Presentation & Reflection

Presentation:
Google Slide Presentation: Art Critique as Socratic Seminar

Reflection:
Over the course of this semester, the last in the pursuit of my Masters in Art Education, I have stretched my thinking past theory and into practice. As a student teacher, I was able to see the impact of being a reflective, adaptive, and constantly learning educator.
This class allowed me to expand my classroom to not just include more reading and writing, but to be critical of what literacy looks like in the art classroom.

Through, falling in love with writing again via quick writes and remembering how my own cherished art teachers used this exercise to open up my mind, freeing me up creatively, in a safe place, has sparked my desire to bring this into my own classroom practice. I want to spark the joy of writing, and the joy of art via the sketchbooks my students use everyday.

Indeed, looking at the art critique in the classroom, as a Socratic Seminar, has given me more insight and techniques to use with my students. Creating a culture of respect and a caring learning community from the first day of school onward. Knowing that perhaps my students won't be ready to dive right in to the advance level of inquiry right away, but trusting that we can build the environment together, scaffolding learning, and constructing a classroom where every student can feel comfortable expressing their thoughts, feeling and ideas.

I think this class has made me a more confident educator, willing to expand my teacher toolbox to include things I loved about my undergraduate experience in art school. Trusting that these tools can be modified and used with artists at any grade level.

Teaching art is a privilege, through art we can find meaningful ways of communicating our stories across culture, time and space. Making art works allows us to give a part of ourselves over to others and through looking at the works of others we can build individual understanding and empathy.