This article talks about the importance of artistic depictions of historical events that can capture a student’s imagination. It states that using art in social studies requires moving beyond art appreciation toward nurturing a higher awareness level of inference and critical interpretation. In order to assist students in this process, the authors for this article have developed a scaffolding method (REED-LO) that supports the interpretation of a work of art and a Web 2.0 tool that is a freely-available Web-based Art Interactive Tool (WAIT) that enables students to virtually visit the selected works of art from a museum. Although it may be difficult and time/distance-limiting to arrange for students to go to a museum or a field trip, this tool brings the museum to the students and also allows them a more hands-on experience, as opposed to “sit and get” experience otherwise available, to learn, explore, and interpret works of art.
The goal of a teacher in a social studies classroom should be to improve the students’ critical thinking skills along with learning about the content matter of the subject they are studying. This article discusses the Constructivist theory of scaffolding and it is useful in this context because it allows teachers to teach the content as well as teach students the ability to analyze and critique information based on their own interpretation of the art that is being discussed.
As we discovered in class, the collective experience from social studies classroom was that, depending on the content and the particular teaching style of the teacher, lessons revolved around a worksheet where students find answers in a textbook or they are asked to do research on a building or landmark and then write about its histo...
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...m will help students become active participants in their community. Technology is a tool that can be used to create a constructivist classroom where students can build their understanding by using Web 2.0 features, such as WAIT, that they will use through their entire learning experience to help them make sound interpretations of what they are learning about. As a Social studies teacher, we should not be fearful of constructivism or the use of technology, rather we should embrace both as they create a rich learning environment and make the content area essential during a time when standardized testing is causing schools to not focus as much on these kinds of classes. With the implementation of the Common Core, it will now be more accessible and favorable to students to learn about the content areas while aligning lessons to language arts and mathematical standards.
Reading and Writing: A Guide for Art History Students. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2003. Textbook. Delahunt, M. (2011, March 14). Artlex:
Oftentimes the lens we use when interpreting any art is based on our interpretation of the truth of the story – if a story is perceived as historically accurate, we look at the story as co...
The Tampa Museum of Art was not always the same museum that we see today. It went through multiple stages throughout the years. The works vary, creating a large spectrum from the old to the new. The social angles change with the exhibits in the museum, combining to create the diversity we see today. Visiting this museum in person helped me to appreciate it even more than I would have thought possible. Observing and analyzing the other visitors helped me to understand the museum’s impact on the community more than I would have been able to just by reading about it. This museum is much different from others than I have visited.
Von Glaserfield (1990) acknowledged that constructivism means “knowledge is not passively received.” Piaget (1973) stated that students are not just “empty heads” that can be filled with facts from packaged curriculum that is given out my teachers. Constructivism does not depend on a standardized curriculum. Instead, it promotes using curriculum customized to the students’ prior knowledge. Also, it emphasizes real world problem solving, experiments, reasoning and communication (Au & Carrol , 1997). Constructivism gives students the power to make connections, reformulate ideas, and reach conclusions (Brewer & Daane, 2002). After school programs often focus on teac...
One pleasant afternoon, my classmates and I decided to visit the Houston Museum of Fine Arts to begin on our museum assignment in world literature class. According to Houston Museum of Fine Art’s staff, MFAH considers as one of the largest museums in the nation and it contains many variety forms of art with more than several thousand years of unique history. Also, I have never been in a museum in a very long time especially as big as MFAH, and my experience about the museum was unique and pleasant. Although I have observed many great types and forms of art in the museum, there were few that interested me the most.
“Philosophers, writers, and artists expressed disillusionment with the rational-humanist tradition of the Enlightenment. They no longer shared the Enlightenment's confidence in either reason's capabilities or human goodness.” (Perry, pg. 457) It is interesting to follow art through history and see how the general mood of society changed with various aspects of history, and how events have a strong connection to the art of the corresponding time.
Powell, K. Kalina, C. (2009). Cognitive and Social Constructivism: Developing Tools for an Effective Classroom. Education, 130(2), 241-250. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?did=1937522441&Fmt=7&clientId=22212&RQT=309&VName=PQD. (Document ID: 1937522441).
During my visit to the Pérez Art Museum Miami, I did more than just observing beautiful artworks. With the guidelines provided I could appreciate and study also the hidden meaning of some of the pieces I had in front of me. Some of them were easier than other ones, due to previous knowledge I had, but all of them made me examine them in a critic way that enriched my cultural heritage.
