Olivia Gude: Art Education for Democratic Life
This article focuses on the relationship between art education and democratic life and how art education helps people develop their perception and understanding of democracy. Gude provides an example that describes young students and adults exploring the relationship between themselves and life. She believes that art is a powerful tool and medium that helps people to recognize the self, others, the society, and the world. As she states in the article, “through artworks, students absorb the perceptions of others – situated in other times and places, embodied in other races, genders, ages, classes, and abilities.” What is more, Gude claims that “democracy requires that difference be perceived not as an assault on selfhood, but as an invitation to be a fuller, more open self incorporating the sensations and experiences of others into one’s own perceptions of the world and into one’s contributions to collective decision making”. This reminds me of the slogan in China, “let a hundred of flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend” which is the policy for promoting progress in the arts and sciences. Furthermore, Gude suggests that we need to create the curriculum of quality art education that centers on learning about and utilizing strategies to produce individual and cultural meaning, meaningful culture. As she states, “people who have participated in quality arts education experiences identify the importance of free expression for themselves and for others. They recognize that values and visions, cannot endure unless they are continuously seen, examined, challenged and re-envisioned within individual and collective life.” By the way, I feel like the research in which Gude has students and adults do artworks in the spiral workshop is an a/r/tography research. Review your Thinking like an artist teacher sheet and reflect on how the value of art and teaching for a thinking disposition has produced new thinking about these topics and all that you have learned in this class. Explain how your practice will transform now that you have acquired a knowledge base in creative teaching. It is time to synthesize what I have learn from this process. I feel like we could connect with each small piece of topic composed together becoming new thinking. I believe we have been cultivated through the process to think like an artist. The way we have experienced is paralleled to the way our students would experience if we try to follow up those important ideas. I was impressed by those plays we did during these days, especially the activity of the creative mind. We used those broken materials and play with them and make them meaningful. This is what “Play as Process” suggests. Moreover, I’ve learned so many wonderful ideas from the class. First of all, it helps me figure out what art is and I have an opportunity to question myself. Actually, I’ve learned a lot about creativity, this is exactly what Chinese students lack, and sometimes it is overlooked in daily life. There are many ways to cultivate the creativity, it could be through interdisciplines, art production, PLAY, real world, collection, aesthetics education, and the creative mind suggested by Gardner. Those ideas provide me a huge picture how we could model the creativity for students. I wish I could practice each of them currently or in the future. Second, I am intrigued to know what and how art integration practice in reality. It seems like this idea has not been used or practiced in China since we do focus on STEM as well. Maybe today’s art education in the U.S. would doubt the reality what art integration have done is just seeming not serious, while I wish the first step could happen in China about art integration. Third, I really love the book – Better Practices – which is practical and useful in the real classroom. Actually, I have used one of recommended strategies recently in pre-school. I took away from the part of historical, cultural and social context. I used an artwork created by a Chinese painter and let students do VTS activity. This artwork talks about the origin of Chinese valentine’s day, so that I could share with them why Chinese people celebrate it and how we celebrate it. After the activity, I started teaching some vocabularies for students in Mandarin and they were assigned to make a gift which could be sent to their peers, parents. I tried to make Mandarin and art combined, before taking this class, I was frustrated teaching Mandarin with art. After exploring some ideas, it seemed like I’ve taken away from the class a little bit. Actually, I feel like my thinking is just on the surface without any examination. I wish I could have more and more opportunities to test my thoughts and ideas.
1 Comment
Use Arts Integration to Enhance Common Core by Susan Riley Those thinking that Riley share are so true. It is true that integration is not simply combining two or more contents together. I have the same feeling when I found out it is so difficult to combine Mandarin with art in the pre-school classroom. I think art integration needs detailed instruction and plans, it also requires “creativity, problem-solving, perseverance, collaboration and the ability to work through the rigorous demands of multiple ideas and concepts woven together to create a final product.” These important ideas were ignored by me before. I do believe that the combination of two contents would reach at the new level, however, it is difficult to approach that peak. Riley claims that the arts have some unique parallels to the Common Core Standards, and she provides several shared features, first, process produces product. Riley thinks that the process of making products is more extensive than from a traditional method. Second, access points which means an arts integration method is engaging to students and to teachers. Students have multiple ways to gain knowledge. Third, true equity which focus on process-based learning is a unique way that ensure students are learning in a way that meets their own personal needs. Fourth, analytic practice which emphasize on the ability to synthesize different parts into a whole work and to analyze the components as well. Riley also provides some strategies for implementing arts integration. It encourages to engage students and teachers, and it needs teachers feel comfortable, and the lesson is taught that meets standards. Finally, it should assess both areas equitably. I think VTS could be a first step for me to combine Mandarin with art. What I am going to do for next week lesson is providing kids an artwork and have them carefully see the picture and answer my questions. And this artwork would be relevant to my lesson topic which is Father’s Day. I am going to search for the artwork related to this topic. Can’t wait to see what kids reflect on. Six Steps Toward Arts Integration by Lorenza Arengo Yarnes The author shares a great example how writing lesson connects with arts, actually I watched the video first. It provides many strategies how to combine writing with arts. I think this process has many parallels to designing art lesson plan. Yarnes suggests the first step is to find a theme or focus which appears to the big idea when art teachers design the art curriculum. The second step is to find the artworks that fit the theme. I think this step is very significant because it provides students many examples to promote their creative learning and thinking. The third step is what we are familiar with – using some strategies (Making Thinking Visible & Visual Thinking Strategies) to engage students discuss the art. The forth step is to create an art project for the theme. What she suggests using pencils, paper and crayons is important. Students should be familiar with different technics but it takes time to let them know, so it is better to use some simple materials in the beginning. Once the routines are sat up, students certainly have access to explore more and more materials. The fifth step is to write and discuss after making artworks. What students would get benefit is contemplating on the process. This is really critical. The last step is to reflect and try again after the lesson. I think this is important for novice teachers, like me, reflecting on the process or sharing with veteran teachers, try to figure out what could be changed and how to do it better. Integrating visual arts into full curriculum can be possible. ![]()
