Portfolio for Teaching Levels 7-8 in the Visual Arts
Task 1
MissPearlArtEducation, 2025
MissPearlArtEducation, 2025
This advocacy document was designed with students as the target audience. It utilises colourful, bold and minimal text to capture and keep students' attention. It includes small illustrations to assist in visual aesthetic and to utilise visual communication. It illustrates some of the skills student will learn in Visual arts and thus what they will be doing in this subject, what kind of careers students could aspire to with the help of visual arts and, tells students about the positives they will experiences in visual arts, such as, being creative, having fun, relaxing, engaging with friends, feeling good and gaining and improving valuable skills like critical thinking. These positives are backed by research as shown on the adult side of the poster, but for aesthetic purposes were left off the student side.
This advocacy document was designed with Adults as the target audience. This poster references real studies that show the benefits of The Arts and a list of possible career avenues so that the adults who care for students can educate themselves on why students should select visual Arts as a subject in their schooling. It also includes a summary of what students will do and learn in Visual Arts years 7-10 based on the Australian Curriculum.
The bolding of key words was used to assist with easy reading and support adults who might not have time to read the entire poster. I choose not to use phrases like "your child" instead opting for a blanket and uniform use of 'student' so that this poster was inclusive of parents as well as guardians, carers, families, colleagues, leadership, and the broader community, including other teachers.
I also included a PDF with both documents, so that this could be printed as a double sided document that students and adults could share on an elective evening or open day.
​
Having this be one document also means curious students can flip the page over and read a more in-depth case for Visual Arts and see the evidence for the benefits, if they choose to.
Task 2
Resource 1
The Accessible Learning with Art resources by the National Gallery of Victoria [NGV] help students of Diverse abilities explore and respond to artworks from the NGV Collection. Each resource focuses on one artwork and artist through a student-friendly video and a support PDF for teachers or parents.
​
These videos are suitable for year 7-8 students who may have skills and comprehension below or well below their expected grade average [EGA], and are a great starting point for students who are at level, along with students who are exceeding. With a small amount of tweaking by teachers, these students can use these resources and then also be challenged and stretched in their learning.
​
"The resources promote the development of close looking skills and introduce strategies to encourage students to critically respond to visual elements, ideas and artmaking processes (National Gallery of Victoria, n.d.)".​ Thus aligning these resources with the content descriptions/strands for years 7-10 of the Australian Curriculum: Visual Arts (Years 7-10). Particularly: Exploring and responding, Developing practises and skills and creating and making.
​​​
​​By utilising a resource that caters to students with skills and comprehension that is/are lower than their EGA and adapting it to include and challenge students at other levels this aligns with policy that mandates and encourages teachers to prioritise meeting the individual needs of all learners, such as the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration and the AITSL Standards.
Resource 2
This website is full of valuable content and resources that can assist teachers all around the world. With nearly 100 free resources (and multiple hundreds of paid ones), from worksheets to full lesson plans. Anyone can download three of these free resources per year by signing up for a free subscription.
​
Theartyteacher.com also links to helpful TED talks, books, and has online video courses that provide teachers with professional development and the skills to teach certain topic areas/ skills.
​
The Australian Curriculum: Visual Arts (Years 7-10) emphasises both making and responding to art. Encouraging students to experiment with materials and techniques, explore ideas, and develop their own visual language while also analysing and reflecting on artworks from various contexts. The resources on this site assist teachers and students in making and responding.​ They are flexible, adaptable to Australian classrooms, and support differentiated learning, making them an excellent support for delivering education that algins with the Australian Curriculum: Visual Arts (Years 7-10).
Resource 3
The Teachers & students page on the National Gallery of Victoria [NGV] website offers a rich suite of curriculum-aligned resources that support both student engagement and teacher planning in Visual Arts.
Designed by education specialists at the NGV, the platform provides digital excursions, interactive videos, exhibition guides, and structured learning resources suitable for Years 7 and 8 (and beyond). These materials promote critical and creative thinking and closely align with each strand/content descriptor of the Australian Curriculum Visual Arts Years 7 and 8 (ACARA, n.d.). Students are encouraged to analyse artworks, explore cultural contexts, and create inspired responses, while teachers are supported with downloadable guides, inquiry-based activities, and practical classroom applications. The high production quality, visual appeal, and cultural relevance of the NGV Collection fosters deep, meaningful engagement. As a teacher, I value its flexibility across learning styles and its potential for flipped learning or differentiated tasks.