When analyzing artwork, in any form, there are often times social contexts in which can be interpreted. Not always does the history behind the painting need to be revealed to fully understand the concept of the artwork, yet it is helpful in determining if the artwork is truthful in its representation. Although in analyzing artwork it is likely that there are drawbacks to considering the social context. To illustrate this point, I'm going to use the visual arts as my medium of choice. Understanding the social context can be an important tool. An advantage of knowing the history of the painting or sculpture can really enrich our knowledge, being in the 21st century, about some of the social periods from previous times. It can demonstrate how traditions were carried out, how they had an impact on the different social classes. It's a visual teaching aid of a sort. Even in the time period of which the artwork was created can be used as a tool to show how the life was in different parts of the world. It was also used as a hammer in the realist movement to show the upper classes that life for the poor was horrible. The visual arts is the only medium in which the pictorial image creates a universal language in which anyone, regardless of nationality or social class can interpret. The text which is created by this language often creates a context which is left open to interpretation. Contexts are created by the artist, critics, judges, the public, essentially, any one who views the work and forms an opinion relating to it. The contexts stem from subject or content of an artwork, and are usually facts regarding the content. Yet, the contexts almost always have backgrounds themselves, therefore making the original contexts, texts. This will be more clearly illustrated later. The chain is seeming to be a never ending process. There are always more conditions to the previous ones. All context, therefore, is in itself, textual. This concept of all context in itself textual is a post-structuralist strategy. A man named Derrida is a man who has developed this idea that the post-structuralist concept of every statement made, can be interpreted in infinite ways, with each interpretation triggering a range of subjective associations. Every statement has an association, therefore it's a sort of domino effect.
Sayre, H. M. (2007). A World of Art-5th ED. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, INC.
The inability of Social Studies Instruction to make an impact in the society have been blamed on teaching methods that stress the Cognitive domain or recall of knowledge to the neglect of the affective objectives. This point has been buttressed by the Nigerian Institute of teachers as a reason for the failure of social studies to effect changes in the society. The NTI (2006), is of the opinion that, the youths are rich in knowledge of social studies and facts but deficient in expected social values, attitudes and behaviors that commensurate the subject taught and learnt in the classroom.
When I was in high school, I was very involved in the arts. I took a band, choir and two years of visual art. During the years of high school, I knew that the fees for the art courses cost much more than other electives at my school. I also observed that the school focused more on their athletic and academics programs, than on their art programs. We had many fundraisers to raise more money for the art programs even after paying an already expensive fee to takes these electives. Schools are neglecting the visual arts programs and placing all of their money and focus on academics and athletics programs. I propose a balance between the arts, academics, and the athletics.
Do you ever think about how much technology has changed the way we work, learn, play, and even think? Technology is a major beneficiary to society; especially in the classroom where we get the opportunity to learn and grow. In recent years, schools have begun implementing tablets and other devices in the classroom to better student’s education. The use of technology in the classroom provides more of a personalized learning experience and gives students a widespread availability to engage in learning. Technology is necessary in today’s modern globe, it is basically “the pen and paper of our time and the lens through which we experience much of our world” (Warlick, 2013). Technology is not just considered the “internet”, it is so much greater than that. Overall, it enhances the quality of education and engages students deeper than ever before. With all the significant gains, why would people argue that technology hinders students more than it helps? Critics may try to repute the use of technology in the classroom but I believe what really matters “is the way we use it, the context that we use it in, and the learners who we use it for” (Chong, 2012).
A technical definition for scaffolding can be, "a process through which a teacher adds supports for students in order to enhance learning and aid in the mastery of tasks." (Reid, para. 1, 2017). This basis of learning that the teacher adds support for is known as the Zone of Proximal Development. The Zone of Proximal Development can be defined as the difference where a student can perform currently to what they can achieve with the proper instruction and resources. In comparison to athletics, this would be considered a learner’s 'floor' vs their 'ceiling.' Before one can look at the application of constructivism and scaffolding in the classroom, one must understand what it is not. Constructivism is not direct instruction. It is not built around a teacher giving a general lecture to a class on a daily basis with little to no peer communication. This established thesis, and antithesis can let one see what this teaching method looks like in a
Social Studies education is a subject in today’s schools that is undervalued. The study of social studies in schools help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world (Seefeldt, Castle, & Falconer, 2010). When participating in social studies class children are learning so much about who they are, where they came from, how to succeed in the world, and more. Most of what we teach daily includes an aspect of social studies. But, since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 de-emphasis or nonexistence of elementary social studies is the national focus because of high stakes testing (Sunal, & Sunal, 2008). Social studies