Category: Art in the Community

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Technology in the Classroom

I apologize for missing the Thursday morning post. It is funny how the days are different when the daily planning for classes has been set a side and the larger picture of learning comes back into focus for me. I am not sure if anyone else in any other industry (if one can think of education as an industry) has experienced that… anyway.

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As a BEFORE – I share today’s work in my studio with you. I THINK I have a show coming up in July… I’ll keep you posted, and it was good to get back to work.

"Untitled" as of yet. I have been neglecting my work for some time... good to be back at it.
“Untitled” as of yet. I have been neglecting my work for some time… good to be back at it.

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Technology in the classroom was my big presentation at last weeks InterActiv Learning Conference 2013 in Whitewater, WI. My largest concern with the use of today’s technology is the misuse of it. Having had an opportunity to listen to a new Freshman in High School (not mine… well, my kid, but not my district) discuss the use (or in some conversations that stand out – misuse) of important resources such as YouTube and Google it struck me that the conversation of how we use technology in the classroom as a learning TOOL and not as “bells and whistles” to entertain or simply to “connect” with the kids was important.

Technology and Interaction in the Classroom (link to my Google Presentation is HERE) was the presentation I had at the conference and I really wish I had heard Michael Wesch’s 201o Presentation at the University of Denver prior to my presentation. The good news (maybe for me) is that I am working in the direction he speaks about in his lecture (link to his presentation is HERE). To keep this brief (and give you a chance to watch his presentation) I feel the most important part of his lecture was to emphasize that the INFORMATION out there is NOT SCARCE and the student of today has all the access to it, in their pocket! The important thing to keep in mind, and this is a brain shift for all in education (kids, parents, teachers, administrators, school board members… everyone), is that the teachers need to help the kids learn HOW to use the technology to be self directed learners. The kids sure know how to entertain themselves with the internet… but strong learners of Web 2.0 tools they are not.

How can we, as teachers, use the tools that are out there to help the kids LEARN how to LEARN? How do we demonstrate the tricks of the trace, the skills that are essential in the process of learning so that the students we have the privileged to work with, can become more independent learners? One of the tricks of using the technology (information really) that is out there is to make sure we are teaching them how to CONNECT to it and not to simply learn it all for the test. This also ties into the thoughts of Noah Chomsky (HERE for a YouTube video Presented at the Learning Without Frontiers Conference – Jan 25th 2012- London) that the TEST is not a very good demonstration of the knowledge the kids have. Yes, maybe for the day and a few weeks later, but then – POOF – that is gone. How can we, as concerned educators and leaders, help the learners make sure that the information we provide them with connects to the world they are living in? The tools are there, and they will be using them for as long as they live. How can we connect the tools, the information that is available, and the techniques to gather, toss aside, sort, filter, and use that information is through demonstration by example, teaching and reteaching, and reviewing the importance of being aware of how the tools and information is to be used.

– Frank

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InterActiv 2013 – Day 2 – Technology in the Classroom!

Technology and Communication in the 21st Century Classroom: SURVEY – HELP me (and your contemporaries) with your thoughts! Survey is HERE.

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Please FOLLOW my GOALS PAGE by entering your e-mail address (see the right of the screen) to get daily updates, ideas, and inspirations. Share, Retweet, Facebook me… however you can share me…

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Self-Portraits and Reflection on oneself... charcoal on paper.
Self-Portraits and Reflection on oneself… charcoal on paper. What do you think about when you reflect on the lessons you teach? The ideas the kids walk away with? Reflection is essential to the process of learning – them and us.

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Goals:

  • Walk away with a new set of tools, skills, and connections to help your students (and yourself) become stronger and more self-aware / driven learners (and teachers).
  • Share the ideas and skills about technology that you are great at and help others become more knowledgeable in technology.

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My 3 sessions at the InterActiv 2013 Technology Conference are listed below. The links to the Google Presentations are below also. I am ALWAYS looking for your feedback.

What are your thoughts about my sessions? What are things you enjoyed or learned from? What would you have liked to have learned more about? While this survey is “mostly” about my sessions… I am happy to share your responses about anything that you feel needs addressing. Thanks. Survey is HERE.

