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Table of Contents
Introduction
● A historical overview of the Woodburn School District’s (WSD) journey into and through
comprehensive art programing
Philosophy of Art Education
● A brief statement that identifies the philosophical underpinnings and research of art
education
Methodology
● An explanation of the systems and processes that support our philosophy.
Stages of Artistic Development
●
Methods
● The bodies of philosophically grounded and purposely integrated strategies and
techniques that constitutes one translation of an approach into professional practice.
Strategies & Techniques
● The collection of philosophically grounded and functionally related techniques that
serves as an implementation component of an instructional method.
Assessment
●
Organization for Learning
●
Program Organization
●
Common Agreements
References
Glossary
Appendix Index
Introduction
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"When you think about the purposes of education, there are three. We're preparing kids for
jobs. We're preparing them to be citizens. And we're teaching them to be human beings who
can enjoy the deeper forms of beauty. The third is as important as the other two." - State
Superintendent Ron Horne of Arizona
Art is the fifth mode of communication
As the world grows ever more interconnected, the fundamental role of art education becomes more
pronounced. “Art is an essential form of expression and communication, an expansive and diverse
language fundamentally connected to experiencing and engaging in the world around us” (Teachers
College Press, 2010). Art communicates our response to the world and our life experiences within five
functions: personal, social, educational, spiritual, and political. (___,___)
Art develops creativity
“At its core, art is creative expression,and art making is the process of that expression--the inquiry and
engagement, research and experimentation, trial and error, risk-taking, reflection and reevaluation, and
growth and discovery. Art is about interpreting and reinterpreting ideas, exploring and developing
multiple avenues of sensory communication and language forms. As students journey through the
creative process they develop “a sense of craftsmanship, quality task performance, and goal-settingskills that translate to all academic areas and beyond the classroom” (The Education Fund, 2009).
Art improves cognition
Elliot Eisner, (2002), discusses the role of the arts in transforming consciousness in that it allows
us to practice noticing the world, to engage the imagination as a means of exploring new
possibilities, to tolerate ambiguity, to explore uncertainty and to exercise judgement free from
prescriptive rules. Ideas and images are difficult to hold on to unless they are are “inscribed” so
as to give them semi-permanence. Another cognitive function of art is that through the process
of creation we learn to “stabilize” and hold those images and ideas. Finally, the arts allow a
means of exploring our interior landscape.
Exposure to art education promotes self-directed learning as students are taught to envision and persist
through studio work. Quality programs sharpen problem-solving and critical-thinking skills as students
grapple with the notion that there is “more than one solution to a problem, and more than one answer
to a question.” This improved cognition aids in the overall academic achievement and school success.
(Eisner, 2007, New York Times)
Art supports academic achievement
Art connects and enriches various academic disciplines. Research has found that students who study the
arts are consistently higher academic achievers than students who do not study the arts (Vaughn, K., &
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Winner, E. 2000). Data from The College Board show that students who take four years of arts and
music classes while in high school score 91 points better on their SATs than students who took only onehalf year or less (scores of 1070 vs. 979, respectively) Students with four years of art and music classes
averaged 526 on the Writing portion of the test—56 points higher than students with one-half year or
less of arts/music classes (The College Board, 2009).
Art develops identity
Whether in an individual setting or as part of a group, arts education improves a child’s confidence. For
example, studies have shown that when children participate in art activities with peers, the feedback
they give to each other builds self-respect by helping them learn to accept criticism and praise from
others. (Locke, 2013 ArtsEdge.org) Quality creative arts programs strongly affect students’ self-image as
students explore their interior landscape (The Education Fund, 2009). “It’s about discovering and
developing one’s personal voice and making that voice public, through sharing the artwork with a larger
community, be it the person sitting next to you or the world at large.” (Teachers College Press, 2010)
Recognizing the benefits of art education, in November of 2013, WSD asked visual art teachers from
across the district, with representation at all grade bands, to meet together and lay a foundation for
quality arts education that would guide teaching and learning and lead to a unified and quality visual
arts program.
