I love the “give an A policy” One complaint I always had about art school was the subjective grading. There were always rubrics that described the requirements but none factored in the professor’s opinion or hidden expectations. It is hard to place a grade value on something like a painting or performance. While I am sure most teachers would never intentionally grade based on their opinion I think the teacher’s preference for style and technique are always reflected.
Additionally I’d like to share this quote from the book, The art of Possibilities, page 18.
“On our path to achieving a goal we inevitably encounter obstacles. Some of the more familiar ones, aside from other people, are scarcities to time, money, power, love, resources, and inner strength.”
I think this passage speak for itself… Ain’t that the truth
The following video is a close up 3-D examination of the David by Michaelangelo. The video reflect the vision and dreams of Stanford University students as well as the extraordinary talent of the original artist.
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@ Micheline: Grading art is a perfect example of "It's all invented," too. Give an A makes so much sense, especially with art, and in education in general. I've enjoyed the No Risk activities that we've had through Full Sail. This has been my first experience with such "grading." I actually poured myself deeper into those assignments, too. Because of my experiences, I tried this approach with my 6th grade science students on some activities and watched them enjoy their productivity, too. These assignments have included for them to show their understanding of the layers of earth's atmosphere, the layers of earth's interior, and how to care for endangered species. Submitted projects have included sculptures, paintings, photographs, poetry, and music videos. I have enjoyed this year of teaching, excuse me: facilitating, because of this implementation of Give An A (or No Risk Activity).
ReplyDeleteFrom: Deborah Cowden
@ Micheline- Everything is subjective, but when we critique art, produced by any age level, our rubrics and goals for teaching have to be the objective measure of whether or not the student has learned what we set out to teach. I can say to a class, "You all start out with an "A", but the state standards shatter that quickly. When I write lesson plans-I'd be fired if I didn't meet the criteria of the state standards and measure success and failure. However- if I teach private lessons or I'm at a liberal art school, those requirements could possibly change. So, where as I personally like the "Give an A" activities- not many of our lessons can be so risk free. If you ever entered anything into an art show-you know your at the mercy of the judges taste. You might start out thinking," hey this is a no risk activity", but you eventually become aware that someone will see and judge your work. It's a temporary illusion. We are always comparing our selves and our work to others.Unless your one of the rare few- that doesn't give a rip what anyone thinks, but these are rarely students.
ReplyDeleteForgive me for jumping all over the place with my comments but there was a lot that your post triggered in my mind…
ReplyDeleteFirst, I find the “Giving Yourself an A” method to be so freeing! Looking back on my work at Full Sail over the past months, the best work I did was for the No Risk Activities because the pressure was taken away.
After reading the chapters in the book, I loved the part in the book about the letters written to the students’ future selves one year later after students had given themselves an A in music class. I started to think more about what I could do to implement that in my classroom, especially with my drama students, to free them to do their best without the pressure. I might consider having my drama students give themselves an A then write letters to themselves about how they will be after they complete their next production performances. I see how this relates to and might be a remedy for the issue of subjectivity that you discussed in the artistic context.
Finally, your sculpture of David video shows the human potential when it is called to do its best. It may seem strange to grading traditionalists, but giving yourself an A may actually be more of a motivator than having students “earn” an A.
First of all, that was an amazing video on 3D rendering of David. I remember during my study abroad in Italy going to Academia to see the magnificent statue and nothing compared to seeing it up close in real life. The detail in the veins and muscles was incredible.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that as an art teacher, it is difficult to hear the uninspired words of our students. It is difficult to hear them struggle and think they can’t do anything right. Often, I hear the words. “Is this right..how about now, does it look good now?” They are so concerned with doing it right that they ask about every line, every brush stroke. It’s exhausting for me and them, yet I am subjectively grading them. And now I know the expectation of creating a perfect piece of art is very hard on a student. I do love the giving an A concept. It allows for much more freedom of expression.
@Micheline, I think you made some excellent points. It is frustrating for students and teachers to come to a common ground especially when it comes to "subjective grading." Especially if a person is passionate about the product they produced.
ReplyDeleteI always was encouraged by a teacher that made statements like "right now everyone has a A", but in order to keep this A you must complete x, y & Z. Because the fear of failure is constant in most minds and hearts, this is a bit encouraging to some.
As much as we as instructors try to limit the amount of subjective grading we engage in, whether it's through the use of rubrics or alignment of course content with standards, in the end it is all too easy for personal bias to seep through.
ReplyDeleteI think that the most illuminating aspect of the giving an "A" exercise is that it allows students to pre-reflect on what an "A" really means. I don't know, but I would be willing to bet that most students, even those tougher students, when being truly honest would come to similar conclusions as their instructors if given the chance to really define what an "A" means.