Beyond the playdough: Teaching creative arts through technology to early childhood teachers

Traditionally, the creative arts have been seen as practical disciplines, where the participants need to be in a physical classroom where arts-making materials are provided. Charles Sturt University has been teaching Australian and international students online for decades, and since the advent of online learning spaces, has been teaching all manner of educational practice, including the creative arts, to regional, urban and international students.
This presentation reports on preliminary findings from a multi-phase research project that explores the effectiveness of teaching creative arts in the online space, and investigates the creative process of students who are studying to gain a qualification as a Bachelor-level Early Childhood Teacher. As part of their degree, students may opt to enrol in the program ‘Thinking and Learning through the Arts in Early Childhood’ as an online elective. The research examined how technology is used in innovative and contemporary ways to provide online learning of the creative arts. The presentation describes research methods including analysis of text and image-based assessments and follow-up semi-structured interviews. The preliminary results from the research project show how technology can be an alternative to a physical classroom for effective teaching of the creative arts. Results also show how the students engage in the creative process and the transference of this understanding to working with young children in and outside the classroom. The early insights gained from the research project will enable academics teaching practice-based subjects online to reflect upon and improve the learning process for other students.