Participants:
Administrators
Teachers
TBD
Michael Dodson
Alice Vincent
Jefferson Cook
Facilitator
Tina Uber
Christina Swartwout
Catherine Johnstone
Lena Baucum
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Philosophy of Art Education
Central to the philosophy of art education is the notion of: What is education? Education is
comprised of four disciplines (science, mathematics, art, and history) which require different
manners of thought. A well learned student is one that has delved deeply into these four
disciplines and learned to think as a scientist, mathematician, artist, and historian and is able to
apply those frames of thinking to resolve problems in new situations (Gardner, 1999).
At the heart of Art Education is the notion of pragmatism, the belief that the function of
thought is not to imitate or replicate what is, instead the function of thought is that of an
instrument that can be used to make predictions, move to action and solve problems (Dewey,
??).
All students are comprised of a unique combination or profile of nine multiple intelligences
(Gardner, 1983). In order that arts educators are able to mold and form the deep frame of
thinking required for the discipline of art, students learn in a student-centered environment
with teachers that use ongoing formative assessment to differentiate teaching according to
student needs (Tomlinson, 2000). At times teachers engage in instruction following a gradual
release of responsibility for the teaching of new skills wherein teaching of new strategies is
done in a temporarily scaffolded format targeting the needs of the learner (Pearson &
Gallagher, 1983). Instruction is geared to target the student’s developmental zone of proximal
development (Dixon-Krauss, 1995; Vygotsky, 1978). At other times, teachers use a
constructivist approach wherein teachers act as facilitators helping students to answer their
own questions and solve problems (Piaget, ??)
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Methodology
In Woodburn School District offers a Comprehensive Arts Education, made up of the study of
aesthetics, criticism, history, and participation in the creative process of art production. We
compliment this methodology with sheltered instruction that includes: comprehensible input,
explicit language instruction, and language practice to ensure that students are both
knowledgeable about the arts and articulate in their ability to communicate their thinking.
Through the combination of a comprehensive
arts education and sheltered instruction
students receive a well rounded arts education and are capable of expressing themselves and
their thinking in any mode of communication (written, spoken, artistic) chosen for their
purpose.
Comprehensive Arts Education
The goal of comprehensive arts education is to develop students’ abilities to understand and
appreciate the arts by:
●
exploring the nature and meaning of the arts (aesthetics),
●
criticism (analyze, interpret, critique, evaluate, communicate, and internalize, criticism),
●
discovering contexts of artworks (history and culture),
●
creating works of art (reflect, refine, investigate, plan, production), and
● presenting (select, analyze, exhibit, curate, prepare, share)
Curriculum is developed around enduring ideas and works of art from all cultures from ancient
to contemporary times and structured to provide creative inquiry from five components
(aesthetics, criticism, history and culture, production, and presentation).
A comprehensive arts education integrates all five components across the curriculum around
important themes and/or big ideas. Comprehensive arts education uses a set of practices that
have come to be called “constructivist” or “inquiry-based” and that adjust to the diverse
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learning styles of students. (Adapted from Annenberg Foundation 2013)
Sheltered Instruction
Sheltered Instruction, (Krashen, 1985), has two charges: to provide access to core content
through ensuring students receive comprehensible input and to scaffold language production
so that all students may participate fully in the classroom context. As in other disciplines,
development of academic language proficiency and support for learners in accessing high
language demands is relevant to art education. The visual and kinesthetic nature of art
provides a natural vehicle to comprehensible input. The vast array of realia, visual examples,
modeling, the hands on approach and the interactive participation in critiques and presentation
are built-in scaffolds that allow students to make connections between the academic
language(vocabulary) and concepts of the content objectives. Literacy in the visual arts
classroom is reflected in the students’ ability to interact with the visual art. Teachers provide
language scaffolding to allow for students to communicate effectively about that interaction in
both oral and written form.