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Kids will say the Darndest Things…

Knowing that sketchbooks and goals will ALWAYS be part of the courses, what is one suggestion that you have to offer for future classes? What are some suggestions you may have to help the class become even stronger or more fulfilling than it already is? These require explanation please.

  • “Make the goals so that everyone does them and doesn’t slack. It helps my brain learn from the beginning of class and I know it will help others.”
  • “To take the goals and understand them not just write them down.”
  • “The goals were kind of hard to understand when looking back at them. It’s easy to understand when you explain. but the way they are written down is tricky to look back at.”
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June 3, 2013 – Monday of Exam Week!

If we write our dreams and goals down, we dramatically increase our odds of realization. If we share them with others, they become potent and alive.” ―Kristin Armstrong

Write out those dreams… then share your dreams with others.

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10 Lessons the Arts Teach Children

  1. The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships. Unlike much of the curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it is judgment rather than rules that prevail.
  2. The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer.
  3. The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.
  4. The arts teach children that in complex forms of problem solving purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the ability and a willingness to surrender to the unanticipated possibilities of the work as it unfolds.
  5. The arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor numbers exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition.
  6. The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects. The arts traffic in subtleties.
  7. The arts teach students to think through and within a material. All art forms employ some means through which images become real.
  8. The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said. When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find the words that will do the job.
  9. The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source and through such experience to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling.
  10. The arts’ position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.

Eisner, E. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind, In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach and How It Shows. (pp. 70-92). Yale University Press. Available from NAEA Publications. NAEA grants reprint permission for this excerpt from Ten Lessons with proper acknowledgment of its source and NAEA.

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Art Foundations: EXAM Review today. 4″ x 6″ Notecard. Textbook. Lecture. Pair / Share… what else do you need?

What can you remember about this past year? What are the essential aspects that you feel you are missing? Can you name anything that you feel will be needed?

GOALS:

  1. Standard #1: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes.
  2. Standard #2: Using knowledge of principles and functions.
  3. Standard #3: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas.
  4. Standard #4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to art history and cultures.
  5. Standard #5: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of the visual arts.
  6. Standard #6: Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.

What do you remember and have down pat? What elements / principles / theories are you struggling with? What do you need to make SURE you have on the 4″ x 6″ note card (one side)?

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Drawing: Computer time in the lab – let’s get the COLLABORATIVE work done – AFTER WE CLEAN and ORGANIZE our stuff.

GOAL:

  1. Communication and Collaboration – Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and to the learning of others.

What do you think about your images? how has this been different than paper… other drawings… ideas in your understanding of art?

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AP Studio Art: Computer Lab… Collaborative work. Clean Studio. Thanks.

How’s the collaboration going? How’s your work?

GOALS:

  1. Communication and Collaboration – Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and to the learning of others.

What has been the best / worst part of the year? How might you suggest changes take place for the following year? Bring these ideas to the exam day.

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May 25, 2013 – Saturday – NVAS: Standard 6

Visual Art GOALS and OBJECTIVES

National Visual Arts Standards – Standard 6
Making Connections Between the Visual Arts and Other Disciplines

Frank Korb

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Welcome to the last weekend of thinking about the 6 OVERARCHING GOALS that all students ought to work toward and focus on EVERY DAY during the year in all of their art classes. These Goals are unpacked from the National Standards for the Visual Arts so that they make more sense to the students and parents who are working with them through their art making and other art experiences. As I use goals in my classroom it OPENS THE FOLDER to learning.

The National Standards for the Visual Arts are now GOALS that are clear, measurable, observable, and understandable to the students, parents, and community. The use of goals is to keep the mind open to the idea of learning and focused on the act of learning, By combining both declarative (mind) and procedural (application) knowledge the intentional actions are focused on the combination of art theory and art making and art critiquing as well as the reflection on the close relationships.

This final objective, standard, is the one that I find easiest to see how it relates to the outside world but, when in the classroom, I find it hardest to put up as a daily goal for the kids to reflect upon. I am REALLY looking for your input and thoughts on this one so… if you have a career that you can help me relate the ideas to – please chime in.

