Hetland: Chapter 8 - Learning to Express
Oliva Gude: 2 articles - Principles of Possibility AND Postmodern Principles
My thoughts as a I react to the readings:
Hetland Ch 8. - Learning to Express. Okay, and uh-huh. I read this before bed and was hoping something more deep to say would come as I slumbered. Nothing yet. So in hopes of making some connections from this to the Gude articles subconsciously, here are my thoughts on the Gude readings. (Going back to this after airing my thoughts on Gude...I'm kind of done with this book and glad it is our last reading assignment. I was kind of disappointed with it. Although I am walking away with some interesting thoughts on what areas to structure a curriculum or unit plans around, I think I was hoping for some more straightforward teaching strategies or narratives instead of case studies from art teachers at what I thought were atypical art schools.)
Postmodern Principles: I have seen the original OMG speak at numerous conventions and I make a point of never missing her speak, whether it is a solo performance or if she sits on a panel. Her approach to art ed is refreshing, inspiring and reinvigorating. Whether it is the incredible breakneck speed at which she speaks or the fresh ideas that she is proposing we infuse into art education that energizes me, I am not certain. What I am certain of is that she motivated me to inspect how I was teaching and the way my students were responding to it. I was noticing a couple of things as I began moving through my teaching career and how students were changing. I found myself in the midst of what I believe now was a cultural, generational shift. A subtle shift from the Gen Y-ers to the iGen student and what I found was they responded differently to the educational environment of the day and needed a different way to learn. Gude's Postmodernism helped me begin to explore this.
As I read this article (which I hadn't read before now), what I kept thinking about was, "How can I share this thinking with my colleagues?" Most of whom have been teaching longer than myself, and are very entrenched in their personal way of doing things. I remember just starting my teaching career and finding it difficult to convince them that we should be using DBAE to ensure students were being exposed to the E&P, art history, aesthetics, and criticism and not just arts & crafts and/or media. That seemed like a giant struggle at the time and a major shift in thinking. Then the district went to making everything "common" and standards based and my colleagues were forced to change. Back to my thinking...As I read the article I couldn't help but think of an observation my husband and I both made early in our teaching careers. We noticed that teachers tend to revert back to frames of mind, and some behaviors even, of the grade level we teach. Being surrounded by so many minds of a certain developmental level for so much of our day, for so many of our days, it is kind of hard not to...It reminds me of the VTS practice where VTS facilitators need to experience VTS in order to grow in their aesthetic development. I was hoping I'd be able to escape it, having recognized it in others but I could tell as I wrote my National Boards papers a couple of years ago, that alas! I, too, could feel my vocabulary slipping and my perceptions altered. So, as I read Gude's article I noticed that she writes very academically. Although insightful and potentially so very beneficial to 21st century art learners, I couldn't help but keep thinking about how academic she sounded. How inaccessible to the everyday public school art teacher she was in this article. Now maybe I am doing my fellow teachers a disservice, but Gude is afforded the luxury of thinking about these things in a philosophical way that most teachers do not have the time to do. Or the energy! These are some deep thoughts about art education and her students. And when the everyday teacher is faced with not only teaching art, but also assaulted with behavior and classroom management issues, thinking about these new ways of approaching visual culture can be down right daunting. To move towards the way Gude proposes we teach, would take some time talking about these things with our colleagues, some time to expose ourselves to these ideas, to let them soak in, to play, to stretch, to explore within these ideas. But first, you need to be open-minded to these ideas and feel supported in shifting to these ideas and not feel restricted by the boundaries and mandates put in place by administrators. Oh, do I sound like I'm talking from personal experience? Perhaps I am...
Principles of Possibility:
"The essential contribution that arts education can make to our students and to our communities is to teach skills and concepts while creating opportunities to investigate and represent one's own experiences - generating a personal and shared meaning."
This quote is one that is resonating with me because I am in a situation to guide and direct the new revisions to our district's curriculum as we move into preparations for Common Core and 21st Century Skills. I can't help but read this article and the previous Duncum article from the perspective of one searching for supports in revamping a status quo. I see a lot that I am in support of. The idea of looking to what general students will need as the go out into the world, not all of them going off to be artists, but as artizens - members of our society that will need to be visually literate and able to make decisions about what they see. I see a change in what students need as they are taught. Something that Gude doesn't necessarily address, but what I've seen in my class is that formal ways of teaching art does not make learning rigorous or relevant to today's students. In fact, I believe that it builds obstacles to building relationships with students in some cases and prohibits learning. I think that by taking Gude's insights into account, we as 21st century artist educators will be better equipped to prepare a literate, prolific, world citizen.
"The essential contribution that arts education can make to our students and to our communities is to teach skills and concepts while creating opportunities to investigate and represent one's own experiences - generating a personal and shared meaning."
This quote is one that is resonating with me because I am in a situation to guide and direct the new revisions to our district's curriculum as we move into preparations for Common Core and 21st Century Skills. I can't help but read this article and the previous Duncum article from the perspective of one searching for supports in revamping a status quo. I see a lot that I am in support of. The idea of looking to what general students will need as the go out into the world, not all of them going off to be artists, but as artizens - members of our society that will need to be visually literate and able to make decisions about what they see. I see a change in what students need as they are taught. Something that Gude doesn't necessarily address, but what I've seen in my class is that formal ways of teaching art does not make learning rigorous or relevant to today's students. In fact, I believe that it builds obstacles to building relationships with students in some cases and prohibits learning. I think that by taking Gude's insights into account, we as 21st century artist educators will be better equipped to prepare a literate, prolific, world citizen.