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Stages of Artistic Development
1. SCRIBBLE
The Scribble stage is made up of four sub-stages. (a) Disordered - uncontrolled markings that could be
bold or light depending upon the personality of the child. At this age the child has little or no control
over motor activity. (b)Longitudinal - controlled repetitions of motions. Demonstrates visually an
awareness and enjoyment of kinesthetic movements. Circular - further exploring of controlled motions
demonstrating the ability to do more complex forms. Naming - the child tells stories about the scribble.
There is a change from a kinesthetic thinking in terms of motion to imaginative thinking in terms of
pictures. This is one of the great occasions in the life of a human. It is the development of the ability to
visualize in pictures.
2. PRESCHEMATIC
The preschematic stage is announced by the appearance of circular images with lines which seem to
suggest a human or animal figure. During this stage the schema (the visual idea) is developed. The
drawings show what the child perceives as most important about the subject. There is little
understanding of space - objects are placed in a haphazard way throughout the picture. The use of color
is more emotional than logical.
3. SCHEMATIC
This stage is easily recognized by the demonstrated awareness of the concept of space. Objects in the
drawing have a relationship to what is up and what is down. A definite base and sky line is apparent.
Items in the drawing are all spatially related. Colors are reflected as they appear in nature. Shapes and
objects are easily definable. Exaggeration between figures (humans taller than a house, flowers bigger
than humans, family members large and small) is often used to express strong feelings about a subject.
Another technique sometimes used is called "folding over" this is demonstrated when objects are drawn
perpendicular to the base line. Sometimes the objects appear to be drawn upside down. Another
Phenomenon is called "X-ray". In an x-ray picture the subject is depicted as being seen form the inside as
well as the outside.
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4. DAWNING REALISM
Drawing realism is also known as the gang age. Group friendships of the same sex are most common.
This is a period of self awareness to the point of being extremely self critical. The attempts at realism
need to be looked at from the child's point of view. Realism is not meant to be real in the photographic
sense rather than an experience with a particular object. In this regard this stage is the first time that
the child becomes aware of a lack of ability to show objects the way they appear in the surrounding
environment. The human is shown as girl, boy, woman, man clearly defined with a feeling for details
often resulting in a "stiffness" of representation. Perspective is another characteristic of this stage.
There is an awareness of the space between the base line and sky line. Overlapping of objects, types of
point perspective and use of small to large objects are evident in this stage. Objects no longer stand on a
base line. Three dimensional effects are achieved along with shading and use of subtle color
combinations. Because of an awareness of lack of ability drawings often appear less spontaneous than in
previous stages.
5. THE PSEUDOREALISTIC STAGE
In the previous stages the process in making the visual art was of great importance. In this stage the
product becomes most important to the child. This stage is marked by two psychological differences. In
the first, called Visual, the individual's art work has the appearance of looking at a stage presentation.
The work is inspired by visual stimuli. The second is based on subjective experiences. This type of
Nonvisual individual's art work is based on subjective interpretations emphasizing emotional
relationships to the external world as it relates to them. Visual types feel as spectators looking at their
work form the outside. Nonvisually minded individuals feel involved in their work as it relates to them in
a personal way. The visually minded child has a visual concept of how color changes under different
external conditions. The nonvisually minded child sees color as a tool to be used to reflect emotional
reaction to the subject at hand. (Lowenfeld, 1947)
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Methods
A method of instructional delivery is intentional and multidimensional. Visual arts educators in
Woodburn utilize a variety of instructional methods to move students along multiple developmental
continuums within a comprehensive arts education to encourage artistic thought. Methods are chosen
for a specific instructional objective. Layered within that choice a teacher takes into account the artistic
developmental stage of the student, the cognitive demand of the task, the cognitive development of the
student, the familiarity with materials, and the learning objective. A teacher then makes additional
decisions regarding what level of temporary scaffold to apply to any given student to move students
forward.