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Standard #6: Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines

As an art student you will demonstrate the ability to:

  • 6.1 compare aspects of the visual arts with aspects of other disciplines

Where can we, the artists, relate to the outside the artist world? This is a question that kids (and parents alike) ask frequently. “You can draw, GREAT! But where is it going to get you in life?” I would guess, and an educated one at that, that there are no major corporations that do not invest a portion of their yearly budget to creativity. “How can we look at our product from a different point of view?” “What can we do to make the design of the (insert product here) so that it is flashier, sharper, more appealing, better overall to the consumer?” Technology, virtual reality, the machines we rely on day in and day out, the lifestyle we all lead, the fashion we wear, drive, live in and with, require the mind of a creative person. How can we advance with only the academics at the front of education? The answer is, has been (all the way back to the days of Socrates and more recently Leonardo da Vinci – of the 1400’s are more recent), and always will be… we can’t.

  • 6.2 compare characteristics of the visual arts and other disciplines from history or movements

I find the characteristics of art movements easy to speak about, but as someone who is not a history buff or particularly well versed in world history, I struggle to find those connections between what the visual arts have done and what the world was going through. This is, however, a great place to make those connections. We recently wrapped up a Fauvist Project in my Drawing 1 class where we looked at the works of the French Fauvists (1905) and saw how they abandon the Romantic Tradition of the portrait and landscape on favor of the color explosion of the “Wild Beasts.” We also looked at the current culture most of the kids in class (all but one had taken some sore of goofy cell phone photograph of themselves sticking out their tongue or looking cross-eyed at the camera and they created soft pastel portraits based on art history and their own current cultures and social behaviors. This was a great way for them to relate to the arts of the past and to get a bit of knowledge about the history of the time… more about French social time of the era but… next time.

  • 6.3 use the principles and techniques of art with those from other discipline

How can we use the ideas and practices that artists use and mix them with those from other disciplines? Math, Science, History, World Languages, Engineering, Design, Architecture, Dance, Theater… and the list goes on. One of the more important lessons I work to teach is that the visual arts the students learn in our classroom are NOT limited to the walls of that classroom. This seems silly, but when I often see collages and paintings done in classes outside of the arts, some of my very students forget the lessons in color theory, perspective, facial proportions, and even good composition and design and fall back to the days of the elementary artist. If it were intentionally, I could appreciate the effort to forget all the training that was done to make them stronger and more successful artists. That said, not a one of them has the deliberateness behind their marks as Pablo Picasso did as he said “When I was the age of these children, I could draw like Raphael: it took me many years to learn how to draw like these children.” Nope, they just made poor and rushed attempts. For a student to know that they can and should use all of the lessons about the elements and principles of design and art and put them to use in the academics and the rest of their life – truly lifelong learners they will be.

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Lastly, once you open the door to learning  you also need to close it.  During the last couple of minutes of my classes, we take time to reflect, to GENERALIZE the relationship to the goals and the day’s work / lessons onto what the students know or think they know about the world / practice of the arts. This is the CLOSING THE FOLDER that allows the brain to settle down and pack away the learning, the experiences, until the following day.

You can find these ideas (and more of my thoughts and other individuals thoughts) in my Visual Arts Handbook HERE.

Thanks –

Frank

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May 24, 2013 – Friday – Happy Birthday Abby!

“A dream only becomes overrated when not pursued by the dreamer.” ― Courtney Hickman

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Art Foundations: Collage and build the ABSTRACT IMAGE based on your personal life and feelings…

Simplicity in the use of ELEMENTS of ART can make an abstraction – what are you doing? What are your textures?

GOALS:

  1. 1.3 communicate your thoughts on social topics clearly
  2. 4.3 compare relationships in visual art in terms of 4.3.3 your culture as it relates to your own art.

What have you learned about the creation of ABSTRACT ART? What have you learned about the important things in your life THROUGH the creation of your ABSTRACT ART PROCESS?

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DRAWING: 1) Perspective and 2) Critiques… 6th hour is going to have to hustle ONE DAY tocatch up. PHOTOGRAPHS will HAVE TO BE a part of the process. THESE Photos are going to be UPLOADED to the FINAL CRITIQUE for the FINAL EXAM… make sure you are documenting the process.

