Academic Centrehttps://doi.org/10.22364/atee.2022.39 | 584-599 | PDF | © University of Latvia, 2023
Sketching – an Undervalued Tool in General Education
Māra Urdziņa-Deruma, Austra Celmiņa-Ķeirāne, Austra Avotiņa, Inguna Karlsone
University of Latvia, Latvia
Abstract. Sketching is one of the key activities that characterise the process of visualising ideas in the creation of design products and artworks. Sketching skills are necessary to record observations. In addition, sketching can be used to capture new information. In the new State basic education standard of Latvia, sketching has a noticeable place in both design and technologies and art. The study aimed to investigate the role of sketching in the general education of students – future teachers of primary school education, future design and technologies teachers, and future designers. A survey (n = 126) was used to achieve the aim. The results show that sketching is to a greater extent and more diversely taught in visual arts than in home economics and technologies. Almost a fifth of the respondents (19%) did not learn sketching in visual arts, and almost half (48%) – in home economics and technologies. Most respondents consider that a sketch is a rough idea for a work, a draft of a work, and its main characteristic is quickness. 43% associate sketching with drawing techniques. Students use sketching most in free sketching situations and in generating ideas for visual artworks. Students sketch equally to record observations and stylize them as well as to visualize design product ideas. Most students emphasise that sketching needs to be practised, it is a way to visualise thoughts and ideas, and it stimulates creativity. Most students believe that sketching has an impact on the result of product design (both speed and quality), and they also stress that sketching ideas makes it easier to choose which idea to pursue.
Keywords: design and technologies education, drawing, idea visualization, sketch, visual arts education
About the authors
Māra Urdziņa-Deruma – Dr. paed., associate professor at the University of Latvia Faculty of Education, Psychology and Art (FEPA).
Scientific interests: textile education, design and technologies education, arts pedagogy.
She developed and taught courses in design and technologies and its teaching methodologies, and art pedagogy in various teacher education programmes of bachelor, first- and second-level teacher education programmes. Since 1996, she organised National Olympiades (total of 8) and Open Olympiades (total of 16) in home economics and design and technologies.
Austra Celmiņa-Ķeirāne – Dr. philol., Mg. art., assistant professor at the University of Latvia FEPA.
She has been working at the University of Latvia since 2008. Since 2016, she has been the director of the study program “Art”, but since 2020 – the head of the study field “Arts” of the UL. Interior and graphic designers are taught study courses Drawing I–VII, Painting I–V, Composition in Design I–IV, Plein Air I, II.
She works in the field of textile art and is a member of the Latvian Artists Union and the Latvian Textile Art Association.
Austra Avotina – Dr. paed., associate professor at the University of Latvia FEPA.
She is a researcher in art education, an author of monographs, study books and articles, and participated in international projects as an expert: e.g., ESFP – Development of visual art teachers professional and pedagogical competence; the Implementing competency-based curriculum project in Latvia (Skola2030) and represented interests of the University of Latvia in European Network of Observatories in the Field of Arts and Cultural Education linked to UNESCO (ENO).
Inguna Karlsone – Dr. paed., Mg. arch., assistant professor at the University of Latvia FEPA.
Scientific interests: architecture, design, design education, pedagogy, spatial reasoning.
She works at the University of Latvia since 2008 in the professional bachelor’s study programme “Art”; since 2020 in the professional bachelor’s study programme “Teacher” and the master’s study programme “Technology Innovation and Design for Education”. During this period, the study courses Basics of Architecture, Universal Design, Universal Design in Education, and Environment Design have been developed and taught.
In:
To Be or Not to Be a Great Educator, 2022. Proceedings of ATEE Annual Conference
Riga: University of Latvia Press, 2023. 985 p.
Ed. L. Daniela
ISBN 978-9934-36-019-0
https://doi.org/10.22364/atee.2022