Choice-Art Educators (CAE) Column: Fall 2023

TAB for ALL

Guest columnist: Susan Weinman, Middle School Art Teacher, Los Angeles Unified School District, California.

At UCLA, the teacher preparation program centered around constructivist theory. Students would take ownership of their learning. While I understood what that meant, I wasn’t sure how it would look in an actual classroom. I wanted real tools, not theoretical ones. After 19 years of teaching K–2 in a general education setting, I became a middle school art teacher to more than 200 students.

Five years after attending the Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) Summer Institute, and 7 years after developing a fulfilling art program, I am happily fostering a student-led art studio based on the principles of TAB: (1) The child is the artist, (2) The classroom is the child’s studio, and (3) What do artists do?

Sixty of my students receive special education services. With a few exceptions, I don’t have a lot of support. My classes meet daily and are mixed (Grades 6–8) and range from 30 to 38 students. TAB is successful for students who receive special education services because they get to choose what they work on, and the student-directed open studio allows these students to be successful alongside their neurotypical peers.

The term affective filter is often used in second-language acquisition circles to describe the imaginary wall students put up that prevents input and blocks cognition. Stephen Krashen (as cited in Gonzalez, 2020) proposed that there are three effective variables that a teacher can address to make their classroom more welcome: motivation, self-confidence, and reduced anxiety.

Motivation

In a choice-based art model, students choose what materials they will be using and what they will make. In my art room, students can use the sewing machine, paint, draw, build, and more. Making your own choices validates your ideas and imagination. Imagine you came to art class wanting to sew some new gloves and the teacher said that you have to make a copy of The Starry Night.

Self-Confidence

My school is roughly 70% Latinx and 28% Asian, and 30% of my students receive special education services. I make a conscious effort to highlight living artists who reflect the demographics of my students, including artists with disabilities.

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Reduced Anxiety

In a student-led art room, anxiety is reduced because they are not under pressure to make art that looks like a teacher model. The art room has flexible seating. The teachers at our site are asked to greet students at the door, converse what them on an individual basis, and provide differentiated instruction to reach all students.

A student-led, choice-based TAB art room is the perfect place to reach those goals and create an environment where students feel motivated, confident, and anxiety-free.

Student Highlights

The names have been changed for privacy reasons.

I had shown a tape-image-transfer demonstration. Jacob, who often appears not to pay attention, came over and asked for some tape. We found the packing tape together, then he walked away. Fifteen minutes later, he returned with the most amazing composition. He transferred the image, grabbed some fluorescent card stock, used some confetti that I had handed out earlier, and put it all together. This piece hangs in my closet.

Frank is a new student this year, and he really took to cardboard creations. In addition to basic art studio supplies, the students have access to several types of cardboard cutters, hot glue, and special tape. Frank embraced the open studio and often had ongoing projects. He would walk in, get settled, then find his project and start creating.

Michael loved the large cardboard boxes that could fit around the body. He was having difficulty with his other classes but loved being in the art room. He would often linger after class. I had to coax him downstairs to the next class. We had a couple of acceleration days during spring break with three sessions per day. I had Michael for double sessions. He was so happy to be there.

At the end of the year, we are asked to give awards for the 8th-grade awards ceremony. TAB is not based on extrinsic motivation, but I did give the highest award to Charles. Charles sometimes experienced great difficulty interacting with others, but I felt he embodied what I wanted the students to embrace: Bring your idea, find the materials, make your art, put it away, and repeat the next day.

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Reference

Gonzalez, V. (2020, September 22). What is the affective filter, and why is it important in the classroom? Seidlitz Education. https://seidlitzblog.org/2020/09/22/what-is-the-affective-filter-and-why-is-it-important-in-the-classroom

Julie Jacobusse and Maggie Leysath, CAE Co-Presidents