Visual Art aims to provide the student with a set of personal attitudes and qualities as well as skills and processes and a sense of the aesthetic. Through practical engagement in the areas of art, craft and design students will develop self-confidence, inquisitiveness, imagination, and creativity. They will also develop authentic, real-world problem-solving capacities and the capacity to work over time, as an individual and in groups. These are all transferable skills which will prepare students for college and working life.
- What careers can it lead to
Studying Art or Design in school can lead to careers in many different areas. While you might have heard that becoming an architect, fine artist, sculptor or gallery assistant is an option for those who study Art or Design, there are many other careers available for those who are able to envision, design and create beautiful things.
Art education can also lead students towards creative and unexpected destinations such as Movie Set / Costume / Special Effects Designer, Jewellery design, Millinery, Shoe design, Web and Gaming design, Animation, Graphic design, Furniture design, Interior design, and the list goes on.
- Sample of Junior Cycle topics
- List of bullet point topics
- Junior Cycle Exam
- Requirements – There are 2 phases to the examination process
Phase 1 – Classroom-Based Assessment 2: In this phase, students research, experiment, practice and develop ideas and techniques from a range of primary sources based on the themes in a brief issued by the State Examinations Commission (SEC). Students explore more than one theme in this phase before choosing the theme they want to continue with. Classroom-Based Assessment 2 is completed by mid-November. Student work for this phase is collected in a Visual Art Sketchpad. At the end of this research and experimentation phase, students complete an oral presentation. During this presentation they present their work and reflect on feedback from their teacher and peers. Students complete a Communicate and Reflect Form. On this form, they summarise the reasons they chose the work they presented to their teacher and peers, summarise the feedback they received, and state how they want to develop the ideas further into 2 realised artefacts. This marks the end of Classroom-Based Assessment 2, the first phase of the project, and the beginning of the second phase.
Phase 2 – Final Assessment: As Phase 1 draws to a close, the State Examinations Commission issues a workbook in which students complete the second phase of their project. In this workbook students develop ideas further and make their artefacts. It is this work that forms the examination material that is assessed by the S.E.C in June. There is no written examination. The grade awarded is based solely on the work produced in Phase 2 which is completed within class contact time.
CBAs
- Outline of the CBA; How it is marked; When are they done
At Junior Cycle level students complete two C.B.A.s. The first (C.B.A. 1) takes place in the second term of 2nd year and C.B.A.2 takes place in the first term of 3rd year. Both C.B.A.s last approximately 8 weeks and in both instances a S.L.A.R. takes place to determine level achieved and the appropriate descriptor for the work produced. A S.L.A.R., which stands for Subject Learning and Assessment Review, involves several teachers of the subject coming together to have a professional discussion to reflect on the quality of their own students' work, informed by the subject specification, assessment guidelines and other support material including annotated examples of students' work.
