Month: October 2020

In Soals’ blogpost this week titled Interaction with Art, she described a video that focused on teaching others how to paint with acrylics and explained how she would go about showing that video in a classroom setting. I thought that having students follow along was definitely the way to go, as I myself would struggle if I watched the video and then was told to try and replicate it and I’m much older than the target age group; using well-timed pauses as students paint as they go seems like a much better approach. Since this assignment is not necessarily about getting it “right” and more about participating and trying the new concept it makes sense that the grading would be focused on completion and gaps in skill level would have no relevance. It is also nice that this assignment would result in minimal workload for the teacher, as most of the actual “work” would be done by the students as they try painting along. Overall, this video seems like a great tool to help students interact with art in a way that they might not have ever done before, and the assignment that Soals came up with seems like a good way to supplement that. 

In Zihan’s post titled Interaction Prompt, the video that she selected focused on art composition and the basics of drawing. This is another important concept for students to learn so that they can understand more about how art itself is constructed. Zihan also stresses the importance of taking notes, which can greatly aid the learning process as students remember things better after having written it down by hand. This is a necessary insight as so much of learning now is online – having a reminder for students that writing things down by hand may be more beneficial is a great way to keep them engaged in the content and have them demonstrate their learning.  

The video I found is a TedTalk from students of the Al Yasmina Academy that talks about how every person is an artist just by the merit of being themselves and discusses the importance of self-expression. Although there is not necessarily an inherent need to respond – this video absolutely could be a starting point in creating a discussion and activity for students. Because this video is done by other young people and is also only about ten minutes it makes it more ideal to show to the age group that we had decided on of children grades 6-8 and in general makes it more accessible. Young people seeing someone only a few years older than them talking about this topic creates a feeling of “Wait, I can do that too.” that makes the video much more approachable. Some students may make notes, but I think this video is best suited to a discussion and subsequent activity.

The activity should focus on disconnecting the concept for students that art is something that only people in museums are good at, and then reaffirming that anyone can be an artist as long as they are creating. The students will all take a piece of 8×11 white paper, then close their eyes and try and draw a given topic. After all the students have their creations, the class will have a discussion of what they were trying to do. Likely, students will say they were trying to make the subject as realistic as possible, or as close to the topic as possible. We will then do the activity again, this time with no given topic and the students being free to draw whatever does or does not come to mind. After this activity, we will discuss what felt different about having a subject to draw and perimeters to follow versus just being free to follow whatever your mind wanted. Through this activity, we are reinforcing the concepts of the video that art is not meant to be in rigid forms, and that there is no pressure for perfection or accuracy in self-expression. This activity also requires very little work on the side of the educator, with all they need to do being providing paper and crayons for students to draw on, managing timing and when to close the eyes, and helping facilitate the discussion afterwards. Overall, this activity can be a fun, on-hand, and attainable way to help students reconstruct their misconceptions about creating art and being artists. 

In Yirun’s blogpost entitled (Prompt) Inclusive Design they brought up many good points about ways to make learning more interactive and thus make it more inclusive. Approaching the subject with five clear ways made the blog itself easy to follow and understandable. Out of the five ways the one that stood out to me the most was the concept of feedback. As an educator, one cannot assume that everything they do is perfect or correct. It’s of much more value to open up the value and directly hear from the people that someone is working with. This makes it so that educators can hear relevant and specific points on where they can improve and where they’re doing well so that proper consideration of how to be better can occur. In addition, having this open form of communication between students and teachers makes an environment more comfortable. It gives students a level of agency and control in how they are being taught, and helps them better explain what they need to succeed. 

And then in Zihan’s blogpost also about Inclusive Design, they brought up great ideas on how to make lectures more engaging. Because we are currently in a time of online lectures, and only communicating through Zoom – it can be very hard to keep people engaged. When everything feels so distanced, how can we still make it still feel personal and fun? Zihan brought up using things such as flashcards and games to increase engagement, which I think makes a lot of sense because when students are just hearing something through their computer speakers it often goes in one ear and out the other. Using tools that test the learners and also help them enjoy class during this very abnormal time is a way to create connections even at a distance. And those connections are not only between learner and educator, but also among the different students. The loss of social connection for students is one of the most unfortunate byproducts of the pandemic, so finding ways to have young people talking and learning together is more relevant now than ever. 

Creator: smartboy10
Credit: Getty Images

Integrating inclusivity into education and subsequently into our own learning design is of the utmost importance. In a time where there are people of all different kinds of ethnicities, backgrounds, sexualities, and even more all converging together – especially in an educational context where they are still young – it is immensely significant to make sure all learners feel comfortable and safe in the space that we are sharing. As it was said in this week’s reading, “An inclusive design begins with the understanding that every person is a learner, and every learner has the right to pursue excellence and achievement.” Because every single learner has the right to pursue achievement, that means it is the responsibility of the educator to do everything they can to help all these different learners have the best set-up to be successful in whatever context that is. For the learning activities in our own blueprint, mainly the concept of creating a group mural, in a collaborative activity it is of value to identify and then reduce potential barriers. For instance, asking students to collaborate on a mural when they likely come from very different socio-economic or cultural backgrounds – there needs to be emphasis that there is no “right way” to do something, and students can express their pasts and know that they will be met with empathy and not disinterest. This is a responsibility heavily on the educator, as they need to be the ones setting clear boundaries and reinforcing positive and open communication. In addition, art is an expensive medium to explore, and as stated before there is likely children of all different kinds of socio-economic backgrounds. To reduce potential barriers here, if any materials are not provided then required materials should be under a certain dollar amount to increase accessibility, and there should be discrete funds in place to help students who cannot afford to buy their own so that no student is without materials and feels out of place. 

