First year Visual and Performing Arts unit: FFA 192Theory Workshop A: digital reflective journal

Developed by Karen Hall, Lycia Trouton, Deb Malorand Moira Cordiner

Synopsis of the task and its context

This task,which is ongoing throughout the semester, is the first one in this introductory unit and is weighted 40%. It is a digital reflective journal that complements the other tasks (formal essay and tutorial presentations) and supports students’ overall development of their creative practice in the first year of the Bachelor of Contemporary Arts. While it is termed ‘reflective’, it is expected that initial entries in the journal may be highly subjective. During the semester, students are encouraged to gradually ‘move’ to making more objective observations about their responses to theoretical content, and be able to identify aspects that they consider inform their creative practice in the making units. Students are given examples of the type of entries that are expected. They are also given the following guidelines for entries. Entries are to:

  • be made regularly (this can be monitored by tutors because the journal is digital)
  • be neither a scrapbook, nor a deeply personal and private ‘confessional’
  • focus on what students have learned and its relationship to future action
  • comprise a total of 2,500 words so that:

it comprises continuous text (approximately 60%) and other word equivalent entries(approximately 15%), e.g. speculations, mindmaps, concept maps, annotations, diagrams, questions based on readings and tutorials

it is informally written (in contrast to formal essays)

the ratio of words to supporting material is 3:1 (75%:25%) for the whole journal

  • include acceptable and manageable supporting material, such asscanned pictures, sound files, media, video (25% of the journal)

The standards described in the criteria sheet are at an introductory level because most students will be unfamiliar with this type of journal and its purpose.

Match between learning outcomes and criteria

Learning outcomes (original) / Task-specific criteria
On completion of this unit, you should be able to: / To complete this task, you are to:
1. Locate some main issues confronting artists and performers in contemporary times and relate these to historical and contextual themes (such as regionalism, nationalism, globalism and indigeneity). / 1. Demonstrate knowledge of theory content
2. Identify relationships between content elements
2. Reflect upon the influence that historical/theoretical perspectives have on your emerging artistic / performance practice. / 3. Reflect on:
  • your responses to the content
  • relevance of the content to your creative practice

3. Demonstrate skill in public speaking about conceptual concerns. / not assessed in this task
4. Ascertain how to go about researching in the library and on e-databases, and be able to construct a scholarly essay with academically referenced sources. / not assessed in this task
Task 1: Reflective journal v3 / Weighting 40%
criteria / HD / DN / CR / PP / NN
Throughout your journal you: / Throughout your journal you: / Throughout your journal you: / In your journal, you: / In your journal, you:
Demonstrate knowledge of theory content in context /
  • consistently demonstrated thorough knowledge of content
/
  • demonstrated knowledge of content with some areas explored thoroughly
/
  • demonstrated knowledge of content
/
  • demonstrated basic knowledge of content
/
  • demonstrated fragmentary knowledge of content

  • acknowledged all sources
/
  • acknowledged most sources

  • sustained an explicit engagement with the unit content by:
/
  • sustained a mostly explicit engagement with the unit content by:
/
  • sustained an engagement with the unit content by:
/
  • engaged with the unit content by:
/
  • occasionally added given material from the unit content

making regular entries / making mostly regular entries
addingsupporting material and convincingly explaining its relevance / addingsupporting material and explaining its relevance / addingsupporting material and partially explaining its relevance / adding some relevant supporting material
Identify relationships between content aspects /
  • identified and described:
a wide range of relationships from obvious to subtle, between different aspects of unit content /
  • identified and described:
a range of relationships including obvious and some subtle ones, between different aspects of unit content /
  • identified and described:
the obvious relationships between different aspects of unit content /
  • identified and described:
some obvious relationships between different aspects of unit content /
  • identified some obvious relationships between different aspects of unit content

how this content informs contemporary visual and performance art / how this content relates to contemporary visual and performance art
Reflect on:
  • your responses to the content
  • relevance of the content to your creative practice
/
  • insightfully reflected on your responses to the content by:
/
  • thoroughly reflected on your responses to the content by:
/
  • reflected on your responses to the content by:
/
  • partially reflected on your responses to the content by:
/
  • stated your responses to the content by:

describing and analyzing your responses them in detail / describing and analyzing your responses them in some detail / describing and analyzing your responses / describing these responses and how and why you arrived at them / expressing opinions that weresimply either positive or negative
convincingly justifying with evidence how and why how you arrived at these responses / convincingly, for the most part, justifying with evidence how and why how you arrived at these responses / justifying with some evidence how and why how you arrived at these responses
occasionally revisiting them and commenting specifically on any changes in your responses and suggesting future explorations / occasionally revisiting them and commenting generally on any changes in your responses
  • insightfully and thoroughly reflected on the relevance of the content to your creative practice by:
/
  • thoroughly reflected on the relevance of the content to your creative practice by:
/
  • reflected on the relevance of the content to your creative practice by:
/
  • partially reflected on the relevance of the content to your creative practice by:

identifying aspects that you consider inform your practice and perceptively explaining why with examples / identifying aspects that you consider inform your practice and explaining why with examples / identifying aspects that you consider relate your practice and explaining why with examples / identifying aspects that you consider relate your practice and stating why with examples
Comment: