SYNTHESIS
Concepts in Art Education and my experience teaching the Artistic Abilities course strongly influenced the way I think about teaching and the process of learning and creating. There is so much involved, so much information to be aware of than I ever imagined. During Concepts in Art Education, we read and evaluated a series of articles about process and growth of art--experiences both inside and outside of a classroom setting. Through journal entries and extensive class conversation, we also reflected on our own experiences with creativity and education in relation to these reading assignments. These conversations and explorations, alongside my experience co-teaching my Artistic Abilities students, really brought me closer to myself and my vision for my future classroom dynamic. There is a copious amount of self exploration and understanding that comes with the task of educating others. My professor, Patrick Fahey, often gave the advice that you should know yourself well because you will be more comfortable and close with your students. You have to know “the you” that your students will come to know. So, all of the research and analysis we have completed and discussions around such were to build our sense of identity (individually and with our students), understand the artistic process, and find our voice as educators. Through my experience in Artistic Abilities I was able to apply the skills I was learning in real time, and truly see the process of creation in a real classroom setting.
The content from Concepts in Art Education flowed nicely together--as we worked in order from how the process begins, develops, and finally discussing how we educate and tailor our teaching to fit the needs of all students. It seems most sensical to begin with the “why” and “how” of art instruction.The teacher must understand where students are coming from in order to design a lesson that can help them reach success.
We began our class research by exploring the research of Kellogg, Lowenfeld, Brittain, Kindler and Darras. Dr. Fahey described how Kellogg gathered countless drawings from children around the world, compiling them into developmental categories ranging from scribbles to eventual shape building and symbol creation. I found it very interesting that the human mind is predisposed to like certain variations and disregard others. As mentioned in Studio Art, children have an “originator instinct” to create, a natural inclination to produce art. Child art seems to be a balanced, self regulated stimulus--until adults try to influence it. This was very evident in a couple of my students as they became engulfed by the anxiety of making their work “perfect”, i.e. mimicking teacher examples. Kindler and Darras expanded upon Kellogg’s research, synthesizing that art making is built upon early approaches--those skills of scribbling and exploring form and aesthetics are not lost. I had to refer to this with my students, encouraging them to “sketch it out” and explore how imagery may come to fruition. Asking questions like, “What shapes might fit together to produce what you are envisioning?” was important in building their skills. Lowenfeld and Brittain expanded upon these ideas further saying, “the person making the decisions is the person that is learning...and it is through the process of making art that the art itself unfolds”. I had to stop myself when my students wanted help, and analyze how I could help them without simply drawing or performing a task for them. Children move naturally through these developmental stages as they mature and the teacher and/or parent must provide the time and materials for children to explore. Provide options, enough but not too many, was important in my classroom. Encouraging my students and giving my assistance when needed really influenced their growth and confidence. Children’s emotional attachment to art can be heavily influenced at that time of development considering their surroundings, experiences and exposure. When talking to my Concepts in Art Education classmates about their earliest art experiences--many had positive role models and an abundance of materials and opportunities that led to their interest and love for art making. I included myself in this category. I was lucky enough to have encouraging parents and art teachers throughout my entire life. However, many of my colleagues had friends whom experienced somewhat traumatic experiences--where their ability to experiment and fail was stunted by adult expectations or annoyances with mess. This led to being “turned off by art” or believing that they “are not good at art” simply because they were discouraged as children. It became clear to me very quickly that some of my students must have experienced this, as their creative process was stunted by their idea of what expectations constitute “true art”. They were nervous to take risks, experiment, and fail. Many were easily frustrated and nervous, whereas many had not a care in the world what anyone thought of their work! There is no “right” or “wrong” way of making art. Art is whatever you want it to be, however you want it to come to fruition, and however you want it to exist. That is a hard process/idea for someone to grasp when they have been discouraged previously. Getting over that hurdle requires a lot of support and positive reinforcement.
