Art Education
The Teacher Education Program
Enjoying an excellent reputation nationally, the Teacher Education Program at Shepherd University is designed to lead to K-12 teaching certification. Coursework offered through the Department of Education presents students with multiple opportunities to work in and observe K-12 grade school settings.
The program supports the theme of “Teacher as a Reflective Problem Solver.” Consistent with this theme, courses in art, art education, and professional education are sequenced to enable students to critically examine, interpret, and evaluate their own educational behaviors as preparation for a teaching profession. As well, the program prepares students to plan for and teach curriculum that meets the standards indicated by the West Virginia State Instructional Goals and Objectives.
The Art Education Program
The main purpose of the Art Education Program is to prepare future art teachers for successful art instruction in the public school system.
As its name suggests, art education is a hybrid discipline, bridging the fields of visual art and education. As such, art education majors receive significant training from two departments. The function of the Art Education Program is to meaningfully connect these two arenas of inquiry so as to enable students to synthesize knowledge that will serve them as effective educators.
Art education courses introduce majors to the historical and philosophical foundations, as well as to the methodologies of art education. In keeping with the Department of Art’s emphasis on contemporary practice, the Art Education Program emphasizes recent research and scholarship in the field, as practiced by today’s in-service art educators. Rather than adhering to any one educational philosophy, the Art Education Program seeks to expose students to a diverse array of contemporary educational practices (including Discipline-Based Art Education, Community-Based Art Education, Critical Pedagogy and Visual Culture), so that individual students may draw the best from each as they begin to locate a unique voice as teachers.
Concurrently, in keeping with the Department of Education’s theme of “Teacher as a Reflective Problem Solver,” the Art Education Program is devoted to developing a community of original and critical thinkers. The intimate size of the program, with its seminar-sized discussion classes in its own permanent space, aims to foster such an intellectually and creatively stimulating community.
If you are an artist with leadership skills who thrives in the dynamism of the educational setting, consider applying to Shepherd’s Art Education Program. For general information about Shepherd’s Art Education Program, call or write:
Jodi Patterson
Art Education Program
Shepherd University
P. O. Box 3210
Shepherdstown, WV 25443-3210
304/876-5265
800/344-5231, ext. 5265
jpatters@shepherd.edu
Current Curriculum for a Teaching Field in Art Grades K-12
A student who wishes to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Art Education takes college required general studies courses (47 hours), fine arts core (12 hours), studio art and art theory (21 hours), methods and theory of teaching art (9 hours), education professional studies courses (30 hours), and electives to total 128 semester hours minimum.
Note that art education majors are encouraged to take ART 104 Introduction to Visual Arts (for art majors, 3 credits), over ART 103 Introduction to Visual Arts (for non-majors, 2 credits). Students who enroll in ART 104 will take a total of 129 credits, while students who enroll in ART 103 will complete 128 credits on graduation. Please also note that ART 140/170: Visual Thinking Skills and ARED 345: Visual Thinking Skills are different courses.
Art Education Curriculum
| General Studies Courses | 48 Hours | |
| Humanities (ENGL, COMM, MUSC, ART) |
19 | |
| Social Sciences (ECON, HIST, PSCI, SOCI) |
15 | |
| Life or Physical Sciences (BIOL, CHEM, GSCI, PHYS) |
8 | |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| Physical Education | 2 | |
| Art Department Core Requirements | 12 Hours | |
| ART 140 | Visual Thinking Skills I | |
| ART 170 | Visual Thinking Skills II | |
| ART 203 | Survey History of Western Art | |
| ART 204 | Contemporary Art | |
| Studio Art Requirements | 20 Hours | |
| ART 115 | Drawing I |
3 |
| ART 215 | Drawing II | 3 |
| ART 230 | Painting I | 3 |
| ART 250 | Sculpture I | 3 |
| ART 361 | Printmaking II | 3 |
| GRDS 200 | Graphic Design I (non-majors) | 3 |
| PHOT 281 | Black and White Photography I (non-majors) | 3 |
| Art Theory & Analysis Requirements | 3 Hours | |
| ART 403 | Art Criticism and Aesthetics | 3 |
| Methods & Theory of Teaching Art Requirements | 7 Hours | |
| ARED 180 | Inclusive Approaches to Art Education |
3 |
| ARED 345 | Curriculum and Instruction | 4 |
| Professional Studies Core for Secondary Education Requirements |
31 Hours | |
| EDUC 150 | Seminar in Education |
1 |
| EDUC 200 | Foundations of Education | 3 |
| EDUC 320 | Social & Psych. Conditions of Learning | 5 |
| EDUC 370 | Creating Learning Environments | 4 |
| EDUC 443 | Reading in the Content Area | 3 |
| EDUC 427 | Special Methods of Teaching | 3 |
| EDUC 435 | Special Methods Practicum | 2 |
| EDUC 400 | Student Teaching Seminar | 3 |
| EDUC 455 | Student Teaching | 9 |
| Studio Concentration Upper level coursework in one area |
9 Hours | |
| Graphic Design: GRDS 300, 320, 360 | ||
| Painting: ART 330, 434, 475 | ||
| Photography: PHOT 383, 485, 380 | ||
| Printmaking: ART 464 (3-9 credits), 475 | ||
| Sculpture: ART 350, 450, 475 | ||
| Total Semester Hours Minimum | 130 | |
