Blocks Paper Scissors

Constructivism in a TAB classroom

In this episode, we discuss constructivism and how it relates to a TAB artroom. As mentioned in the podcast. Here are the twelve indicators (TAB) adapted from In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist Classrooms by Jacqueline Grennon Brooks and Martin G. Brooks

1.Choice based art teachers encourage and accept student autonomy and initiative.

2.Because of the very nature of visual arts education, choice based art teachers use primary sources and raw, physical, manipulative interactive materials to inspire and catalyze learners.

3.Choice based art teachers encourage students to generate, utilize and create their own ideas and artistic problems when engaged in art making activities.

4.In order to facilitate ownership, choice based art teachers allow students to drive artistic activity, shift instructional strategies and alter instructional content.

5.Choice based art teachers make inquiries into student’s previous knowledge of artistic content and encourage students to express their knowledge before sharing their own understandings.

6.Choice based art teachers encourage students to engage in dialogue and artful conversation, communicating art ideas, knowledge and creative processes with one another.  

7.Choice based art teachers encourage students to research their art and ideas.

8.Choice based art teachers seek and encourage student reflective thinking expressed through ongoing dialogue, reflective writing and artist statements.  

9.Choice based art teachers engage students in experiences that contradict their initial understandings of content or hypothesis and then initiate discussion for student’s further consideration.

10.Choice based art teachers afford students time for artistic ideas to incubate.  

11.Choice based art teachers allow students time to develop understandings of art content.  

12.Choice based art teachers facilitate learning through the use of discovery, introduction of concepts and concept application. The “Learning Cycle Model” (discovery learning) is a distinctive feature of choice based art education.                                          

Curriculum and Instruction

Curriculum and instruction is the heart and soul of TAB pedagogy. In this podcast the two veteran art teachers have a wide ranging discussion about their teaching practice. They discuss the importance of weaving art education content into emergent creative experience while name dropping several artists and educators. Clark and Clyde also discuss lesson demonstration transitions to studio activities, interacting with learners and how they use open ended questions to scaffold children's art experience.

Road Trip

It this episode of the Blocks Paper Scissors Podcast, Clark and Clyde are joined by Katie Bonilla as they drive to Ball State University to listen to a roundtable discussion on TAB and Choice Art ed. Katie is an Elementary Art teacher from Avon, Indiana. She is a TAB teacher with some very interesting stories. In addition to some random silliness, we also talk about tacos and answer questions from listeners. Special thanks to bensound.com for providing the music in this podcast.

Assessment

In our third episode, Clark and Clyde share their thoughts on assessment in an emergent art education curriculum and the problem of optimizing learning experience in cognitively diverse TAB classrooms.Special thanks to bensound.com for providing the music in this podcast.

Room Arrangement

In our second episode, Clark and Clyde talk about a critical aspect of TAB pedagogy: room design. The physical learning environment and it's connection to creative learning experience and developing artistic behaviors are examined in this week's podcast. Check the photo's below for examples of learning centers, pop-up centers and learning provocations. Special thanks to bensound.com for providing the music in this podcast.

 

In the Beginning....

In this episode Clyde and I discuss how we got started in Teaching for Artistic Behavior and other various rants and side discussions. Special thanks to bensound.com for providing the music in this podcast.