A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

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Teaching in the disciplines
more information about these degrees is available from the Foundation Degree Forward
website. There are important issues about student safety and the expectations of students
and employers when arrangements are made to engage in learning on placement. There
are national guidelines on placement learning (QAA, 2001), and the university or college
will have its own regulations with which you should make yourself familiar. Students
require support before and while they are undertaking learning in work. The Keynote
Project is a good example and provides a series of support materials for students and
tutors online.
Learning in museums and galleries
Museums and galleries are also traditional sites for student learning. They can provide
sources of inspiration, ways to experience the latest developments in the practice, building
on the traditions of craft subjects, and are also places in which to challenge preconceptions
about visual arts practices. Tutors may need to help students derive maximum benefit
from such visits, for example by exploring the reasons for visits to museums and galleries
before asking students to spend a day drawing or visiting. Curator and artist talks in the
gallery can provide a challenge to ways of perceiving artefacts.
Consultancy projects, schools and community links
Students can put their knowledge into practice through collaborative work with partners.
These can be business, community or schools links, but the student takes on the role of
practitioner with a client from the world beyond the university. These kinds of interactions
enable students to feel that they are capable and are learning the additional social
interaction skills that will be needed on graduation. Setting up such opportunities requires
support from the tutor who can maximise the learning opportunities through preparing
students with ideas about what to expect, through peer mentoring from students who
have already experienced such projects and through constructing more permanent
learning resources to explain processes, give examples and hear from employers, clients
and the students themselves.
OVERVIEW
This chapter has considered the consequences of the discipline-specific aspects of the
visual arts for learning and teaching. Some of these will be recognised as good practice
across all disciplines (authentic learning activities, aligned curricula, practice-based work,
team-based events, opportunities for skills development, the use of sketchbooks, and
formative feedback inherent in the curriculum structure, for example). Other aspects need
thoughtful responses to ensure effective student learning (for example, the prevalence of