Engaging my students means captivating their minds and introducing them to ideas and knowledge that intrigues them. While I’d like to say that each of my students is intrinsically motivated to learn about art and art creation, I find that those students are the minority. So my job as an art teacher is to engage my learners in the subject of art so they can practice skills and techniques that they will use later on in life. For example, my primary way to engage students is to make art relevant. When I introduce a new project I like to talk about how it is relevant to their lives. When I do my project focused on creativity, I share studies with my students about how the generations being raised up now are the least creative and innovative. I then share how employer look for innovation above everything else. This hits home with students as they all want to be innovators and be hired for their dream jobs. I explain how every project that they need to be creative with and problem solve, they are exercising that part of their brain. Art- then becomes relevant.
No, students may not need to know how to draw realistically, or need to know how to use the technique of abstraction in painting. However, what is creativity but the practice of innovation? In my classroom I aim to provide a place for students to practice what so many employers say is the top quality they look for in an employee.
The problem then becomes: How can I engage my students in the subject of art? First I must foster an environment of curiosity by posing questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. For example In my classroom I use ten essential questions throughout the year which are there to back up my dialing essential questions. The goal of these ten questions is to help students think about art outside of just drawing, painting, and cutting. Below are the ten essential questions.
No, students may not need to know how to draw realistically, or need to know how to use the technique of abstraction in painting. However, what is creativity but the practice of innovation? In my classroom I aim to provide a place for students to practice what so many employers say is the top quality they look for in an employee.
The problem then becomes: How can I engage my students in the subject of art? First I must foster an environment of curiosity by posing questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. For example In my classroom I use ten essential questions throughout the year which are there to back up my dialing essential questions. The goal of these ten questions is to help students think about art outside of just drawing, painting, and cutting. Below are the ten essential questions.
Before I introduce a new unit, I engage my students by having a daily Do Now that has a little to do with the new unit or project so their interest is peaked. This helps for students to get curious about the day’s activities and the new projects. While the Do Now questions can’t always be answered well or correctly, students have an appetite to be able to answer the questions correctly. For example, before I started the Typography unit I showed an image of a design with typography and I asked the students to tell me what elements of art they saw AND if they thought that this was considered art?
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Students are stumped generally and want to know “How can letters and words show and use the elements of art?” By peaking their curiosity, I find that students are already engaged with the new material right from the beginning of class. This also gives the students a chance to answer their own questions throughout the lesson and unit.
Another way I make sure my students stay engaged in art is by providing projects that allow them to create art that is meaningful to them. For example, when students learned the value scale and we practiced together as a class, how to make the value scale with pencil, pen, and mixing paint- the students were half engaged. Then, when I laid out the many images students could pick from to paint in black and white, they went crazy with excitement because they knew they would be painting their favorite animal, a beautiful plant, or a city-scape with personal meaning. When students can make their art meaningful they are more motivated to learn and make good art.
Another way I make sure my students stay engaged in art is by providing projects that allow them to create art that is meaningful to them. For example, when students learned the value scale and we practiced together as a class, how to make the value scale with pencil, pen, and mixing paint- the students were half engaged. Then, when I laid out the many images students could pick from to paint in black and white, they went crazy with excitement because they knew they would be painting their favorite animal, a beautiful plant, or a city-scape with personal meaning. When students can make their art meaningful they are more motivated to learn and make good art.
Another way to engage my students is by sharing with them what is going on in the world and teaching them why art is important. As previously mentioned, creativity and innovation are on the decline, and art helps students exercise that part of the brain. I make art relevant and rigorous by using their best friend, the Internet, and talking about what is originality is dying and show my students how to use the Internet but not steal or plagiarize from the Internet. Students are always shocked when they find out that they are plagiarizing when they simply copy from the Internet. This opens up the classroom for a space to talk about how to "steal" appropriately. Students are presented with this challenging task: to used the ideas and art they find on the Internet and remix, combine, investigate, construct, and imagine a new idea and project. Below you'll find the assignment that asks students to take ideas they find on Tumblr/Pinterest/Google Images and add something of their own to it. Students are really engaged with this project because they not only get to try and make something that has piqued their interest, but are challenged to add their own ideas to it for the good of their own creativity. Projects like these and all the art projects I assign help students become innovators and creative young adults.
Get Our Creativity Back! | |
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With high school students so busy with extracurricular activities, I find that my biggest hurdle to keep students engaged is to let them incorporate their passions and hobbies with art. Making art relevant to the students will keep their interest and keeping the art assignments rigorous helps to teach the disciplines of focus, investigation, trial, and error. Each student can be interested in art, and my goal is to find ways to reach each student where they are and elevate their learning and art knowledge by teaching innovation with motivating and relevant ideas, questions, and projects.