Dangling from the edge of creativity

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?

What do you think?

Questions?Comments?

Contact me:

annawiehe@gmail.com