Creativity and Academics: The Power of an Art Education by Neil Swapp
The reason why I chose this article is that I am intrigued by this topic: Creativity and Academics. I thought it could talk about how school of art help students learn arts as well as the other subjects. In China, we have so many institutions like that, because students who want to continuously learn art in college level should take the national test in different areas, such as visual arts, music, performance art, etc. Meanwhile, they have to take the College Entrance Examination in China. Once they get both exams done and the scores are beyond the minimum requirement, they could be selected by some colleges of art. Back to this article, Swapp shares so many important ideas that how art education empower students, even human beings. First of all, I do believe that arts develop student’s mindset in motion. The intrinsic and extrinsic motivation dynamically affect students. This is a basis of establishing students’ personality and characteristics. Actually, I have sensed that art makes me more confident, especially when I am sharing my latest artworks with peers. One of feedback I got from my friend is artworks visually display your efforts and thoughts, even values, while some soft sciences are not able to be presents vividly. This is the power of art, right? Certainly, I do believe that art improves human’s cognition. The process of making art is paralleled to doing research and solving problems. Sometimes, it is relevant to science problems. Like we did in the synthesizing mind activity, it was all about math problems and how art make them visually and solve them vividly. In addition, curation is a vital component in art education, and of course it facilitates students’ communication skills. The most important one is interpreting, understanding the art in many different ways. Cultural understanding is so important and art make it possible. I notice the creating mind has many parallels to the synthesizing mind. As Gardner states, “a synthesis may represent a considerable creative achievement”. I think the creating mind is the further development of synthesis and “to extend knowledge, to ruffle the contours of a genre, to guide a set of practice along new and hitherto unanticipated direction.” No doubt, the disciplined mind is the significant basis of the synthesizing mind and the creating mind. “Undisciplined creativity is creativity undermined.” Furthermore, Gardner mentions that the aspiring creator needs a generous supply of intelligences, skill, and discipline and the creating mind “beyond existing knowledge and syntheses to pose new questions, offer new solutions, fashion works the stretch existing genre or configure new ones”.
Gardner also claims that the arts are well suited to nurture the creating mind. He believes that the disappearance of the arts from any curriculum may have unintended negative consequences. Well, so how to foster creativity in the visual art classroom? When I was reading, I kept seeking to answers. Unfortunately, I did not find much. Let me try the synthesizing mind to synthesized the possible responses. Gardner suggests that educators ought to invite inventors or artists who have gone their own way and achieved success to facilitate creativity. On the other hand, he also suggests students are encouraged to play games drawn from other cultures or to invent new games on playground or on the computer. Moreover, educators ought to engage students for risk taking. Risk taking is stressful while students’ mistakes can often lead to new discoveries and brilliant accidents – “make new mistakes” What I have observed from studio art classroom is the instructor inviting several artists coming to talk and to share their personal stories. It is amazing to appreciate their work personally and to learn how they create artworks and make innovation. Moreover, it is significant to engage students play game drawn from other cultures. We are living in the global village, so it is vital for us to know what’s going on outside the classroom, outside the city, outside the country. Students are encouraged to embrace different culture, these experiences are also beneficial for the creating mind. I think this process is an accumulated path which needs much efforts and definitely teachers may have open minds and to welcome different cultures. Finally, in my opinion, I would welcome students make mistakes. I’d like to provide a safe environment for students to play. Mistakes are not horrible, on the contrary, it is the power which impulse humans to be more creative. Just playing with mistakes. Currently, I try to set up this slogan in my mind - play with mistakes in a discomfort zone. I found out that it is not easy to play like this style, sometimes I feel very sorry because I made mistakes. Like today’s class, it required to make artworks which could be printed out or handmade, while I was doing a video. I broke the rules and made huge mistakes so I felt very sorry. I think my future students would face the same situation as me faced, so how to let them know it is totally okay making mistakes? Thanks to Sheryl's questions, so I could really contemplate on the comparison of creativity in China and the U.S. ? First of all, it is obvious that we admire the development of creativity in the U.S. That is one of the reasons why so many Chinese students coming to study abroad in the U.S. We all know that it is not easy to nurture the skills of creativity. Actually, the creativity in China that Garner describes is basically corresponding with the situation of different periods of time in China. Cultural Revolution was a disaster, and it ruined most of Chinese traditions. At that time, most intelligences had to go to rural areas to experience how farmers worked. Within ten years (1966-1976), the society supported farmers, poor people, but hurt intelligence or rich persons. The major problem of Cultural Revolution was to bring down capitalism, so people did not care about education, even creativity. However, time changed. After Cultural Revolution, Chinese government decided to "open" the "door", this is a remarkable policy that we call it the reform and opening-up policy which means people could run their business independently. This is Market-oriented Economy under the socialism. No doubt, with the development of the economy in China, a number of people realized the importance of innovation and creativity. After the year of 2000, people strongly advocate the ideas of innovation and creativity. However, it is difficult to transform most Chinese people's values. Even though there are a increasing number of people strongly encourage to develop Chinese student's creativity, it is VERY HARD to change people's mind. Because we are bind by the fault traditional ideology. It must takes long time to transform Chinese people's minds. Certainly, more and more Chinese students are trained with creativity, and I am lucky because I am one of them being encouraged to make something new. For example, I established a film studio when I was in college and gathered some peers who had movie dreams together making movies. I think most students' thoughts catch up with Western's creativity, however, the system in China is necessary to be CHANGED and REFORMED. It has long way to go. I notice that the disciplined mind provides a way people achieving the depth of knowledge, while the synthesizing mind suggests us to have knowledge/mind broad. Moreover, they are in different dimension, but the disciplined mind is the basis of the synthesizing mind. Once people are addicted to one discipline, it is possible to integrate another information and generate something new.