​
A lot these resources lend to a number of the Victoria State Government Education and Training’s High impact teaching strategies [HITS] which are excellent, practical and research-based strategies that I and many teachers implement into their pedagogy (Victoria State Government Education and Training, 2022). For example in the resource https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/school_resource/suburban-collages-inspired-by-howard-arkleys-actual-fractual/ some of the HITS used include HITS 1,2,4,5, and 8, as it has learning outcomes, is structured, provides student examples, asks students to pair up and work together and has students give each other feedback.​​
Task 3
This learning experience is developed to be used with the NGV's resource:
https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/school_resource/suburban-collages-inspired-by-howard-arkleys-actual-fractual/
as well as being an adapted and inspired reframing of this resource.
(National Gallery of Victoria, n.d-d.)
Learning objectives
Students will:
Examine how Howard Arkley utilises colour, shape and pattern to create a vibrant airbrushed painting of suburban life with a balanced composition.
Create an artwork which takes inspiration from Howard Arkley’s visual arts practice and expresses ideas about suburban life.
Plan and apply collage making techniques and processes to create a work which depicts the exterior of a typical suburban home.
Evaluate their own creative process and decision making, and reflect with a partner on how effectively their ideas or feelings have been expressed in their own artwork.
​
(National Gallery of Victoria, n.d-d.)
Click the link to the NGV resouce and watch the video as a class.
Then read the discussion section.
​
Next students can work through these disscussion questions.
​
​
Download copies here
I made the questions from the discussion section of the NGV resource into a worksheet to assist busy teachers with delivering this content with ease. These worksheets also assist students as they help ease the cognitive load of students. I also included an image of the artwork and suburban houses for the same purpose and to increase the seamless delivery of this learning experience.
​
​
​
Next, students can begin making.
Resources and Materials
​
-
Facade templates – make these by tracing outlines of real estate photographs
-
Tracing paper
-
ITC Access - iPad or laptop
-
Colour pencils
-
Graphite pencils
-
A variety of coloured, textured and patterned papers
-
Erasers
-
Rulers
-
Scissors
-
Glue
-
Thick black markers
Steps
Students can use realestate.com.au or Google Street View to find a photograph of their house, an old house they lived in, a family member's or friend's house, or any house that holds significance to them. Students can also use a photo of a building from their school or any random house.​​
Students make their Facade templates by tracing outlines of photos of their chosen house from realestate.com.au or by using Google Street View.
Here is a downloadable PDF & Word doc that comprises of several images of Australian houses that students can use if they are stuck or don't have any personal places they want to use.
I made sure to include that students do not have to choose their own house inorder to be inclusive of students who, for varying reasons might not feel comfortable with this.
​
Additionally, by including a ready-to-go document with photos of other options, this helps these students not feel singled out and can be used to support differentiated teaching for students who might require an altered task and/or need a streamlined activity.
Students design and create a patterned house inspired by Howard Arkley using the following steps:​​
​
​
1. Make two copies of your facade template. One will act as a stencil for the collage, while the other will be a master copy for reference as you make your collage.
2. Identify all the key components of the house.
For example, roof, gutters, chimney, walls, window frames and window glass.
3. Consider which components you intend to recreate with flat coloured paper and those which will be filled with patterned paper. Aim for a balance of flat colour and patterned throughout your facade. Consider how many different colours and patterns you will use and how you will place them throughout your work.
4. Plan your design by lightly shading the components of the house onto your master template using coloured pencils. Consider how your choice of colours can communicate feeling – what do you want people to think or feel when they look at your finished artwork?
5. Don’t worry about being too neat for this part, as this is just a plan. Collect a range of coloured and patterned paper for your collage and choose a piece for the background of the collage.
6. Select a piece of paper for the largest component of your house. Don’t get too fiddly yet. Remember that Howard Arkley always started with bigger, broader areas before adding smaller, finer details.
7. Place the component from your stencil template onto the paper, and trace around it.
8. Carefully cut around the shape and place it onto your background paper.
Don’t glue it down just yet.
9. Repeat this process (steps 6–8) for all the components of the house, moving from the largest to smallest sections.
10. When all the pieces have been cut and placed, glue them down onto the background paper. Refer to the master copy of your facade template to make sure you have placed all the components of the house in the right place.
