Read and Reflect: Chapter 6

Walker chapter six was an in-depth summary of the process in which we should create unit plans. This chapter focuses on the inclusion of several elements: development on big ideas, personal connections and interests, media choices, subject matter, problem solving and technical skill development. All of these elements should be considered in the creation of unit plans and should encourage student engagement, learning and art making.

Although this information is nothing new, I think Walker was able to keep me interested by making several points. First, the teacher is responsible for the artistic research and teaching students the importance of it. If you don’t put in the time to research an artist before analyzing and making connections to their work, don’t expect your students to. It is important that we know what we are talking about so we don’t mislead students and bring them to certain conclusions with out research to back it up.

Second, supportive activities are important! These activities are sort of like mini-lessons based around the essential questions in the unit. These mini-lessons increase student understanding, encourage critical thinking and help students make connections to the big idea. These sub-activities should be used to increase creativity and understanding; this means student focus should be on this increasing awareness only. I would think it is better not to bombard students with criteria in these and leave the technical issues of art making out of such lessons. In fact, after speaking with my host teacher today, I completely support the idea of alternating the teaching of technique/skill and big ideas/creativity until students are proficient and confident enough that they will not be overwhelmed by the combination of requiring both.

A part of this chapter stood out to me, and I read that it stood out to Kathryn as well. Walker discussed that we should encourage students to not interpret meaning as they work because most artists do not preconceive meaning. To be perfectly honest, any of the studio art professors I’ve had at MU would completely disagree with this idea. And, because I’ve had most of my artistic schooling here, I’d have to agree with them. If you don’t come up with an idea before creating an artwork then the art seems superficial. It means that you created something because it was aesthetically pleasing and then you attached a meaning to it after the fact. I think that this is a process that would work for very few people. Mostly, the meaning would sound like BS by attaching it after-the-fact. Please don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t appreciate art created for and from aesthetic purposes; I very much appreciate art that focuses on the beauty of the work. However, I feel that art that is created from meaning, feeling and personal experience is much more moving and enlightening to a viewer. –And without attaching meaning to a work through the process of using big ideas, art would not have evolved to the incredible experience and importance to the world that it is today.