“Syntheses requires us to put together elements that were originally discrete or disparate”, then sift through the meanings, and re-articulate it in a more concise version. Gardner mentions eight types of synthesis which are narratives, taxonomies, complex, rules and aphorism, metaphors/images/themes, embodiments without words, theories, and metatheory. I am wondering how we could use these type as the directions helping students cultivate synthesizing mind in the art classroom? What I believe here is that art, in fact, is an act of synthesis, because firstly artists are trained deeply with the technics, we practice the skills. This is the first step – the disciplined mind. Second, they collect their personal experiences, their background of content, medium collaboratively. Third, artists identify their works related to the real world, and learn from other artists working in the same content. I think this process is paralleled to the synthesizing mind and artists are unique in synthesis. Gardner’s eight types of synthesis illustrate different ways to interpret information in a way that makes sense to an individual or group. I’d like break down these types and talk about how we could develop students’ synthesis skills in the art classroom.
What Gardner suggests some ways achieving the effective synthesis is establishing a goal which could be a statement or conception of what the synthesizer is trying to achieve. In the art class, I am wondering whether we could set up some goals for students, or students set up their goals. I think this could happen in the first class of the semester. Students could write down what they are going to achieve in the art class, and the teacher collect the notes. Are they helpful for the teacher to design the lesson plan? If I had opportunity, I’d like to try this method and to see what's going on. Second, Gardner suggests to build an idea/image/previous work as a starting point. It is well suitable in the art classroom. It is full of images and ideas in the art class, isn’t it? Third, have draft and feedback. I have learned that students’ feedback is vital for teachers to know what they have known. Students’ feedback will be beneficial for teachers to synthesize and evaluate the class, meanwhile, students’ feedback for each other will help individual promote their thinking and understanding. “WIN-WIN” Interdisciplinary is popular among the field of education which is applied to studies at least two scholarly disciplines and seek a synergistic integration. I would like to teach Mandarin with art in the real classroom, and this is what I am exploring now. I am teaching Mandarin once a week at a preschool, and sometimes I’d like to add art on. I have mentioned my problems in the class and luckily get the support from Mrs. Lamme, and I will read the book recommended by Mrs. Lamme. Hopefully, I could get benefit from it and take it into action. what I found interesting is the differences between subject matter knowledge and disciplined manner. I just realized that subject knowledge we taste are not disciplines. My perception is transformed again. What I learned the words “subject” and “discipline” translated into Chinese are almost the same meanings. Later, I used Gardner’s approaches to examine whether I have a disciplined mind, and I found out that I am “in between”. What I have learned from undergrad program is far away from Art Ed, and I am proceeding along the path to be an art teacher now. I believe I have a disciplined mind between each period time, however, I am living between the disciplines now. Gardner claims that the disciplined mind is the capacity to which we dedicate our scholarly efforts into mastering a certain skill set. It requires continuous practice and the desire to improve and grow over time in the chosen field. So what about students in art classroom? How do we promote the disciplined mind for them? 1. The teacher reaches more students - Some students learn better through stories, other through debate, works of art, or identification with a skilled practitioner.
2. Any individual with a deep understanding of a topic or method can think about it in a variety of ways. How do art teachers facilitate students’ understandings?
3. Give students ample opportunities to perform their understandings under a variety of conditions.
I think becoming disciplined is paralleled to becoming a/r/tographer. Am I right? Gardner states that “while the process [of being disciplined] is arduous, a disciplined mind can be fashioned.” Looks like the disciplined mind is a human – Gardner uses the third person do identity “discipline” as SHE – appears to the process of a/r/tography in motion. Honestly, I’d like to use a documentary as the example which is related to my thinking about the disciplined mind. This documentary named THE NEXT LIFE is my favorite video that I watched in the documentary class. The director Fan Jian certainly has a disciplined mind, because he puts every effort in the discipline of documentary. He spent three years following a couple who lost their child in 2008 Sichuan Earthquake filming the process of their IVF treatment to get pregnant again. Fan Jian used a new perspective to capture the condition after the earthquake. The government cares about the economics and construction, most people care about the life in the future, while there is a small part of people desiring to have new babies. The way director Fan Jian did is paralleled to a/r/tography I think. “A discipline contributes a distinctive way of thinking about the world”. I think director Dan Jian has a distinctive way of thinking and unique perspective about the life. BELOW IS THE TRAILER OF THE NEXT LIFE. Here is the description of this documentary.
