The document discusses recommendations for improving curriculum and pedagogy at an art and design college. It recommends: 1) Establishing formal learning outcomes at both the college-wide and program levels. 2) Improving support structures such as assessment, curriculum planning, and increasing opportunities for cross-discipline and flexible learning. 3) Updating individual program curriculums to more deeply integrate the humanities and sciences, meet industry standards of quality and relevance, and anticipate emerging trends.

1. CURRICULUM & PEDAGOGY
Preliminary Recommendations
“To facilitate deep understanding of a new concept, to
facilitate learning, learners must have the opportunity to
develop multiple and flexible perspectives. The process
of becoming an expert involves failure, as well as the
ability to understand failure and the motivation to move
onward.”
- Winslow Burleson, MIT Media Lab, ASU
Developing creativity, motivation, and self-actualization with learning systems

2. CURRICULUM & PEDAGOGY
Preliminary Recommendations
1) Establish Formal Learning Outcomes
2) Improve Support Structures
3) Update Program Curriculums

3. CURRICULUM & PEDAGOGY
1) Establish Formal Learning Outcomes
College-Wide Learning Outcomes
Imagination - Inventiveness, inspiration, knowledge, conceptual
sophistication, critical discernment
Professionalism - Highest skill levels, knowledge of field, ability to
communicate, ethical, versatile, strong work ethic, risk taking,
collaborative, leadership, cultural awareness, self-evaluative
Preparedness - Knowledge of business practices, strong network
and community, excellent body of work
Plus - We’d like graduates to leave with fondness and loyalty to
Art Center
Program Learning Outcomes
Developed by programs in consultation with faculty, experts,
industry, alumni, students - shaped by a particular approach

4. CURRICULUM & PEDAGOGY
2) Improve Support Structures
Establish better systems and planning processes
Planning and strategy - Establish a plan for the overall ACCD
academic offering and curricular structure
Assessment - Implement objective, regular, outcomes based
assessment for programs, faculty, and chairs
Review Program Needs Regularly - Size, meeting field’s needs,
facility impacts/requirements, budget, faculty
Evaluate Program Mix/Structure - Create or eliminate
programs, merge/split/reorganize programs, role of graduate
education
Establish Curriculum Committee - Standards for course
descriptions/syllabi/learning outcomes, coordinate curriculums,
ensure college-wide learning outcomes & strategy, prevent
duplication, encourage cross-program collaborations

5. CURRICULUM & PEDAGOGY
2) Improve Support Structures
Support multiple student models - but not too many
Single model no longer works
High School Graduate - Additional terms to mature, traditional
academic calendar, housing
International - ESL (offer PCC courses, give credit), housing
Transfer Student - Get through fast, give transfer credit
Career Changer - Get through fast, multi-disciplinary
Graduate Student - Experimentation, research, thought leaders
Low-Residency - Flexibility
Professional - Short courses, leading edge skills/concepts

6. CURRICULUM & PEDAGOGY
2) Improve Support Structures
Create greater cross-discipline opportunities
Match current practice - design across mediums, multi-
disciplinary collaborations, teach affordances of each medium
Encourage diversity of teaching, learning and thinking
Option for undeclared major - may add a term or two, portfolio
issues
Option for multi-disciplinary major - established paths, create
own major
Allow students more flexibility
Create more dialog between programs & faculty
Add more counseling - to help students navigate & experiment

7. CURRICULUM & PEDAGOGY
2) Improve Support Structures
Strengthen the school’s relationship with its faculty
to improve teaching
Create greater job security - E.g. Longer term contracts,
permanent part-time status with salary, publish valid faculty
handbook, etc.
Increase respect for faculty - Pay & account for service hours,
involve faculty in curriculum development, pay for course
development, provide space to meet with students
Improve teaching relevancy & quality with faculty development
- Pedagogy, advanced skills, dialog with experts, access to
technology, training
Encourage new modes of pedagogy
Improve faculty & chair assessment
Create new opportunities for faculty community

8. CURRICULUM & PEDAGOGY
2) Improve Support Structures
Create a long-term strategy for eLearning
Range of applications - Supplement on-site courses, skills
development, “pure” online courses, mixed online/on-site
Proceed thoughtfully - Or waste time, money, and potentially
harm ACCD brand
Establish criteria for appropriate use
Involve professional instructional designers
Meet standards - SCORM for interoperability, section 508
accessibility
Requires goals, planning and training
Requires a significant investment - Develop ACCD’s approach,
pay faculty to develop material, infrastructure and staffing

9. CURRICULUM & PEDAGOGY
2) Improve Support Structures
Explore alternate teaching & learning approaches
Develop a “Self-Learning Center”
Physical and online resource for students & faculty
Includes instructional systems, materials, staff, experts, facilities
Proximate to CMTEL, shops and library
For-credit, required lab-time attached to courses
Offload some skills learning from curriculum
Encourages life-long learning skills
Share expert faculty across courses
Much more...

10. CURRICULUM & PEDAGOGY
3) Update Program Curriculums
Integrate the Humanities and Sciences
Makes better art and design - Improve critical thinking,
observation, process, cultural relevance, idea generation
Teach in context of art and design - Teach what we can do best,
perhaps leave other parts to PCC?
Integrate into studio curriculum - E.g. Design Process, 3D
Fundamentals, Design Fundamentals

11. CURRICULUM & PEDAGOGY
3) Update Program Curriculums
Meet the highest standards of quality and relevancy
Establish industry/expert advisory boards - Create a productive
dialog and accountability between ACCD and practitioners and
organizations in all disciplines to help focus curriculum
Define and require top quality work from students
Focus on depth vs. superficiality - Skills, concepts, making
Anticipate emerging trends in practice - Expose students to
new mediums, materials, markets, production technologies,
software; Teach best practices as technology and culture changes
Consider new programs - Interactive design, Grad advertising, ???
Engage students with the most important and urgent issues in
each discipline

12. CURRICULUM & PEDAGOGY
Thank you
Wendy Adest, Tom Mancuso, Phil van Allen, Brenda Varda