Make Artists

Make Artists S1E19: A Vision for Art Education

Today’s art classrooms aren’t much different than they were 20 or even 30 years ago. Furthermore, our art classrooms aren’t set up that much differently than the regular education classrooms. In this episode, we will imagine a world of art education without course names or numbers, classes with invisible borders, that are stocked with 21st century art supplies, and offer unique and different ways of displaying artwork.

Meeting the Standards with Learning Targets
When working in a student-directed art program, there are many different projects happening at any one time. One student may be painting a landscape, while another is drawing a cartoon, and still another is learning how to animate. With all these different projects, some might conclude that it is difficult for the teacher to track what the students are learning. How do we know they are meeting the standards? The answer to this question can be found in the student-directed process of preselecting a Learning Target.

How should a choice-based teacher handle an interview?

How do you show a lesson plan for a tab classroom?

What should you do if you are asked to teach a lesson?

In a teacher directed art program, the roles of the teacher and the roles of the student can be much different than the roles in a student-directed or TAB classroom. Understanding how the differences in these roles  is fundamental to the learning and success pf your choice-based classroom.

How do TAB teachers teach? Teachers create teacher-directed project lessons because they want to teach. In an art classroom, this “teaching” consists of several categories including teaching new media and techniques, teaching art history, and teaching concepts and ideas. But how does this happen in a student-directed class? How can students be presented with new media and techniques, be introduced to artists and artworks, and gain an understanding of artist concepts if these ideas are not built into lessons? The Answer, Modular Teaching.

There was a post on a TAB Facebook group asking what people thought were the biggest TAB misconceptions. The post received over 150 comments. Obviously, this was a hot topic issue for others, but this has been a hot topic issue for me for over six years now. So, today we will take a look at a few of these misconceptions and even add a rebuttal or two.

Does choice-based teaching meet the standards and if so, how? The answer is a resounding yes! The Standards align perfectly with choice-based teaching, and in particular, they align with TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior). The best part, after listening to this podcast you’ll know exactly how to explain it.

I was asked a question. “Do you submit student art into local shows and if so, do you find it more difficult to compete with other DBAE or teacher-directed programs?” There’s a lot to unpack in that question and it all starts with authentic art.

It seems almost every day, art teachers post requests on social media groups asking for good project ideas. It not uncommon to see something similar to this. “Does anyone have a good color wheel project? I’m tired of mine”.

When we ask for a project, there is a lot we’re asking for. The project lesson plan most likely includes the inspiration, much of the design, as well as the wrap-up rubric. Depending on how involved we are in designing the phases, we could be completing up to 75% of the artistic process upfront. That’s work the students could be doing.

There are units that are not about completing projects, but instead about learning how to think and work like artists. These are units where the student is involved in designing all the phases of the artistic process. Units that teach our students to how to become better artists, and in turn, learn how to make better art.

Art teachers aspire for rich artwork from their students but are often frustrated when the results are less than spectacular. Some art teachers face this concern as they transition into a choice-based program. They may notice that their high school students’ work looks like, well, high school student work. How do we motivate students to not settle for good, but to create something great?

Did you ever have a student ask, “What grade do I get for this art?” Or worse, “If I make this art, what grade will I get?” I’m sure we can agree, making art for a grade is a lousy reason to make art, but is the opposite true? Is giving grades for making art a lousy reason to give grades?

When I first started teaching, I worked in a small district which meant interaction with fellow art teachers was limited. Today, however, social media provides immediate access to thousands of art teachers. All one needs to do is post a question.

With all this access, one would think every question has been answered but I find this isn’t the case. There is a core set of questions that are frequently asked. However, the responses aren’t always from a student-directed teacher’s point of view.

Today, I’ll respond to some of those frequently asked questions with a choice-based teacher’s mindset.

Did you know there are only nine things you can make art about? You say, Sands, that’s crazy talk. Certainly, there are more than nine topics. But I say, we have a list and any art you want to make can be made under one of the Nine.

Product or Process? Now there’s a hot button topic. They say in polite company to never speak of politics or religion. Perhaps we should add product vs process to the list as well. Online, this topic always generates conversation and sometimes even brings out a few trolls. So, what makes it so controversial? Let’s find out.

Mr. Payne sat across the desk as I signed off on my evaluation. It wasn't a bad evaluation but I personally wasn't happy with my first year teaching at South B. While some of the lessons and ideas I migrated from Apex HS worked, many did not. As I lamented over this, he gave me some great advice.

"It's going to take three years to get your program up and running," he said.

"Three years? I'm not a new teacher."

"It doesn't matter. Give it three years and you'll have it running smoothly."

I let it sink in. Everything was different. Different buildings, different room, different technology, and of course, different students. I had to modify the program to fit the needs of South B.

Teaching about media is a large chunk of what occurs in the art room. Through the introduction of media, we teach skills, and techniques, and processes, and concepts. Traditionally, art teachers have taught media through projects. However, the choice-based, TAB teacher has a challenge. We don’t offer teacher-directed projects. So how do we introduce our students to new media? 

The only class I failed in college was Intro to Art Education. I wasn’t worried. I knew I would never, ever become an art teacher... 

There are differences between the traditional way of teaching art and the choice-based, Teaching for Artistic Behavior method. Not that one is better or worse than the other, just that there are differences. In this episode of Make Artists, we will look at how the TAB teacher “thinks different”. 

In the premiere episode of Making Artists, Ian Sands discusses why and how he became a choice-based, TAB teacher and stuff and things... but mostly stuff.