How do you go about getting your students to look at art on that deeper level?
Looking at art to evaluate with students requires setting up the process of evaluation in specific ways. Students tend to feel that their work and any discussion of their work is a reflection of them personally. When someone says they don't like something they take it as saying they don't like them and tend to dismiss the comments. Students have to learn to respect each other and their work enough to accept critical comments about their art. Its not just about whether you like the work or not but appreciating what the artist has done, how the work was set up, the meaning it conveys to you, the ideas that are expressed or conveyed and how it will stand the test of time. How do you go about getting your students to look at art on that deeper level?
How do you build that sense of trust in your classroom that allows students to feel comfortable enough with each other to openly and honestly comment on each others work?
In my classroom I start with a series of questions where they interview another person in the class that they don't know and then introduce that student to the class based on what they learned. Each day we have a question of the day asking them to share more non threatening information about themselves to help everyone get to know one another. By building an atmosphere of trust they begin to feel that they can talk to each other.
For the first critique I have them choose a partner and discuss their work with each other. Their job is to find out about the artists intent, how well it was accomplished, what they think is working well and suggestions for improvement. For the critique the partner introduces and defends their partners work. They talk about what the work is about, how well it was accomplished, how the composition is working and the meaning they got out of the work. The actual artist doesn't speak so people are more open to talking about the work. Students begin to get a little more detached from their work and see it as an opportunity to improve their art.
What kinds of things do you do with your students to open up that dialogue? Do you have a specific technique or process? Let me hear from you?
-Rosie Riordan
We use Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) to engage students in very in-depth discussions about art. It is a facilitated discussion method in which the facilitator (the instructor) asks three questions: What's going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can we find? Every response from every student is paraphrased in neutral and conditional language with no input, opinions, or information from the facilitator. Students build off of each other's comments, feel free and safe to express differing viewpoints, and present visual evidence to back their statements. This method builds critical thinking, encourages longer looking, bolsters vocabulary, and allows students to be open to multiple possibilities. It gives them a chance to explore and discuss what interests them (not the teacher) in a way that strengthens language and observation skills.
Posted by: Emily | July 29, 2010 at 09:00 AM