Join us for conversations that inspire, recognize, and encourage innovation and best practices in the education profession.
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In this Program
Arts teachers help students develop knowledge and fundamental skills while weaving in opportunities for creativity and independence. The challenge is to achieve a balance between teacher-led instruction and active, self-directed learning. To achieve mastery, students cannot be passive consumers of knowledge; they must actively construct and apply what they learn.
How do teachers help students develop as artists?
Learning Goals
The goals of this workshop are for you to:
(15 minutes)
Readiness can be thought of as a student’s pre-existing knowledge, experiences, and attitudes. Discuss how student readiness affects the sequence of instruction.
(15 minutes)
The information sheets below provide helpful background on the schools, arts programs, and individual classes featured in each segment:
Segment 1: Dance (PDF)
Segment 2: Theatre (PDF)
Segment 3: Visual Art (PDF)
Segment 4: Music (PDF)
Consider the following questions as you watch the program. You may stop the video after each segment to discuss the questions with your colleagues.
DANCE Michael O’Banion Senior Choreography Project
THEATRE Peter Lynch Stagecraft and Design
VISUAL ART Dale Zheutlin and Jon Murray Silhouettes/Still Life Paintings
MUSIC William Taylor Beginner Men’s Ensemble/Angelaires
(45 minutes)
Instructional Sequence and “Scaffolding”
Part I. Read and discuss the following two descriptions of scaffolding. (10 minutes)
Scaffolding is an instructional strategy where a more knowledgeable person provides scaffolds or supports to facilitate students’ development as they build on prior knowledge and internalize new information. Scaffolds are temporary structures that physically support workers while they complete jobs that would otherwise be impossible. Scaffolds provide workers with both a place to work and the means to reach work areas that they could not access on their own. Instructional scaffolding is a teaching strategy that was cleverly named for the practical resemblance it bears to the physical scaffolds used on construction sites. The strategy consists of teaching new skills by engaging students collaboratively in tasks that would be too difficult for them to complete on their own. The instructor initially provides extensive instructional support, or scaffolding, to continually assist the students in building their understanding of new content and process. Once the students internalize the content and/or process, they assume full responsibility for controlling the progress of a given task. The temporary scaffolding provided by the instructor is removed to reveal the impressive permanent structure of student understanding.
Reprinted by permission from H. L. Herber, J. N. Herber, Teaching in Content Areas with Reading, Writing, and Reasoning. Published by Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA. Copyright ©1993 by Pearson Education.
Some teachers favor an apprenticeship model of scaffolding, where an expert models an activity, provides advice and examples, guides the student in practice, and then tapers off support until the student can do the task alone. Others prefer methods that encourage ongoing consultation with other people, since in life few people ever work exclusively on their own.
From “Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy” by Linda J. Lawson. Used with permission.
After you have read the passages above, discuss the following questions:
Part II. Identify examples of scaffolding used by teachers in
Program 2. (15 minutes)
For each of the teaching segments in the program, brainstorm examples of scaffolding that you saw:
Part III. Identify scaffolding that you currently do, or might consider. (20 minutes)
How do you sequence instruction? What sort of scaffolding techniques do you use? Do you provide students with the same level of support at all stages? Or do you strive to withdraw supports over time, allowing students more opportunities for creative autonomy?
Use the Instructional Sequence Worksheet (PDF) to sketch a teaching sequence you do, and analyze the scaffolding and student autonomy it involves.
Afterward, share with the group your instructional sequences and the ratings you gave the different steps.
As a group, discuss these questions:
If the overall goal is student autonomy, what is the relationship between the scaffolding a teacher provides and the creative autonomy students have?
What strategies can we use to increase the likelihood that students are making creative choices as artists?
Homework (On Your Own)
In your journal, describe two recent students — one who displayed great progress in his or her development as an artist, and one who struggled. For each student, reflect in writing on these questions:
GENERAL SITES
The Collaborative Classroom
http://www.ncrel.org Search for: collaborative classroom
Essay describing characteristics of collaborative classrooms, including teacher and student roles, interactions, challenges and conflicts, and relevant research
Constructing Knowledge In The Classroom
http://www.sedl.org Search for: scimast constructing
An article that introduces teachers to constructivsm and how it can be employed in the classroom including six characteristics of the constructivist classroom
Instructional Grouping in the Classroom
http://www.nwrel.org Search for: ward grouping
An article on reasons and strategies for creating learning groups in the classroom
Working Toward Student Self-Direction & Personal Efficacy as Educational Goals
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs Search for: personal efficacy
Information and strategies enabling students to take charge of their own learning
SCHOOL AND TEACHER SITES
Boody Fine Arts, Inc.
http://www.boodyfinearts.com Select: Artists, then 3-Dimentional Art
Photo gallery of Dale Zheutlin’s ceramic artwork
Denver School of the Arts Performing Arts Department
http://dsa.dpsk12.org Select: Majors, then Performing Arts Department
Department Web pages, including philosophy and course descriptions for Dance and Theatre
Denver School of the Arts Fine and Practical Arts Department
http://dsa.dpsk12.org Select: Majors, then Fine and Practical Arts Department
Department Web pages, including philosophy and course descriptions for Stage Craft and Design, Video Cinema Arts, and Visual Art
East High School
http://east.dpsk12.org
East High School’s school web site
Mamaroneck High School Art Department
http://www.mamkschools.org/education/dept/dept.php?sectiondetailid=3726& Select: Departments and Class Web Pages, then Art Department
Web page with student art gallery and description of course offerings
Brooks, Jacqueline Grennon, & Brooks, Martin. In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist Classrooms. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Revised edition, 1999. ISBN: 0871203588
Eisner, Elliot. The Arts and the Creation of Mind. Yale University Press, 2002. ISBN: 0300095236
Hogan, Kathleen, & Pressley, Michael. Scaffolding Student Learning: Instructional Approaches and Issues. Brookline Books, 1997. ISBN: 1571290362
Manning, Brenda H., & Payne, Beverly. Self-Talk for Teachers and Students: Metacognitive Strategies for Personal and Classroom Use. Allyn & Bacon, 1996. ISBN: 0205159486
Meichenbaum, Donald, & Biemiller, Andrew. Nurturing Independent Learners. Brookline Books, 1998. ISBN 1571290478