2024 T3 ADAD9113

Communication Skills for Creative Disciplines

Assessment brief & Course overview

Course Description: ADAD 9113 Communication Skills

How articulate are you as a creative practitioner, designer or administrator?

This course develops your ability to confidently engage with, interpret and express complex ideas using an appropriate mix of communication strategies tailored to creative disciplines.  In addition to an appreciation of fundamental research protocols in creative disciplines, you will enhance your academic reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills to better express  coherent intellectual arguments, towards developing your own academic 'voice'. Collaboration in and out of class, using a mix of communication tools, will model cross- disciplinary interaction with colleagues, peers, professionals and the public.

Course Aims

This course aims to develop a capacity to recognise and employ different modes of communication relevant to creative disciplines in advanced professional and academic contexts.

Assessment type:       Writing (1000 words)

Submission requirements:

•   Submit as ONE readable PDF to Turnitin via Moodle page

•    Due: Week 3, Friday 27 September 2024 (9pm)

Assessment Overview:

This assignment aims to encourage close, critical reading practices and to evaluate your writing skills. You need to clearly identify the focus of your response. For example, you can focus on selected sections, concepts or ideas in discussion during class time with your tutor. In response to the selected reading provided for your degree program specialisation (see Required Readings for Week 1) you are required to:

1. Collaborate in pairs or groups in class tutorials to identify key issues in the set text.

2. Discuss and take notes on the origin, influences and implications of these ideas.

3. Use your notes and answers to individually write your own interpretation of the reading.

4. Using academic English, identify and discuss the importance, meaning, and relevance of this reference.

5. Locate a contemporary art, design or media artwork in the public domain that is relevant to the selected reading (see Required Readings for Week 1). Identify it, providing a URL to the image and contextualising the selected art/design/media work.

Note: Allocate roughly 350 words (i.e. one third of your text) to analysing how ideas from theory/research have been used or referenced by the selected artwork. How do the historical ideas in the reading speak to this new situation now?

Assessment type: Oral presentation and Paper

Submission requirements:

(1) an in-class oral presentation (Part A)

(2) written documentation (Part B)

•     Presentations are due in tutorials during your allocated times in Week 4 or Week 5

•    There will only be time for brief feedback in class, while more written feedback will be provided in Turnitin.

•     Submit your documentation (Part A + Part B) as a single readable PDF to Turnitin by Week 5, Friday 11 October (10pm)

Assessment Overview:

Assessment 2 includes two parts:

1.   Part A: In-class individual presentation with maximum 5 slides (your presentation slides are added to Part B to make a single PDF for submission)

2.   Part B: One-page PDF - Visual Summary/Digital Handout.

3.   Submit your documentation (Part A + B) as a readable PDF to Turnitin, Friday Week 5

Part A: PRESENTATION IN CLASS

Part A is a 10-minute presentation of engaging and coherently delivered visual, verbal and written content with a Powerpoint using maximum 5 slides total: including one slide with  research references, and your final slide with two written questions to start a group discussion of your presentation. The discussion questions should be included in your 10 minute presentation time.

The date and time for your online presentation will be confirmed in Week 3. It is essential that each person presents to their assigned group, and that you commit to being an engaged audience member as well. We have allocated your presentation and audience commitment within the one timeslot, so that you typically only have ONE time commitment over Weeks 4 and 5.

This task requires you to synthesise visual, verbal and written information into a professionally coherent presentation. You may speak in response to shared material, using PowerPoint. The challenge is for you to communicate your message, manage the presentation delivery and engage your audience within the timeframe. The aim is to succinctly showcase the meaning and ideas behind your interests or creative works and  practices, concluding with a brief group discussion. You will need to be organised, speak clearly and present yourself in a confident, honest and professionally relaxed manner.

Part B: SUBMIT TO MOODLE

A one-page digital handout of key messages for future reference that includes a clear connection between your chosen area of interest and current academic

conversation/paper/research/creative outputs by artists/designers. Marks for Assignment 2 will be awarded for:

1.   Interesting, academic, well-paced presentation that engages your audience

2.   Synthesis of visual, verbal and written information presented within 10-minutes

3.   Confident command and delivery of information in chosen format

4.   Relaxed personal style. in leading group discussion with engaging handout provided.

Assessment type:        Extended Writing Task (1500 words)

Submission requirements:

•   ONE readable PDF document

•   Submit to Turnitin via the course Moodle page

•    Due: Week 10, Sunday 17 November 2024 (9:00 PM)

Assessment Overview:

In accordance within-class guidance, you are required to produce an exhibition review of a current exhibition you can visit in advance to complete this task. This can be in-person (recommended!) or a dedicated online-only, digital exhibition. In either case you must confirm your choice with your tutor, to make sure you are reviewing an appropriate exhibition.

Note: You should select an exhibition of art, design, architecture, digital media or other creative work that is directly relevant to your own field/creative practice.

Your review should engage with at least three specific art/design examples in the exhibition, perhaps considering aesthetic, historical, functional, technical and/or social aspects of the work, as well as discussing the conditions of its presentation and reception. Your writing will use a theoretical lens developed through your course readings and further research of the subject matter, artist/designers and exhibition context. However, the challenge of a review is to both describe and critical analyse your selected exhibition, from your particular perspective, in a limited number of words.

In order to satisfactorily complete this assessment, you should:

•    Show proof of research, ideas, and evidence beyond that provided in the course readings

•    Implement effective review structures (not an essay!)

•    Integrate and reference academic sources appropriately and effectively, using a consistent referencing style. (e.g. Oxford, Harvard)

•    Compose and write a well-reasoned, presented and referenced critical review that advances an original, compelling opinion relevant to your creative practice.