TABLE OF CONTENTS

01. TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

02. EXAMPLE UNIT PLAN

03. STUDENT WORK 

a. K-12

b. ADULT WORKSHOPS

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 

I am actively changing the approach to my style of teaching. I am reading "The Open Art Room" by Melissa Purtee and Ian Sands. They describe the Open Art Room as a student-centered approach to art education through Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB). I will encourage artistic behavior by cultivating and expanding their understanding of artistic practices. The three overarching objectives are students make decisions, students create in their own voice, and students engage in the process.

Since this will be new to me and my approach will be new to my students, I will shift them into having full choice gradually throughout the course. At the beginning of the course, while choice is still a new concept, students will begin by acquiring new skills. We will focus on skill through whole-class bootcamps, whole class or small group mini-lessons, and individual demonstrations. This stage is limited in choice to avoid overwhelming them. Media is paired and it is up to the student to pick which media they would like to explore. Examples of paired media are pencil, charcoal, pen, and ink; colored pencil, marker, or oil pastels; watercolor and acrylic paint; clay, plaster, and other 3D sculpting materials. At this stage, students gain understanding here, not create a work of art. Themes will help guide students into voicing their own opinions and selecting a medium that will best suit what they want to communicate in an original way. Themes can cover topics such as the body, activism, consumer culture, and abstraction. This is when true art is made.

Once students have an understanding of how to make choices on their own, use and care for materials safely, we can move into full choice. The structure of the class will shift from thematic to teaching for artistic behaviors. Some artistic behaviors I will be focusing on are artists make their viewers think, artists document, artists collaborate, artists impact their community, and more. Students can utilize the class website to explore additional resources I have categorized to kick-start their own research. Students must go through a process from inspiration, development, creation, to reflection and presentation in stages to completely cover a behavior. I will actively monitor students at different stages and provide individualized support.

This approach is more inclusive since students can be supported regardless of skill or experience without teacher-imposed limitations. If a student confronts me with a problem or technique that I do not know how to do either, we can explore it together. When assessing student work, I want to see that students have shown artistic process beyond expectations by working through obstacles, generating new original ideas, and showing growth. Grades will reflect students' learning of artistic processes and not their individual skill level. I plan to continue to grow in my TAB practice. The advanced version of this looks like me having a completely student-led class and I simply guide them through revisions and challenging them to broaden their thoughts. Ultimately, gradual choice offers students autonomy, critical thinking skills, and confidence for all learners.

EXAMPLE UNIT PLAN 

Unit: Artists Use Non-Traditional Materials

Lesson One: Inspiration

Objective: Through the viewing and discussion of the ideas and concepts of artists who transform ordinary objects, students will learn that these non-traditional materials can be applied to convey new meanings and perspectives in art.

Lesson Two: Design

Objective: Through the exploration and manipulation of the qualities of varied non-traditional materials, students will learn that these materials and processes can be configured to express multiple possibilities for artistic solutions.

Lesson Three: Creation

Objective: Through the application and use of the processes of constructing with non-traditional materials, students will learn that these materials can be combined to express their own artistic voice in original ways.

Lesson Four: Reflection

Objective: Through the discussion and presentation of the concepts of artistic process and material choice, students will learn that these materials and personal decisions can be used to express their individual artistic voice and communicate meaning to others.

STUDENT WORK 

ADULT WORKSHOPS