I only wish I had this much time in my classroom to create Art!! I would call it Tinker-Art-School:). This is the exact theory I have adopted into my classroom this year: Art of Choice.
Incredible Art Department: Teaching for Artistic Behavior
by: Princeton Online an Art Education website.
"Choice Based Art Education fosters imagination. Teachers all across the country are "discovering" how to motivate children through the method of instruction known as Choice Based Art Education (Teaching for Artistic Behavior - or TAB™ Choice is an organization of teachers who teach using this method ). Centers are set up in the elementary and middle school art classrooms and students choose which centers to participate in for the day. High school students are self directed in their studies and studio work. While definitive research on this topic is not available online, some Choice teachers are finding a positive affect this method has on learning in the core curriculum." (Princeton, 2009)
At he beginning of the year I asked my students what they wanted to do or learn about in Art this year. It pretty much boiled down to 1. Make anything I want out of Clay 2. Make anything I want out of building materials. 3. Draw anything I want and 4. Paint a lot of anything. These ideas do leave me a lot of room to throw in my mandated benchmarks and standards, but not a lot of security for me to know that all of the art projects will be successful.
This video has shown me: that I also need to teach my students that not all art projects are going to be successful, that art is not about Mrs. B coming up with great ideas for the class to do it is about the class coming up with new inventive creative ideas for the class to try, and the classroom is much more beautiful when I let it be organic. By organic I mean let the students be the artist they already are. Can I suggest; yes. Can I encourage; yes. Can I have a class critique to look at success and failure; yes.
I am turning into a facilitator instead of a teacher. At times I have felt devalued, but at the moment I am feeling empowered by the classroom environment I have created. My classroom has no need for my constant refocusing (my blurting out the reminders of their expectations). My classroom is quiet and focused at all times because they are totally engaged with their original ideas and the freedom of choice.
Are things perfect? No, but I see what needs work and I feel it is a start. I see that my students in the Art room not only the choice of material and outcome, but they also need choice of time because some students want to create lots of simple things and some students only want to create one extremely complicated artwork over the entire year in Art! I see that my classroom really just needs to be a workshop room where the different supplies is segregated into different departments of the room and the students have a choice of what they do everyday with an option of following a lesson demonstrated by me.
I also realize I need to document continuously so parents know the activities happening in the classroom and can witness artworks that are not able to be taken home like: sandcastles, block building, collaborative painting, and collaborative sculptures.
The problems I see though are space for extra large projects. Should I put a cap on size? The storage of multiple projects that are continuing throughout the entire year may be tricky. What if students want to continue multiple projects all year and I have to store all of them continuously? This could be a game of 'Where's Waldo', but instead 'Where are everyone's Art projects'. Can there be limitations or is that limiting the students?
On a recent blog I found on Choice Art Room the teacher explains her current problems as "* the use of "safe" symbols like the heart, flower, names, etc. I think I am going to place a ban on using these images in class. I know it is censorship but I do not see growth in some of my students and it is so frustrating
Students creating same art. I need to set up a chart like Bonnie that has the names of students with the centers they visit so they can see where they work and how they need to try other things. Art idea sheet. I may create one of these that I can give to students when they look like they are not being productive. I've noticed some students not using their time well and by having them fill in a sheet that explains what they plan to do, it may help with their focus. Messy classes. I have closed the collage center for two classes because they "trashed" it and did not clean it up. The classroom teachers say they are the same way in their room, but that is no excuse and I will not have it in the art room. It is messy enough due to its size (sharing with music) a students craeted mess is uncalled for." (Kinniery, 2007) Ultimately, this adventure just needs my commitment. I need to let go and let this happen. I need to be more concerned with what my students are learning instead of being so full of pride for what and how I teach.
Finally, what does this have to do with Media Literacy? Although art isn't being creating on the computer a lot of the time; I do feel that choice Art program is influencing an artist community that the children are learning in instead of a classroom teaching environment. The students are learning more because they are not just learning from me they are learning from each other.
My students are moving around. They are collaborating. I am giving instant feedback. I am documenting and we are revisiting experiences. The students are totally engaged. I often come up with a story-line to engage them emotionally. The students are self motivated. My classroom has become more literate. More learning is going on:).
Way to go, Hillary. It looks exciting, and I know the students are benefiting.
ReplyDeleteMark B
Thanks Mark. How is it going in your classroom?
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