Professional Focus Paper
Course: Art and Design
1.
Level: National 4
Who is this paper for and what is its purpose?
This paper is for teachers and other staff who provide learning, teaching and support as learners work towards Art
and Design National 4.
Curriculum for Excellence is a unique opportunity to raise achievement and to ensure that all learners are better
prepared than they have been in the past for learning, life and work. This is because the new curriculum gives real
scope to build learning 3–18 in a joined-up, seamless way. As a result, progression in learning can be much
stronger with a clear focus on attributes and capabilities, skills (including higher-order thinking skills), and
knowledge and understanding. These are delivered through the experiences and outcomes of the 3–15 Broad
General Education (BGE) and, at the senior phase, through programmes that build directly on the BGE leading to
qualifications. Because of a strengthened focus on the nature and quality of learning experiences, self-motivation is
likely to be increased and learners consequently more engaged and enthused. To ensure continuity and
progression, qualifications at the senior phase have been designed to embrace this unambiguous focus on highquality learning.
Curriculum for Excellence has the flexibility to meet the needs of all learners in their local circumstances, enabling
each to achieve their very best. For example, some centres may take the opportunity to offer qualifications over two
years which might involve learners bypassing qualifications at a given level, whereas others may enable learners to
work towards qualifications within one year. In both cases, the advice in this paper is relevant to the learning and
teaching approaches that learners will encounter. This paper, then, is intended to stimulate professional reflection
and dialogue about learning. It highlights important features of learning which are enhanced or different from
previous arrangements at this SCQF level.
How will you plan for progression in learning and teaching, building on the Broad General Education?
2.
What’s new and what are the implications for learning and teaching?
Art and Design National 4 consists of three Units.
 Expressive Activity
 Design Activity
 Added Value Unit: Art and Design: Practical Activity
To achieve Art and Design National 4, learners must pass both units, and the Added Value Unit. The Added Value
Unit draws upon the skills, knowledge and understanding learners have developed throughout the course to plan
and complete a final solution for both the expressive and design Units.
ART AND DESIGN
What are the key aspects of Art and Design National 4?
Integrated approach to skills development
Expressive Activity and Design Activity Units build upon previous experience within the BGE. These Units could be
taught concurrently or sequentially at the discretion of the centre. The learning experiences will have an emphasis
on developing practical skills and techniques as well as experiential learning. Learners should also develop an
appreciation and understanding of the influences, practices and external factors affecting working artists and
designers.
The Units can be taught and completed as free standing Units or as part of the National 4 Course. In order to
qualify for a course award the ‘course assessment’, which forms the value added component must be completed.
All expressive and design practical work should be closely linked to the critical analysis of practicing artists and
designers from the outset. By referencing the working methods and contexts in which professional practitioners
work learners will be better able to describe, respond and analyse not only the work of others but also be able to
self-evaluate and develop their own practice.
National 4 articulates with Art and Design National 5. This allows staff to choose areas of study to support
progression and allow themes to be continued into National 5 in greater depth or other areas of studies.
Opportunities for breadth of experience and lateral progression of applied skills might be offered through Skills for
Work and Creative Industries courses.
Wider range of evidence of learning
There is a focus on assessment as an integral part of teaching and learning. Assessment should be ongoing and in
dialogue with the learners. Staff can collate evidence in a number of ways, for example, sketch books, extended
writing, notes, group discussions, presentations, blogs, reviews and critiques.
Learners could be spilt into small groups each researching a particular artist or designer working in a specific
manner or style. Each group could then present their findings to their peers, which would offer an excellent forum
for discussion and the sharing of information and research.
Hierarchy of Units
The hierarchical nature of Units allows for a smooth transition from one level to another and a flexibility in the
delivery of learning. Programmes of study should be carefully planned to encourage learners to aim for the highest
level of achievement possible. Owing to the focus on developing skills and understanding, it is inevitable that
learners will progress at different rates and staff must ensure that evidence is gathered throughout the period of
learning in order to make judgements regarding presentation level. As National 4 and 5 have similar structures a
common course could conceivably be taught with differentiation by outcome being the means by which candidates
are eventually assessed and presented. The skills developed in the hierarchy of Units, allows staff to plan
programmes of learning to cater for multi-level delivery. Staff would use their own expertise to make informed
judgements keeping in mind that although the knowledge and skill set is similar across the hierarchical Units, there
are differences in the depth of knowledge and understanding and the complexity of applied skills.
Added Value Unit
Learners will be required to complete an Added Value Unit, which will demonstrate their knowledge, skills and
understanding across the course. Learners will apply their art and design skills to plan and produce a final solution
for each of the Units. Learners will choose one expressive and one design development idea from their previous
work and will plan how to further develop their ideas into a piece of expressive artwork and a design solution. This
ART AND DESIGN
activity will assess learners’ skills in selecting, planning/developing, producing and evaluating the art and design
work.
