STAR-POST (Art) January 2020 FINAL_STAR Post Art Jan 2020 | Page 14

Diagnose While Teaching
Choice-Based Learning
and Differentiated
Instruction in Art
Lisa Lok
Subject Head (Visual Arts)
Crest Secondary School
In my recent Sec 3 NT Art Elective lesson module, the first drawing activity re-
vealed that I had two groups of students -- one that made schematic drawings
and the other, a group that drew in a realistic style. I knew that in such a class,
those who could draw well would naturally excel in the drawing module whilst
those who could not, would simply feel demoralised and bored for the rest of
the module. In order to have a fruitful teaching and learning experience for
the students and myself, I had to change my teaching approach. I had to be
open-minded and make adaptations to my lesson plans. According to Carol
Ann Tomlinson (2017):
“In a differentiated classroom, the teacher
proactively plans and carries out varied
approaches to content, process, and
product in anticipation of and response to
student differences in readiness, interest,
and learning needs.”
A
ctively engaged learners bring joy to teachers.
Lesson design is key and when lessons are
delivered right, both teachers and students gain
tremendous satisfaction in the learning process. I am
sure all educators believe that every student is a unique
individual who is capable of learning and excelling.
That being our belief, teachers may consider adopting
Differentiated Instruction to cater to the wide spectra of
learning needs in our classroom.
Drawing outcomes from the first lesson: Schematic drawing vs realistic drawing
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