Christopher Gould
When I was first asked to teach at the college part time, I was also asked to write the Filmmaking curriculum for the newly developed Animation program. This required a lot of research in curriculum design and different pedagogical theories. At the time, an authentic approach that reflected my expereince as a working professional seemed prudent and to this day I try to maintain that philosophical belief of instruction.
Over the years I've altered some of my content and teaching methods. I've learned the importance of learning outcomes in the planning of curriculum. This understanding helped me to plan out and implement a more condense, concise and succinct two year diploma program from the original three year program I had formerly written.
I was then tasked to generate a '+1 program', an optional third-year program that would focus on specific career-oriented learning within the field of animation. Recently I've had the chance to develop, design and implement the curriculum for a 'Post Graduate Program' at the college level.
Curriculum DESIGN
3 levelS of curriculum
When reflecting on the original curriculum design of the three year animation program, there seemed to be many cases of Redundancy. The new design condensed the three years down to two and a more concise program design was implemented.
The curriculum for the two year animation program was designed to be concise in it's implementation and teach the students the fundamental skills, theories and practices behind the art of 3D animation.
Evidence
The +1 curriculum was designed to give students an opportunity to focus on specific career paths within their field of study. This one year program is optional to the students who desire a deeper understanding through further research within their areas of interest. With the project outcomes more specific by nature, students are allowed to develop a deeper maturity through the freedom of exploration. The ultimate outcome for me, then, was that it created a more well-rounded and professional graduate.
the +1 curriculum
Animation 2 year diploma curriculum
Animation Digital Arts
The +1 curriculum was implemented to create a more authentic assessment of professional practices within the field of animated film and television
Animation Digital Production
The Post Graduate diploma program was designed by me to implement a capstone project and give the students more creative freedom to explore ideas and theories within digital filmmaking.
VFX & Digital Cinema
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The VFX and Digital Cinema program was designed to teach students a very specific skill set within the film industry. The higher learning approach of independent study, research and the creation of a capstone project was ambitious and ground breaking at the college level.
The post graduate curriculum