Chapter 8

Title:
Contributing to Visual Culture
Student Artistic Production and Assessment (Ch. 8)

Author(s):
Dr. Kerry Freedman

 

Source/Date:
Teaching Visual Culture: Curriculum, Aesthetics, and the Social Life of Art

 

 

Main Idea/Purpose:
Chapter eight involves the application of all that has been discussed in the previous chapters. Freedman takes the fundamental principles of being able to interpret visual culture and applies that to the art classroom, discussing the various aspects of portfolio formation, art critiques, and assessment.

 

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

When looking at the role of art in an educational setting, the focus is not merely on individual student production. Freedman (2003) observes that “it is the foundation of a learning community and a socially interactive environment that involves individuals and groups in viewing, discussing, analyzing, debating, and making art” (p. 147). Being able to teach students the skills to view, interpret, analyze, and derive meaning from images is the overarching goal of the art educator. In a successfully functioning classroom, students can “make art that comments on social injustice, community change, and concern for the environment” (p. 148). Freedman observes that it is about the personalization of social issues, not just about individual emotions. Freedman also discusses the scientific rhetoric of modern art education and how it has provided a platform for institutional reform discourses. Scientific rhetoric can be described as “an element of certain professional discourses, including educational discourse that exemplifies some common beliefs about the structure, applicability, and certainty of science” (p. 148).Through this rhetoric, Freedman (2003) identifies that “objective truths will be discovered and measured” and that those truths can provide an educational model for a successful curriculum (p. 148). Having said that, Freedman also acknowledges issues pertaining to assessment in art education and how the demand for measurable learning through testing has increased. Providing students with the skills necessary to be able to shift from a personal like or dislike of art to a more meaningful interpretation and understanding of art will broaden their experiences with visual culture. In conjunction with this, art educators are to utilize formative assessment as well as rubrics and benchmarks to determine a student’s educational achievement. Freedman claims that portfolios and reflective writing are a powerful method for assessing student achievement over a period of time. The formation of a portfolio allows students the capacity to develop a theme within their work, which can be researched and built upon through the investigation of their ideas. Freedman also discusses the benefits of peer and self-assessment through group critiques of student art. Through a critique, students are “expected to articulate relevant art knowledge (for example, analyze the formal qualities of the work or relate it to a historical art style) and reflect on its meaning” (p. 155). Through scaffolding, educators can facilitate a thoughtful and productive group critique of student’s artwork.

Response/Critical Reflection:

After reading this chapter, I cannot help but to think of my recent visit to TrinityHigh School. My encounters with the students of the International Baccalaureate program had greatly exceeded my expectations. Only having my own high school art experiences to relate to, I was astounded with the level of research and critical thinking that I observed through students’ work. In high school, I had never been encouraged to carry a sketchbook to research and develop my ideas. Because of this, I would end up creating art for the sake of art, with no meaning or value attached to it. This caused me to feel somewhat removed from my artwork. Aesthetically, I was pleased with my artwork, but I felt that it lacked deeper meaning and served no real purpose to me. Viewing the research workbooks of the students at TrinityHigh School and discovering the intense level of research that each of the workbooks demonstrated was incredible. Each student had investigated ideas and built upon them, developing more and more conceptual works of art as they progressed. In my future classroom, I know that I will be an advocate for the implementation of research workbooks such as the ones I observed at Trinity. Allowing students the space to be able to build on their ideas and connect them to previous ideas will provide a stronger foundation for more a meaningful artistic production. Giving students the interpretive and analytical skills necessary to be able to interpret art allows for a more critical analysis of visual culture. The implementation of this strategy at the high school level, or at any level for that matter, is beneficial in aiding student development and achievement.