Block teaching in art and design: Pedagogy and the student experience

Abstract

This article contextualizes and evaluates the pedagogical efficacy of a ‘block’ curriculum structure at Level 4 of a UK art and design degree course. The year has a distinctive, unique structure compared to its HEI’s central model of three concurrent twenty-credit modules. The article considers the block approach unfolding from the contextual changes at national and institutional levels that provided complex, multiple shifts and challenges. This article evaluates block pedagogy through considering course data, students’ critical reflections of their experience and external examiner comments. The evidence suggests that block pedagogy supports students – of which a significantly higher proportion are from lower-privileged backgrounds – and their outcomes, whilst improving retention, progression and overall satisfaction rates.