In the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, 5,335 students were killed. As China has one-child policy, the earthquake took away the only child of many families. This film is about a mother -Ye Hongmei and her friends' different fate of having a new baby Ye Hongmei, 40-year-old, started her second IVF treatment to get pregnant. Her 8-year-old daughter was killed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Refusing to come to terms with the reality, Ye believes that giving birth to another girl would mean the return of her gone daughter. So pregnancy becomes an ordeal for her. Then she has to bear extraordinary pains: she travels 50 miles every day just to receive injections and blood tests. Can she make it? It is vital for teachers to know how poverty affects students’ behavior and academic performance. This chapter the author claims, teachers should have a better understanding of some challenges points what affect unprivileged students and how to help them succeed. In the beginning, the author asserts that “the complex wed of social relationships students experience exerts a much greater influence on their behavior” (p. 14). DNA just accounts for 30-50 percent of behaviors, while environments occupy 50-70 percent. The author proposes four ways which are emotional and social challenges, acute and chronic stressors, cognitive lags, and health and safety issues. Most students in poverty lack a safe environment and they are insecure. It is significant for teachers to build up reliable relationships with students, and the school plays crucial role in students’ social life, so schools have duty to make students feel belonging. Certainly, teachers should show their respect to students first, share the decision making in the class, try to avoid demeaning sarcasm, model the process adult thinking. Secondly, students are encouraged to embed some social skills, such as teaching students to face on another, make eye contact, smile, and shake hands in detail. Trying to remind students to thank classmates after completing collaborative activities. In addition, the author asserts that stress is one of the main reasons why students cannot maintain their control, especially the chronic stress which is more common and exerts a more relentless influence on children’s daily lives. Based on that, teachers should recognize the signs from students in poverty, try to avoid criticizing students, change the classroom/school environment as much as we can, empower students in many ways, such as introducing conflict resolution skills, teaching students how to deal with anger and frustration, and so on.
This is not my first time to read the topic about students in poverty. I think most people have heard Matthew Effect which is the rich get richer while the poor become poorer. Is this true? I am surprised that American education system cares much about the students in poverty, and try to help those students become successful. I think most of my classmates know my previous reflections on Kathy’s class and Amy’s class - most low-income Chinese students are better behaved and hardworking than those students who come from better-off families and usually teachers in China may pay more attention to educate better-off students who are badly-behaved. It is very interesting that most schools (not including colleges and universities) in China set up rewards to students for enrolling in order to recruit excellent students to enhance, the reputation of these schools. Since the rewards are so attractive, most of the poor students in China are more hardworking. They believe that only through knowledge will they have a better, more successful future. However, according to Roland Fryer’s reward system, it was to “increase the time that low-income students spent on math homework, and to improve their scores on standardized math tests”. Unfortunately, this incentive program had no effect. Why do these situations take place differently between China and America? There is a book named a framework of understanding poverty, describing what wealth looks like, what middle class looks like and what poverty looks like. It is similar to the assigned reading. It is very interesting that people from a wealthy family would place emphasis on a meal as to how it was presented, people from a middle class family would place emphasis on how good the meal was, and people from poverty would ask: "did you get enough to eat?". Obviously, this is just a small part what affects students’ behaviors and academic performances, while the assigned reading presents a big picture what influence poor students, and most importantly, how teachers could help them deal with those effects, and gain a better future. Becoming through a/r/tography, autobiography and stories in motion
This article provides examples of three artist/researcher/teachers’ self experiences proceeding along their path to becoming a/r/tographers. “Becoming” this research was conducted by three preservice teachers of music, dance, and visual arts. It seeks to know how a/r/tography can nourish artist-teachers in the state of “becoming”. As the authors state, “a/r/tographical project in order to explore how a/r/tography allows important autobophraphical explorations with pedagogical implications” (p. 356). It is indicated that a/r/tography is well suited to art teachers’ pedagogies because it embraces both the arts and education as effective forms of inquiry. Personally, I found that my topic idea and project are strongly supported by this paper, especially when I read visual art teacher Sara’s story. I feel like I have the same experience with her. She explained that she did not considered herself as a visual artist in the beginning, me either!!! I have strong feeling towards that and feel belonging to her. She asked the question “what exists in the space between inside and outside is an unknown relationship between self and other?” What a fascinating question that I have not thought about. Definitely, it is related to my topic idea that I want to explore myself as a daughter, student, art/Mandarin teacher, Chinese, human, from micro to macro perspective, in the lens of myself, others, art ed program, Mizzou, community, country… As the author states, “in our encounter with a/r/tography and our multiple art forms, we came to know ourselves and others. That is the power of art to teach.” I realized what I am going to do in my topic project is related to what the authors claim – sharing their autobiographical stories in motion – the way I consider myself as an artist, the way how I understand myself, how others consider me, how I am embraced by peers, professors, community as an international student at MIZZOU…… Commitments to a Community of Artistic Inquiry: Becoming Pedagogical through A/r/tography in Teacher Education In this article, the authors collect the data from two pre-service teachers at The University of British Columbia to explore how pre-service teachers become pedagogical through a/r/tography. The authors share their understanding through two case studies of elementary program teacher candidates, Emily and Alexandra. The authors believe that these pre-service teachers become a/r/tographers and expand their careers and career paths through artistic inquiry, and artistry is a strong effect in the identity of individuals, and working beyond the borders of classroom is a place called becoming pedagogical. This article well supports my topic idea! “Stories have the power to