Art is not just about painting or drawing. It also encourages creativity and teaches one the value of patience and determination.
At Meridian Secondary School though, students go one step further to learn art for communication in its Applied Learning Programme (ALP) in Visual Communication.
The programme, which runs from Secondary 1 through 3, offers insight on the inner workings of the creative sector, so that students can see how their knowledge of various school subjects are applied in the working world.
Students get the opportunity to do hands-on learning on the various facets of visual communication, such as photography, film-making and illustration. They would also have to research and apply the knowledge gained in class to their class activities.
The ALP is complemented with the school’s visual arts programmes, where students are exposed to a variety of art forms and experience-sharing from practitioners in the creative industry.
In the ALP, Secondary 1 students would get to illustrate a picture book, using professional creative processes. Secondary 2 and 3 students would be tasked with projects related to photojournalism and video journalism.
However, the ALP is not just about creating works that are pleasing to the eye. Besides learning the technical know-how of the visual communication industry, students also pick up analysing, speaking and listening skills through interviewing and examining data.
“The programme aims to leverage on the creative industries and focus on visual communication with the belief that students should be equipped with creative thinking skills. This will definitely help to prepare our students for future endeavours,” explains Mr Kenneth Soh, the teacher-in-charge of the programme.
Besides learning skills that can come in useful outside of school, students have learned the value of perseverance as they embark on their class activities. “The sense of achievement we get from obtaining the end product of engages and excites us,” shares Secondary 3 student Timothy Yeo.
The ALP has also got students thinking about their further pursuits, after they leave secondary school.
“I would definitely be keen (on learning more about visual communication in future),” says Secondary 3 student Mohammad Zaini B Juwasa. “The ALP is an introduction for us to continue venturing further and deeper into visual communication.”