Primarily, WSD visual arts instructors use a facilitator method of teaching wherein the teacher
acts as both facilitator and coach, helping a student to make decisions about how to produce a
student’s desired effect and communicate a student’s intended message. Students are artists
who develop their own ideas, and are capable of explaining how their use of media, the
elements and principles of design, etc., work together towards communicating a particular idea
and a desired effect. Additionally, students are capable of grappling with and articulating how
other artists have made choices to convey a particular idea. As students make choices in studio,
teachers are constantly asking the question, “Why?” to raise the metacognition of artistic
consciousness. “Why did you choose that particular color? Why do you think van Gogh chose
to use this medium, or use this color palette?” The facilitator method includes the student and
teacher conferring to decide the direction that a given student will take with a particular idea or
product. At the most independent levels, a student chooses their media, theme, and how to
proceed with the help of the teacher.
Supporting Methods
Assigned Topic Method
Teachers may choose to use the Assigned Topic Method for the developmental
instruction of new mediums, techniques, etc. that might be referred to as “studies” that
support the overall development of a students’ composition. The assigned topic
method of teaching involves the teachers as both motivator and guide as teachers work
to develop a student’s confidence within a given skill or medium.
Authoritarian
An authoritarian method of teaching is normally set aside for specific precursory
routines such as how to use a paint palette or draw a border . This method of teaching
dictates exactly what to do in a step-by-step manner and includes a lot of directions at
every step. This method can also be used with students who have high special needs.
Laissez-Faire
The Laissez-Faire art method allows for student exploration of a particular medium,
subject, or idea without interference or direction from the teacher. Laissez-Faire
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teachers give students the material, and it is up to the child to create a self-expressive
work of art. This method is used to help students to explore various aspects of artistic
expression and is used in moderation.
Media Method
The media method of teaching is created around a certain medium such as photography
or ceramics and provides for an in depth study of the medium. The focus is on
knowledge surrounding that medium which includes various techniques, history and
experimentation.
(Michael, 1983) Implementing Art Experiences Chapter 5
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Assessment
Authentic assessments are performance-based and include real-life decisions and behaviors
of professionals in a discipline. Armstrong (1994) characterized authentic assessments as
legitimate in that they are intellectually challenging but responsive to the student and the school.
Authentic assessment does not focus on factual knowledge but, rather, the ability to use
relevant knowledge, skills and processes for solving open-ended problems during meaningful
tasks. Authentic assessments make up the majority of the types of assessments used in a
visual arts classroom.
● Scoring guides
● Rubrics
● Portfolios
● Visual workbooks
● Critiques
Assessment for learning
The key idea is that students receive on-going feedback from teachers and peers and are
encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning through discussion, self-reflection and
peer assessment. Teachers might record students’ achievement as part of this strategy but
students should know if these results will be used as part of a formal assessment and reporting
practice.
Assessment of learning
Many teachers will know this term as summative assessment in that it is designed to show what
a student knows and can do at a designated point in time–usually at the end of a unit or term or
semester. Assessment of learning in visual arts usually involves amalgamating information
recorded from a number different activities over time into a single statement or mark or award.
Assessment of learning should reveal students’ achievement of all the syllabus outcomes over
time (e.g. the stage of learning). This does not imply that each outcome is assessed individually.
It is important that teaching programs allow for and encourage students to address all the
syllabus outcomes and that assessment strategies allow for each student to demonstrate their
achievement.
All assessments require effective feedback that involves teachers communicating to
students how well their knowledge, understanding and skills are developing in relation to the
course outcomes. Meaningful and constructive feedback enables students to reflect on their
learning, to identify and reinforce their strengths or to improve and correct misunderstandings.