direct and change our lives” (p. 157). Exactly! These teachers’ stories are displayed through a variety of media interweaving in motion. Their process is their journey of becoming pedagogical. “Their commitment to the arts and personal artistry, to living a ‘good life’, and to teaching and learning through an a/r/tographic lens, has guided them on a lifelong journey of becoming pedagogical”. (p. 19). I am thinking about my topic idea – I want to explore my identity through a/r/tography, so what am I becoming? Becoming understanding myself? People become to understand me? Just wondering this and I have no idea. Chapter 27: Creativity for Understanding: Art-Based Research in the Classroom by Julia Marshall “Making art can be part of a research protocol in the social sciences, education and psychology” (p. 221). We have explored art-based research methodology in last class, and I do believe that. However, Marshall proposes that art practice as research (APR) could engender students deep understanding and learning. “it nor only amplifies learning and meaning-making aspects of art practice, but also transforms students from learners to researchers, from absorbers of knowledge to active investigation” (p.221). The first part of the art research model consists of investigation and interpretation. The second involves the combination of creation and critique. The third is meracognition “which is both a goal of APR and a driving force within it” (p.223). The author provides the practice that Berkeley high school did in IB classroom. Students were assigned to investigate in a local site, and documented their thought process and then created artworks related to their ideas. After that, they are encouraged to connect with other disciplines, the experience that local people have towards the site. This process includes creativity and research, and the author suggests educators could create the curriculum like this which would develop students’ skills of creativity and research. Just a wondering, what is the relationship/difference between APR and A/r/tography? I think the big difference is that a/r/tography is artist/researcher/teacher-centered methodology while APR is student-centered practice. Facilitating Critical and Aesthetic Inquiry
This chapter explores many ways to facilitate critical and aesthetic inquiry in the art classroom. The first is to engage students with art objects using visual analysis strategies. Sound and movement strategies are effective. Teachers are also recommended to collaborate with other subject areas. Moreover, game strategies are practical as well. The second is to orchestrate conversations about art for students to facilitate meaningful inquiry. Students are encouraged to empathize and understand each other, and teachers should get students engaged in discussion. The third is to “use stories about artists and puzzles to create a context for thinking about aesthetic questions.” (p. 150). Students are encouraged to create elegant problems and to connect to the artist and the work. The fourth is to use interpretive strategies to find meaning. There are multiple ways to find meanings, such as stressing on thematic unity in a work, using opposite thinking as a powerful tool, connecting to intertexts, interdisciplines, conceptual knowledge, and metaphor. These strategies can strengthen students’ experience with art. The five is to use a problem-based approach to promote students’ deep thinking. This approach requires intensive preparation and background knowledge, and students should work together to figure out problems and results. The sixth is to engage student in curating their own exhibitions to develop the critical skills. Based on these practices, I have personally experienced several practices used by professors in art ed program. Like fibers class, the professor usually shows several artists’ stories and points out some questions for us to explore. Additionally, our assignments usually are hung on the wall in the studio, and students are encouraged to curate their artworks. This is a good practice for me to develop critical thinking. Chapter 3 Thomas Munro And Creativity in Aesthetics by Virginia Fitzpatrick This chapter talks about the creativity in the lens of aesthetic and Thomas Munro’s philosophy. In Munro’s view, individual inquiry and exploration of creativity are closed to students, but at that time under people believed that it was a waste of time that students viewed and analyzed artworks from an individual point. We all know today’s art education embraces students’ inquires, and educators have to know “the expanded vision of creativity in art classroom” (p. 25). The author points out that we are living in the global village, and it is crucial for students to view and analyze the work of different artists, ancient or contemporary. Certainly, students could be beneficial from them and have a better understanding about the world, from small to big, from past to present, from present to future. Just a wondering, whether Munro’s view is included in national art education standards? Chapter 21 Out of The Box: Connecting Creativity and Art History This chapter explores the connections between creativity and art history. The author claims that students’ creativity could be cultivated through art history class and provides an example of how creativity can be effectively taught. The author gathers the data by using observation, questionnaires, and interviews with both art history professor Howell and students. Howell believes that “creative classroom environments are important for students’ intrinsic motivated learning.” (p. 169) and creativity can be developed through exploration of art history class. He engaged students by using Facebook, and playing bowl games. Moreover, his grading system is “based on what students do know, not what they don't know.” (p.172). His goal is to foster students become culturally responsible global citizens. The author suggests that “creativity should be understood as a skill that can be developed through innovative teaching”. (p. 179). I think we have explored so many articles talking about creativity, while I am impressed by this article, because I am surprised that art history could be taught like this way? Maybe I have stereotype due to the boring art history class I took in China. In addition, I am wondering, could I define this practice as a reflective teaching? I think reflective teaching could enhance creativity as well. Why I generate this idea is I do gain the benefit from reflective teaching course, and I think my creative thinking is developing. “This Allowed Us to See What Others Were Thinking”: Curriculum for Collective Learning in Art This paper talks about collective learning, how it could develop the creative thinking and how teachers could make this happen. As the author introduces, collective learning is not just for students, or teachers, while it arises from both of teachers and students learning together. Usually, students share their ideas freely and present to a group, those ideas they provided are collective thinking. The role of the teacher is creating the initial conditions, like ice break, meanwhile, observe the classroom and direct the communication. The author suggests that teachers could use a private social media to connect students and also provide some constraints. In addition, the author provides several examples to illustrate how artists use social interactions as a way of their creative practice. Most