English for Creative Arts - Creative Arts Fundamentals
The ECA program was designed for the Vancouver Film School to help English as an Additional Language learners improve their English before they begin full time programming in their desired discipline. The program consists of two courses offered over two terms: Creative Arts Fundamentals and English for Arts Fundamentals. The Creative Arts Fundamentals course uses a content and language integrated learning approach to build learners’ language skills and incorporate their interests in media arts. Each term is made up of three modules of creative content that engages students with media arts and the English language in an authentic, culturally sensitive way.
English for creative arts.
In 2017, the Vancouver Film School began the work to design and develop a bridging program to support their international student population for whom English language skills might be a barrier to success. I began working with VFS on this project then to design the program-level competencies and course curricula and taught the program as an instructor from its launch in 2018 until I left at the end of 2021. This allowed me to consistently iterate on its design.
The story.
I was initially brought on to develop the first 8 weeks of the 16-week course Creative Arts Fundamentals. A second 16-week course would run alongside this course called English for Arts Fundamentals but that development was initially done in conjunction with another well-known ESL school in Vancouver. Click to the next page to find out more about that. The total program hours between the two courses is 468 hours over 16 weeks.
After developing the first 8 weeks of the course on the topics of photography, design, and film production (lens-based media), I transitioned into the instructor role for the course. The next 8 weeks were to be developed by a content expert in animation and game design to complete the development of Creative Arts Fundamentals. Due to unforeseen circumstances, that second half was ultimately also designed by me - with some help as I had never worked in these media.
Initial development.
Following a Content and Language Integrated Learning approach to English as an Additional Language teaching, I began by considering how each medium, and the kinds of work learners would create, would be affected by their English language skills. I broke down each medium, or module, into a set of practical skills we could learn and engage with, alongside the language skills learners would need to engage effectively. I left plenty of space for learners to offer their own ideas for skills and language development as well.
Building it.
Once I had determined an appropriate set of skills and language learning outcomes, I began researching the content I wanted to cover. Employing culturally responsive pedagogy, I wanted to exploit that I didn’t know everything about these media, or about every artist working in these media that would resonate with our learners. That is still my approach today - I get us started on a broad topic and largely allow my learners to determine our direction with their own interests and skill - sets. They co-construct our collective knowledge.
The design.
The Creative Arts Fundamentals course has several guiding design principles and theories that underpin its development. These are taken from several instructional design models, and learning theories as appropriate. Each of these is broken down below in relation to the design of the course.
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Culturally responsive pedagogy.
The program meets the challenges of its diverse learner population by reflecting on and implementing key components of culturally responsive pedagogy. What is considered curriculum is frequently re-evaluated and redesigned to reflect the changing values of our learners and in consideration of the shifting ideas curriculum is composed of.
We see the curriculum as flexible and have left plenty of space for students to bring their own skills, backgrounds, and interests to their learning in order that they see themselves and their experiences in their classroom experience.
We use an inquiry approach to learning that encourages learners to incorporate their own experiences in the self-management of their learning. We take a direct approach in examining the social issues represented in the wide variety of media arts in the program. Learning is differentiated and ensures students have options for how to show their learning whenever possible.
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Learning theories.
The course takes most of its learning design cues from three major learning theories: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism.
Behaviorism: Lessons are guided by measurable outcomes and consider how learners show their learning with behavioral changes. We prioritize feedback and ensure learners can take action on their feedback to improve their performance. Skills are scaffolded in such a way as to make skills mastery a clear path that learners can understand and see themselves.
Cognitivism: Teaching strategies are geared toward maximizing learners’ information processing. The learning is broken up into manageable chunks to reduce strain on cognitive load with many opportunities to consider how to encode information in the long term memory. Strategies employing visual aids, graphic organizers, note-taking, and making thinking visible are used whenever possible and appropriate.
Constructivism: Learners work primarily collaboratively to construct learning. They work within the media arts context ensuring language learning is always contextual. Modules work toward practical skills and so learning is always active and personal to the work they want to create.
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Project based learning.
The course includes a wide variety of topics that would be difficult for a single instructor to know everything about. Luckily, and especially in a language-learning environment, lecturing is a thing of the past and so the burden of knowledge is not solely with the instructor. The course uses a project-based learning (PBL) approach to teaching by creating student-centered learning opportunities that are designed for students to take the initiative with instructor guidance and support.
For example, in the design module, the instructor might pose a design problem and ask learners to form groups and consider how the problem could be solved. Learners are introduced to the design thinking process and language around speculation which they then employ in the creation of a design of their own.
By solving problems on their own, students can draw direct connections between the knowledge they are learning in class and the relevancy of its use in the real world. All the while they are developing their language skills in a social and practical way.
Moodle Learning Management System.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the ECA course as a whole was rapidly re-developed as an online course using the Moodle Learning Management System. Click through the images to view how information is organized on the ECA Moodle page.
The takeaways.
I had worked as a curriculum coordinator before and been hired on contract to build individual units for ESL schools but this was my first time ever developing a course, piloting a course, and seeing it through to its successful implementation. I am extremely grateful for the experience.
Part of the challenge of developing this course was in designing interactions and experiences that allowed learners choice and agency over their own learning. I wanted this course to be fundamentally different than other ESL courses available which often don’t offer choice or deviation from the chosen curriculum.
The other significant challenge was in my lack of content expertise. Particularly the design, animation, and game design units challenged me to seek out industry knowledge and help from other departments. I learned so much in this process, and I’m learning all the time through the students and through the connections the course has with other full time programs at VFS.