EVOL, “DRESDEN 09”, 2010 Spray paint on cardboard, 61 x 76 cm —> High Resolution… How can you do this… GOUACHE, GESSO, PENCIL!

GOALS:

  1. 5.1 Identify the rationale behind making art.
  2. 1.4 Create, define, and solve visual challenges using 1.4.1 Analysis (how do you see the perspective in your drawing?)

Where did you struggle in remembering perspective? How can you use the skills of sighting in to refresh your memory and heighten your skills? THIS IS A FAST PROJECT that IS the basis of the FINAL EXAM. If you do not finish the drawing in the time allotted – you will have a hard time passing the final exam. HOW can you make this YOUR own special drawing? Your locker? Your favorite hallway / doorway / classroom?

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AP Studio Art: CONGRATULATIONS! Let’s get out there and be proud of the 9 months of ART MAKING!

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GOALS:

  1. 2.5 defend personal evaluations
  2. 3.3 describe the creation of images and ideas and explain why they are of value Work at the (AP) Art Exhibition.

What did you contribute to the cultural end of the school day? What questions came up? What controversy came up? Who do you impress and why? What were your thoughts as the day / hour went by? Good job folks… One more week of Art Making and then the end…

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May 18, 2013 – Saturday – NVAS: Standard 5

*Note: This is a day early because I am curious as to the comparison of a late Friday post versus a Saturday post. Any feedback? Let  me know!

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Visual Art GOALS and OBJECTIVES

National Visual Arts Standards – Standard 5
Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of the visual arts

Frank Korb

Click HERE for a look at the RUBRIC for EVALUATING WORK I have implemented in MOST of my art courses. This document follows the process of making art through a Formative and Summative, Self – Evaluation and COLLABORATIVE Critique.

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Welcome to another weekend of thinking about the 6 OVERARCHING GOALS that all students ought to work toward and focus on EVERY DAY during the year in all of their art classes. These Goals are unpacked from the National Standards for the Visual Arts so that they make more sense to the students and parents who are working with them through their art making and other art experiences. As I use goals in my classroom it OPENS THE FOLDER to learning.

The National Standards for the Visual Arts are now GOALS that are clear, measurable, observable, and understandable to the students, parents, and community. The use of goals is to keep the mind open to the idea of learning and focused on the act of learning, By combining both declarative (mind) and procedural (application) knowledge the intentional actions are focused on the combination of art theory and art making and art critiquing as well as the reflection on the close relationships.

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Standard #5: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of the visual arts

As an art student you will demonstrate the ability to:

  • 5.1 identify the rationale behind making art

All too often the ideas behind the art is forgotten or never fully realized and the art is made because it was an assignment. Through this focus, the artists are asked to think about why they are making the art they are. Does it matter? The use of a reason in the process has helped the artists I have worked with stay focused on the work as well as taking pride in the work they are completing. It is more than just making art for art’s sake… it is for their sake and the sake of an artist’s job of communication.

  • 5.2 stand behind your criticism of art

Critiquing is SO important in the process of the art making procedure. This objective forces the artist to think about the choices they have made as well as the responses they verbalize (both in speech and in writing) and to be able to back it up with fact and experience. The novice, the uneducated, can easily throw off a “this work is terrible” or the opposite “this work is great!” The educated, the thoughtful artist / critic will have the words, facts, and personal experience to back up their thoughts. If they are critiquing others’ work, the facts and experiences are helpful… so long as the other artist is open for critique.

  • 5.3 describe meanings of artworks by analyzing
    •      5.3.1 techniques
    •      5.3.2 how they relate to history and culture

How is one using materials and techniques to make art? The Impressionists had a certain brush stroke that the German Expressionists didn’t have. A minimalist would approach a work with a very different intent and hand than a Romanticist or der Blaue Reiter. What is happening in the young artists society and culture that they can relate to the work they are creating? What are they able to pull from the annals of history that impacts their artwork? To look at and JUSTIFY the work, once again, gives the work a strngth and rationale that simply “completing an assignment” does not do.

