Abstract
Often the traditional creative arts curriculum does not sufficiently respond to, nor reflect, contemporary work practice. Multidisciplinary teams are now increasingly the norm in creative arts practice especially when driven by technological innovation. Drawing on contemporary research that centres on the benefits of multidisciplinary collaboration, Creative Exchange is a direct attempt to implement multidisciplinary practice within a tertiary learning environment. Outcomes aim to prepare students for dynamic engagement with the challenges and possibilities of their future workplace in the creative arts industries. After the initial planning stages and based on recent research findings, the scope of Creative Exchange has broadened from collaborative engagement within the creative arts to a broader rationale that includes noncreative arts’ disciplines e.g. Information Technology, Business and Journalism. In order to develop a sustainable solution this approach was formalised in the POOL MODEL framework (Fleischmann, 2008a, 2008b, 2010) within which Creative Exchange saw its first implementation in 2009 in the School of Creative Arts at James Cook University.
Highlights
The traditional university-based creative arts curriculum often has not sufficiently responded to, nor reflected, contemporary workplace realities
Considering the fast technological developments of the last two decades and how they have impacted on individuals living in post-industrial societies, it is clear that professions in the creative arts industry have considerably changed
When students were asked to identify the reasons for their positive view on multidisciplinary collaboration in the Creative Exchange from a given list, 27 students (82%) liked that they could “bounce” ideas around with others, while 26 students (79%) named the following three reasons often: (i) being exposed to multiple perspective (79%); (ii) sharing the workload (79%); and. (iii) creating something more complex (79%)
Summary
The traditional university-based creative arts curriculum often has not sufficiently responded to, nor reflected, contemporary workplace realities. New participants in these multidisciplinary teamwork-based models, especially those direct from tertiary education, are often unprepared for the rigours and challenges of managing these relationships, their educational experience having supplied them with little empathy for, or understanding of, these other professionals with whom they will need to work so closely (DiPaola, Dorosh & Brandt, 2004; Heller, 2005). They are often unfamiliar with the machinations of team and group dynamics (Barnes-Powell, 2008; Bennett, 2009; McArthur, 2007). Many are increasingly specifying the need for interpersonal skills, particular behavioral characteristics and experience with group works, as key selection criteria for graduates, in some cases rating these over discipline-specific skills (Forde, 2000; Kennard, Willard & Wilson, 2006; Treadwell & Treadwell, 1999)
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