Express
In Studio Thinking (Hetland 2010), the featured instructors are working with students to move beyond the basics and to “tell a story” in their work. Abstract concepts such as finding relationships and making meaning in the work are difficult to convey to students. Sometimes it takes a lot of prodding on the part of the instructor to get students to move beyond drawing things exactly as they see them and to encourage them to add emphasis or emotion to their art. Other times, especially with younger students, all it takes is to hand them the paintbrush and they are on their way to creating a vibrant expression of the world around them. One way to encourage students to express their voice is to assign sketchbooks or journaling. It is also a good idea to ask open-ended questions about student work to gain insight as to what they are trying to convey. I like the idea of using tracing paper over the student’s work to help clarify a technique or to show the student a new way to work. This allows the student to visualize the direction you are giving, yet does not add the teacher’s hand to the student’s work. Critiques are another way to encourage expression. When the students have the opportunity to interpret their own artwork or the art of others, it fosters discussion and helps students expand on their ideas.
In my own artwork, I tend to work more realistically. I sometimes have a hard time pushing myself to be more expressive, however, I do feel like some of my vision or story shines through. Even if a painting or drawing is from observation, my colors tend to be richer and have higher contrast. I also like to tell a story and capture emotions in photography. I will need to work on adding drama and vision to my own work – perhaps through an artists sketchbook.
Reflect
The art room is an ideal environment to challenge students to think and reflect about their work. The process of creating art requires exploring and questioning. The practice of reflection includes learning to articulate the steps of the process and the reasons for choices. Self-reflection is a good practice to get students in the habit of - even at an early elementary age. When students learn to make critical judgements and are able to explain their work, the quality of student work is high. Asking open-ended questions, encouraging students to stop and reflect and assigning written reflections and assessments are all ways to foster student reflection in the classroom. Journaling is another way to get kids thinking. Last year, I started most classes with a "warm-up" for the first few minutes of class. This was a great time for students to reflect on the previous week's work or the work of an artist. In the reading, the suggestion of keeping student portfolios is mentioned. This is a great way for student to get positive feedback to and to reflect on their growth throughout the year.
As an artist, I have learned to question and reflect on my own work but I still value the input of my peers or teachers. When I have the opportunity to discuss my art and ideas with friends, I sometimes get that extra boost that I need to forge ahead and I gain a fresh perspective on approaches or solutions to my art. I used to belong to an art group that met once a month - mostly just an excuse to get together .. but I valued the chance to share and reflect with friends.
Understand
Hetland (2010) discusses the idea of teaching students about the domain of art. Introducing art through historical and cultural perspectives and fostering thinking about the processes of other artists. I used to dig through my giant stack of posters and haul things out to hang up around the room when I began units. Now, with technology and smart boards... I can quickly pull up many examples for students as well as images from local and historical places that relate to our assignments. There are a tremendous amount of resources for both teachers and students to utilize today in order to be immersed in art and gain insight about the art of various time periods and cultures. Teachers can show short video clips, play music and show visual images to help foster understanding in the art curriculum. I also like to display student work with the work of artists studied in class. This is a great way to prompt discussion and for students to make connections.
The idea of introducing students to the "community" of art is also discussed in the reading. I love the idea of students helping to design exhibits and take part in the planning and preparation for an art show. I usually have the elementary students label their own work for the school art show and the older students will often mount and hang some of the work. I would like to work on more ways to get kids involved. A scavenger hunt could be fun - allowing the kids to look at art throughout the school and find "treasures" in their peers artwork. I worked with a group of kids to paint a mural in a classroom at one of my previous school's. We all enjoyed the experience and it is something that I would like to do again in the future. Giving kids an opportunity to work on art together and for the better of the community is a great way to foster a sense of pride in our youth.
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