  • 5.4 reflect on interpretations as a means for understanding and evaluating art

When a group sits down and has a conversation about the work in front of them, there are bound to be a variety of thoughts that are far different from the original intent of the artist. Is this a bad thing? When a young group of artists is able to listen to the variety of interpretations their classmates have about their work, the knowledge that their message may or may not have been communicated well can help them in the next work… or come to a realization that they need to go back and rework something in the current work in front of them.

  • 5.5 evaluate responses to works of art for communicating
    •      5.5.1 rationale
    •      5.5.2 ideas
    •      5.5.3 opinions

What was the artist trying to say? What was the impetus behind the work? Where are they deriving their ideas and thoughts from? Society, spirituality, politics… what do they hope to impress upon the viewer? As a professional, an artist should be thoughtful regarding the ideas they are trying to put out in the world. All that said, what do they think about how others are thinking about the works they are creating? One needs to put all of this is mind as they design, draw up, plan, create, and move forward with their works.

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Lastly, once you open the door to learning  you also need to close it.  During the last couple of minutes of my classes, we take time to reflect, to GENERALIZE the relationship to the goals and the day’s work / lessons onto what the students know or think they know about the world / practice of the arts.. This is the CLOSING THE FOLDER that allows the brain to settle down and pack away the learning, the experiences, until the following day.

You can find these (and more) in my Visual Arts Handbook HERE.

Thanks –

Frank

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May 11, 2013 – Saturday – NVAS: Standard 4

Visual Art GOALS and OBJECTIVES

National Visual Arts Standards – Standard 4
Understanding the visual arts in relation to art history and cultures

Frank Korb

Welcome to another weekend of thinking about the 6 OVERARCHING GOALS that my  students work toward and focus on EVERY DAY during the year in all of my art classes. These standards (Goals) are modified from the National Standards for the Visual Arts so that they make more sense to the students and parents who are working with them through their art making and other art experiences. As I use GOALS in my classroom it OPENS THE FOLDER to learning.

This is the fourth in the series and the topic is how the visual arts relate to the history it took place in and the culture that surrounded it. Again, using the national standards in visual arts as the beginning, I “unpack” them so the standards know about (declarative knowledge) them and are able to demonstrate (procedural knowledge) their understanding of them. It is important to note that, when the goals are given to the students, they are restructured (a smidgen) so that they are meaningful and pertinent to the day’s activity AND make sense to the kids. This has been, and continues to be, something that is developed and worked on so that they are stronger and more meaningful to the kids.

The National Standards for the Visual Arts are now GOALS that are clear, measurable, observable, and understandable to the students, parents, and community. The use of goals is to keep the mind open to the idea of learning and focused on the act of learning, By combining both declarative (mind) and procedural (application) knowledge the intentionality is focused on the combination of art theory and art making as well as the investigating the close relationship between the two.

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Standard #4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to art history and cultures

As an art student you will demonstrate the ability to:

  • 4.1 recognize differences in historical and cultural contexts of art

Art does not happen in a bubble. Art does not come from a vacuum. The arts are born out of the historical events and societal contexts that are around them at the time. Impressionism was a reaction to Romanticism. Dada, to be overly simplified,  art that was so because the artist deemed it to be and to test the tastes of what was and was not acceptable in the world of art. None of the movements in art history were all by themselves. All things happen because of where the artists are in the world and how they are able to respond and work with what they had. Rauschenberg studied at the Black Mountain College and would never have been able to make what he did (as he essentially discovered concrete in some of his earlier works created under the stairs between his classes) had he not been where he was in the world.

