Week 11 Reading

"Visual Thinking in Arts Education: Homage to Rudolph Arheim" (Winner)

My thoughts jumped allover the place as I read this article. I reflected on my efforts to pinpoint the big ideas in my curriculum, in choosing the techniques I select to enforce, on the teaching craft and studio craft I am developing as a fifth year teacher. I ponder on how different my perception of the purpose of art education is different from my non-art colleagues, administration, and some of the other art teachers in the district. I despair of my lack of persuasive speech - I wish I could distill the essential meanings of the writings I have read this year and communicate them verbally to those around me - this is what I do, this is what I'm striving for, this is why we do not make table decorations for the PTO in art.

I was drawn to how Winner repeated that the value of arts education does not lie in the transfer of cognitive skills to more "basic" school subjects. That art teaches thinking skills that are not taught often today in "regular" classes, but are fundamental  to problem solving and work ethic. Not every student in my class will grow up to be an artist, but there are things essential and fun (also essential) to be learned in art classes.

"Critique: Where Art Meets Assessment" (Soep)

This article seemed to define critique as a spontaneous conversation initiated by student peers when working on a collaborative project. The author found value in the occurrence of such conversations because critiques allowed the students ownership over the formative assessment necessary for a quality product. It is important to note that the critiques occurred informally as needed outside of a classroom setting. In this situation, the facilitators of the student collaborative project listened to the critiques as a form of student assessment, and helped redirect or clarify when needed.

As a victim of numerous scheduled critiques in college art classes, I wonder if the role of the art teacher is not to conduct the critiques, but to reinforce the social skills students will need to get the most benefit from these discussions.