Embedded creative workers and creative work in education

This article is concerned with the many connections between creative work and workers, and education work and industries. Employment in the education sector has long been recognised as a significant element in creative workers’ portfolio careers. Much has been written, for example, about the positive contribution of ‘artists in schools’ initiatives. Australian census analyses reveal that education is the most common industry sector into which creative workers are ‘embedded’, outside of the core creative industries. However, beyond case studies and some survey research into arts instruction and instructors, we know remarkably little about in which education roles and sectors creative workers are embedded, and the types of value that they add in those roles and sectors. This article reviews the extant literature on creative work and workers in education, and presents the findings of a survey of 916 graduates from creative undergraduate degrees in Australia. The findings suggest that education work is very common among creative graduates indeed, while there are a range of motivating factors for education work among creative graduates, on average they are satisfied with their careers, and that creative graduates add significant creative-cultural and creative-generic value add through their work.     

Use of sexuality-focused entertainment media in sex education

The literature on the impact of entertainment media on sex education is typically pathology-focused, unclear regarding the effects of such usage, and void of dialogue between those who actually work in the areas of sexuality education and entertainment. To address this gap, this paper is the product of joint authorship between media figures from varied sexually-focused programming fields and academics who teach and conduct research in the areas of sexuality and relational health. The authors focus on the role that various forms of entertainment media play in educating members of the public and college classrooms in the areas of sex and sexuality. Additionally, examples of the inclusion of entertainment media in educational contexts are discussed.     

Scientific arguments as learning artifacts: designing for learning from the web with KIE

We designed Knowledge Integration Environment (KIE) debate projects to take advantage of internet resources and promote student understanding of science. Design decisions were guided by the Scaffolded Knowledge Integration instructional framework. We report on design studies that test and elaborate on our instructional framework. Our learning studies assess the arguments students construct using the Knowledge Integration Environment debate project about light propagation and, explore the relationship between students' views of the nature of science and argument construction. We examine how students use evidence, determine when they add further ideas and claims and measure progress in understanding light propagation. To a modeate degree, students' views of the nature of science align with the quality of the arguments.