Reflect & Write Part One:
Seriously, how do I pick just one?
"Recipes to achieve a cool-looking project are NOT good art educational practice. Good art projects are not simplistic recipes."
I have been struggling with this one. In different ways. As a beginning teacher, I wanted students to feel successful, and therefore I would feel successful. I felt that something I was good at was breaking down directions so that students could understand them, follow them correctly, and end up with the intended outcome. And yet, I would get sooo frustrated at the students that wound up demanding my time to go over how to do something - darn them for not reading my volume of directions! It took me a minute to realize that putting everything in writing, clearly available for them, was not the way to reach all my students including those that had reading comprehension problems or were kinesthetic learners, for example. So I adjusted my expectations. I felt like what I needed to do for my students was break things down that were abstract to the concrete. Then they would be able to do it and feel successful! And what I found was that I was making things too simplistic and robbing students of the cognitive dissonance that kept them motivated and learning! Fellow teachers were struggling with classroom management issues and what I found was that as I stopped using recipes, I stopped having as many issues with work completion, behavior, and failing students. Surprise! Students liked being in charge of their own destiny! I still can not convince some of my colleagues that could possibly be happier teachers if they could let go of this way of teaching. But on the other hand, I understand why it is hard to let go. It is a bit of a struggle to do this and still get students to make progressive growth in their media skills and therefore produce "good looking" art. As I read Gude's expressionist principle I kept wondering about how she teaches expressionism. I saw some examples in the power point, but I still would like to observe it in action. I find students don't invest themselves in this practice. (Please keep in mind as you read that I am thinking of high school students -- and mostly Intro students.) They are at the stage where realism rules. And defines success. My next stage of classroom development, I think will be looking at how to stretch students skills and beliefs about this while developing media skills for them to feel successful. Efficacy and craftsmanship, you know.
I also think that by providing recipes, you are encouraging and enabling students to believe that there is one right answer. And that goes against what the arts teach. We need to be encouraging students to investigate, and engage, and think critically. It also squelches creativity, creating a citizenry looking to others and not to themselves as problem solvers.
I am looking forward to the symposium with Olivia Gude. I always enjoy hearing her speak and seeing examples of how she teaches. The stories she tells truly enliven the power points, no matter how great those are to begin with.
- Gude has several powerful quotes in her powerpoint presentation ripe for discussion and analysis. Choose one of the quotes on the first page of the “Gude Notes” document to compose a thoughtful, reflective response. Answer the following questions:
- What are the classroom implications for this statement? Describe how this might relate to your classroom experiences or how you predict this affecting classrooms of the future.
- Do you agree or disagree with her statement or stance? Provide evidence to support or illustrate your thinking through examples.
Seriously, how do I pick just one?
"Recipes to achieve a cool-looking project are NOT good art educational practice. Good art projects are not simplistic recipes."
I have been struggling with this one. In different ways. As a beginning teacher, I wanted students to feel successful, and therefore I would feel successful. I felt that something I was good at was breaking down directions so that students could understand them, follow them correctly, and end up with the intended outcome. And yet, I would get sooo frustrated at the students that wound up demanding my time to go over how to do something - darn them for not reading my volume of directions! It took me a minute to realize that putting everything in writing, clearly available for them, was not the way to reach all my students including those that had reading comprehension problems or were kinesthetic learners, for example. So I adjusted my expectations. I felt like what I needed to do for my students was break things down that were abstract to the concrete. Then they would be able to do it and feel successful! And what I found was that I was making things too simplistic and robbing students of the cognitive dissonance that kept them motivated and learning! Fellow teachers were struggling with classroom management issues and what I found was that as I stopped using recipes, I stopped having as many issues with work completion, behavior, and failing students. Surprise! Students liked being in charge of their own destiny! I still can not convince some of my colleagues that could possibly be happier teachers if they could let go of this way of teaching. But on the other hand, I understand why it is hard to let go. It is a bit of a struggle to do this and still get students to make progressive growth in their media skills and therefore produce "good looking" art. As I read Gude's expressionist principle I kept wondering about how she teaches expressionism. I saw some examples in the power point, but I still would like to observe it in action. I find students don't invest themselves in this practice. (Please keep in mind as you read that I am thinking of high school students -- and mostly Intro students.) They are at the stage where realism rules. And defines success. My next stage of classroom development, I think will be looking at how to stretch students skills and beliefs about this while developing media skills for them to feel successful. Efficacy and craftsmanship, you know.
I also think that by providing recipes, you are encouraging and enabling students to believe that there is one right answer. And that goes against what the arts teach. We need to be encouraging students to investigate, and engage, and think critically. It also squelches creativity, creating a citizenry looking to others and not to themselves as problem solvers.
I am looking forward to the symposium with Olivia Gude. I always enjoy hearing her speak and seeing examples of how she teaches. The stories she tells truly enliven the power points, no matter how great those are to begin with.
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