The Colour Literacy Project: Revitalising colour education foundations

Abstract

An overview of the Colour Literacy Project’s revitalised colour curricula for elementary through to high school levels is presented. The Colour Literacy Project is working on identifying the basic concepts that are fundamental to learning about colour across all disciplines, in order to develop a foundational curriculum for colour for all students, not just art and design students. We recognise that a multi- and interdisciplinary approach is key for making colour education relevant for the 21st century. Colour is an ideal STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) subject, and also crosses into many other subject areas including social and cultural studies. Our approach is to ‘teach the teachers’. We have designed experiential and inquiry-based prototype exercises and resources for teachers that merge the current science and art standards related to colour. We aim to replace the common misconceptions and misinformation about colour with up to date, peer-reviewed information. Our two foundational series, the ‘Eye-opener’ and the ‘STEAM’ series, each contain a set of introductory exercises that begin with seeing and describing colour with all its attributes, a glossary that builds a unified vocabulary about colour from basic to advanced terminology, and explicit learning outcomes. We have begun beta-testing our prototype exercises aimed at revitalising colour education foundations. This paper discusses our approach and preliminary results of our teacher training sessions from elementary through to high school levels.