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Dangling from the Edge of Creativity
Anna WieheArt Educator
Background Information
Art teacher for 5 years ◦Philadelphia: Special Education (age 5-21)
◦Manhattan, KS: Elementary (k-6)
Currently pursuing my masters degree at Kansas State University◦Teaching “Art for the Elementary Teacher” to undergrads
Action Research
Qualitative StudyCarried out by teachersResults can be implemented immediatelyEmpowerment
◦Helps teachers develop their own best practices for their unique students
◦No need to rely on outside “experts”
Wonderings
Why does my students’ art work often all look the same?
Botanical Sculpture 5th grade
Botanical Sculpture Lesson
Day 1: Drawing from observation in the learning garden
Day 2: Presentation on Contemporary Ceramic Artists and Creation of Sculpture
Day 3: Painting Ceramic Sculpture
Susan Beiner
Andy Rodgers
Lindsay Feurer
Other Results
Wonderings
What can I do to help my students be more creative?
What are the ultimate objectives of the K-12 art or ceramics curriculum?
Defining objectives
Kansas Standards for the Visual Arts
21st Century Learning
Reaction to No Child Left Behind
Kansas Standards for Visual Arts
Learn about the power of visual images to influence human behavior, their aspirations, and those of society
Explore their own potential to think creatively, to solve problems with ingenuity, and to respond to events and experiences with confidence
Discover their artistic heritage and learn to understand the culture of which they are a part and those of others with whom they live
Understand that they can effect improvement in the environment and that they can shape their lives, their communities, and their nation
Defining objectives
Kansas Standards for the Visual Arts
21st Century Learning
Reaction to No Child Left Behind
21st Century Learning
Defining objectives
Kansas Standards for the Visual Arts
21st Century Learning
Reaction to No Child Left Behind
No Child Left Behind
What do you think?
Discussion:◦What do you think are the main objectives of your curriculum?
◦How does creativity fit in?
Action Research Methods
Research Question: How are art teachers fostering creativity in
their classrooms?
Methods: Observation of 3 High School Art Classrooms (3 teachers):
Art Explorations(9th)Advanced Ceramics (10th-12th)
AP Art (12th)Field Notes, Teacher and student interviews, student surveys,
artifacts: handouts, rubrics, student work
What is Creativity anyway?
“any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one” -Csikszentmihalyi
“the process of having original ideas that have value” -Eisner
Creativity is:
Moving beyond formal qualities and technical skills
Ideas
Meaning
Unique
Findings
FeedbackTeacher MethodsMonitoring Student Behavior TraitsClassroom Environment
Four ways teachers foster creativity in the art room:
Feedback
CritiquesPostpone grading until after revisionSpecific Positive Reinforcement
Teacher Methods
Pushes the idea expansion (first idea is usually not the best idea)
High Expectations Provides exposure to the fieldResponds with more questionsFlexibilty in assignments, time frames, etc.
Monitoring Student Behavior Traits
Maintaining RigorWillingness to take risksSelf-Motivation
Desire for some structure
Classroom Environment
Building a classroom community◦Supportive peer interactions
Foster’s report with students
Addition to Classroom Environment: China Pre-schools
Recommendations
Assignments based on Theme/Idea rather than technique
Student centeredCreative process scaffoldedCreative process assessed
Recommendations for more Emphasis on Creativity
Assignments based on Theme/Idea rather than technique
Journey Vessel
Design a vessel that tells a personal story of a journey
Introduction to an watercolor artist who uses collected artifacts along with the painting of the landscape
Vessel must have a foot and a lid, and thrown/handbuilt in multiple parts
Inverted face sections to contain “artifacts”Lid must have a cast glass knob
Recommendations for more Emphasis on Creativity
Themes based on Student Interests/Experience
Progressive or Constructivist Learning Styles
“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
~ Plato
Progressive Education
One of the best things about progressive education is “its
emphasis upon the importance of the
participation of the learner in the formation of the
purposes which direct his activities in the learning
process” (Dewey, 1938, p. 67)
“The teacher’s suggestion is not a mold for a cast-iron result but is a starting point to be developed into a plan through contributions from
the experience of all engaged in the learning
process” (Dewey, 1938, p. 72)
Experience and Education: John Dewey
Recommendations for more Emphasis on Creativity
Creative process scaffolded with specific time for activities such as : ◦warm-ups ◦sensory stimulation ◦reflection time ◦brainstorming
What do you think?
How do you model or scaffold the creative process in your art room?
Compare the amount of time you spend teaching technique to time spent on idea generation
Scaffolding idea expansion
1. Identify the Project2. Generate ideas
1. Brainstorm2. Expand on one word
3. Mental Inventory1. Personal experiences2. Current issues3. interests
4. Research5. Lateral Thinking6. Thumbnail Sketches7. Sketch Models
Recommendations for more Emphasis on Creativity
Assessment criteria that measure creative development process as well as the creativity in the product without over emphasis on technical skill
The fastest way to change how we learn is to change how we assess.
Rubrics
Adding these criteria to rubrics helps “evade the tendency to place undue emphasis on skills in the use of materials and techniques and judgments based on idiosyncratic preferences”
Product Criteria:1. Visibility of the intention behind the picture (visual work communicates what the student intended)2. Color, form, composition (achieves desired effects with the aid of visual elements and principles)3. Craftsmanship (mastered the materials and techniques)
Process Criteria:4. Investigative work (pursues problem across several works or experiments, feels challenged rather than discouraged by difficulties)5. Inventiveness (student sets up problem, tries new solutions, willing to take risks)6. Ability to use models (seeks out models [references] to emulate)7. Capacity to self-assess
(Lindstrom, 2006, p. 59)
Lindstrom, 2006, p. 56
Conclusions
While art teachers employed many methods and techniques to foster the pre-existing creativity in students, none really emphasized or taught the process of developing ideas and creative outcomes.
Most instructional time spent on learning techniques and analyzing formal qualities of art.
New research question:
How do art teachers TEACH creativity?