Week 2 comment post: Response to Patti

I can't agree more about the ideas of art teachers being their own agents of change. I have been very fortunate in working for a school district that does hold strong value in art. I have my own room, budget and freedom to mold my program to my taste. While my school does value the arts it is not a priority to upgrade and expand the scope of learning art.

It is up to the art, music, and drama teachers to develop modern curriculum include technology and utilized the internet as a tool in their classroom. Next year I am looking into a way of engaging students in a class website where they will be able to post their own art work, comment on art, and look at art reproductions.

I'd love to check out this book! Thanks for sharing.

Link to the original post:
http://pduresky.blogspot.com/2010/05/wk-2-mind-in-art-cognitive-foundations.html

Wk 2- "Mind in Art- Cognitive Foundations in Art Education" by Charles M. Dorn
Mind in Art discusses the foundational concept that thinking and making art is an intelligent behavior. To construct a curriculum in any domain we must recognize that it has it's own forms of understanding. Learning in art depends both on knowing what mental processes are needed in that discipline and how we order the tasks of what students need to know and be able to do in that discipline.
( Including linguistic knowledge and being able to discuss and critique art works and
art pedagogy) Art learning requires not only focal and procedural forms of knowledge, it requires the teacher to consider reordering the critical, historical and procedural strategy already available and apply them in a more focused way. Because our goal includes artistic conception and creation- rather than just acquisition of art knowledge- we are teaching them to synthesize information and transform it into a very personal interpretation. The book also speaks about how art teachers must become their own change agents in the curriculum reform. It contends that art is not often considered a "serious" academic subject because people do not understand the methodology, assessments and benefits of their children in learning art disciplines. We as teachers must continually advance and promote art education on a school-wide, state-wide and national level and be involved in it's evolution and progress.