Background to the VELS – The Arts domain
Level 5
At Level 5, both the Arts VELS and the CSF II, require students to apply a range of skills in more complex ways using the continuously expanding range of means offered by individual arts disciplines. Both documents identify the arts disciplines of Art, Dance, Drama, Media, Music and Visual communication as those that will be the focus of learning programs. The VELS and the CSF II, where appropriate to the arts discipline, require that students individually and collaboratively plan, design, improvise, interpret, evaluate, refine and present arts works as well as use appropriate arts language to evaluate, identify, describe and explain the communication of ideas and influences in their own and others’ arts works. Both documents:
- acknowledge the influence of cultural contexts on students’ arts works and emphasise responding to arts works from different cultural and historical - particularly contemporary - contexts in terms of the ways arts works are made, the influences they reveal and purposes they serve
- call for students to make considered, informed decisions when making and presenting their own arts works as well as offering informed opinions about others’ arts works.
The Arts VELS requires students to ‘expressively communicate’ ideas where the CSF II focuses on developing ideas expressively. The Level 5 Arts standards do not focus on self-evaluation, students’ engagement in analysis or comparing arts works or responding to arts works ‘of different styles’ in the same way as the CSF II Level 5. Teachers are recommended to consider appropriate elements of the Level 5 standards for Thinking Processes, Communication and/or Personal Learning when assessing these aspects of student work. The Arts standard for Creating and making at Level 5 requires students to develop ideas that explore ‘issues’. This requirement is not included in any of the arts disciplines in the CSF II at Level 5.
At Level 5 when using:
- Art to address the Arts standards, students use observation and experience to generate and expressively develop ideas for both two- and three-dimensional art works. They use experience and experimentation to generate and extend real, imaginary and abstract ideas through research into a range of art forms and use skills, techniques and processes appropriate to these art forms. They develop skills in selecting, manipulating and combining appropriate art elements, including line, tone, texture, shape, space, colour and form. Through exploration of art principles, such as distortion, symmetry, pattern, contrast, emphasis, harmony and repetition, students learn about art concepts such as movement, perspective, unity, proportion and foreshortening; or the defining of a focal point or a particular viewpoint or mood. Students make individual contributions to the presentation of group projects or exhibitions for specific audiences. They consider purpose, space, lighting and security in relation to the art forms. Students use appropriate terminology when identifying features of art works and discussing opinions about intentions and the expressive use of art forms, elements, principles and concepts in their own and others’ art works, giving reasons for their opinions. They describe the way images and forms communicate ideas and feelings and ways in which art works are related to distinctive aspects of cultural and historical contexts. Students focus on recurrent themes in past and present societies and explain the purpose of selected art works in particular cultural and historical contexts.
- Dance to address the Arts standards, students use experience and experimentation as they explore real, imagined and abstract themes to generate and expressively develop ideas when making and presenting dances. They improvise, select dance sequences and compose dances individually and collaborative in groups using a range of dance making processes to structure the elements of dance. They rehearse, refine and present dance works for a range of purposes and audiences. They interpret and reproduce dance patterns and sequences using structured and sequential warm-ups, learning about injury prevention, alignment, focus and different releasing techniques. They develop awareness and control of movement through space, and accurately translate rhythms and notations of spatial patterns into movement. Students use and combine symmetry/asymmetry, contrast, repetition, unison and canon to organise sequences within the dance making process. Students learn about the close relationship between dance, sound or music accompaniment and production elements, such as lighting, costume, props and staging. They use appropriate dance terminology to describe, interpret and evaluate the making and performing of their own and others’ dances. Students use evaluation to reflect upon and modify their dance as appropriate. They explain how cultural and historical contexts influence their own dance. They describe the role of dances in particular cultural and historical contexts and discuss changes in the purpose and content of dance.
