“This is my art, and
it is about me and
my ideas, so I want
to choose what I use
to make it.”
the provision of materials, I also provided information about the
materials, prepared menus that suggested how materials could
be used, and gave students examples of artists’ artworks.
What did I learn?
Letting go of control was difficult. I realised that to amplify students’
voices, I had to be willing to give them control over their work
and processes. When I learnt to step back and allow for students
to learn through explorations and play instead of watching the
clock and hurrying them to adhere to my timeline, they were more
vested in their tasks. I was witnessing an organic co-construction
of knowledge as students excitedly shared their findings, asked for
and gave their opinions and demonstrated techniques they had
discovered. They were talking more about their work and using art
vocabulary in the relevant context without prompts from me.
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I found that by relegating control, I now had more time during
lessons to walk around and have dialogue with students 1-1, listen
to them talk about their experiments and stories, guide them in
their decision-making process or share alternative ways of trying
out the materials. This was something I never had time to do as I was
previously so busy managing supplies and spills. Most importantly,
students were generating questions that demonstrated their
curiosity about the world around them. They asked questions such
as, “Do mountains grow?”,“ How do mountains become mountains?”
In addition, students found more
personal meaning towards what
they were doing, evident in their
artist statements. Every collage was
different, with different stories to
tell.
Afterthoughts…
Change can be disruptive and
inconvenient. I spent many hours
adjusting the set-up, reflecting on
my lessons when things did not work
out and redesigning the lessons
to better facilitate the play and
exploratory episodes. There were
times when I saw students regressing
to the ‘wait for instructions’ mode
and felt that my efforts were futile.
However, the little sparks that I saw
when students excitedly raved about
their discoveries and the energy they
emitted when they were all raring
to start lessons were testaments
that the change was worthwhile. As
students feel empowered, they took
greater ownership of their learning
and pride in their effort.
To sum it all, Sarah, one of my
students said, “This is my art, and
it is about me and my ideas, so I
want to choose what I use to make
it.” Indeed, the classroom should be
about our students.
Reference:
Douglas, K. M., & Jaquith, D. B. (2018).
Engaging learners through artmaking:
choice-based art education in the
classroom. New York: Teachers College
Press.
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