Another aspect of ensuring student success is being flexible in the face of unforeseen circumstances. For example, we are currently in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic so there needs to be some adjustments to accommodate that. Setting up a plan that includes required masks for both students and learners, reduced groups numbers, distancing of small groups, and no sharing of art materials are all ways to help students continue their creative journey while also putting relevant safety measures in place. Overall, inclusivity is about approaching situations with empathy, being flexible and creative in various approach for various types of learners, and always wanting to learn more to better help both those around you and also yourself.

In reading Jane’s post about cooperative learning – I really got to hear about a vastly different approach to the course material than my own groups. As my group’s own learning resource is centered around creativity and art projects; it was very interesting to read a post that discussed economics and public goods. In particular, I found Jane’s point about expert groups to be of immense value when they say, “ the students who take the same role in the group can break the boundaries of the group and further form an expert group.” The concept of students doing the same subject all altogether to then further their learning to the point of mastery that then benefits the group as a whole is something I found to be very relevant. It made me think of how within our learning pods we all choose a different learning theory to research, but each group had someone study that particular learning theory. Meaning that if all the people who researched a specific type of learning were to converge and share knowledge – within the group setting of our class we would have multiple expert groups that are about each separate learning theory. That just reflects how we can see the theories we are learning about be applied in real-time as we go further into the semester. 

What is Experiential Learning?

The easiest way to describe experiential learning is with the simple phrase, “learn by doing.” Experiential learning follows the principle that people learn best by actual practical experiences, so there is an emphasis on things such as hands-on activities, practicums, and field experiences. This theory was first proposed in the 1980’s by psychologist David Kolb, and it uses the basis that experience’s that people connect to through emotion, cognition, and the environment they were in at the time influences the learning process. Kolb (1984) created a cycle (pictured below) to better explain the thought process behind experiential learning; where concrete experience feeds into reflective observation which feeds into abstract conceptualization which feeds into active experimentation which then feeds back into finding more concrete experience to test one’s new ideas from active experimentation. The important thing to remember is that this theory is a cycle and not simply a static concept – it is a process as each component pushes forward into the next. 

Experiential Learning. Boston University, n.d.

How is Experiential Learning Connected to Visual Arts?

I believe a very strong case can be made that there are many connections between visual arts and experiential learning. When the theory in question is focused on hands-on activity, and so much of art is the process of creation; the two concepts seem to go hand in hand. In early grade school, students are often given time to draw and create their own works of art, and then explain it to the class. This process is actually perfectly aligned with experiential learning, as children doing and then explaining follows Kolb’s cycle of concrete experience followed by reflective observation, and then through the comments or questions of their classmates that will lead them to more abstract conceptualization and then having new ideas to continue honing experience and so on and so forth. Creation is so closely connected to actions and doing, and art is something that does not lend itself to be taught strictly in a classroom with no opportunity to try it hands-on.  Although the theory does have an emphasis on experience and the process of “doing” – reflection has equal importance in the theory, with this quote from the Association of Experiential Learning explaining, “Reflection on learning during and after one’s experiences is an integral component of the learning process. This reflection leads to analysis, critical thinking, and synthesis.” Visuals arts also places importance on reflection; as an artist must look at their work to see what they were trying to convey, how they did with making that message come across, and how they used whatever color/technique/medium to send whatever message they were trying to send. Because of this, there is a definitive link between visual arts and the way that experiential learning can and has been used to teach it.

How is Experiential Learning Connected to our Learning Resource?

My group’s learning resource is about children partaking in a collaborative mural assignment where they would use paint to create and then display their work. This concept is very much in line with what we have already established about experiential learning. The hypothetical children in this scenario are engaging in a hands-on activity of using paints to express themselves, and they must reflect and have conversations with each other as well as instructors to communicate their thoughts. They are indeed following the principle of “learn by doing” as they are in control of physically putting the paint onto the walls and explaining their process. The students would need to have an idea, plan it, and then apply it in a real-world setting and reflect on it; while instructors provide suitable support, bring up and facilitate questions, and provide resources. In the context of our learning resource, the experiential theory can be used to shape and help facilitate proper discussion in it’s connection to creation, so in that way I think it’s of immense value to incorporate elements of this learning approach into our blueprint.

Resources: 

Experiential Learning By Boston University

The Experiential Learning Theory of David Kolb By Kendra Cherry, Verywellmind