Visual Art

Best Practices

I took part in a presentation that dealt with the visual arts a few weeks ago. I learned a great deal about how this can easily be incorporated into the classroom in a fun and effective way. For the presentation, I focused on the best practices for teaching the visual arts. These practices are pretty general and can be used in any content area, but they would be very effective when teaching or incorporating visual arts into your classroom. Here are some of the best practices for teachers to instill:

• High expectations of student achievement
• Clear course methods and routines
• Variety of teaching methods and materials
• Supportive and cooperative atmosphere
• Content expertise
• Relates instruction to student interest
• Provides timely feedback
• Respects diverse talents and ways of learning
• Teaches to the multiple intelligences

Effective teachers clearly communicate to their students EXACTLY what is expected of them. Then from there, students can blossom and go above and beyond the expectations. I know I am a person who needs a explicit criteria for assignments, especially big ones, because I want to strive to challenge myself to go above average. This will be the same for many students! Provide an atmosphere that supports and encourages hard work and your students will follow that energy. One of these best practices that really sticks out out to me is the relating of instruction to students' interests. This is so important for teachers to do because it helps students to be more engaged and active in their learning. A way to find out your students' interests is through an interest inventory. This should be given at the beginning of the school year so that you can make a new game plan that incorporates their interests. Below, I have attached two examples of  interest inventories that you could use in your classroom, depending on the grade level. 

Credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghLafXHw9DIAvFsdiPvmhEB_-WUPlCGppS7Dd9MKdzImCI1GgaiXDv_kVo_3WYnVKdoatXbaBQmWMUm7jlNlfNizUTPWeKYv0FJUACmnH23t7pdtpbTjh2V4q9M9FTLtjs04adHyxlThL7/s640/InterestInventoryBlog.png 

Credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnizGTS2v1up0UOFGbZgbJJTd2MeLf9NdUQ6koQa5fli8XJgihpgOuzaCwOXQR_ewVeplT2OwnTxMP6GTTO-1swy1sQbYBoP2Tw66m8dv435UOd7mqFWjfbYUR3HKwj7NDkUgCpEsLShQ/s1600/APPLE+INTEREST+INVENTORY.jpg 

Another best practice that stuck out to me was teaching to the multiple intelligences. As you know, I discussed this only my blog not too long ago. I believe that no two children learn the same, so it is important to understand that and act upon it. Now, when you first start school, of course you will not know your students' intelligence right off the bat. But, there are several resources online of different multiple intelligences' tests that you can give your students. This will help you when planning lessons because it will give you an idea of how you should be differentiating instruction in your classroom. Below, I have attached two sample multiple intelligence tests.

Credit: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b3/99/fd/b399fd5886939524d88d084f74cdf634.jpg

Credit: http://image.slidesharecdn.com/kristysstoryboardivfinal-110714124757-phpapp02/95/multimedia-presentation-of-learning-styles-13-728.jpg?cb=1310647920 

Now that we have talked about some general best practices, it is time to dive into some visual art specific elements to incorporate when teaching. There are critical elements that are specific to the teaching of the visual arts. Here are just a few of those critical elements:

• Students have hands-on experiences to produce artwork through different methods
• Students learn about various artists and their works of art
• Students learn about the meaning and beauty of art
• Students make decisions regarding the production of their artwork
• Students are assessed in a variety of ways

All of these elements create a well-rounded education for students to obtain that deals with the visual arts. These can be incorporated into other content areas. For example, when history time comes around, teachers could focus on artists from the different art periods and movements. They can explore their life's work and some of their key paintings. This would be fun for students because usually this is a new topic or idea to them. I mean, who gets to learn about different artists in history within an elementary classroom?! From there, you can have students work on an art project that may mimic the different styles of a certain art period. There is so much to be done with this and students would have a blast!