Learning to See

Abstract

Learning to See is the title of a research project set up by the Royal Fine Art Commission's Art and Architecture Education Trust to investigate the aesthetic and design aspects of environmental study in schools in England and Wales. The recent Project Report describes the development of such work, the influences which have supported or inhibited it and its place in the National Curriculum currently being established in schools in the UK. The paper derived from this report explores the theme, Learning to See, placing it in the context of work in art, design and environmental education. The work is derived from direct experience of the environment. Four areas of study are evident: aesthetic and design awareness; a feeling response to place; discriminatory and critical skills; and design activity. The paper explains these terms in some detail as there is often confusion about their meaning, even among educationists. The importance of sensory experience as a basis for perception, the need to develop a feeling response to place, the nature of criticism as a valuing activity and the principles underlying environmental design studies are all explored. Examples of pupils' work are included to illustrate these different aspects. The case is made for Learning to See to be a necessary part of everyone's educational experience. The growing concern for environmental quality and improved educational standards points to the need for a more highly developed and sophisticated level of visual literacy so that the general public can contribute to the environmental debate and participate more effectively in shaping the environment inthe future.