Reflect ) ) ) ) An important part of Art Education

Reflection gives students a “construction of meaning” and is important in “Thinking Metacognitively”, as explained in chapter 10 of “Studio Thinking” by Hetland. There are two processes, pointed out by the Author, that Educators can use to bring about quality reflection from their students. First is to “Question and Explain” where the student is asked to “explain their process, decisions, and intentions”. (Hetland) Asking them to think about and explain an Art Project puts them in the position to reflect upon what they just accomplished and what they learned both about themselves and the processes of working with the medium or the difficulties they found in completing the task. The atmosphere in the class has to be one of openness which could be achieved by the Teacher modeling this with one of their own pieces. Talking about problems they may have had, or how they learned from past experience  would give students and idea of the type of reflective thinking they should do. No students would say they had no problems or didn’t learn any techniques while creating their piece so they should be able to think of some ideas. They also want to express why they did what they did to the class. This in a way can explain why something didn’t turn out the way they wanted or a way to explain the ideas behind their individual creation. Most students will like to do this but if they are reluctant a few open ended questions like “Why did you choose that color?”, or “is there a story behind the composition?” can get them started.

The other process detailed by Hetland is “to evaluate the work, whether their own or that of others”. This can sometimes be difficult for students but if they start out by evaluating their own work it may be less stressful for them. Also as Educators we need to let the students know they need to be respectful of others at all times and that all projects they work on are learning experiences and to learn we should be open to the view point of others. Some students may want to hear what other students think before they explain what they were trying to create. You could mix it up and have a critique from peers like they are being Art Critiques and then have them interview each artist with questions about their piece. This would give them a chance to see how knowing what the Artist was doing effects their response to the piece.

Resources:

Hetland, L. (2007). “Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education.” New York, NY: Teachers Press.