Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education - Volume 2, Issue 1, 2003

Welcome to readers of the second volume of Art, Design and Communication in Higher Education. In Volume 1, we made a specific call for articles offering examples of best practice and models for what should be done in developing the Ph.D. in design. These articles were published in Volume 1 Number 3. At the time of this call we also called for articles on doctorates in fine arts and communication which addressed similar issues for consideration for Volume 2 of the journal. Those issues included:

• Supervision • Curriculum development • Thesis requirements • Research methods requirements

The Imaging in Education project is a teaching-based research project funded by the Eastman Kodak Company and the University of Brighton. The project is examining ways in which the teaching and learning of technology is integrated with studio design and ways of intensifying reflective practices, in particular those that would be supported by using image-based processes for learning. The project also examines other teaching and learning activities and environments. In particular: teambased learning and the Intranet as a teaching and learning environment.

This article describes the theoretical and practice-based context for the project, the student project and some of the recent outcomes.

This article investigates two aspects of the experience of communications graduate students. It examines their relations with their departments and the academic staff most close to their work (supervisors and mentors), and the existence and impact of other factors, such as age and dependants, on the duration of their studies. Despite the differences of the educational systems and socio-economic factors between countries, the findings show that the experience of the communications doctoral student is gender specific. To that a number of factors may play an important role such as academic environment and personal/private life commitments.

The investigation of creativeness in the creative arts requires some theoretical originality to enable the development of an effective research method capable of subtly reporting upon original artistic activity. The research endeavour requires something of the tactfulness of the work it seeks to understand. Considered introspection, in the form of practice-based research, into creative arts practice offers the opportunity to try to understand the way an artist engages in an original way with their physical, cultural and psychic raw materials.

This article introduces work undertaken as part of the research programme, The development and evaluation of computer-aided learning in relation to the history and contemporary practice of printmaking’. The research falls into two categories:

• Pedagogy in relation to art and design

• Printmaking, its future in tertiary art education

There are many changes happening in the education sector and these changes will form part of the pedagogical framework that needs to be established to determine in what direction printmaking as part of art education will proceed. This research aims to help establish an understanding of what the printmaking studio within tertiary education will actually look like in the future and predict its role in this sector. This research demonstrates what can be produced using the computer as a part of the printmaker’s repertoire, looking carefully at the various printmaking areas that utilize computer technology.

Learning in Groups, a handbook for improving group work, Jaques, D. (2000), 3rd edn., London: Kogan Page, 310 pp, ISBN 0-7494-3091-5 (paperback).

The Module and Programme Development Handbook, Moon, J. (2002), London: Kogan Page, ISBN 0-7494-3745-6. Also available in a A4 photocopiable loose-leaf ring-bound format for use by staff developers (ISBN 0-7494-3746-4).

Journal of Visual Arts Practice, Biggs, I. (ed.) (2000), 1: 1-3, Bristol: Intellect, ISSN 1470-2029