Midterm Reflection
Over the course of this class, I have been reflecting on my own classroom practice in regards to supporting literacy in the art room. I find many links between art, and learning to read and write within the framework of the dominant discourse. Conceptually, I find the three intrinsically linked.
As visual arts educator, I want to familiarize my students with the discourse of art, so students become comfortable “reading” works of art in a critique setting, using visual thinking strategies, to discuss what they see and interpret. These strategies help students organizing their ideas, and talk through problems in a safe and open environment, allowing them to put creative and artistic thinking into practice. Thus, when students embark on creating works of art, it is a though they are “writing” using the visual language of artistic discourse.
As an art educator, I have always considered exposing my students to vocabulary, techniques, demonstrations, and artists as a way to familiarize themselves with the field of art. Moreover, I expect my students to keep visual thinking sketchbooks in my classes. In here, students mind-map, sketch ideas, copy down vocabulary, and step by step technique or project instructions. As a result of this class, I will be incorporating of quick writing in these sketchbooks. I think this will allow students to find the joy of not just writing but being creative. When my professor in undergrad had us do free writes, it was some of the most freeing and creative work of my life, it allowed me to tap into my subconscious and unearth new ideas. I was always stunned that asking questions about in some case a literal block of wood, could produce. I think building my students confidence in writing will only seek to benefit their creative and artistic endeavors. Honestly, I think artistic critique can be a way to enhance and familiarize students with the ideas of Socratic seminar. Indeed, I believe, critique and Socratic seminar have much the same end goal, and many of the same “ground rules” that make the space a safe and comfortable way to talk about work. Indeed, in middle school classes it can be tough to get students to open up and may need additional scaffolding, but I think coaching them through, and allowing them many ways to process their ideas together, first individually, then in small groups, and finally as a collective, will only enhance their literacy in language and art.
I do think that, perhaps, I took for granted how to incorporate even more reading and writing in the art room, especially given the times constraints of producing works of art. Since, I want to give students ample time to create, I have forgone given readings tied to artistic movements and artists. Indeed, when we reviewed text complexity, it gave me the opportunity to look at my practice, and stretch outside of my comfort zone to find a piece of literature that connected to an artist. Though, artists and writers have a history of being greatly influenced by one another, and it was easy to find works that relate, it was something I had not really considered entering my classroom. Normally, I utilize brief artistic biographies and have students take notes in their sketchbooks, and show videos of contemporary artists describing their work. Though, I had never considered reading a text aloud all together to dissect and used to highlight our understanding of art works. This is something, I will be much more aware of, because both what I include in my class and what is not included in my classroom, gives students a silent message about what is valued in said classroom. I aim to educate the whole child, nurturing their creative, problem solving, and prosocial souls, and excluding text from my classroom, does a disservice to my students.
As visual arts educator, I want to familiarize my students with the discourse of art, so students become comfortable “reading” works of art in a critique setting, using visual thinking strategies, to discuss what they see and interpret. These strategies help students organizing their ideas, and talk through problems in a safe and open environment, allowing them to put creative and artistic thinking into practice. Thus, when students embark on creating works of art, it is a though they are “writing” using the visual language of artistic discourse.
As an art educator, I have always considered exposing my students to vocabulary, techniques, demonstrations, and artists as a way to familiarize themselves with the field of art. Moreover, I expect my students to keep visual thinking sketchbooks in my classes. In here, students mind-map, sketch ideas, copy down vocabulary, and step by step technique or project instructions. As a result of this class, I will be incorporating of quick writing in these sketchbooks. I think this will allow students to find the joy of not just writing but being creative. When my professor in undergrad had us do free writes, it was some of the most freeing and creative work of my life, it allowed me to tap into my subconscious and unearth new ideas. I was always stunned that asking questions about in some case a literal block of wood, could produce. I think building my students confidence in writing will only seek to benefit their creative and artistic endeavors. Honestly, I think artistic critique can be a way to enhance and familiarize students with the ideas of Socratic seminar. Indeed, I believe, critique and Socratic seminar have much the same end goal, and many of the same “ground rules” that make the space a safe and comfortable way to talk about work. Indeed, in middle school classes it can be tough to get students to open up and may need additional scaffolding, but I think coaching them through, and allowing them many ways to process their ideas together, first individually, then in small groups, and finally as a collective, will only enhance their literacy in language and art.
I do think that, perhaps, I took for granted how to incorporate even more reading and writing in the art room, especially given the times constraints of producing works of art. Since, I want to give students ample time to create, I have forgone given readings tied to artistic movements and artists. Indeed, when we reviewed text complexity, it gave me the opportunity to look at my practice, and stretch outside of my comfort zone to find a piece of literature that connected to an artist. Though, artists and writers have a history of being greatly influenced by one another, and it was easy to find works that relate, it was something I had not really considered entering my classroom. Normally, I utilize brief artistic biographies and have students take notes in their sketchbooks, and show videos of contemporary artists describing their work. Though, I had never considered reading a text aloud all together to dissect and used to highlight our understanding of art works. This is something, I will be much more aware of, because both what I include in my class and what is not included in my classroom, gives students a silent message about what is valued in said classroom. I aim to educate the whole child, nurturing their creative, problem solving, and prosocial souls, and excluding text from my classroom, does a disservice to my students.
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