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.