Chinese block name thumbnails.

Snowflakes.

Watercolor.

Andy Worhol print.

Here are my collagraphs.

Aboriginal painting.

Tiffany lamp.

Here is the same shoe through the view finder.

This is my contour line shoe drawing.

Here are the textures.

This is my Picaso head.

Here is the Chinese block name.

Chinese brush painting.

Kurt Morrison

Art 3700

Maele Shakespear

Reflection #4

Effective Art Assessment Strategies

There is a line in one of my favorite movies entitled, Lean On Me, delivered by Morgan Freeman’s character, where he states, “Discipline is not the enemy of enthusiasm.”  This line was delivered very emphatically in an effort to get nearly hopeless students to obtain enough discipline to at least be able to pass a basic skills test.  It is with some hesitancy that I apply this line to art assessment; however I do feel that art students should be monitored and tested.  I in no way want to put restrictions on the creativity of art students but only try to insure that they grasp the tools with which to soar to even greater heights than thought possible.  In other words, discipline could very well help to foster creativity.  The key is to implement assessment methods that will not damn the flow of their creative juices.

The first assessment strategy I would advocate is perhaps the most archaic but does fit in nicely with the Cognitive Theory, and that is one of being able to recognize art history in its context through creatively written test questions and research papers.  The text, Art Emphasis Ninth Edition, states concerning students researching art, “Research can be a fertile prompt for students’ art making.”  I could very easily envision a scenario where a student, after finishing research on a particular artist or type of medium, is now filled with renewed enthusiasm and focus due to his findings.

Since I’ve returned to school to achieve my degree, I’ve experienced the much used technique of writing reflections.  It is an assessment strategy which many professors seem to have bought into.  I also feel that it is quite effective in allowing one to ponder and then translate into words recent principles learned.  In Assessment in Art Ed chapter 2, the author advocates journal keeping as an effective strategy for assessing the students “thoughtful evolution” pertaining to art.  In instructing possible uses, the author explains, “Journal entries can be reviewed and assessed using different techniques such as: checklists (check to see if entries are there); rating scales (degree of quality of entries); and student self- assessments (about quality and progress).”  The author wisely recommends the sketchbook to be used as the journal.

An exciting assessment tool for many students is to display the student’s art throughout the entire school.  This gives art students a chance to showcase their talents as well as be assessed by their peers.  As artwork is displayed, peers have the chance to think critically about fellow student’s art as well as reflect on their own.  The text, Art Emphasis, also make the point, “As a teacher, you can introduce students to exhibiting, an important aspect of the art world.”  While this could be cause for anxiety for some students, most all should benefit from such an exhibition of their talents.  In relation to these exhibits, portfolios of this artwork could also be built up by each student.  From the website www.teachervision.fen.com., portfolios are mentioned as an assessment tool as they state, “Students build portfolios to demonstrate what they’ve learned so that you can monitor their progress with fewer tests.”  These portfolios can also be used as they attempt to build a resume for future opportunities. 

In conclusion, I’ll admit that I did not realize going into this course that art assessment in the classroom was such a concern.  I figured that some basic testing on art history and methods as well assigning art projects that would in turn be graded by the instructor could be sufficient.  I now can see that just as the art classroom is a haven to express oneself creatively, assessment methods can and should match this creativity.  

Kurt Morrison

Art 3700

Reflection #3

Maele Shakespear

Integrating Art Into The Classroom

One day, in my Introduction to Elementary Education class, my professor told us to bring a few crafts the next time we meet.  We were assigned to bring 3x5 note cards, card stock paper in a variety of colors, a glue stick and scissors.  I have never been skilled at assembling crafts so I went into the project with some trepidation.  As the class began, Dr. Barta explained that we were going to make bookmarks which would be decorated with colorful woven patterns resembling those of the woven textures of South and Central America.  We then proceeded to cut strips of colorful paper and glued them onto the white notecard crisscrossing the strips to resemble the woven look we were trying to imitate.  Without going into much detail, he then explained how this simple activity can help young kids to develop math skills as they figure patterns needed to create the woven look as well as calculate the number of ribbons per row, etc.  What an exciting idea, integrating an art project into teaching math concepts.  The more I ponder the idea of art integration, the more I realize that art is in every subject we teach and if recognized and explored, will only increase the grasp a student will have of that subject.   

I’ve mentioned in a previous reflection how art can help develop skills that often are not taught in other subjects.  Skills such as: creativity, critical thinking, and learning to work as a team.  The text, Emphasis Art Ninth Edition, specifically mentions, “Integration in the Three Domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor.”  The comprehension of these domains and knowing how to effectively apply them allows for a richer sensory learning environment for those students involved.  One of the main points discussed is the need to go far beyond the simple memorization of facts and figures and instead dive into a higher level of learning which involves the thoughtful analyzing and integration of these facts into our daily lives.  This would ideally be done through learning activities involving movement of the body as well as expressing emotion and finally reflecting on and analyzing the activity itself.     

Earlier I shared with you the making of the bookmark in class and how that can help children grasp math concepts.  There is however an additional principle a teacher could explore while in the midst of this project and that is the principle of cultural awareness.  Perhaps no other generation is more able to access visual culture the way today’s youth can.  As youth are educated in the visual arts of many different cultures, they would hopefully begin to appreciate those cultures and grow more accepting of our differences.  The making of the bookmark and perhaps even showing the kids real woven products made by such a culture could be an additional integration technique.    

As to the idea of whether or not the integration of arts is important in the overall school curriculum, I feel that is may not be just important but perhaps vital.  Thinking back at my early education, I do remember a lot of memorization but unfortunately not a great deal of meaningful exploration through psychomotor and affirmative applications or even high levels of cognitive learning.  As a result, I felt ill prepared for real world situations where all of this knowledge is supposed to come into play.  From the website nwlink.com, additional thoughts are shared about the importance of The Three Domains, they state, “This taxonomy of learning behaviors can be thought of as the goal of the learning process.  That is, after a learning episode, the learner should have acquired new skills, knowledge, and/or attitudes.”   Exploration of another website, oaks.nvg.org, led me to this thought on psychomotor skills, “Learning is pleasurable but doing is the height of enjoyment.”  We can and should strive to bring enjoyment into all that we teach in order to foster the student’s desire for continuous learning.  Art is the one subject which allows for almost limitless creativity and freedom of expression and should not be confined to only one classroom in school but integrated into the entire curriculum for the benefit of all.