importantly, the author proposes how the project of MonCoin works well helping teachers design curriculum, and how their collective learning emerge. It is important to know that collective learning does not mean collaboration, however, it is participants’ individual ideas sharing in a group which have potential to develop their creativity. Definitely, collective learning is a significant toll to develop people’s creative skills. Picting, not Writing, is the Literacy of Today’s Youth by Noirrs and Soloway This article is very interesting providing many stats about current hot social media, including Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and Pinterest. The authors claim that images are used more frequently than text. As they describe, “words are an add-on; images are primary”. (p. 3) within these apps, snapchat sounds unfamiliar to me, while I am interested in Instagram because an artist named Amalia Ulman who completed an unprecedented “art” exhibition online. This show was unusual, because it was a series of selfie. This show is named “excellences & perfections”. Many people ask whether this show is the first Instagram masterpiece? I wonder that these selfies are ART? Back to the article, the authors leave questions what is K-12 going to do? What should K-12 do about picting? I wonder conservative people may argue that everything depends on writing, through writing, people could express themselves in reality, on the contrary, picting just lives in virtual world. “writing is how we make a living; pictures are for fun, not for real world.” (p. 5) Could I think about this topic in another frame? If you have used Line (app) or Messenger(app), you may use some images (ideograms) attached in the application to chat. It is very interesting, however, users have to buy some upgrade ideograms. As far as I observe, all my friends who use Line app have purchased the products (ideograms). My point is, users are driven by ideograms while the companies make huge profits. Moreover, do you have experience like this, if your friends have so many wonderful ideograms and keep sending these images to you, will you be willing to purchase products? If you do not buy the upgrade ideograms, what do you do and how do you chat? Just using free ideograms? Also, I am wondering what next step the world is going to be based on this circumstance? Will images replace writing? Facilitating Engagement with the Art Making Process
This chapter talks about materials, ideas, creative thinking, designing problem, and problem solving in specific. Personally, I am familiar with those strategies recommended by Walker which are used normally in my studio art class and graduate level courses. Actually, these strategies work well in a college level art course based on my observation, while I am curious about the effect when implementing these strategies in K-12 art classrooms. Investigating Materials and Ideas It is important to know what “material” is in the field of art education. What I learned from this article is gaining the basic knowledge of “material” as an artistic language which includes everything visual, relational, and expressive. As Walker illustrates, children develop the sense between ideas and materials, so developing the combination of ideas about materials are significant. Walker provides some practices, while there is a word standing out among them which is “encounter”. We just read the article taking about Deleuzian philosophy liberating creative thinking which also includes encounter. I believe creativity is grounded in daily life related to everything that we truly experience. I haven’t taught art normally in a period of time, so those strategies I am not able to point out what I have done, while I definitely experienced these strategies used by the Fibers professor and some art instructors. Structuring for Creative Thinking It is general to ask what creative thinking look like? How could I consider it is creative thinking? In theory, creative people is not related their personalities, however it is “associated with artistic behaviors [which] are characterized by self-knowledge, situated learning, fluid translation between media, empathy, integration and coherence, and use of analogy and metaphor (Walker, P. 120).” The author proposes a structure how to become creative in many ways from small to big. Personally, I feel like these ways are similar to the art of reflective teaching the course I took last semester. I could say I definitely proceeded along my path to be reflective and creative. Certainly, this process works very well and I’d like to follow this path to teach students being creative. Forming Elegant Problems The definition of elegant problems is provided by Walker which is “worth doing and to do so, it must accommodate choice of a personal nature that make the art-making experience a meaningful and satisfying one” I am confused by the word “problem”, is it questions or environment? I love those terms shared by Walker, such as big ideas (I have learned), themes (ready to learn) and metaphors (confused in reflective teaching class which I have shared in blog reflection 1). “Metaphors are constructs with coherent structure that highlight certain aspects and hide others, and are thus useful in making sense of experience (Walker, P. 127)” so, the metaphor I created in the reflective teaching class is not what Walker claims. I doubt myself again. Designing Problems Based on the Real World of Work In this article, the author indicates that visual art has potential to develop future workers’ basic skills. This is fascinating. In regards to the report of effective workers, I recognized something we are pursuing in art learning, teaching, such as technology, basic skills, thinking skills. I do believe students are beneficial from learning art since we do facilitate those skills in art teaching. The other thing I have interests is role-playing in a real classroom which was recommended by Kathy as well. At this point, I’d like to say the problem could be generated by teachers, providing students problems related to the real world, country, state, county, city, community, from big to small. Facilitating Dialogue and Discourse About Student Work I have a question for viewers, what does critique look like? How do you deliver your personal/critical thinking when you were a student taking a studio art? My personal experience is that I hesitate to say something regards of politics, especially in the studio art courses. It looked like my classmates were aggressive when we were talking about political art. Once I figured it out, I had a reminder. I told to myself silently, “Jenny, be careful about what you are going to say, something you are free to say while something you should not say”. I think the fibers professor did great job in clarification of purpose of critique and used many ways to comment on students’ works, like Walker introduces, “I like it the way it is, and this is what I meant (Walker, p. 134)” Sometimes when this professor notices something out of control, she quickly directed the topic and directed new discussion. Among the strategies that Walker provides, I think the most important part is the recognition that critique should not be an evaluation of student’s work. Chapter 16 Fiat Lux: Creativity Through Play by Stacey Salazar The author believe that play is possible to nurture creativity in multiple ways and is also valuable in art education. As she explains, "players experience a diminished