Play is important work. It's how ideas are processed and connections made, yet by high school play is replaced by work, assignments, deadlines and pressure. Play is still important - exploration is a very "sticky" way to process and store new information - but you have to show them how, because they've forgotten. I call it "experimenting" in my classroom and teach it as part of the Design Thinking Process we use in every lesson. Here's how we played with chalk! A lesson: This is chalk. You can blend it with your fingers. You can layer it. It's messy and quick and fun. Here is a chalk artists that inspires me. Why do you think chalk is the media she chooses? Now, it's your turn. What do you want to make with chalk? When a table looks like this you can tell students invested in the process of exploring the potential of materials!
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Critical thinking about art is important. I want my students to: - Think about the content and meaning of works of art. - Analyze the formal aspects of the work and practice using art specific vocabulary. - Make connections and give feedback to the artist. - Talk and interact with each other! This can be done with a formal critique, sure. But they get old. They can be boring. They tend to be looooooong. When activities get old, kids get bored and then are unengaged and compliant or act out. Who want that? Not me, not them. That's why critique games are a fun alternative to critique. I always use group work in crit games to shorten the duration of the activity while still making sure everyone's work is discussed. Critique Game Ideas1. Tell A Story
Process: Groups meet and share work, then create a short story, rap or poem that represents each member's work. Student designed props are a must! Next, groups preform for the whole group and explain how each artwork was included. 2. Title Match Process: With artwork out on the table, give each student a strip of paper and ask them to write the title of their work. Pile the titles in the center of the table, including one or two fake titles. Next, have groups switch tables and work together to match the artwork and the title. Then each group share what title they gave each work and explains why. 3. Symbolic Collaboration Process: Each group member shares their artwork, then the group works together to create a new piece. Next each group shares them work they created and how it represents the member's work. If you give a girl a can of spray paint she'll probably love it. When she tries it out she'll realize that she needs way more than one color, so she'll ask you for more spray paint. Then she'll get out all of the spray paint you have to find the best colors. Once she has spray paint in every hue she'll want to make some art. Then you'll have to show her how to make a stencil. Of course, once she has a stencil she will ask you for a wall. Once she paints on the wall, others will be inspired and you won't be able to keep your kids in the classroom. Instead, they'll be outside making murals. In fact, your whole trailer will be covered with works in progress. Your kids will start seeing every empty wall as a blank state, full of potential for creating.
All because you gave a girl a can of spray paint. I'm not a fan of the Elements of Art. They are overused and over emphasized, and in many cases falsely separated. Of course, they are also art-specific vocabulary that is valuable for students to know. I wondered - could I teach the Elements in a valuable and meaningful way? The unit, Artists Understand Elements, started with a group activity to build broad knowledge quickly. Each group created a presentation about one Element using Google Slides for easy sharing. In planning presentations they discussed each element in depth and selected examples that were meaningful for them. As students watched the presentations they wrote down ideas for their independent projects. It was nice to listen instead of speak - something all teachers should do. Sometimes our own ideas fill our classrooms and shape the direction of learning without leaving room for student's thoughts. In part 2 of this unit students will select an Element and use it as the inspiration for a work of art. The media is open choice. Some great ideas are brewing!
When I tried TAB at the high school level it was a disaster, mainly because I had no idea how to teach high schoolers. I've thought about how I would do it now, knowing what I know. I think a key step for success is the wading I did in elementary. It's helpful to try out big ideas in pieces and see what is a good fit for you and your students. This gives everyone some time to get used to it, because it's a big change in mindset from a traditional art room, as well as school in general. Don't worry about doing things right - instead, do what works for you, in your setting - because TAB is a way to approach teaching and learning, not a set of steps to follow.