  • 4.2 describe the purpose and meaning of art objects within different cultures, times, and places

It is certainly one thing to make art in a classroom because the great and mighty art teacher told you to. Why, then, did so many artists make things that nobody told them to make? What was it that drove them to create and invent the things that they did? What was the reason, the rationale that drove Picasso, Braque, and Gris to invent Cubism? What was it that the ancient Greeks were hoping to accomplish as they defined and formed the perfect specimen of human kind in their sculptures? What did the Native Americans, the artists of Asia, Russia, New Zealand  the ancients in the Caves at Lascaux  France… what were they all hoping to accomplish in the works they made?>

  • 4.3 compare relationships in visual art in terms of
    • 4.3.1 history
    • 4.3.2 aesthetics
    • 4.3.3 and culture as it relates to your own art

There is SO much more to the art than how it matches the couch and curtains in the room it is displayed. That is, for the artist, the least of their concerns. What is the relationship of the art to the history it was born from? How was “beauty” defined in 500 B.C., 400 A.D., 1500 A.D. and today? What is happening in today’s world that affects the works of art that we are able to make and stand behind? Would we have camouflage if the Cubists hadn’t broken up the picture place and displaced the flat edge of a table? Would we have the abstract architecture of Frank Ghery if the recognizable surfaces of the canvas was not broken up and changed by Wassily Kandinsky? What about the art of today? Could we look at and appreciate the work of Bill Viola if the invention of the television and the idea of performance art had not been married? What about the kids? What does the art they make have to do with them at all? How can they begin tomake art that matters to them and not art that matters to someone that is NOT them?

  • 4.4 evaluate and interpret art for relationships in
    • 4.4.1 form
    • 4.4.2 context
    • 4.4.3 meanings showing understanding of the work of various art professionals*

The fundamentals of art – Principles and Elements – Form, Balance, Repetition, Line, Color, Shape and From… all of this matters, and matters a great deal. Why is it that I have 64 crayons in my box, but I should only use the colors that have red in them? If I am creating a work of art based on the news of poverty in inner city America… why should I not use magazine pages of starving children on Africa? How are the Clement Greenberg’s, the Frida Kahlo’s, the Kasmir Malevich’s of the 21st century talking about and making works that I can relate to and find deeper meaning in?

  • 4.5 look at the qualities of art from various times and cultures to (Critique – Prezi Presentation)
    • 4.5.1 describe
    • 4.5.2 analyze
    • 4.5.3 interpret
    • 4.5.4 and judge works of art

These four aspects behind taking a word of art apart and critiquing it are essential in the development of a young (and old) artist as they are learning the ropes and deciding for themselves what they like, understand, care about, do about in the world of the arts. If we do not SLOW ourselves down enough to smell the flowers, all the tulips in all of Holland do not matter. To really get at the ideas of what art is, why art is, and if it even matters, the audience needs to approach the work of art with an open mind and a lot of questions.

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Lastly, once you open the door to learning  you also need to close it.  During the last couple of minutes of my classes, we take time to reflect, to GENERALIZE the relationship to the goals and the day’s work / lessons onto what the students know or think they know about the world / practice of the arts.. This is the CLOSING THE FOLDER that allows the brain to settle down and pack away the learning, the experiences, until the following day.

You can find these (and more) in my Visual Arts Handbook HERE.

Thanks –

Frank

Posted on

May 4, 2013 – Saturday – NVAS: Standard 3

Visual Art GOALS and OBJECTIVES

National Visual Arts Standards – Standard 3
Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas

Frank Korb

As I have said in previous posts, there are 6 OVERARCHING GOALS that my  students work toward and focus on EVERY DAY during the year in all of my art classes. These standards are modified, but not “dumbed down,” from the National Standards for the Visual Arts so that they make more sense to the students and parents who are working with them through their art making and other art experiences. As I use GOALS in my classroom it OPENS THE FOLDER to learning.

This is the third in the series and the topic is choosing subject matter, symbols and ideas to create artwork about. We “unpack” so the standards are known about (declarative knowledge). It is important to note that, when the goals are given to the students, they are restructured (a smidgen) so that they are meaningful and pertinent to the day’s activity. Notice, they are not agenda items but rather bigger thinking topics.

