Choice-based art education
by Kathy Douglas
Teaching for Artistic Behavior Partnerships is a nationally
recognized, choice-based (learning) centers approach to teaching art.
Developed in Massachusetts classrooms over twenty five years, and
through courses and research at the Massachusetts College of Art, this
concept allows students to experience the work of the artist through
teaching that is responsive to their needs and interests.
For an in-depth discussion of theory and practice of Teaching For Artistic
Behavior visit The Knowledge Loom/TAB
Kathy Douglas's Weblog: Teaching for Artistic Behavior
Choice teaching enables students to do the real work of the artist.
Teaching for Artistic Behavior
Choice-Based Art Education
The following material is excerpted from the Teaching for Artistic Behavior: Choice-Based Art spotlight on The Knowledge Loom: What Works in Teaching and Learning web site (from the Spotlight Library on the site's home page, click on "Choice-Based Art").
The content was prepared by the Teaching for Artistic Behavior
Partnership (TAB) in partnership with The Education Alliance at Brown
University.
Best Practices for a Choice-Based Approach to Art Education
These practices draw from well-respected findings in the fields of
learning theory, psychology, sociology, and business. Their founding
principle is a belief in the importance and impact of personalized
learning.
THE PRACTICE: PERSONAL CONTEXT
-- Choice-based art education regards students as artists and offers
students real choices for responding to their own ideas and interests
through art making.
Personal context focuses on two essential elements:
(1) developing students as artists and
(2) providing real choices.
Students as Artists
The
student is the artist. This statement is the foundation on which the
concept of choice-based teaching and learning is built. In an authentic
choice-based environment, students have control over subject matter,
materials, and approach. As art is created from the meaningful content
of students' lives, teachers will find that interesting issues related
to multiculturalism and visual culture will arise. Students and
teachers can address these issues in an ongoing and organic manner to
shape student self-discovery and learning.
Real Choices
Choice
allows teachers and students to honor authentic learning processes and
value intrinsic motivation. Students who believe in their work are
motivated and engaged. Brain-compatible teaching and learning is
appropriate and desirable for enhancing art making. Opportunities for
scribbling, experimentation, and play are necessary experiences for
beginners. Student understanding is the goal.
THE PRACTICE: PEDAGOGICAL CONTEXT
-- Choice-based art education supports multiple modes of learning and teaching.
In a choice-based art classroom, students, teachers, and resources
interact in multiple ways for teaching and learning. The various modes
of instruction include:
Teacher Roles
Teaching
comes in many forms: direct and indirect (through visuals and
references), whole-group demonstrations and discussions, small groups
of students who choose a particular exploration, and one-to-one teacher
to student interaction. This is possible because student independence
is encouraged. The teacher's roles include demonstrating, modeling,
facilitating, coaching, providing content, and altering that content as
a result of observations made in class.
Student Roles
Students
provide much of the instruction. Student "experts" who work in one
medium over time serve as coaches and peer tutors, enjoying further
learning in the process. Student discoveries are shared with classmates
and teachers. Students form cooperative groups in an organic manner. In
this way, a great deal of information is transmitted student to student.
Art Resources
The
resources of the world of art, past and present, are available to
students who find connections to their work in reproductions, books,
Web sites, and multi-media materials. An evolving, open-system
curriculum fosters an organic learning process.
THE PRACTICE: CLASSROOM CONTEXT
-- Choice-based art education provides resources and opportunities to
construct knowledge and meaning in the process of making art.
The ideal learning environment supports student learning through the
effective structure of time, the careful arrangement of space,
thoughtfully chosen materials, and a method of classroom management
that allows teachers to respond to student needs.
Structuring time
Whole-group
demonstrations are brief and frequent. Students are exposed to many art
concepts and may choose to try something new every week or to continue
working on one piece for an extended period of time. The permanent
arrangement of materials in centers allows students to plan art works
in advance of the weekly class.
Arranging space
The
classroom can be arranged to accommodate an enormous number of
resources and materials and to facilitate both group and independent
work. An attractive environment is an inspiration to art makers.
Managing materials
Organized
arrangements of materials allow students to access and return what they
need. This added responsibility is a learning opportunity. Choosing
materials is an important part of the artistic process.
Providing instruction
The
organized learning centers contain materials, resources, and written
directions and allow for students to continue the work of their choice
weekly, while the teacher can interact with students in multiple ways.
THE PRACTICE: ASSESSMENT
-- Choice-based art education utilizes multiple forms of assessment to
support student and teacher growth.
Assessment is ongoing and continuous with students showing evidence of
learning in their daily activities. Multiple, formative assessments
inform teaching, resulting in materials and instruction that are
closely aligned with student needs.
* Students are continually apprised of assessment
purposes and are given clear and timely feedback about their progress.
* Rubrics that are negotiated between students and teachers establish
the criteria for work throughout the year. Criteria should be
generalized to fit all centers and affirm all levels of ability.
* Rubrics become class standards for overall performance and provide a
basis for student achievement.
* Surveys, questionnaires, and group discussions can help identify
student understandings in various content areas.
* Helping students to recognize their own "zone of proximal
development," where their knowledge lies and where they can reach, is
an important role for the teacher (Vygotsky, 1978). Students are given
frequent opportunities to self-assess their progress in various ways.
* Teachers train students to perform self-assessment through
introduction and modeling of various assessment tools, such as
journals, artist statements, sharing sessions, and presentations.
* Students use information gained in self-assessments to build
confidence and measure their progress. Teachers use information gained
in self-assessments to redirect individualized and group instruction
and to develop new curricula.
* Assessment is often collaborative, between students and/or student(s) and teacher.
* Collaborative assessment may take the form of peer teaching, sharing
of work, curating single or group exhibits, discussions, and
conferences with the teacher.
* Teachers create manageable methods for documenting student progress
utilizing checklists, observations and dialogues, journals, and other
self-assessment materials.
* Written evaluations reflect multiple assessments over a period of
time. * Evaluations document student understandings and abilities. In
addition to skills, work habits should be acknowledged, including time
management, persistence, risk-taking, and focus.
* Teachers should advocate for fair evaluation practices in their
school or district, so that student progress can be articulated
relative to set standards of the art program and not confined to single
letter grades.
For an in-depth discussion of theory and practice of Teaching For Artistic Behavior visit The Knowledge Loom/TAB
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