Research Questions

Amidst the rapid technological advancements and the emergence of new media habits, society is grappling with profound challenges including environmental and ecological crises, conflicts, and economic turmoil. These pressing issues underscore the necessity for a transformative approach in education, particularly in media arts.

PRISMA is committed to cultivating the learning environment needed for creative students to develop a critical and reflective stance on the societal impacts of audiovisual media, especially in the context of these global challenges. Recognizing the pivotal role students will play in shaping the future media art landscape, PRISMA aims to equip them with the skills required for innovation and change. This approach seeks to prepare students to address and navigate the complexities of an evolving world influenced by rapid technological development, including the challenges posed by generative AI.

  • How to create a learning system that provides good growth conditions for innovative thinking and for results we cannot predict in advance?

  • How to create learning paths that gives the student the skills to identify structural challenges in their own field of study and through active interdisciplinary participation create the space where new knowledge can arise?

  • How to place the student at the center of this work so that we promote learning through critical and industry relevant activities?

These issues will be developed, tested, and evaluated in all topics at WIFM where cross-disciplinary collaboration occurs. Our pedagogical model aims to ensure that students receive the art-critical and ethical competence that must form the basis for contributing to change and innovation in their respective field of study.

“How can we foster a learning environment that encourages free thought, embraces uncertainty, and empowers students across diciplines to take an active role in their education, even when faced with unpredictable goals and pathways?”

PRISMA’s practice-based research is grounded in:

  • Recent research on innovation theory and pedagogy

    We have been particularly inspired by the American psychologist and psychometrician Robert J. Sternberg and what he calls "Propulsion Theory for Creative Contribution". In his research article "The nature of creativity" (Sternberg 2006) he introduces this theory and how a generation of creative ideas is able to move their own field forward and into the unknown so that a new generation of ideas arises. We see this theory as a tool for the analysis and deconstruction of innovation capacity. Sternberg's progress theory may thus be a useful perspective to bring into the development of didactics that will ensure innovation.

  • Student feedback and evaluation

    Students contribute with constructive input on how the teachers' choices will actually hit in supporting their learning processes. The goal is to quickly be able to implement the necessary changes based on the feedback we receive along the way and to establish an academic arena where research and development of new teaching methodologies take place in continuous dialogue between students and staff. PRISMA aims to conduct thorough evaluation based on qualitive methods, involving all students that have completed the courses. In addition, a core group of students contribute as sparring partners and developers of learning activities in the project.

  • Pedagogical research and practice that already exists at the WIFM department

    PRISMA aims to build on the pedagogical development at the Westerdals Department of Film and Media (WIFM) and further develop the ongoing work in student-centered teaching with special expertise in the areas of feedback and problem-based learning. Several of our academic staff have developed outstanding pedagogical approaches, but they exist on separate islands, each on their own study programme. PRISMA will strengthen our already leading academic environment by gathering it around the development of our joint pedagogical model.

  • Cooperation with external partners

    PRISMA actively collaborates with a diverse range of external partners to enhance our pedagogical model and research. We establish connections with media art industries and dissemination arenas across both commercial and non-profit sectors. In addition, our project also focuses on exchanging knowledge with similar international media art programs, inviting colleagues to contribute with peer feedback as a reference group. By participating in key research events organized by our educational partners and networks, including ELIA and CILECT, we aim to disseminate our work and engage with audiences both in Norway and internationally.