It is vital to consider the way our touch can impact our students or children when it comes to the creative process. In the assigned readings from Differentiated Instruction in Art by Heather L.R. Fountain, the role of teacher, student, and instruction was described. The teacher provides: opportunities, support, investment, reflective practices, and acceptance. The classroom must be a safe space where they feel valued, yet healthily challenged. The student receives: challenge, interconnectedness, independence, affirmation, and connection. Meanwhile the instruction helps students make those connections, engages them, offers attainable/demanding goals, values trial and error, and most importantly has purpose. Of course the goal for the students may be the same, get from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’--but the process may differ and that is where differentiated lesson planning is so vital. So many things play into students’ lives--their learning styles, background experiences, strengths/weaknesses, readiness for learning, disabilities, etc. As educators, we have to be ready for that. I entered day one of my Artistic Abilities class not knowing what the age range was, what their capabilities were, or what to expect in any regard whatsoever. But I found that this is the best way to enter a classroom. You start simple, with fresh eyes and a clean slate. You do not assume capabilities or force expectations. You model, demonstrate, break down, provide choices, and repeat, making changes as necessary. Fountain stated, “If students don’t learn the way I teach, then I need to teach the way they learn.'' Employing teaching strategies that are visual, kinesthetic, written, and auditory are important in including all types of learners--and making sure that all of your students have the opportunity to be successful. There is great power in knowing your students!
In the article “Negotiating Fit”, the validity of that student-teacher relationship was very evident. When it comes to completing a project, there is a lot of negotiation to be had when it comes to decision making during the creative process. In the end, it is the student who makes those final decisions, but the teacher serves as a guide, voice of reason, or encourager. However, the usefulness of the teacher feedback depends on the students’ ability to a) articulate their interpretations of the teacher’s responses, and b) articulate their own judgements about their work. Including self-evaluations and reflective writing assignments are a good way to encourage development of thought about students’ work. At the end of each Artistic Abilities class, we reserved time to meet in a circle and discuss each individual’s work from that day. This allowed for self reflection time and exploration of the multiplicity of ways a project can be approached. So much learning and inspiration happened during this time, alongside the building of confidence for the students to speak about their work to a group. Laying out specific and reference-able guidelines for each project seems to make conversations easier along the way as well. There is a unique push and pull necessary for individual interpretation.
While we are discussing “individual interpretation” it is important to bring up the “why” of creating a lesson. A repeated phrase in our class was that each lesson must be personal, pertinent and passionate. The reading assignments from Studio Art text by Marilyn Zurmuehlen explained the multidimensional quality of art making--how decisions are made, why, and the value those decisions hold. The text stated, “Art making is a transformative process”. It is changing throughout exploration, and rarely stays the same from beginning to end. If your sketch is the same as your final product, what did you learn? Learning truly happens when mistakes are made and our “story” grows and changes along the way. There is a unique triangular relationship between the art, the maker, and the viewer. The artist makes decisions as to what is represented in their work (signs and symbols, i.e. discursive and non-discursive elements), and the viewer interprets them. It was amazing to see the way my Artistic Abilities students interpreted one another’s work and explained their own. An abundance of symbolism occurred, which sometimes even I didn’t catch onto, but the students’ peers did! I could easily say I learned just as much, if not more, from my students as they learned from me. The personal narratives or symbols that each student seemed to include repeatedly through our time together was very interesting. There was a clear establishment of their artistic schema happening. There is a great amount of symbolism and meaning that adds value to our artwork. What is our work if it means nothing to us? That is why our lessons must be personal, pertinent and passionate. “Art is about seeing--about seeing, ‘feeling’ and determining aesthetically ...it doesn’t just happen to us--we make it happen”(Zurmuehlen).
After completing this course, I already feel much more equipped than before to jump into the world of teaching. I believe that with this knowledge of creative process development and expansion of proper education techniques, students can reach greater goals than the general public believes. They are far more capable of creative, deep, and personal ideation than they are pushed to do. In “Values, Beliefs, Behaviors and Artmaking in the Middle Grades” the authors mentioned that students “need to be cared about and respected, to feel safe, and to know where appropriate behavioral boundaries are drawn and what the consequences for crossing these boundaries are; and in their view, teachers need a sense of humor, trustworthiness, sensitivity, discretion, and sympathy” (Stevenson, Thomason, Beane). In my eyes, what it really boils down to is setting the proper environment for student learning, where there is a sense of mutual respect and care. The instructor should be their encourager--pushing the boundaries of what they think is possible and showing the importance of emotion and individual expression in art making as a mode of communication, personal enjoyment and/or healing.
