The main focuses of my teaching are active learning, building character within students, and providing meaningful curriculum. I believe that teaching is very complex and that an educator must consider not only curriculum requirements but also what is relevant and meaningful to the student. I believe we must look at the larger picture of what we are giving our students to use in their futures.
I feel that active learning serves as a very important part of art education. Through active learning, students will be more engaged and will take more with them after they graduate. In this way, I believe active learning is a powerful tool for preparing today’s learners for tomorrow’s challenges and changes. It supports critical and creative thinking,
…show more content…
Art supports teamwork skills as well as it allows for students to learn the value of constructive criticism. Another goal of my classroom is that education should be taught in ways that are engaging and relevant, in hopes to inspire a love of learning and to help the student find themselves, their interest, goals and dreams, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. My hopes are to inspire them to be driven enough to strengthen their weaknesses though continual learning.
Another goal of my teaching is to provide a safe and nurturing place for all students. The art classroom provides a wonderful opportunity for this safe place because it allows all students to learn and advance their skills, no matter their academic ability or achievement or if they have a disability of any sort. Art enables all students to succeed. It allows students to realize that in many situations, there is more than one right answer. They can experience learning at their own pace and in their own way, which is far more powerful for them in realizing what they are truly capable
…show more content…
The students deserve the chance to use art as a tool, to develop the important 21st century skills, to find themselves, to realize the power of collaboration, and to realize that many times there is more than one right answer. I believe educators must put themselves in their student’s shoes to attempt to understand what is relevant to the students. I believe we should surround our projects by an understanding the answers to the following questions. What challenges are my students facing? What do they need to know to succeed? What skills will they use beyond school? What impact will this curriculum / lesson have on the student’s life? These may seem like extravagant questions, but I believe they bring educators to reality of what is truly important for the students to
Turbide, Anne F. "Why Art Programs Are Beneficial to Students." The Synapse. N.p., 15 May 2015. Web. 10 May 2016.
Visual learning and decision making are being promoted through art education because students are exposed to different forms of art every day. Technology forces students to take in more visual information through cues or pictures (Lynch). Dr. Kerry Freeman, Head of Art and Design at Northern Illinois University, stated that, “Parents need to be aware that children learn a lot more from graphic sources now than in the past…Children need ...
Art is intended for all to enjoy and learn from. Through an art curriculum; phonics, mathematics, and readiness skills to name a few can be learned through an art curriculum. With this curriculum a teacher can adapt that centers to teach those with diverse abilities such as emotional and intellectual challenges, visual impairments, hearing impairments, and orthopedic impairments.
There are many positive aspects associated with the arts and it is important people are aware of these benefits. According to Smithrim and Opitis, “reported benefits of the arts include the development of the imagination (Greene, 1995), greater motivation to learn (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997), increased student creativity, lower dropout rates, and increased social skills (Catterall, 1998; Luftig, 1995)” (110). These advantages can possibly set a student up for am extremely successful life. They should be embraced and utilized as opposed to overlooked and unmentioned.
Nathan, Linda. “All students are artists”. Educational Leadership, Vol. 69 Issue 5, 2012. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Web. 21 May 2013.
Because each art discipline appeals to different senses and expresses itself through different media, each adds a special richness to the learning environment. Arts help people Learn to identify, appreciate, and participate in the traditional and non-traditional art forms of their own communities and the communities of others. Art teaches us how to be imaginative, creative, and reflective. Different art forms help us develop the verbal and nonverbal abilities necessary for lifelong learning. The intellectual demands of the arts help us develop problem-solving abilities and such powerful thinking skills as analyzing and evaluating. Numerous studies point toward a consistent and positive comparison between concrete education in the arts and student achievement in other subjects. A program in arts education would engage students in a process that helps them develop the self-esteem, self-discipline, cooperation, and self-motivation necessary for success in life. Most important, the arts should be experienced and studied for their own true value.
For Jane, “Art is an important subject because it offers people the opportunity to process their surroundings, their troubles, and their existence in a way that is productive and healthy.” (Baker). She also views are an a means of improving students academically by changing the way they think:
While observing a few days, I noticed most of the students enjoyed playing in the blocks area and crafts. I helped during numerous projects and taught different concepts. While teaching, most of the child were well-behaved. Others were easily distracted with other areas in the classroom. Once the students finished the projects, the teacher hung up their creations around the room to display their hard work. This shows the students and their parents how their child is learning and developing inside the classroom (Couchenour, 161). Not only were the students art work shown towards the end, but throughout the beginning of the school year to show continuous
In the United States, fine art education in public schools have been a controversial topic for years. Due to fundings, imagine your child had to choose between art or math. Well of course a parent would choose a math course because they would not survive society in their future without counting. Although, fine art gives an opportunity for a student to express themselves with their thoughts and feelings through the participation of the fine arts. As in today’s society everything is consider “art”. That everything could be in fashion styles to the structures of building such as the Space Needle in Seattle.
Fine arts classes benefit students and schools alike. Fine arts are needed courses, not just as electives but as core classes that promote learning and creativity in the lives of students. There are three different styles of learning: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Fine art provides an avenue for all of these learning styles to be utilized during one class period; therefore, all students are able to understand and benefit from the curriculum. In a normal academic setting all types of learning may not be used, so a percentage of the classroom will not understand the lessons as well as it could have if it had arts incorporated into the class. It may seem impossible to include arts into an academic setting, but it is possible, effective, and fun. According to Barry Oreck, it has been proven that students learning molecular bonding through a dance had a more proficient understanding of the concept. He states, “We have found that if you learn something through a theater game, you can still answer a test question” (new horizons Dickerson 3). This statement proves that arts are extremely important and beneficial. With fine arts, students have a safe environment to express themselves, a motivation to stay in school, and higher test scores. The fact that fine arts are needed is evident, but will schools respond or live in denial?
Art can be used to raise scores in every subject, “Students who took four years of art classes scored 91 points higher on their SAT exams than those who took half a year or less. Multiple studies also confirmed that there is a correlation between art engagement and students’ other achievements.” (Valeriya Metla) Even with the research linking art and better grades some educators think that it is more worth while to only focus on the core classes because it is more important to fund what is being tested than to help raise children who are creative.
@“The arts are about communication, creativity, and cooperation, and, by studying the arts in school, students have the opportunity to build on these skills, enrich their lives and experience the world from a new perspective.” –Bill Clinton, former President of the United States of America
Art Education is not always valued in school settings. Although some may see it as an unnecessary use of school funding, there are many who believe it is beneficial to students in more ways than one. There are many different studies that have been conducted to test the effects that art education has on school-aged children. Some studies have proven that art education can help students to improve in other academic areas. In a journal article from Ohio State University’s “Theory in Practice,” Karen A Hamblen states, “There are linkages between art learning and learning in other subjects areas and that art study can promote creative behaviors, critical thinking skills, and academic achievement.” It has also been found that the arts can teach children better self-regulatory strategies, and even foster more confidence and self-efficacy in school which relates to confidence in academics. Overall, art education in schools has been very beneficial and has proven to ignite creativity, confidence, critical thinking skills, and academic achievement in students.
Instead of seeing students as partially full vessels waiting to be filled, teachers should conceive their work as creating learning situations where students can build their own knowledge through an a...
Students need to be inspired to think critically. By this they comprehend what has been learned and be able to use it. I hope my students will be able to achieve their greatest potential that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. We can give our children these building blocks thru education to use in decision making situations, moral value of their thoughts and actions. This will guide them to realize how their actions and decisions will affect themselves and others.