Two TABish things to try: 1. Limited choice of materials. Experiment with offering two or three material choices for a project. If that goes well, continue to expand. You'll hopefully notice the positive impact that validating preference has on student engagement. 2. Themes. Start with an idea or concept, show a few examples of work that exemplifies it and support your students as they interpret it. Question to ask as you plan: *These are key! Reflecting on these ideas after a lesson is also helpful. What do I want my students to learn from this? What challenges will this present my students and how will I support them? What are some options I can have ready for students who struggle? How will I challenge students who excel? How will I make information ready and accessible to everyone so they can answer common questions independently? What will make this better next time? So, what are you waiting for? Now is a great time to try some new ideas out! How can you tell when your students are successful? Is it aesthetics? Displayability? Winning the art show? These might be the signs that are easily spotted but they are also a shallow measure. Success in my room this week looked like: - A kid who has missed weeks of school making it to class for three days in row. - Students clapping for the artist when I wore the shirt she screen printed. - Art 1 kids begging to bring their paintings home to show their parents. - An autistic student who was able to participate fully in a group critique. - The student who's been struggling with participation who engaged and made an awesome meme. Success in art is anything but generic. It's not dependent on what adults like or even value. It's different for every student.
Success is malleable - definitions of success change as students develop and grow. It's personal and deeply connected to what learners are passionate about. It's our job to provide content that gives students an opportunity to connect, to stretch and to grow and to do this we have to differentiate for their individual needs. In other words, provide choice, differentiate and celebrate whenever you can. It's easy to get locked onto the value of the final product, for us as well as students, but the journey is just as important.
Why do some people assume that TAB means not teaching skills or technique? I've been thinking about this all week and what I've realized is this: it's hard to visualize a type of teaching other than your own. Traditional art classes are linear - the teacher introduces a project and helps the students move through the steps more or less together. Everyone works on the same skill or technique. TAB classrooms aren't linear- they spiral. In my practice I teach students our Apex Design Process, then support them as they use it to create. Students move through the steps of the design process at different paces and they use it to work on their own ideas. The key is that they work through it, always learning and growing as artists.
How could work like this, this and this be produced without the opportunity to learn and develop skills? And why are we so quick to dismiss things that are different? TAB is teaching, and in art that means skills and techniques are developed. Teaching doesn't have to be linear to be valid and valuable.
Why is art class about completing projects, not about making art?
Why is art class about learning the rules, not about breaking them? There is a better way. Plan activities that teach students how to think like artists. Let children use their own ideas. Give options and guidelines, not steps to follow. Develop voice. Build a classroom that's more like a makerspace than a factory. The student described above? I'd give her an A. I'd ask her about her inspiration and talk to her about her work. I'd help her with an challenges she's having and together we'd figure out how to bring her work to the next level. How else do you teach creativity?
created - content of work, theme, materials, style, when it's finished and what's next are examples of this. On the other hand is choice, with a little c. This type of choice is present in all classrooms but is not used intentionally to teach creativity. It can be used to allow learners to make big decisions but often it's not, instead it provides superficial choice, like what color to paint the background or where to draw the groundline. These little choices don't add up to Choice and are inherently different. When you really get down to it, are the two images I've included with this writing all that dissimilar? Screenshot of a Google search for "Birch tree art lesson".
My Art 2 students are nearing the end of studying the figure and facial proportions as part of Artists Develop Skills. During this unit I've woven one day Bootcamps with mini-projects. They've learned new skills, like body and facial proportions, and applied learning with increasing independence. The summative project for this unit was broad and challenging: make art in any media using what you've learned about the figure or the face. I asked students to look at the Bootcamp and mini-lesson sections of this unit as research for the summative project and they all had clear ideas ready when it was time to use them. Many student decided to continue with drawing, but some selected media like oil pastel, drawing with the ipad or painting. I've focused on teaching that planning is doing what you need to gather the information you need to be successful in creating. As my students set about planning what to make they used they were very thoughtful about what learning or resources they should use and growth was very evident. |
Mrs. PurteeI'm interested in creating a student student centered space for my high school students through choice and abundant opportunity for self expression. I'm also a writer for SchoolArts co-author of The Open Art Room. Archives
December 2019
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