What are the key features of learning in Art and Design National 4?
Active learning
Learners are expected to take an active role in the learning process, working individually and/or collectively to
develop skills, techniques and concepts related to their chosen area of study. The emphasis is on exploration and
experiential learning where the learner embarks on a personal journey, developing skills and understanding along
the way. Activities will require them to engage in investigation and collate information relating to art and design
practice and be able to examine, comment and reflect on the work of art and design practitioners as well as their
own and that of their peers. Practical tasks will require the learner to problem solve, demonstrate resilience and
overcome obstacles to find solutions to design briefs as well as working with and controlling the visual elements to
express personal ideas and opinions. Regular critiques, where the learner has to explain and justify choices,
decisions and approaches to their peer group, will build confidence as well as allowing learners to use feedback
and peer-assessment as a means to review, reflect and plan their next steps.
Learning independently
Personalisation and choice is a key aspect in ensuring that learners take ownership for their own learning. Learning
should be tailored around the choices learner’s make, with staff facilitating the process, guiding and supporting the
learner in making decisions while ensuring they meet the standard and requirements of the course. Staff should
provide suggestions for where they can access information and research, which may range from the Internet to
museum/gallery visits or the departmental/school library to discovering and utilising first-hand sources. Developing
the ability to self-evaluate, review and plan next steps are key to a successful learner. Regular reviews of learner
progress should help to build confidence and allow the learner to set their own targets and take control of their own
learning.
Responsibility for learning
Learners undertaking Art and Design National 4 should be encouraged to take ownership of their own learning. By
allowing learners the freedom of personalisation and choice they should already have made key decisions based
around their own interests, which should enable them to engage more with the subject matter. Learning intentions
and success criteria should be developed that reflect individual learner’s needs and the promotion of peer- and
self-evaluation should be used to encourage reflection and planning of learners’ next steps. Opportunities should
be made available for learners to reflect upon and discuss their own learning and progress on a regular basis.
Planned critiques will give the learner the opportunity to discuss and explain their choices, monitor their own
progress and make informed decisions.
Collaborative learning
Opportunities should be made available for learners to work in groups, comparing and contrasting approaches and
learning from each other. Discussing, debating and the sharing ideas and techniques should be encouraged. This
will result in reflection and deeper more meaningful learning. Learners should be able to justify ideas and
approaches and using peer-assessment opportunities to challenge and question the views and opinions of others.
This will help inform and build upon critical analysis skills and support written work, where appropriate.
Problem-solving tasks, for example, construction techniques in product, fashion or jewellery design, Photoshop and
IT skills in graphic design could be undertaken in a collaborative manner where learners work in partnership and
learn from other. Learners could also work collaboratively to produce an art and design exhibition, digital
presentation, fashion show, website or blog of their work where each member plays a part in the process, which
would further the develop the four capacities of learning with the subject.
ART AND DESIGN
Applying learning and skills development
Learning experiences will enable learners to demonstrate and apply their practical knowledge, skills and
understanding in creating work for both the expressive and design Units and in the completion of the Added Value
Unit. Investigation into the working methods, techniques and factors affecting the working lives of artists and
designers should be encouraged so learners can apply their knowledge and understanding out with the context of
their area of study. For example, a learner studying in the genre of still life, should be able to comment on and
make informed judgment on the work of a portrait painter, by transferring the knowledge they have accrued in one
area of work to another, which may include the use of the visual elements, the handling of media, composition,
perspective, etc. Similarly in the design Unit learners should have the generic skills to tackle any area of design by
using the same principles, the use of the visual elements, materials used, cost implications, practicality, desirability,
form over function, target market, etc. By utilising these higher-order thinking skills the learner will be able to
transfer and adapt their knowledge and understanding to make better sense of the visual world around them.
The skills developed at National 4, including literacy, health and wellbeing, problem solving and the use of
technology are transferrable can be applied in other areas of the curriculum.
3.
Qualification information
The SQA website provides you with the following documents:
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Assessment Overview
Course Specification
Unit Specification
Support Notes
Course Assessment Specification
Unit Assessment Support Packages
Full information on arrangements for this qualification is available at the SQA website:
Art and Design National 4: http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/47385.html
4.
What other materials are available on the Education Scotland website which staff
could use?
A series of materials has been produced by Education Scotland to support Curriculum for Excellence.
Published support for Curriculum for Excellence:
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqcoursematerials/
T +44 (0)141 282 5000 E enquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk W www.educationscotland.gov.uk
Education Scotland, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA
© Crown copyright, 2012
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