First year Visual and Performing Arts unit: FFA 192 Theory Workshop A: digital reflective journal (revised)
Revised by Karen Hall
Synopsis of the task and its context
The original criteria sheet was developed by Karen Hall, Lycia Trouton, Deb Malor and Moira Cordiner in 2010. In semester 1, 2011 Karen trialled it with her
students. This task, a digital reflective journal, is ongoing throughout the first semester in this introductory unit, and is weighted 40%. It supports students in
becoming familiar with concepts and language from arts theory, and in beginning to identify connections between theory and their practice. 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 develop more
considered observations about their responses to theoretical content, and be able to identify aspects that inform their creative practice.
They are given examples of types of entries plus the following guidelines:
 entries must be made regularly, and while they may be informal and in a personal voice, should not be ‘confessional’ or unprofessional in tone
 the journal comprises a total of 2,500 words so that:
 it contains 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
 the ratio of words to supporting material is 3:1 (75%:25%) for the whole journal; acceptable and manageable supporting material includes such items as
scanned pictures, sound files, media, and video.
When Karen revised the sheet, she simplified one descriptor in each of criteria 1 and 3, altered criterion 3 from ‘Identify relationships between content elements’ to
‘Apply content in multiple contexts’ and created new descriptors (see table below). These changes made the expectations more realistic for students just
commencing degrees.
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. 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
not assessed in this task
3. Demonstrate skill in public speaking about conceptual concerns.
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.
2. Apply content in multiple contexts
not assessed in this task
Task 1: Reflective journal
criteria
Demonstrate
knowledge of
theory content
in context
HD
Weighting 40%
DN
CR
PP
Throughout your journal you:
Throughout your journal you:
Throughout your journal you:
In your journal, you:
In your journal, you:
 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
 showed how this content informs contemporary visual and
performing art
 showed how this content relates to contemporary visual and
performing art
 acknowledged all sources
 sustained an explicit
 sustained a mostly explicit
engagement with the unit
engagement with the unit
content by:
content by:
 acknowledged most sources
 sustained an engagement
 engaged with the unit
with the unit content by:
content by:
 making regular entries
Apply content
in multiple
contexts
Reflect on:
 your
responses to
the content
 relevance of
the content to
your creative
practice
NN
 adding supporting
 adding supporting
material and
material and explaining
convincingly explaining
its relevance
its relevance
 identified and described:
 identified and described:
 a wide range of
 a range of relationships
relationships from
including obvious and
obvious to subtle,
some subtle ones,
between different
between different
aspects of unit content
aspects of unit content
 how this content informs contemporary visual and
performance art
 identified and described:
 the obvious
relationships between
different aspects of unit
content
 insightfully reflected on
your responses to the
content by:
 reflected on your
responses to the content
by:
 thoroughly reflected on
your responses to the
content by:
 adding supporting
material and partially
explaining its relevance
 making mostly regular
entries
 adding some relevant
supporting material
 identified and described:
 some obvious
relationships between
different aspects of unit
content
 occasionally added given
material from the unit
content by:
 making intermittent
entries
 using material provided
from the unit content
 identified some obvious
relationships between
different aspects of unit
content
 how this content relates to contemporary visual and
performance art
 describing and analyzing
your responses them in
detail
 describing and analyzing
your responses them in
some detail
 describing and
analyzing your
responses
 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
 partially reflected on your
responses to the content
by:
 stated your responses to
the content by:
 describing these
responses and how and
why you arrived at them
 expressing opinions
that were simply either
positive or negative
Task 1: Reflective journal
criteria
HD
Weighting 40%
DN
CR
PP
NN
Throughout your journal you:
Throughout your journal you:
Throughout your journal you:
In your journal, you:
 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 and Grade:
In your journal, you: