Theories
Illustrated here are a few of the key strategies and theories that I implement in to my teaching. I have found these to be crucial elements of a successful art room, and continue to improve my teaching style by incorporating them every day. Please feel free to read about how I use these strategies and contact me with any questions. Thank you for learning with me!
Constructivism
Constructivism claims that learning is done from experience, students will use their past knowledge and personal experiences to develop ideas in the classroom. This program will focus on creating art projects that relate to the student personally, and that utilize their interests. The student has total control over what the project is and how they are going to approach it. The student creates an idea, picks the subject matter, and chooses the medium they want to create with. For example, instead of the teacher choosing a topic and saying it must be done with colored pencils, students decide what the topic is and pick if they want to use paint or markers or clay or any other available material.
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Another key element that is part of the Constructivist framework is the way that lessons continuously build from previous knowledge in a productive and scaffolded method. By utilizing this idea, the complexity of projects can be gradually increased, building more conceptual ideas than the average lecture would be able to. Student choice is the primary focus, and it is seen through subject matter and material in the final product. I find this to be effective as the student has multiple means to relate to their work.Also addressed through this, is the student’s ability to utilize their preferred processing methods, as they have choice implemented in every step. This too, allows advanced learners with specific learning needs to maximize their learning by making it personal.
This is also where the teacher’s role would play a part, in guiding the student to an appropriate production process There is a wonderfully balanced relationship with freedom of choice between material, color, and subject matter. The goal of incorporating so much choice is to hopefully boost student engagement. Because of this, the student should feel that they are able to maximize their control and should feel capable of making artistic decisions that are meaningful to them, instead of being forced to choose certain topics or mediums. Also, since the topics are not limited and open to interpretation it is my expectation that the lessons in this program will maximize student learning and retention
Socioemotional
Social emotional learning will also be incorporated and is a useful tool, similarly to Constructivism, in answering the essential question of how we can maximize engagement and retentionThrough this strategy, there will be an increase in both student engagement and retention, as well as the ability to create deeper level projects through personal connection to interests and experiences
Specific and purposeful decisions in curriculum content and project descriptions must be made in order to include this form of learning in the studio space. Since it is important to acknowledge the shift in teachers’ duties, in order to put this theory into effect, educators must create project topics that are centered around big ideas to evoke critical thinking and connection and allow the student to make their own personal connections. The focus should be shifted from how am I going to teach this, to what do I want my students to really think about?
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Project ideas should be relatable and broad enough to capture every student's attention but also be complex enough to challenge them; this is the biggest task for instructors in finding a balance of freedom and control. By keeping the topics broad and limitless, you also are allowing students to learn in whatever way is most beneficial to them because they can choose from a variety of art styles.
Information Processing
Information Processing Theory is also integrated into this program by building off of past knowledge and experience. Proper scaffolding of techniques, ideas, and standards throughout the years of the program would allow for the development and acquisition of knowledge to be referenced.
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In order to get to that point, we must first start with a beginner course that is somewhat guided by the teacher, as it would not be practical to start students off as independent learners without providing them with the correct techniques, tools, and experiences to reference. This beginner level will still follow the constructivist method and include social emotional topics, but will be more teacher directed, regarding topics like how to mix paint, how to use clay, how to clean equipment and so forth.
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As the student develops their skills further, the teacher slowly relinquishes power, until the student is ready and can efficiently run the studio on their own, if the opportunity were ever to present itself. By the time students enter advanced courses they should be experienced in every offered medium so that they can make specific artistic decisions in their work. Thinking about a four-year high school program, freshmen would participate in beginner courses learning and growing to potentially become independent by their senior year, if they choose to do so. In doing this, Information Processing Theory would is prevalent as the students in their later years have plenty of background knowledge to use in order to make mental preferences and pull essential techniques which they would then practice for their future work and advanced projects.
Through this development of independence, we answer another question, encouraging divergent thinking and initiative by having students utilize prior knowledge to further their understanding. We also encourage deeper level thinking and more developed work, as once students are proficient in material, they are then able to experiment further.
Social Cognitive
Social Cognitive Theory, is implemented through peer interaction. This is also done through self-assessment, but another element of reflection that is vital to the student’s development is critique. There are several variations of an art critique that I include in the classroom, which through all of them, the students' work is viewed by peers and feedback is given in support of their idea.
For a quick example, a critique form that I am most fond of is done in small table groups. Students briefly discuss their art and the choices they made, then their table mates give constructive criticism. This is such a key aspect of Social Cognitive Theory, as the learner is seeing what their peers might suggest and may be given ideas that they did not originally think of, while also collecting ideas from viewing other work as well. The student is also able to view their own work from a different perspective as their peers are not necessarily coming from an identical environment as the learner.