Having a solid WHY in the Art Classroom

 

 

Having a solid WHY in the Art Classroom

In the beginning journey of a brand-new educator some unexpected challenges might appear.  In any classroom, specifically if students do not choose your Art class as an elective, you may encounter students who question every move you make (especially if it’s a secondary group).  Raising questions such as What is the point of this?  How is this skill useful? Why are we doing this?  Or receive art submissions with the bare minimum effort or interest.  Another possible group of students you can encounter are those who want to jump into a more advanced art making and do not see the point across learning the basics or the timeline you put together in your syllabus.  Maybe these interactions between you and your students are not the case at all but you’re in the lookout for strategies and presenting a solid WHY in classroom full of creative thinkers!

Having a solid WHY throughout the lessons and art experiences can help students understand beyond the objectives and understand why you, as an educator, do things accordingly to a purposeful plan.  As a teacher, you want to examine how your lesson is composed and overview first the following:

·       Lesson Topic, Theme, or Main Idea

·       Objectives

·       The Operative and procedural use of Materials

·       The Creative and Creation Outcome

After having that information in your plans, developing the WHY will come shinning through.  Before you reflect on the presented upcoming points to consider, remind yourself that reflecting on these would help you build a bridge between your content and the students in your classroom.  Now, think about what your main goal is by delivering that lesson you prepared with so much care.  Hold that thought, go beyond that thought, and reflect:

·       Background:  Art equals Identity.  Consider your student’s cultural background, age, interests, and pop culture trends.  Think about their body language in class, take notes on their classroom behavior.  If not done, use surveys or have students create personal artistic profiles and identity exploration projects.  Brainstorm how you can bridge the connection of their background to the artistic experience you are planning.

 

·       Motivation:  Art is about being Artist!  Inspire your students by connecting what they are doing in class to what a real-life artist does day by day in their career.  Highlight it by presenting artists that are connected to your lesson or the media you are using, present them on videos or invite them to class.  Engage critical thinking by preparing questions that connect their actions to the real artist experience.

·       Progress:  Being an artist is all about progress, have that talk in your classroom!  Guaranteeing students that effort in trying and practice is part of acquiring and improving artistic skills.  Include in your lesson how the skill they are practicing will help them improve and the students will envision it.  Make students also consider that the preparation they are acquiring from one project will help them in the next.  Provide examples, testimonies, and involve other careers that demonstrate that practice makes perfect.

 

·       Care:  Caring for creativity is the ultimate role of an art teacher.  You believe in your philosophy and purpose, share that with the students in your classroom.  Have the authenticity to connect to each one of your students, care for their struggles and applaud them for being adaptable.  Promote positivity and appreciation that will encourage the student to get out of the comfort zone.  Do not forget we are all different, do what fits best to each personality when it comes to recognition.

 

·       Flexibility: Your classroom is an inviting artistic arena, do not forget that!  Once you go over objectives and project expectations, assure students that if their work goes into another direction or falls into a mistake, it is okay! It happens every time an artist makes art.  Let them understand that you are open and welcome that idea, and that sometimes what came across a mistake was the best possible thing that could happen.

 

·       Future: Once you appreciate and create art, you are an artist forever.  Be an advocate and make your students advocates for the arts!  Promote the true idea that artistic problem solving, and creative thinking are unforgettable skills that can be used in their future endeavors.  Have students explore the probabilities that what they are learning in your class today will help them tomorrow.

All the reflective points might not apply to your lesson plans or all the projects you put together and that is completely fine, if anything, with the teacher experiences you have been through, you know that taking what is best to meet your students’ needs makes you a successful educator.

Now that you have the clear motivation and purpose, that real artist experience, how the students will use the skills they learn for the future, and the creative flexibility; it’s your time to shine.  Talk with purpose on your lesson presentation, expose that connection of the WHY’s to the lesson, objectives, procedural use of materials, and the creation outcome.  Set the WHY’s as reminders during the lesson presentation, while art making have conscious and unconscious conversations that connect the student to their skills and project outcomes, and lastly bring on the WHY one more time to the closing and reflection review of that lesson and art project you put together. 

What strategies have made a difference in your teaching experience?

Ilian Hernandez