I read 'Becoming Dialogical: Creating a Place for Dialogue in Art Education', clutching my favorite yellow gel Sharpie highlighter. By the time I was finished reading / highlighting, my entire paper was yellow. I’m pretty certain that Housen and Yenawine would respond to Zander’s ideas with a hearty "AMEN! "Open-ended discovery, teacher as participant / facilitator, dialogue that fosters deeper understanding, students solving the problem, group meaning making, respect for differing points of view, clarification of ideas, conditional language…Mary Jane Zander could well be a pseudonym for Housen and Yenawine! (That was completely tongue in cheek, Zander, should you ever catch wind of my comment. ☺)
It seems to me, the way a person teaches is a reflection of the way that they themselves have been taught. My personal K-12 educational experiences prepared me for the industrial age. As I look around my own building many years later, I see classes where, despite having classroom technologies such as SmartBoards, iPads, and document cameras, students are STILL being prepared for the Industrial age. It’s frightening! I kept wondering why newer teachers weren’t teaching in new ways. Zander says, p. 48, that they are not given instruction or guidelines. Hmmmm, that explains a lot!
I believe that VTS is the perfect tool for open-ended dialog in the art room. Art lends itself well to open-endedness. Zander says that this way of thinking might not be possible for every classroom. She goes on to tell how a science is another subject ideal for open-ended dialogue. Being the visual person that I am, I’m wondering exactly how it would this process looks in other subjects and how do we get the rest of those instructors to join us in the Conceptual age?
I think you may be right that many people operate on an old antiquated model of teaching. Many still do teach the way they were taught. With good intention and care. However, I agree that that model is also outdated and does not serve the needs of todays student in todays world. Its a difficult transition to make becuase its systemic as well as individual. Got to start someplace right!
ReplyDeleteAs artists, I think we are naturally more inclined to teach as a creation, the teaching is the art in and of itself. Art is a dialogue, so it lends itself well to Zanders ideas. I know that I have worked this way for most of my teaching path. It works. Dialogical teaching should find its way into all teaching in all content areas. I am fortunate to work in a setting where it does and can tell it its incredible. So go forth and spread open ended dialogue! :)
One word...AMEN!
ReplyDelete