11. Let your collage dry.
12. Use a thick black marker and a ruler to mark the outlines which separate all the components of the house.
(National Gallery of Victoria, n.d-d.)
Present & reflect
​
Students Pair & Share and use the following prompts to discuss their artworks with one another
​
-
What did you consider when you chose your paper samples?
-
Do you think you created a balanced composition? If so, how does your selection of paper create a balanced composition? If not, how could you change your work to improve the balance between colours and patterns?
-
What do you hope people will think or feel when they look at your finished artwork?
-
Is this a house you would like to live in? Why or why not?
​
Suburban Collages
Howard Arkley’s Actual Fractual
Actual fractual (1994)
from the Pointillist suburb series 1994
Howard ARKLEY
(National Gallery of Victoria, n.d-b.)
Exploring and responding
Creating and making
References
ABC Education. (2019, July 17). Why is art important in schools? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJzQRR_KqBQ
​
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). Visual Arts: Years 7–10. Version 9.0. Australian Curriculum. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/learning-areas/visual-arts/year-7_year-8_year-9_year-10
​
Bamford, A. (2006). The wow factor: Global research compendium on the impact of the arts in education. Waxmann Verlag.
​
Canva. (n.d.). Stock images and design elements used in visual materials. Canva. https://www.canva.com/
​
Catterall, J. S. (2002). The arts and the transfer of learning. In R. J. Deasy (Ed.), Critical links: Learning in the arts and student academic and social development (pp. 151–157). Arts Education Partnership.
​
Catterall, J. S., Dumais, S. A., & Hampden-Thompson, G. (2012). The arts and achievement in at-risk youth: Findings from four longitudinal studies. National Endowment for the Arts. https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Arts-At-Risk-Youth.pdf
​
Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation. (2017). Cognitive load theory: Research that teachers really need to understand. New South Wales Department of Education. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/about-us/educational-data/cese/2017-cognitive-load-theory.pdf
​
Deasy, R. J. (Ed.). (2002). Critical links: Learning in the arts and student academic and social development. Arts Education Partnership.
​​​
Education Services Australia. (n.d.). Art [Career bullseye poster]. MyFuture.
https://myfuture.edu.au/bullseyes/details/1--art
​
Eisner, E. W. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. Yale University Press.
​
Ewing, R. (2010). The arts and Australian education: Realising potential (Australian Education Review No. 58). Australian Council for Educational Research. https://research.acer.edu.au/aer/11/
​
Fiske, E. B. (Ed.). (1999). Champions of change: The impact of the arts on learning. Arts Education Partnership & President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED435581.pdf
​
Fleming, J., Gibson, R., & Anderson, M. (2016). How arts education makes a difference: Research examining successful classroom practice and pedagogy. Routledge.
​
Martin, A. J., Mansour, M., Anderson, M., Gibson, R., & Liem, G. A. D. (2013). The role of arts participation in students’ academic and non-academic outcomes: A longitudinal study of school, home and community factors. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 709–727. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032795
​
National Advocates for Arts Education. (2019). Statement on arts education. Australian Government Department of Education. https://www.education.gov.au/system/files/documents/document-file/2020-12/national-advocates-for-arts-education-naae.pdf
​
National Gallery of Victoria. (n.d.-a). Accessible learning with art. https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/school_resource/accessible-learning-with-art/
​
National Gallery of Victoria. (n.d.-b). Actual Fractual by Howard Arkley [Artwork]. https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/115153/
​
National Gallery of Victoria. (n.d.-c). Teachers and students. https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/learn/teachers-students/
​
National Gallery of Victoria. (n.d.-d). Suburban collages inspired by Howard Arkley’s Actual Fractual. https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/school_resource/suburban-collages-inspired-by-howard-arkleys-actual-fractual/
​
The Arty Teacher. (n.d.). Art teaching resources. https://theartyteacher.com/
​
The Kennedy Center. (2013, September 30). Why art matters [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKjkx6PzajE
​
Winner, E., Goldstein, T. R., & Vincent-Lancrin, S. (2013). Art for art’s sake? The impact of arts education. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org/education/art-for-arts-sake-9789264180789-en.htm
Victoria State Government Education and Training. (2022). High impact teaching strategies (HITS). Retrieved from https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/practice/improve/Pages/hits.aspx