Blog 2

     The traditional approach to education of memorization and regurgitation was the approach I was introduced to. It is a structured and rigid form of imparting knowledge where you either get it or you don’t. Authentic Intellectual work seems to require more intellectual engagement with the material. There is a presentation of the subject and then the students are directed to develop their own ways of engaging with it using some prior knowledge, in depth understanding of it, and the development and expression of what they have learned. Artistic practices are hands on learning where you start with the line and must learn to walk before you can run. Authentic intellectual instruction comes with advanced study and skill. In class criticism is where the student is engaging in this approach. The artist must present their work in whatever stage it is in and their peers critique the work on form, composition, the elements of art that appear in the work, as well as their interperitation of it and all parties are instructed to use artistic vocabulary and descriptions of what they see and referring to other works if they see similarities in composition. 

Technology is a tool that can be used to teach artistic basics but it cannot replace traditional media. While it is completely possible to use a tablet and drawing tool to have a model sit and do life drawing, it is one form of media instruction, and the instruction would differ completely from life drawing being taught with pencil and paper, or charcoal on paper. In artistic instruction there are many forms of media to instruct students in. The student being taught through the technological path will not know to use the fingers, tortillions, or erasers as tools in the creation of an image. That being said however, digital integration at the earliest grade levels can be cost effective for budgetary reasons but young students would not have the same returns intellectually or just the joy from getting their hands dirty.  

Artistic instruction from the secondary school level on would employ both AIW framework and the Triple E’s. Elementary school would be an ideal place to teach the very basic elements of art. Once students approach 7th grade would be when more Engagement, Enhancement, and Extension would come into pedagogical play. Their prior knowledge base would then prepare them to be shown works by artists of the past, introduce them to artistic movements and how they correlate to history, direct them to try applying different styles to an assignment bringing in their prior knowledge base but also getting them to engage with it fully by relating the assignment to something in their own lives and homes. Then by introducing the students to criticism, and helping them get past the negative connotations that that word has with its contemporary usage, having them engage with one another and also testing what they have learned by their participation. 

As far as closing the “Digital Divide” in artistic instruction, technology is just another medium to teach but not a replacement. At our own SOSU there are two paths of study in the visual arts degree plans: Studio Art and Graphic design. Studio art focuses on classical artistic instruction with some digital components such as: Photoshop and Digital Photography. For the most part this field of study focuses on the creation of art sometimes done in the exact way it would have been done hundreds of years ago with differences being supplies that can be procured within modernity that the safety department and state laws do not prohibit. Graphic Design would mostly be done with technology and a student’s prior knowledge base and some overlap with some practical artistic classes. 

Newman, F. M., King, M. B., & Carmichael, D. L. (2007). Authentic Instruction and Assessment [Review of Authentic Instruction and Assessment]. Iowa Department of Education, 1–105.

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Kolb, L. (2020, December 9). Triple E Framework. Triple E Framework. https://www.tripleeframework.com