103 The Arts Education Continuous Assessment Brief 2026 | Hibernia College

103 The Arts Education Continuous Assessment Brief

Programme: Professional Master of Education (Primary)

Module: 103 The Arts Education

Assessment type: Continuous Assessment

PMEP_103_Aut25

Learning Outcomes

In completing the assessment task, students are required to demonstrate their ability to:

• Evaluate and reflect on effective pedagogical strategies, including the use of innovative practice and digital technologies that enhance pupils’ learning and assessment in The Arts Education
• Examine critically the use of the central methodologies of the curriculum in the context of The Arts to extend, nurture and give expression to children’s broad range of imaginative and meaningful creative experiences

Assessment Methodology

This module is assessed by the completion of 3 parts: A planning grid, a teaching resource and reflection and an academic essay

Marking Scheme

Submission Date: 3pm on 14^th January 2026

Professional Studies 103: Assignment Brief

Part 1 Planning Grid

Drama – Planning Grid – 30%

Create 2 consecutive drama lessons for 4th class based on the theme Imagination, using one of the following stimuli:   

Picturebook – Journey by Aaron Becker

Image – The Imaginator – Tim O’Brien

For this assignment, each lesson will be 45 minutes.

The plan must include:

• Name of chosen stimulus
• Reference to strand(s) in each lesson
• Learning outcome with link to key competencies
• State how you provide for the prerequisites for making drama
• Clearly identify chosen drama concept(s) to be developed
• Each lesson should contain a drama game and links to dramatic forms
• Identify specific drama skill(s) to be developed
• Explain the chosen method of reflection for each lesson
• Evidence progression between lessons

Part 2 Teaching Resource And Reflection

Create a five-slide PowerPoint presentation to be used as a looking and responding resource for a 4th Class Visual Arts lesson. The resource should explore the work of a contemporary artist focusing on the theme of imagination. The PowerPoint will be used to support pupils in “responding to ideas and themes in artwork and making connections with their own expressive artmaking”.  (Arts Education Specification, 2025)

Your PowerPoint presentation should include:

1. An introduction to the selected contemporary artist.
2. 2–3 high-quality images of their artwork.
3. Age-appropriate prompt questions to guide children in looking at and responding to the artwork.

In addition to the PowerPoint, submit a 500-word written reflection (+/-10%). This reflection should:

• A critical justification as to why the artist was chosen and their suitability for 4th Class pupils.
• Outline a proposed learning activity that would follow the discussion of the artist’s work (use of PowerPoint). Clearly outline the new learning and explain how the lesson will be assessed.

The PowerPoint should use clear, age-appropriate language. At least two academic references should support the reflection.

Part 3 Academic Essay

Academic Essay – 40%  (1000 words +/- 10%)

‘Arts Education provides important opportunities for all children to engage their senses and ignite their imaginations, while experiencing the joy and beauty of the arts as part of a holistic education.’ Department of Education and Youth (2005) Arts Education Specification for Primary and Special Schools.

Given the importance placed on music education in the Irish Curriculum, in this academic essay you are invited to outline both the opportunities and challenges in the teaching of music in the Irish primary school. Consider how to engage children meaningfully in their musical learning and outline strategies that could be used to overcome challenges for both child and teacher. You should also reflect critically on the impact of your own musical journey to date. This assignment should also draw upon course content, F2F experience, and learning from previous modules. This essay should be supported by at least four academic references.

Curriculum documents are NOT counted as academic references. 

Assessment Guidelines

Uploading And Submission Instructions

You should consult the general information on the MyHELMS Assessments page regarding assessments, uploading and submission before reading these specific instructions.

Upload Requirements:

Upload directions for this assessment:

Students, please note there will be two uploads for this assessment.

Upload 1: Please use the PowerPoint template provided and upload Part 2 – Teaching Resource, in PDF format using the following naming convention: PMEP_103_Presentation_12345678.docx, where ‘12345678’ is replaced with your own student number.

Upload 2: Please use the Word document template provided on MyHELMS for Part 1 (Drama Planning Grid), Part 2 (Reflection) and Part 3 (Academic Essay) using the following naming conventions: PMEP_103 _TheArtsEducation_12345678.docx, where ‘12345678’ is replaced with your student number

Filenames

As mentioned above, assessment documents should be titled PMEP_103

_TheArtsEducation_12345678.docx where ‘12345678’ is replaced with your own student number.

Do not include your name or other identifiable personal data in your file.

It is the responsibility of the students to ensure that all work is accessible. In the event of an assessor being unable to open a submission or part thereof (e.g. link inaccessible or expired, password protected material, shortcut uploaded) a zero will apply. It is imperative that students start the upload process in a timely manner (take note that this may take several hours and that students should allow for this possibility).

Referencing

Please ensure that you adhere to the Hibernia College referencing guides (quick and main guides) when referencing reading sources. These guides are based on a specific version of the Harvard system used by the College.

The references should come at the end.

Further supports for academic writing, referencing and information relating to academic integrity are available at: Academic writing and referencing – Hibernia College Home

Academic Integrity

• All work submitted to meet course requirements at Hibernia College is expected to be a student’s own work. A student should be careful to distinguish between ideas which are his/her own, and those which have been derived from other sources e.g. journals and books.
• Plagiarism is strictly prohibited. Students must ensure that all work submitted is their own and that all sources are properly cited.

Refer to: Hibernia College

• Use of AI-generated content (e.g., ChatGPT, generative AI tools) is not permitted. Any assessment found to contain AI-generated material will be subject to investigation under academic misconduct policies.
• Students are encouraged to check their work using URKUND/Ouriginal to identify any potential text-matching issues before final submission.

For further details, refer to the Hibernia College Academic Integrity Policy.

Quality Framework Hibernia College

Uploading To MyHELMS

Please note that it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that assignments are successfully uploaded and submitted into MyHELMS by the specified deadline. The assignment version that is available at submission time is to be assessed.

Navigate to the Assessments page on MyHELMS, locate the section dedicated to this module and click the assignment link to begin the uploading process.

Contact Student Helpdesk if you encounter technical difficulties in uploading your assessment.

Please adhere to the following when completing the assessment:

• You must adhere to the Hibernia College adapted Harvard Referencing Guide and to Hibernia College Academic Writing Style Guide when completing this task. Use Arial or Calibri font style, 12-point font size and 1.5 line spacing.

Penalties

There are penalties for:

• Late submission
• Failure to Meet Word Count Requirements on the following:
  • Reflection 500 words – a word count of less than 450 words and greater than 550 words will incur a 10% penalty for this component of the assessment.
  • Academic Essay 1000 words – a word count of less than 900 words and greater than 1100 will incur a 10% penalty for this component of the assessment
• Incorrect Document Upload: If a student uploads the wrong document or an inaccessible file, a zero mark will be applied for that section, and the student may be required to repeat this assessment.
• Non-submission will receive a mark of zero and the student will be required to repeat this assessment.
• This will result in a delay in the issuing of results and may affect your course completion date and graduation.

Important: Where a student has to repeat an assignment due to non-submission or a failure, the module result will be capped at a pass grade overall.