Instruction and Assessment
Why art?
- The visual arts help children learn to say what cannot be said and the visual arts can be used to interpret emotions and understand others.
- Art provides students many opportunities to problem solve throughout the creative process and through open-ended questions,-there is no correct answer--students gain confidence through sharing their opinions in class discussions.
- Art gives students the chance to experiment with new materials and offers a chance for students to take risks.
- The visual arts teach students 21st century skills such as collaborations and planning through the use of a shared studio space and critiques that allow students to give their classmates feedback on their process and completed artwork.
- Formative assessment is being done throughout the creative process and it informs where the learning needs to go. As students work the teacher is circulating the room checking for understanding and making adjustments to the lesson to enable learning for all students.
- Assessment and standards are linked. For example, a standard for kindergarten is Observe and Learn to Comprehend and one of the Grade Level Expectations for this grade level is that students need to know that “Personal feelings are described in and through works of art.”
- Refection facilitates students thinking about their art and the process they used to create their art.
- Providing students with an opportunity to reflect allows them to think on a deeper level about what they believe went well during the creative process and what they believe they could improve upon the next time.
Management and Assessment
Creating a Community
- Creating a community is done through building relationships with students from the very beginning. It is important to learn about the interests of students within the classroom to gain a deeper understanding of their lives outside of the school. This can be achieved by providing student-centered and choice-based lessons to ensure each student can demonstrate personal interests.
- Students need to be given the opportunity to build relationships with their classmates in order to help create a community where all students are able to respectfully share their thoughts without feeling like they might be wrong or hurting the feelings of others.
- Building a strong community will allow students to feel safe and comfortable in the classroom. This will allow students to work freely without having to worry about judgements on their art and the way they create and truly reach their highest potential.
- Having routines and expectations set up in the classroom makes for much smoother transitions between classes and activities. When students know what is expected from them they are more likely to get tasks done in a timely manner.
- Setting high expectations of students and consistently following through will ensure few behavior issues in class. Discussing the class rules at the very beginning create a classroom that is understanding of the different learning styles of all students.
- In a choice based classroom, giving students the freedom to get supplies for themselves help students to feel responsible and able to navigate the room on their own. Labeling where supplies are in the classroom will make navigation, clean-up, and transitions easy and simple.
- Having a strong set of rules and expectations in the classroom will also limit the amount of disciplinary problems that occur. Students will have a clear understanding of what behavior is expected in the classroom. If older age groups will be using more hazardous materials, they must pass a safety test that demonstrates their knowledge of proper use of materials.