The content from Concepts in Art Education flowed nicely together--as we worked in order from how the process begins, develops, and finally discussing how we educate and tailor our teaching to fit the needs of all students. It seems most sensical to begin with the “why” and “how” of art instruction.The teacher must understand where students are coming from in order to design a lesson that can help them reach success.
We began our class research by exploring the research of Kellogg, Lowenfeld, Brittain, Kindler and Darras. Dr. Fahey described how Kellogg gathered countless drawings from children around the world, compiling them into developmental categories ranging from scribbles to eventual shape building and symbol creation. I found it very interesting that the human mind is predisposed to like certain variations and disregard others. As mentioned in Studio Art, children have an “originator instinct” to create, a natural inclination to produce art. Child art seems to be a balanced, self regulated stimulus--until adults try to influence it. This was very evident in a couple of my students as they became engulfed by the anxiety of making their work “perfect”, i.e. mimicking teacher examples. Kindler and Darras expanded upon Kellogg’s research, synthesizing that art making is built upon early approaches--those skills of scribbling and exploring form and aesthetics are not lost. I had to refer to this with my students, encouraging them to “sketch it out” and explore how imagery may come to fruition. Asking questions like, “What shapes might fit together to produce what you are envisioning?” was important in building their skills. Lowenfeld and Brittain expanded upon these ideas further saying, “the person making the decisions is the person that is learning...and it is through the process of making art that the art itself unfolds”. I had to stop myself when my students wanted help, and analyze how I could help them without simply drawing or performing a task for them. Children move naturally through these developmental stages as they mature and the teacher and/or parent must provide the time and materials for children to explore. Provide options, enough but not too many, was important in my classroom. Encouraging my students and giving my assistance when needed really influenced their growth and confidence. Children’s emotional attachment to art can be heavily influenced at that time of development considering their surroundings, experiences and exposure. When talking to my Concepts in Art Education classmates about their earliest art experiences--many had positive role models and an abundance of materials and opportunities that led to their interest and love for art making. I included myself in this category. I was lucky enough to have encouraging parents and art teachers throughout my entire life. However, many of my colleagues had friends whom experienced somewhat traumatic experiences--where their ability to experiment and fail was stunted by adult expectations or annoyances with mess. This led to being “turned off by art” or believing that they “are not good at art” simply because they were discouraged as children. It became clear to me very quickly that some of my students must have experienced this, as their creative process was stunted by their idea of what expectations constitute “true art”. They were nervous to take risks, experiment, and fail. Many were easily frustrated and nervous, whereas many had not a care in the world what anyone thought of their work! There is no “right” or “wrong” way of making art. Art is whatever you want it to be, however you want it to come to fruition, and however you want it to exist. That is a hard process/idea for someone to grasp when they have been discouraged previously. Getting over that hurdle requires a lot of support and positive reinforcement.
It is vital to consider the way our touch can impact our students or children when it comes to the creative process. In the assigned readings from Differentiated Instruction in Art by Heather L.R. Fountain, the role of teacher, student, and instruction was described. The teacher provides: opportunities, support, investment, reflective practices, and acceptance. The classroom must be a safe space where they feel valued, yet healthily challenged. The student receives: challenge, interconnectedness, independence, affirmation, and connection. Meanwhile the instruction helps students make those connections, engages them, offers attainable/demanding goals, values trial and error, and most importantly has purpose. Of course the goal for the students may be the same, get from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’--but the process may differ and that is where differentiated lesson planning is so vital. So many things play into students’ lives--their learning styles, background experiences, strengths/weaknesses, readiness for learning, disabilities, etc. As educators, we have to be ready for that. I entered day one of my Artistic Abilities class not knowing what the age range was, what their capabilities were, or what to expect in any regard whatsoever. But I found that this is the best way to enter a classroom. You start simple, with fresh eyes and a clean slate. You do not assume capabilities or force expectations. You model, demonstrate, break down, provide choices, and repeat, making changes as necessary. Fountain stated, “If students don’t learn the way I teach, then I need to teach the way they learn.'' Employing teaching strategies that are visual, kinesthetic, written, and auditory are important in including all types of learners--and making sure that all of your students have the opportunity to be successful. There is great power in knowing your students!
