Creative Arts Specialist (9866.3)

Please note these are the 2026 details for this unit
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Creative Arts Specialist
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods On-campus
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Education
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
Academic Program Area - Education Level 2 - Undergraduate Intermediate Unit Band 1 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 1 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
This unit caters to students who wish to become specialist Creative Arts teachers in a primary school setting. This unit will provide grounding in the introductory terminology, language and symbol systems for Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts, including an understanding of Media Arts. In addition, this unit will introduce students to the methods of teaching through the arts disciplines. Students will be able to select areas of arts specialisation in later units in the degree.

Learning outcomes

On completion of the unit the student will be able to demonstrate:
1. A basic understanding of the terminology and skills in the different arts disciplines as outlined in the Australian Arts curriculum (Foundation to 6);
2. A developed understanding and appreciation for integrating the arts in schools; and
3. A preliminary understanding of pedagogical methods used in different arts disciplines as outlined in the Australian Arts curriculum (Foundation to 6).


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development


Prerequisites

Must have passed 24 credit points.

Corequisites

Enrolment in the Bachelor of Primary Education (Creative Arts).

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2026 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2025 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 28 July 2025 On-campus Dr Naomi Zouwer
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 10 August 2026 On-campus Dr Naomi Zouwer
The information provided should be used as a guide only. Timetables may not be finalised until week 2 of the teaching period and are subject to change. Search for the unit timetable.

Required texts

Required Text:  

Dinham, J. (2022) Delivering Authentic Arts Education (5th ed.). Cengage Publishing  full text of edition 5 is available online from late July

Recommended Texts:

Eisner EW. (2002) The Arts and the Creation of Mind. Yale University Press.

Russell-Bowie D. (2005) MMADD About the Arts: an Introduction to Primary Arts Education. Prentice Hall.

Gardner H. (1990) Art Education and Human Development. Getty Center for Education in the Arts.

Sinclair C, Jeanneret N, O'Toole J, Hunter MA, eds. (2017) Education in the Arts. Third edition. Oxford University Press.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Approval of extenuating circumstances will be dependent upon the production of supporting documentation and at the discretion of the unit convener.

All assessment items required to be submitted online must be submitted via the appropriate Canvas drop box. It is the student's responsibility to upload the correct and corresponding draft or assessment item to the right submission section. Assignments must be submitted in a format accessible to the assessor(s), as stated on the relevant canvas site. If the unit convener and/or tutor are unable to access a submission, or if no submission has been made by the due date and time, a standard late penalty of 10% of the total marks possible for the task may be applied per day, for three days, after which the submission will receive a score of ‘0' in keeping with UC's Assessment Policy.

Special assessment requirements

Normally an aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the unit

Provision of valid documentation

Please note that the University takes student conduct very seriously. All documentation provided to University staff must be valid and the provision of fraudulent documentation carries with it potentially serious consequences, including suspension and/or exclusion from the University. Note that all allegations of student misconduct will be referred to the Associate Dean for Education (ADE) as a prescribed authority for investigation.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

A proposed breakdown of the workload for this unit is as follows:

4 on campus sessions: 12 hours

6 sessions off site at the NGA: 18 hours

Weekly readings and idependant research: 60 hours

Assignment preparation: 60 hours

Participation requirements

There is a strong correlation between participation and success in higher education. Your participation in on-campus sessions and your engagement with online activities will enhance your understanding of this unit's content and therefore the quality of your assessment responses. Lack of participation may result in your inability to satisfactorily pass assessment items absent for more than two sessions, however, your engagement with the unit could be considered unsatisfactory.

Required IT skills

  • Regular access to and knowledge of Canvas and academic search engines.
  • Ability to use software including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and other digital software such as Vimeo, iMovie, etc.
  • Familiarity with YouTube and ability to upload content (as 'unlisted') onto YouTube.

In-unit costs

Students shall be responsible for obtaining access to appropriate ICT devices for the completion of Asessment Tasks (e.g. acces to audio and video recording and editing software on digital devices). 

Additional Field trip/s, outside scheduled workshops at the UC campus, may require transport. Any parking costs are the responsibility of the driver.

Work placement, internships or practicums

None.

Additional information

Theoritical Foundations

This unit is based on hands on experiences to teaching and learning the Arts, Arts integration pedegogy, Arts education research and Artistic research. In addition this unit involves engaging in Arts investigations. 

Provision of information to the group

Notifications through the Canvas Announcements Forum or the Canvas Discussion Forums are deemed to be made to the whole class.  It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they check for announcements on the Unit's Canvas website (forum messages are also emailed to student email addresses only).  Students should ensure they check their student email regularly.  The Canvas discussion forums will be checked by staff regularly.

Use of student email account

The University Email policy states that "students wishing to contact the University via email regarding administrative or academic matters need to send the email from the University account for identity verification purposes".  Therefore all unit enquiries should be emailed using a student university email account. Students should contact servicedesk@canberra.edu.au if they have any issues accessing their university email account.

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