- Drama to address the Arts standards, students explore the dramatic potential of observation, experience and drama from other cultures and historical periods to generate and expressively develop ideas. Individually and in groups they experiment with dramatic and theatrical forms, styles and conventions to convey meaning. They use the skills of refining and shaping improvised drama to develop and sustain characters and situations and write scripts which incorporate dramatic elements and forms. Students experiment with ways in which a range of stagecraft elements can be used to convey intended meaning, structure drama presentations and enhance performance. They plan, rehearse and refine both improvised and scripted works for performance and experiment with staging possibilities to communicate their work to a variety of audiences in a range of settings. Students use appropriate drama terminology to discuss, interpret and evaluate their own and others’ drama. They identify distinguishing features of performances from different social and cultural contexts and discuss how cultural and historical contexts influence their own and others’ drama. They develop and express informed opinions about their own and others’ drama, identifying dramatic forms and styles and ways in which they are used to express ideas and feelings and meet specific cultural and historical purposes.
- Media to address the Arts standards, students use observation and experience to generate ideas for the organisation of sounds and/or images using a range of media forms. They refine skills in operating a range of equipment to develop understanding of production techniques and processes, and use these techniques and processes to order content and communicate ideas in their media productions. Students plan and structure their work considering the relationship between different aspects and elements of texts. They select, modify and revise their ideas to solve production problems and present their media productions for particular purposes, occasions and audiences. They explore the conventions of a range of styles and types of media productions. Students use appropriate terminology to describe, evaluate and discuss ways in which their own media texts are constructed as well as media texts from different historical periods, cultures and styles. Students describe conventions used in a range of production styles and program formats and describe ways in which conventions are used to convey meaning in media texts in different times and cultures. They explain the influence of social, technological and industrial conditions on media texts and productions and identify and describe media texts produced by commercial, non-commercial, government-owned and community organisations.
- Music to address the Arts standards, students explore the qualities of sound to express ideas, experiences and feelings, by improvising, composing, interpreting and performing music in a range of styles and forms. They use experimentation and a range of sound sources including vocal and instrumental, acoustic and electronic, to develop music ideas and produce individual and group compositions. They aurally recognise selected elements of music and make choices about and imaginatively combine the elements of music to expressively interpret music they create and perform. Students use conventional and unconventional notation. They effectively use spaces (venues) and appropriate sound equipment to present performances. Students participating in an instrumental or vocal program develop a higher level of technical and performance skills and use them in a variety of contexts. Students use appropriate terminology to identify and describe distinctive musical features of works from a range of musical styles, times and cultures. They identify elements within a work and describe how specific elements and qualities of sound are used to create expressive effects and how these elements are used in similar or different ways in other works. They evaluate the use of musical elements and the expressive and technical proficiency of their interpretations and use evaluation to refine their own compositions and performances. Students identify changes in the development of their own works and identify ways in which contemporary music, including their own, is influenced by cultural and historical contexts. They discuss the purpose of music in their lives as well as different purposes of music in past and present societies.
- Visual communication to address the Arts standards, students use observation, research or experiences for inspiration to generate and expressively develop ideas and messages in visual communication. They explore ideas and apply design elements such as line, shape, tone, texture, colour and letterform and principles such as figure and ground, hierarchy and pattern during the development of visual presentations and use a visual communication production process to develop and refine presentations. Students use appropriate two- and three-dimensional drawing systems and conventions and experiment with a range of materials and equipment, media and format in their visual presentations. Using the visual communication production process they define the purpose, need and audience of a given brief. Students use appropriate visual communication language to describe and discuss the work of a range of designers. They identify and describe the use of design elements and principles in a range of existing visual presentations. Students identify messages in visual presentations and evaluate their effect on audiences and also evaluate their own presentations with reference to purpose, client need and audience. They identify design aspects of visual communications in different cultural and historical contexts and describe the different purposes, meanings and messages and intended audience of selected visual presentations.
| Victorian Essential Learning Standards | CSF II learning outcomes |
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Creating and making
Exploring and responding
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At Level 5, there are six ‘strands’ each of which focuses on an arts discipline - Art, Dance, Drama, Media, Music and Visual Communication with four Learning outcomes in each strand. The outcomes for each strand (arts discipline) follow a similar construct.
In Arts practice – ideas, skills, techniques and processes
students: 5.2 Demonstrate a range of skills, techniques and processes in organising art elements, principles and concepts to structure art works / organising dance / drama / media / music elements to structure dance / drama / media products / music.
In Responding to the arts – criticism, aesthetics and contexts
students: 5.4 Demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which art works / dances / drama / media texts and productions / music /visual communications is/are made in particular cultural and historical contexts.
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