consciousness of self and creative individuals enter a state of flu in which they are open and flexible," and players are more willing to "take risks so that the 'game' will continue"(p.124). Personally, I am familiar with this process, when I was taking research class last semester. One of the projects we completed is group research presentation, but this is not just a presentation. Kathy called it “research lab”. Two students were assigned to touch a research topic together, designing a lesson plan as well. Once students presenting the background research information, participants (data source: professors and classmates) worked individually on making artwork following with the big idea. Kathy reminds us not to worry much, just PLAY with the big idea, materials, and ideas. It was a safe space to explore whatever you want. I do believe play is beneficial for me to explore ideas even though it is a risk-taking game. Back to this article, the author poses three types of play in detail. First, object play is that “one engages with objects without a destination in mind” (p. 125). This strategy will enhance students’ problem-solving skills. Second, storytelling/narrative playing is believed to be possible to improve creativity. Narrative is an efficient way of better understanding the world around us and help us transform them into new possibilities. Third, transformative/integrative play is “fantasy-play that transcend the reality of our ordinary lives, allowing new ideas to emerge and the plays to shape and re-shape the ideas” (p. 128). I think these strategies could work out in the art classroom, however, play should not be the destination I guess. If I heard correctly from Kathy talking in the class, she mentioned that some researchers criticize play lacks critical thinking? So it should be something beyond play and move further? Chapter 29 Metaphors, Puns, and Chance Combinations: Creative Thinking Strategies and Art Practice by Jeanne Nemeth In this article, the author asserts that creative thinking has been overlooked because of laying stress on state standards and national standards, however the author thinks that it is significant for teachers to focus on cultivating students’ creative thinking and improve their creative thinking skills. So Nemeth proposes two strategies which have potential to nurture students’ creative thinking and facilitate the development of creative thinking skills. First, synectics is an analogical way of thinking where unfamiliar or disparate elements are connected through creative associations. Anologies, metaphors, puns, riddles are a means of synectic thinking. Second, SCAMPER is an acronum, each letter representing a different method which is useful for brainstorming creative solutions to problems and can work in a group setting. There is a question coming up, what’s the differences between critical thinking and creative thinking? Chapter 30 A Conceptual Model for Neuro-Creativity in Visual Arts by Rick Garner This paper looks like a discipline of science. It is all about brain. It is interesting that the author points out that “understanding brain mechanisms that impact creativity is important for today’s visual art educators committed to promoting creative environment through artistic practice” (p. 244) Obviously, it is a new perspective to see how brain affects creativity. Signs of Change – Art Education in the age of the iKid This is my second time reading this paper and no doubt I have a better understanding about what iKids is and why art education is possible/positive to cultivate students’ conceptual thinking and synectical thinking. The authors provide several crucial statements how art is possible/effective assisting with 21 st-century students, for example, as the authors claim, “the arts foster the ability to think critically through a variety of modes and contexts (p. 5)”, because the current artistic research engages creativity, problem solving, meaningful art-making. They also point out a fascinating view that “schools [are] not a container for discrete subjects, but a framework for understanding across disciplines, providing students with opportunities for individual meaning making as well as engagement in the time and place in which students live (p. 6)”. I think most of researchers notice the importance of multidiscipline and multimode. Things are transformed quickly nowadays, so how to help students realize those signs of change? How to help them adapt to varying world? I have no idea. But I believe art is the key that can open the door for me to explore. Facilitating Investigations into Historical, Cultural and Social Context
When I finished reading this chapter, I realized this book is user-friendly and beneficial for educators to practice those recommended strategies. In the beginning of each article, the author provides the theory according to the topic which is convincing to me, moreover the theory helps us have a better understanding of those strategies. My first impression is that the book, and the methods it provides, are practical as well as reasonable. Back to the main idea of this chapter, it focuses on the contexts of history, culture and society with art, and how art education relates to each of them. And most importantly, how art educators can facilitate art into these contexts. The author presents many practices and strategies that art educators can “manipulate” in the classroom. Certainly, there are some stunning methods that I’d like to try in the future classroom. Constructing Art Historical Context History is associated with art education, and definitely art teachers should provide an historical environment where students can explore art. We all know that histories make men wise, so it is vital for students to know art history. The strategies that the author recommends are very practical. While I am teaching now, when I was teaching Chinese art at SMS, I usually had my students use different approaches to do some “small” research related to the topic. This research could be some background information, or the related history. Students could have opportunities to stop by Confucius Institute to seek more information. I think this is beneficial for both teachers and students. However, at that time, I did not try to provoke deeper questions since we did not have much time and Chinese art was just a small part of the world language course. I think the preparation for this kind of content should include some essential questions that direct students to think about the related topic. I strongly agree with the author’s recommended questions. Studying Object and Material Culture It is significant to know how culture influences people in daily life, and what makes culture visible? – Material. As the author claims, “culture is a socially constructed conception of reality and constantly in the process of remaking through social and political changes.” (Carroll, Tucker, P. 96) I think learning art is a way of learning culture and society as well as politics. In my experience, most objects and materials more or less reveal some values and beliefs, especially now. Actually, before reading this chapter, I was not aware of the importance of learning material culture, even “the comparison of similar objects drawn from material culture.” (Carroll, Tucker, P. 98) Here is the example that I encountered last spring semester when I was assigned to create a metaphor to depict the classroom. Actually, I was not sure what this metaphor should be? No