A developing research-oriented pedagogy for undergraduate teaching in art and design

Abstract

Art and design is relatively new to the world of research and continues to claim its place as an academic research activity. To do this it has had to build arguments for how its procedures constitute a disciplinary specific form of inquiry and communicate how its activities constitute something important in the world – an alternative means of thinking and knowing. It has had to do this while not losing sight of its fundamental role as art and design. This paper surveys the ways in which practice-based research is achieving this, connecting key aspects of these efforts to a developing research-oriented pedagogy for undergraduate teaching and learning. I suggest that the development of a research-oriented teaching culture has reinvigorated the undergraduate curriculum, advancing our pedagogical content knowledge. In this respect I outline a number of strategies of importance in assisting students to build more sophisticated conceptions of artistic research.