The National Standards for the Visual Arts are now GOALS that are clear, measurable, observable, and understandable to the students, parents, and community. The use of goals is to keep the mind open to the idea of learning and focused on the act of learning, By combining both declarative (mind) and procedural (application) knowledge the intentionality is focused on the combination of art theory and art making as well as the investigating the close relationship between the two.

~~~

Standard #3: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas

As an art student you will demonstrate the ability to:

  • 3.1 reflect on how art differs and describe how it relates to history and cultures

Throughout the course, I work to relate the ideas that the kids are being exposed to and how they can tie it into their own culture. In addition to the work they are creating, it is important that they are able to see how art was created in different cultures and times and how that art related to the times it was from. What was happening in 1905 France that caused Henri Matisse and Andre Derain to throw away the natural colors of the subject and use arbitrary colors and thus become “Wild Beasts  or “the Fauves?” How can this all relate to what the kids might be experiencing today and how can they use their own times to reflect that feeling?

  • 3.2 apply subjects, symbols, and ideas in art and use skill to solve visual challenges

How can we use these ideas to help develop the necessary skills to become stronger artists, more dedicated artists, better thinkers? When we look at art in the classroom, specific elements and principles are looked at and focused on to help them push and challenge the basic ideas the kids oftgen have in their head. It is always nice to challenge them with “how can I figure this “proportion” issue out?” “How can I use this idea / trick / technique in another field / class?”

  • 3.3 describe the creation of images and ideas and explain why they are of value

Process versus product. Who is the one concerned with the process and who is the one concerned with the product. We are the artists and we are the ones who’s job it should be to be concerned with the process… not the product. In the past many kids would ask me “Can I be done?” they were more concerned with the product. Nowadays, the act of making art is the focus and the kids are looking more to HOW we get things done, how the colors work together, how the paper is handled, how the problems are resolved. That is the learning… the artwork is the byproduct of them learning how to make art (and lots of it).

  • 3.4 evaluate and defend the validity of sources for ideas

It is always easy to copy something from the National Geographic, but how does one come up with their own idea for an artwork? What makes it a strong idea or a weak one? Where artists come up with the ideas is a long time concern for us all. Only we, the artist, really care about how we came up with the idea and how we got the work done. More often than not the audience is more concerned with the “final product.” So, what is it that makes for quality subject matter? What was the artist trying to say? Was it successful? Does it really matter? (Thanks Ted Orland and David Bayles of Art and Fear for that one… buy your copy today!)

  • 3.5 evaluate and defend how
    •      3.5.1 subject matter
    •      3.5.2 symbols are used in art

Oh the critique. The world of art is SO MUCH MORE than just the art hanging on the wall. Writing about, thinking about, conversing about, talking, having coffee over, mumbling, grumbling, complaining, and being frustrated about the art. Standing in front of their peers and discussing the good, the bad, and the ugly and how / why / why not things happened. Writing about the process the challenged the struggles… it all goes into the process. From the critiques and reflection is where the real learning happens. Check out my classroom RUBRIC to see what I am talking about and using for collaborative feedback and grading… I love this.

~~~

Keep in mind that once you open the door, you also need to close it.  During the last couple of minutes of my classes, we take time to reflect, to GENERALIZE the relationship to the goals and the day’s work. This is the CLOSING THE FOLDER that allows the neurons to settle down and pack away the learning, the experiences, until the following day.

You can find these (and more) in my Visual Arts Handbook HERE.

Thanks –

Frank

Posted on

April 27, 2013 – Saturday – NVAS: Standard 2

Visual Art GOALS and OBJECTIVES

National Visual Arts Standards – Standard 2
Using knowledge of PRINCIPLES and FUNCTIONS

Frank Korb

As I have said in previous posts, there are 6 OVERARCHING GOALS that my  students work toward and focus on EVERY DAY during the year in all of my art classes. These standards are modified, but not “dumbed down,” from the National Standards for the Visual Arts so that they make more sense to the students and parents who are working with them through their art making and other art experiences.

AS I use GOALS in my classroom (in any classroom for that matter) the essential part of the process of the goal is that it fires up and activates the neurons in the brain and gets the artist (student, teacher, whomever) focused on the work that will be undertaken. This OPENS THE FOLDER to learning.

This is the second in the series that we will look at and “unpack” so the standards (or GOALS at this point) are known about (declarative knowledge). It is important to note that, when the goals are given to the students, they are restructured (a smidgen) so that they are meaningful and pertinent to the day’s activity. Notice, they are not agenda items but rather bigger thinking topics.

