Art Education
The Department of Art’s BA in Art Education provides a liberal arts program of study while preparing students as teachers of the visual arts. Completion of this NASAD-accredited program leads to certification as an art teaching specialist in the State of Maine, grades K-12, as well as preparing students for employment in a variety of community-based sites where formalized art instruction occurs. Many students go on to further study at the graduate level.
The curriculum includes coursework in the social and behavioral sciences, arts and humanities, and natural sciences and mathematics, as well as in focus areas of the visual arts and education. Study in the visual arts includes 15 credits in Art Education, 40 credits in Studio Art (34 in required courses, 6 in electives); and 18 credits in Art History. In addition, students are required to complete 15-24 credits of professional education coursework, including the capstone experience. To complete the 120 total credits required for graduation, Art Education students may need to take 6-9 credits of overload coursework (e.g., over 15 credits during a semester or a course or courses during summer sessions). Students completing the BA in Art Education also receive minors in Studio Art and Art History.
Art Education Program Learning Outcomes
The Art Education program learning outcomes are divided into four strands:
- Learner and Learning
- Content Knowledge
- Professional Responsibility
- Technology
Through the completion of the BA in Art Education, students will be competent in the Maine Common Core Teaching Standards and be able to:
1. Learner and Learning
- Design, perform, and evaluate developmentally appropriate art learning activities.
- Provide a safe and inclusive physical and social environment that meets and accommodates learners’ individual and collective needs.
- Facilitate artistic growth with respect to learners’ aesthetic, cognitive, social, and affective developmental stages.
2. Content Knowledge
- Create, implement, and assess learning activities with respect to current theory in education.
- Research and maintain up-to-date MSD information.
- Demonstrate technical expertise and design knowledge in the visual arts.
3. Professional Responsibility
- Research, practice, and reflect on contemporary visual art teaching practices.
- Respond to educational partners and stakeholders with civility, accountability, and flexibility.
- Collaborate with peers.
- Serve students, schools, community, and the profession.
4. Technology
- Discover, model, and apply appropriate technology-related pedagogies for presentation, evaluation, communication.
- Utilize digital media for art making and exhibition.
- Demonstrate responsible and ethical digital citizenship.
K-12 Art Teacher Certification
The BA in Art Education leads to K-12 Art Certification in the State of Maine. For questions about requirements and other paths to art certification, visit http://www.maine.gov/education/cert/. The courses needed to fulfill these requirements are available at the University of Maine through the Department of Art and the College of Education and Human Development. To find out more information about courses that satisfy art certification requirements for the State of Maine, contact Dr. Constant Albertson.
The ArtWorks! Program: Early Art Teaching Experience
During the two required curriculum courses, all art education students participate in an early teaching experience in the Art Education laboratory school, ArtWorks! This program offers our students an opportunity to work with K-8 students within the context of a controlled teaching environment. Within a supportive practicum structure, Art Education students develop and teach lessons on the processes, cultural and historical contexts, and critical analysis of diverse forms of art and visual/material culture. They receive considerable feedback on their classroom engagement and complete self-evaluation forms in an effort to encourage critical self-reflection on all aspects of their teaching experience.
Career & Graduate Opportunities
Most graduating Art Education students become certified K-12 art teachers. Graduates teach in many of the K-12 schools in Maine as well as in other states around the country. Other graduates have gone on to work in museum education or in community programs. Many graduates pursue graduate work in art education, studio art, and art history, completing masters and doctoral-level work in an array of related areas.
To apply online visit go.umaine.edu.