Assessment activities provide students with the opportunity to reflect on their achievement and
progress towards achievement of syllabus outcomes through self and
peer assessment.(New South Wales Dept. of Ed, 2011)
● Conferring
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●
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Organization of Learning
K
1
2
3
4
5
6-8
HS
IB
Aesthetics
-
-
-
2
2
2
2
2
2
Criticism
5
5
10
10
15
15
15
20
33
History &
Culture
25
25
20
20
15
15
15
20
33
Production
65
65
65
60
60
60
60
53
30
HW 5
HW 5
HW
30
5
5
5
Presentation
5
5
5
5
5
5
Structures for Instruction:
Studio Work
Exhibition
Critique
Sketch book
Journals
Portfolio
Reflection
Centers
Program Organization
● systematic and regular arts instruction, arts education expertise, administrative support,
and adequate resources; and
● organized to increase student learning and understanding while recognizing appropriate
developmental levels.
● written with sequentially organized content at all grade levels;
Strategies and Techniques
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Gradual Release
Model
Techniques
●
●
●
Demonstration
Expert examples
Shared
Guided
●
Independent
●
Conferring
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Elements and Principles of Design
Elements of Art:
●
●
Line - A mark with length and direction. Lines may be geometric or organic.
Color- Color needs light to exist. Colors have different wave lengths that reflect
off the surface of an object. Color has emotional properties.
● Texture - Texture is the surface quality of an object: rough, smooth, soft, sharp,
hard, glossy, etc. Texture can be physical (tactile) or visual.
● Shape (2-D) is line with no form or thickness. Shapes are flat and can be grouped
into two categories, geometric and organic.
● Form (3-D) is an object having volume and thickness.
● Value- Value is the amount of dark and light in a piece of art. It is the contrast
between black and white and all the tones of grey in between.
● Space - Foreground, middleground, background create depth. May also be
positive (filled) and negative (empty).
Principles of Design:
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Emphasis - The focal point of an image, created by a contrast of elements.
Balance - The way the elements are arranged to create a sense of stability in a
piece of art: symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial.
Unity
Contrast - Difference created by elements that make tension and interest.
Movement - The suggestion of motion in a work of art, either by represented
gesture in figurative painting or sculpture or by the relationship of structural
elements in a design or composition.
Rhythm/Pattern - Repetition of elements
Variety - Variety is the complement to unity and is needed to create visual interest.
Without unity, an image is chaotic and "unreadable;" without variety it is dull and
uninteresting. Good design is achieved through the balance of unity and variety;
the elements need to be alike enough so we perceive them as belonging together
and different enough to be interesting.
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Common Agreements
References
Americans for the Arts. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2013, from
http://www.artsusa.org/get_involved/advocacy/funding_resources/default_005.asp
Vaughn, K., & Winner, E. (2000). SAT Scores of Students Who Study the Arts: What We Can
and Cannot Conclude about the Association. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 34(3/4), 77-89.
http://www.artsedsearch.org/summaries/sat-scores-of-students-who-study-the-arts-what-wecan-and-cannot-conclude-about-the-association
Walker, S. R. (2001). Teaching Meaning in Art Making. Worchester: Davis Publications.
The College Board, 2009. 2009 College-Bound Seniors: Total Group Profile Report.
http://www.artsusa.org/pdf/get_involved/advocacy/research/2010/sat_artsed2010.pdf
Teachers College Press. (2010). Artful Teaching. New York & Virginia: Teachers College Press
& National Art Education Association.
Glossary
Aesthetics- Aesthetics is the philosophy of art. Philosophical questions about art seem to be
unanswerable. What is art? What is good art? What is beauty? It is important in the
study of art that students engage their brains, think about what they are doing,
learning, and feeling about their art and the art of others. In studying art through
aesthetic questioning, the answer is not important. The act of working through the
puzzle provided by the question is extremely important www.fineartstarts/pdf/DBAE.com
Art Criticism- Art criticism is the examination and discussion of style, formal principles of
design and elements of art (in terms of color, line, perspective, texture, and shading).
Art History- Art History is not just "who made what when," but is the history of objects
and the history of people through art. Works of art provide a unique documentation of
cultural changes throughout history. Studying historical works not only gives us
insights into the past, but can also provide valuable insights and information about
the present.