doubt I was inhibited by this word, so I then just created a future classroom that I was imagining. However, my peers did great jobs related to this task, the metaphor could be a turtle, carrying students with every effort. So, the recommended strategies that the author provides are absolutely useful and appropriate. Certainly, I would use these strategies to guide me how to study objects and materials in my upcoming studio art courses. Examining Visual Culture Visual culture includes “popular culture, mass media, advertising, and entertainment as well as fine arts, crafts, design and artifacts.” (Carroll, Tucker, P100) This topic is not far away, because we just explored Duncum’s and Kamhi’s articles. I believe that visual culture is accompanied by history, society, and politics. “[They] cannot be studied in isolation from these factors.” (Carroll, Tucker, P. 100) Well, I agree with the author’s idea that we should not limit ourselves to traditional art but we should expand the horizon beyond that. We should have a broad sense to think about today’s art. At this point, Kamhi’s idea is too limited. Making Interdisciplinary Connections This topic is what I have been considering many times in regards of to how to teach Chinese with art. I do believe that students would get benefits from interdisciplinary efforts, while I do not know how to effectively combine them together in multiple ways. Since I do not have a classroom now, I am not able to explore different approaches. I appreciate that the author shares many different contents and situations that shows how to collaborate with teachers or how to teach all by oneself. These are certainly useful and I am sorry that I cannot make it happen presently. I’d love to hear some art educators’ stories and how the recommended strategies are applied in the real classroom. Chapter 28 by Sydney Walker Consider how creativity and art production are connected and how art educators facilitate THINKING like an artist. This article provides a new theoretical perspective to expend and deepen the current concept in contemporary art education. Walker uses Deleuzian philosophy as a lens and examines whether Deleuze’s ideas could be practiced for cultivating and nurturing creativity. She believes that “Deleuzian philosophy has provided new language and concepts that liberate creative thinking.” (Walker, P. 235) She then explores three Deleuzian concepts: the encounter, line of flight, and sense and nonsense by using her student’s artmaking project to figure out how these concepts are connected to creative artmaking. First, following Walker’s student - Kathy’s process, I think the encounter is not just brain recognition, but it is experience with people that is reality. “Encounter = true experience?” this is what I am considering. I think we should get through rich/true experiences, eventually those experiences would encourage us to make a detailed inquiry about lives. I believe that creativity is grounded in daily life, and it is not related to mere intelligence. This reminds me of A/r/tography as a living inquiry, I think this methodology is also a way for being creative, because we are encountering. Second, “line of flight” is difficult to understand, as the author prescribes, “the line of flight, an exit or escape from an already constructed signification, poses the possibility of experiencing dimensions of difference.” (Walker, P. 231) It is abstract to me. However, based on Kathy’s observations on sneakers and wires in the area of Fifteenth Street, I realized that “the line of flight” gives an opportunity for people to liberate the previous conceptions, simultaneously, embrace the new insight which could be used in the artmaking project. Third, sense and nonsense are vital for being creative. Walker claims sense and nonsense are intertwined, including common sense, good sense and so on. However, this sensation is a starting point for being creative. She believes Deleuzian philosophy has potential to promote students’ creativities. In short, Deleuzian philosophy has injected new blood into the development of creativity in art education. ‘But I’m not artistic’: how teachers shape kids’ creative development & TED Talk: Do schools kill creativity by Ken Robinson The article of how teachers shape kids’ creative development is obviously related to Ken Robinson’s talk. The main theme here is all about creativity, while Ken Robinson criticized that schools kill kids’ creativity, while Lindsay claims that teachers shape kids’ creativity. Although they talk about different lenses, it can be concluded that schools and teachers play vital roles in kids’ creative development. I think this topic has been discussed for decades, and I remember Jean Piaget (a Swiss clinical psychologist) asked some thought-provoking questions, “our real problem is – what is the goal of education? Are we forming children who are only capable of learning what is already known? Or should we develop creative and innovative minds, the capable of discovery from the preschool age on, throughout life?” We seem like we have stereotypes of education, don't we? For example, most people believe that private schools are better than public schools. When I read this article and watched Robinson’s talk, I puzzled for a while. We all know what you talk about, however, what is the resolution? Tell us how to change the situation that we have faced for decades. It seems like we all know how to change while the “revolution” still does not happen. Why? Education is closely related to a country’s politics, economics, and culture. No doubt that standard exams involve huge profits among educational companies, teaching institutes, and tutorial agencies. In 2013, it’s reported that these companies earned $16.5 billion, including Person, ETS, and Reverside Publishing, etc. I understand the reform is by no means in one day. So what about teachers? How be we educate teachers to be creative? I think today’s assigned readings more or less provide some examples of how to be a creative teacher. Back to Lindsay’ article, she shed light on some problems that today’s educators faced, she asserts that “the experiences offered to children in the name of art often consist of adult-directed crafts and activity sheets – instead of creative and open-ended use of quality art materials”. Unluckily, I am in this spot. I am currently teaching Mandarin to some kids age from 4-6 at CSH which is a private pre-school and kindergarten in Columbia. I seek to combine Mandarin with art in order to gain kids’ attention and interests, so I did like what Lindsay describes - using some activity sheets helping them make crafts. I do not know how to evaluate what kids have learned from me, and I wonder how I can make the combination of Mandarin and Art more effective. How can I provide a real art and language environment for these kids? How can I help build up my own confidence teaching art? I am still proceeding along my path to become a reflective and creative teacher. Long way to go. Highlight where you are as an artist teacher of thinking (based on my Chinese art teaching experience) Reflection and Revision: Early Phase Persistence through Failure: Early Phase Tolerance for Ambiguity: Implementation Phase Curiosity: Early Phase Questioning Over Answering: Implementation Phase Valuing Influence and Collaboration: Early Phase Play as Process: Implementation Phase Experimental Execution: Early Phase Idea Generation and Imagination: Implementation Phase |