This document discusses planning and assessment approaches for teaching the arts. It recommends using open-ended, closed-ended, and free exploration teaching approaches, depending on the lesson. Demonstrations can be used to clearly instruct students before starting an activity. When assessing student work, the focus should be on acknowledging the learning process, not just the final product. Assessments should also take into account the degree of difficulty of the task.

1. Planning and
assessment
for the Arts

2. Teaching approaches that can be used
• The teaching approaches need to be adjusted for the
students and for the lesson.
• Open ended, closed ended and free exploration are
three types of approaches that can suit different
situations. For example closed ended approaches for
instructions that may cause safety issues.
• When planning it is important to think about which
approaches will be used and when.
(Dinham 2011 p.
91)

3. Demonstrations
• Demonstrations can be used to give clear
instructions to children before they commence their
experience. Show children the steps to the process
but this needs to still be short, just demonstrate a
sample of each step (Dinham 2011 p 92).

4. Acknowledging children's learning
processes
• When planning lessons assessment of The Arts needs
to be considered. There is more to assessing children
work, its not as simple as do I like this creation
(Dinham 2011 p. 93).
• Children learn through the whole process. This needs
to be considered when assessing the learning that
has occurred. Has the child taken the opportunities
to learn? (Dinham 2011 p. 93).

5. ‘On balance judgements’
• When the degree of difficulty is taken into account in
the assessment of a final product (Dinham 2011 p.
93).

6. References
• Dinham, J 2011, Delivering authentic arts
education, Cengage Learning Australia, South
Melbourne, VIC.