Principles of Applied Arts:About
From Principles of Applied Arts
The Principles of Applied Arts program is a revolutionary curriculum due to its unique design. This curriculum educates individuals in applied art using a method with a dynamic approach that maintains its focus on a model of successful professional practice. The curriculum maps out key points of business models, using a visual learning system to fully articulate these points to students and professionals. Additionally, the program uses a unique combination of written and online tools to build success for the student. Its structure directly relates to a real time and dynamic learning outcome assessment plan that is visually maintained by both the student and the teacher. Because practicing professionals built the program, the PAA gives relevant perspective and understanding to students of their desired field of study. Also, the structure easily adapts to the educational standards of any program and builds a platform for the successful implementation of any curriculum.
One of the advantages of the PAA lies in its model of successful practitioners. The PAA defines success as a transaction of craftsman and consumer that results in the transfer of money. In any trade there is an example of a successful practice or at least a smoothly executed job. In any such example there are very key points to its success. These key points vary from situation to situation but there are constants that can be recognized. The PAA uses these constants to map out a structure which professors use in class and students use to build their educational foundation. The PAA concept encompasses the questions asked most frequently, the questions relative to the practical application of the knowledge being bestowed upon the student by the teacher. For any craftsmen who have wondered why students tend to ask questions about “trade secrets” and not about tools, mediums and techniques, this curriculum helps them teach exactly what students need to succeed. The PAA program expands the points of practice that most craftspeople take for granted over time, or points of business that a seasoned professional usually execute in a matter of minutes.
Furthermore, the PAA uses a distinctive evaluation and visual learning system to help students learn. The process of a craftsman is first assessed and then custom fit to a visual learning structure that defines its intricacies. Since most trades are tactilely and visually based it is difficult to learn in contemporary classroom settings. For this reason, work-study program are essential to effectively teach the trades. The PAA effectively combines work-study programs and classroom learning to build successful careers. Additionally, the PAA is built around a visually based education concept that ensures a complete understanding of a successful practice in any trade or applied art.
One key visual tool is the Craftsman’s Wheel, which visually displays a general summary of professional decorative painting process. Made directly from an example of a professional practice, The Craftsman’s Wheel provides a visual guide for program directors, teachers, and students to see success. When first starting out in business, students first few turns of the wheel sometimes reveal that it is not quite rounded or refined yet. The PAA program focuses on learning information that adds sides to the student’s own personal wheel making it more round every time a student attends a class or works in the field. Instructors tools that keep the teachers and the students engaged is solid productive conversation accompany it.
Other visual tools are the charts found in this textbook. The visual charts in this textbook are related to conversations that a master would have with an apprentice over the course of many years. They are laid out in a format that provides an exploded view of the intricacies of the decorative painting profession. Instructors are provided with these tools to keep their instruction conversations focused and keep their students on track during their studies. Plus, by repetitively visualizing the process, students have a more solid education of a hands-on trade. In every class of a PAA course students can easily understand how their education is applicable to their daily practice. These details are mapped out in this concise textbook that houses a refined system of visual charts, worksheets, craftsman interviews, and more.
In addition to the visual tools of the PAA, the program offers written and online tools. Students are given classroom worksheets that ensure their successful comprehension of the information presented. All of this information is provided in this textbook and is made available through education partners of the PAA program. Also, the PAA provides an online dynamic encyclopedia for the decorative painting industry called the Craftsman’s Handbook (CHB). The CHB acts as a reference database for an ever-changing industry. It provides students and teachers a platform to define and discuss topics directly related to their industry. The CHB also provides a community portal that give students access to a list of material vendors, trade shows, industry associations, and events. All of this information in correspondence with the real time conversations recorded in the CHB allows the student to self assess by comparing themselves to current and recorded successful practice models.
Using the visual, written, and online tools provided by the PAA program, directors directly assess alumni performance using a dynamic learning outcome assessment program. Learning outcome assessment is ascertained by reviewing the execution of a given task within a professional’s business routine. Using a skeleton of the Craftsman’s Wheel, graduates of the program fill out specific PAA forms after the execution of a job. The information acquired from graduates is then compared to the process outlined in the PAA chart structure by point and approach; current students, professors and program directors then learn from this directly. This ensures that students are provided the perspective needed to enter into the professional world.
Finally, the PAA offers a wide-ranging perspective for aspiring professionals. Lack of knowledge holds most people from pushing forward in any new career. It is the industry perspective collected by current master tradesman and shared within this program that provides aspiring professionals the needed perspective to overcome any obstacles or insecurities preventing their success. The experience and know-how of the professionals behind the creation of the PAA gives the program the unique perspective that is essential for students’ success.
The Principles of Applied Arts curriculum is a learning structure that caters specifically to the creative, visual thinkers in the United States. It is dedicated to the craftsman and their focus on details to achieve success. The PAA takes the education standards provided by the Professional Decorative Painters Association and transforms them into a successful curriculum model. A professional decorative painters job is that of a translator, translating the emotional descriptors from their clients into the principles of applied art: Color, texture, sheen, and movement. Once these emotional descriptors are acquired the craftsman then translates them into tools, mediums, and techniques. This is an age-old process that until now has never been fully articulated. Through the use of the PAA’s business models, tools, and insightful perspective, students are ensured a comprehensive and complete education.
Andre' Martinez
