanding
• Application
• Reflection and Evaluation
• Artistic Awareness and Personal Engagement
• Personal Engagement
The objectives of all courses include: organization; communication; cores cultural
awareness; coloration; creative thinking; experimentation; aesthetic awareness;
contextual research; analytical and synthetic thinking.
The Courses
Core Arts (grades 6-10). The purpose is to develop knowledge and experience in all
the three arts subjects: visual arts, music, and drama, which rotate each trimester.
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