The National Standards for the Visual Arts are now GOALS that are clear, measurable, observable, and understandable to the students, parents, and community. The use of goals is to keep the mind open to the idea of learning and focused on the act of learning, By combining both declarative (mind) and procedural (application) knowledge the intentionality is focused on the combination of art theory and art making as well as the investigating the close relationship between the two.

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Standard #2: Using knowledge of PRINCIPLES and FUNCTIONS

As an art student you will demonstrate the ability to:

  • 2.1 form criticism about artworks that work to accomplish
    •      2.1.1    commercial
    •      2.1.2    personal
    •      2.1.3    communal
    •      2.1.4    or other meanings

Critiquing is an essential part of the reflection process as we make our art and work towards the development of the skills we need to make successful art. The use of the critique allows artists to be self-reflective while also being able to be critical (constructively hopefully) to their fellow artists (in the classroom, around the coffee shop table, via the internet and collaborative discussions.

  • 2.2 evaluate the effectiveness of artworks

What is working and what is not. The thought about the use of materials, communication of messages, asking deeper questions about the successful and unsuccessful aspects – with deliberate and specific parts of the work in mind.

  • 2.3 create artworks that solve visual challenges

By the simple act of making marks, the challenges and struggles that MAKING art can allow for solutions to be dealt with.

  • 2.4 compare different points of view regarding composition and meaning in artwork

This is great to hear when one has a group of kids / artists. Getting more feedback (formative and summative) from more than one person is great. It is also a great thing for the kids to hear from their classmates and NOT JUST FROM THE TEACHER!

  • 2.5 defend personal evaluations

Being able to justify and stand behind the works through the use of ART VOCABULARY is a great way to help the artist learn to SPEAK ABOUT THEIR ART. I have heard MANY BAD discussions and I hope that my students walk out with the skills and confidence to be public speakers who can voice their opinions and back them up with evidence.

  • 2.6 create multiple solutions to visual challenges that show understanding in relationships between composition and meaning of artwork

Here is the place that making a lot of work is key. 10 sketches, 3 drawing, 7 sculptures, 100 bowls… all in the name of becoming stronger int he solution of the challenges that are at hand. Relationships, forms, balance… you name it and all of these will be realized (and more) as more and more art is made.

~~~

Keep in mind that once you open the door, you also need to close it.  During the last couple of minutes of my classes, we take time to reflect, to GENERALIZE the relationship to the goals and the day’s work. This is the CLOSING THE FOLDER that allows the neurons to settle down and pack away the learning, the experiences, until the following day.

You can find these (and more) in my Visual Arts Handbook HERE.

Thanks –

Frank

Posted on

April 13, 2013 – Saturday

Visual Art GOALS and OBJECTIVES

Frank Korb

There are 6 OVERARCHING GOALS that all of my art students work toward and focus on during the year in all of my art classes. The goals are referred to on a daily basis and are been modified, but not “dumbed down,” from the National Standards for the Visual Arts so that they make more sense to the students who are working with them through their art making and other art experiences.

The use of GOALS in my classroom (in any classroom for that matter) is an essential part of the process of running a high energy and well planned / focused classroom. The introduction of the GOALS, and the interaction of the student with that goal, literally fires up and activates the neurons in the brain and gets the young artist (student, teacher, whomever) focused on the work that will be undertaken. This OPENS THE FOLDER to learning.

Over the next six weeks, we will be looking at and unpacking the goals so that they are more easily understood. It is important to note that, when the goals are given to the students, they are restructured (a smidgen) so that they are meaningful and pertinent to the day’s activity. Notice, they are not agenda items but rather bigger thinking topics.

1.      Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes.

2.      Using knowledge of principles and functions.

3.      Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas.

4.      Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures.

5.      Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of the visual arts.

6.      Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.

One last note about the day to day activities in the class and GOALS specifically is that when we wrap up the class – the last couple of minutes, we take time to reflect, to GENERALIZE the relationship to the goals and the day’s work. This is the CLOSING THE FOLDER that allows the neurons to settle down and pack away the learning, the experiences, until the following day.

You can find these (and more) in my Visual Arts Handbook HERE.

Thanks –

Frank