In the article “Negotiating Fit”, the validity of that student-teacher relationship was very evident. When it comes to completing a project, there is a lot of negotiation to be had when it comes to decision making during the creative process. In the end, it is the student who makes those final decisions, but the teacher serves as a guide, voice of reason, or encourager. However, the usefulness of the teacher feedback depends on the students’ ability to a) articulate their interpretations of the teacher’s responses, and b) articulate their own judgements about their work. Including self-evaluations and reflective writing assignments are a good way to encourage development of thought about students’ work. At the end of each Artistic Abilities class, we reserved time to meet in a circle and discuss each individual’s work from that day. This allowed for self reflection time and exploration of the multiplicity of ways a project can be approached. So much learning and inspiration happened during this time, alongside the building of confidence for the students to speak about their work to a group. Laying out specific and reference-able guidelines for each project seems to make conversations easier along the way as well. There is a unique push and pull necessary for individual interpretation.
While we are discussing “individual interpretation” it is important to bring up the “why” of creating a lesson. A repeated phrase in our class was that each lesson must be personal, pertinent and passionate. The reading assignments from Studio Art text by Marilyn Zurmuehlen explained the multidimensional quality of art making--how decisions are made, why, and the value those decisions hold. The text stated, “Art making is a transformative process”. It is changing throughout exploration, and rarely stays the same from beginning to end. If your sketch is the same as your final product, what did you learn? Learning truly happens when mistakes are made and our “story” grows and changes along the way. There is a unique triangular relationship between the art, the maker, and the viewer. The artist makes decisions as to what is represented in their work (signs and symbols, i.e. discursive and non-discursive elements), and the viewer interprets them. It was amazing to see the way my Artistic Abilities students interpreted one another’s work and explained their own. An abundance of symbolism occurred, which sometimes even I didn’t catch onto, but the students’ peers did! I could easily say I learned just as much, if not more, from my students as they learned from me. The personal narratives or symbols that each student seemed to include repeatedly through our time together was very interesting. There was a clear establishment of their artistic schema happening. There is a great amount of symbolism and meaning that adds value to our artwork. What is our work if it means nothing to us? That is why our lessons must be personal, pertinent and passionate. “Art is about seeing--about seeing, ‘feeling’ and determining aesthetically ...it doesn’t just happen to us--we make it happen”(Zurmuehlen).
After completing this course, I already feel much more equipped than before to jump into the world of teaching. I believe that with this knowledge of creative process development and expansion of proper education techniques, students can reach greater goals than the general public believes. They are far more capable of creative, deep, and personal ideation than they are pushed to do. In “Values, Beliefs, Behaviors and Artmaking in the Middle Grades” the authors mentioned that students “need to be cared about and respected, to feel safe, and to know where appropriate behavioral boundaries are drawn and what the consequences for crossing these boundaries are; and in their view, teachers need a sense of humor, trustworthiness, sensitivity, discretion, and sympathy” (Stevenson, Thomason, Beane). In my eyes, what it really boils down to is setting the proper environment for student learning, where there is a sense of mutual respect and care. The instructor should be their encourager--pushing the boundaries of what they think is possible and showing the importance of emotion and individual expression in art making as a mode of communication, personal enjoyment and/or healing.
Bibliography
Fountain, L.R. Heather. Differentiated Instruction in Art. Worcester, Massachusetts: Davis Publication, Inc.
Guay, Dorris. (2000)Visual Arts Research: “Values, Beliefs, Behaviors, and Artmaking in the Middle Grades: A Teaching Story” Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 38-52. University of Illinois Press.
Hafeli, Mary. (2000) Studies in Art Education: “Negotiating ‘Fit’ in a Student Art Work: Classroom Conversations”, pp. 130-145.
Zurmuehlen, M. (1990) Studio Art: Praxis, Symbol, Presence. Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.
Guay, Dorris. (2000)Visual Arts Research: “Values, Beliefs, Behaviors, and Artmaking in the Middle Grades: A Teaching Story” Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 38-52. University of Illinois Press.
Hafeli, Mary. (2000) Studies in Art Education: “Negotiating ‘Fit’ in a Student Art Work: Classroom Conversations”, pp. 130-145.
Zurmuehlen, M. (1990) Studio Art: Praxis, Symbol, Presence. Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.