Art Production- Art Production is the making of art, and the various components of
making art, such as use of tools, manipulation of media, form and expression.
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Discipline based art education-The Discipline Based Art Education approach to
curriculum combines experiences from four disciplines in the study of art :Art Productio, Art
Criticis, Art History and Aesthetics.
Media- materials and techniques used by an artist to produce a work
Appendix Index
Art Quotes
“When I say artist I mean the one who is building things … some with a brush – some with a shovel – some choose a
pen.” ~Jackson Pollock
“The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live.” ~Auguste Rodin
“Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.” ~John W. Gardner
“Art doesn’t have to be pretty. It has to be meaningful.” ~Duane Hanson
“To draw, you must close your eyes and sing” ~Pablo Picasso
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time”. ~Thomas Merton
“Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules.
Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make. Good. Art.” ~Neil Gaiman
“The earth has music for those who listen.” ~William Shakespeare
“Art is not a thing, it is a way.” ~Elbert Hubbard
“Art is when you hear a knocking from your soul — and you answer.” ~Terri Guillemets
“Art reaches its greatest peak when devoid of self-consciousness. Freedom discovers man the moment he loses
concern over what impression he is making or about to make.” ~Bruce Lee
“I am interested in art as a means of living a life; not as a means of making a living.” ~Robert Henri
“We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we
dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams.” ~Albert Einstein
“Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self.” ~Jean-Luc Godard
”When it is working, you completely go into another place, you’re tapping into things that are totally universal,
completely beyond your ego and your own self. That’s what it’s all about.” ~Keith Haring
“The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.” ~Robert Henri
”Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being
in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.” ~Steven Pressfield
“Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.” ~Andre Gide
“Art will remain the most astonishing activity of mankind born out of struggle between wisdom and madness, between
dream and reality in our mind.” ~Magdalena Abakanowicz
“As music is the poetry of sound, so is painting the poetry of sight.” ~James McNeil Whistler
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“A piece of art is never a finished work. It answers a question which has been asked, and asks a new question.”
~Robert Engman
“The reason that art (writing, engaging, and all of it) is valuable is precisely why I can’t tell you how to do it. If there
were a map, there’d be no art, because art is the act of navigating without a map.” ~Seth Godin
“As my artist’s statement explains, my work is utterly incomprehensible and is therefore full of deep significance”
~Calvin and Hobbes
“Great art picks up where nature ends.” ~Marc Chagall
“Personality is everything in art and poetry.” ~Goethe
“No artist is ahead of his time. He is his time, it’s just that others are behind the times.” ~ Martha Graham
“I will be an artist or nothing!” ~Eugene O’Neill
“Art, like morality, consists in drawing the line somewhere.” ~G.K. Chesterton
“The greatest respect an artist can pay to music is to give it life.” ~Pablo Casals
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” ~ Edgar Degas
“Any fool can paint a picture, but it takes a wise person to be able to sell it.” ~Samuel Butler
“Art is literacy of the heart” ~Elliot Eisner
Read more at:http://skinnyartist.com/150-amazing-quotes-to-feed-your-creative-soul/
the Subject of Art is...
● Production
Creative Process
● creative learning & process
● Kinesthetic learning
● constructivist’s approach
● Criticism
● History
● Aesthetics
Discipline based Arts Education - Elliot Eisner (Artistically rooted forms of intelligence)
Balanced approach to education
Students learn ___ best when/by …
● Modeling - exposure to examples of art related to…
● exploring with mediums
● applying mediums to create a desired effect
● The context of art - studying the role of art in history/culture
● critique (criticism) art analysis
● they participate in:
○ Envisioning (plan and organize)
○ Engaging & Persist
● safe and supportive environment that encourages risk-taking with a variety of materials
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that inspires exploration
Teachers support students by providing…
● differentiated teaching according to student needs
● scaffolding
○ encouraging students to apply schema (creation and reflection)
○ through demonstration
○ medium
● a wide variety of instructional practices
● a holistic approach to art education