I've been a fan of the term Student-Directed for a while now and for two reasons. First, because it sums up, to some degree, the classroom expectation. Ultimately at South B, we want the student to be in charge of their art education. We want them making decisions about the subject they will explore and the media they will select. The other reason is because admins like it. If someone says Student-Directed to an admin, they are hooked ;) But the truth is, Student-Directed, as great as it sounds, isn't really what we do. What we really do is Teacher Guided/Student Decided. So what really is Teacher Guided/Student Decided? It's actually three different methods of teaching depending on the needs of the student. 1. Student Decided. 2. Teacher Guided/Student Decided. 3. Teacher Provided. Let's take a closer look at all three. Student DecidedStudent Decided: The student comes to class with an idea. The teacher facilitates by providing material, guidance/suggestions to help bring the students vision to fruition. The teacher says, You have an idea? Great! How can we help you bring your idea to life? So How does this work? For these students, the teacher is really a facilitator. What materials do they need that we can provide? What techniques might the student need to know? What suggestions about composition, media, or other can we recommend. Teacher Guided/Student DecidedTeacher Guided - Student Decided: the student comes to class looking for ideas and inspiration. The teacher provides ideas, inspiration, material choices, suggests possible projects. Monday units, Wednesday artists, Thursday techniques The teacher says, Not sure what you want to create? No problem! We have some great Monday Units guaranteed to inspire ideas. So How does this work? In a Teacher Guided - Student Decided situation, the teacher provides information and inspiration. For example, each Monday, the teachers at South B present a new unit that demonstrates how artists think and work. We call these units Artistic Behavior Units. Artists Steal, Artists Solve Problems and Artists Collect & Synthesize are just a few of the many units we present. These units provide students, not only information about how artists think and work but can also be used as inspiration for the development of their own projects. In other words, the teacher guides the topic but the student decides what they will create. Other examples of teacher guidance includes Artist Wednesdays and Technique Thursdays. The Artist Wednesday provides the students a look into how contemporary working artists incorporate artistic behaviors in their art. Technique Thursdays offer students hands on opportunities to add more traditional art techniques to their artistic toolbox. Teacher ProvidedTeacher Provided: the student comes to class without an idea and looks to the teacher to provide one. The teacher offers project idea suggestions that include material recommendations. Monday units, Tuesday tables. The teacher says, You have no idea what to make? The Tuesday Table will set you up with a project idea and introduce you to new project materials. So How does this work? There are times when a student doesn't have an idea and the unit doesn't inspire them. These students are looking for a project idea. Even in a TAB setting, the teacher needs to be prepared for this situation. Students respond to choice in different ways. Some jump at the chance to make all the decisions, while others are more reluctant. For these students, offering a project may be just what they are looking for. At South B, we offer the Tuesday Table. Each week, we present a different hands on project that for those students looking for an idea. We have both 2D Table Projects and 3D Table projects. 2D table projects include Marbling, Stencils and Cray Pens. 3D Table projects include Ugly Dolls, Piñatas, and Candle Making to name a few. Note: Any student can be one or switch back and forth between all three of these. It’s not a judgment, but rather a students mindset for that week.
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Art of South BArtwork by students at Art of South BThe Visual Arts Dept. at SBHS is like no other program in the state. Learn more, watch the Intro to South B video.
The PodcastListen to the
Make Artists Podcast with your host Ian Sands the choice based, student directed, Teaching for Artist Behavior, high school art teacher and stuff and things... but mostly stuff. What's TAB?Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) is a student-directed art education pedagogy that directs students to think and work as artists.
BooksMaking Artists picks up where The Open Art Room left off, covering issues and situations choice teachers encounter as they design their program.
The Open Art Room provides a student-centered approach to art instruction that is inspirational, practical, and classroom-tested.
ArticlesClick Here to read the May SchoolArts Article, "What If, TAB"
Click Here to read the March SchoolArts Article, Student-Directed Answers to Five Frequently Ask Questions
Click Here to read the January SchoolArts Magazine Article Engagement Grading
Click Here to read the November SchoolArts Magazine Article Is Disco The Cure For Artist Block?
Click Here to Read the 2019 Summer SchoolArts Magazine Article Realigning the Standards!
Click Here to Read the April SchoolArts Magazine Article Tracking Student Progress with the Burn Book!
Click Here to Read the February SchoolArts Article, Build A Dynamic Art Program with Modular Teaching!
Click here to Read the October SchoolArts Article, Artists Solve Problems
Click Here to Read the Summer SchoolArts Article, Art Traps for Reluctant Students
Archives
July 2023
CategoriesArt Teacher : Ian Sands
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