Art 110
Students served per semester: 100 – 200
I have taught this course every semester since 2005
Students in conversation with artist Christine Hudson at the CSULB School of Art, Merlino Gallery. Hudson is in conversation just outside the gallery. Inside is her installation of 125,000 ceramic teeth.
WHY DO YOU WISH TO CONVERT THE COURSE TO A HYBRID OR FLIPPED FORMAT?
As the School of Art’s flagship General Education course reaching out to the entire campus community, Art 110 should be available in as many formats as students desire to experience it in. Given the way students live, work, and learn in 2014, I believe the hybrid version of the course may come to be our most popular version.
Students in 2014 are immersed in media. We acknowledged this fact when we took the books out of the 1st floor of the University Library and replaced them with a Starbucks and a computer lab. While sipping on her latte a CSULB student has 5 screens in front of her: her own device, plus 4 more on the Starbucks wall. Our course design must appreciate and leverage the deeply wired nature of our digital native students.
From teaching both 100% face-to-face and 100% online versions of this course I have come to believe that for many students the hybrid format will be ideal. While some students need the flexibility of 100% online, many feel a sense of loss at not spending time interacting with their peers. Equally, given the fast paced lives our students live, the speed with which they experience content, and the vast range of both content and experiences now at their fingertips, many students no longer seek the experience of 150 minutes a week of lecture.
Our students spend a lot of time online, yet they also deeply value face-to-face experience. By embracing the power of both formats we can offer education that matches the way students live their lives today, simultaneously “IRL & URL”.
REASONS CONVERTING THIS COURSE TO A HYBRID FORMAT WILL ENHANCE STUDENT SUCCESS
It makes sense for the School of Art to maximize enrollment in Art 110. Taught in UT-108 we have enough seats for 378 students. Yet as enrollment goes up, the course must become more generic to accommodate a wide range of learning styles, preparation, and experience. By maximizing online resources and student choice, a hybrid class could feature both large enrollment and large flexibility for individual students, something hard to achieve with traditional instruction.
The CSULB School of Art offers a truly unique resource: 5 student art galleries with new exhibitions each week of the semester. The CSULB SOA Art Gallery Complex is a completely unique facility where students can consider 60 different exhibitions by 60 different student artists in a single semester. I am not aware of another American institution where students can have such a rich experience. The SOA Gallery Complex and University Art Museum are ideal for face-to-face instruction. For the academic aspects of the course students can work with faculty created video talks and other online materials, choosing special interest topics, and working at a pace and time slot that best meets their personal situation.
Students interacting at the CSULB, School of Art, Gallery Complex.
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