An action research on a course that takes on the miniature tradition with contemporary design approaches

Incorporating traditional arts, which have considerable importance in the transfer of cultural heritage, into every level of art education will ensure that these arts are learned correctly within the framework of their own rules and their ability to be reflected successfully in contemporary designs. In this regard, this research aims to put forth how a course process in which students can make original designs while embracing the miniature tradition can be practiced within an elective course offered in the Fine Arts Education Department. In the implementation process of the research, the participating students were brought together with two miniature artists through a "Miniature Workshop" and "Contemporary Miniature Conference" so that the students are able to make observations regarding the design processes and gain experience. The research was carried out with 10 students who elected the "Miniature Arts" course, which was offered for the first time in the Department of Fine Arts Education at Anadolu University, in the fall semester of the 2018-2019 academic year. Video recordings of courses, semi-structured interviews, researcher's and student's diaries, student designs, field expert's views, and online group recordings were used as data collection tools in the research, during which the action research method was used. Through the analyses of the collected data, four main themes were reached; these, under the titles of "Seyrüsefer (Navigation): Mapping the Teaching and Learning Processes of Miniature Course", "Minyatür Pusulası (Miniature Compass): the Direction of Pine Needle to Patience ", " Zıtlıkların Kavuşma Mücadelesi (The Struggle of Opposites to Get Together): Miniature-focused Contemporary Designs" and " Mânâ'nın Tasviri (the Depiction of Meaning)". It was concluded from the results of the findings that the participating students acquired theoretical knowledge and technical experience in classical miniature art; that they were able to carry the miniature art into their contemporary designs in a successful manner, and that they gained awareness concerning the crucial place of miniature art in fine arts education. Keywords: Miniature Art, Fine Arts Education, Traditional Arts, Contemporary Design.