Chapter 10: Child Centered Art vs. Teacher Directed Projects

Teacher-directed Teacher-guided Child-centered

Literature Drama Music Visual arts

- Teacher has definite idea of what children will do - Specific instructions given - Product expected

- Undermines sense of psychological safety - Demonstrates disrespect for children's ideas, abilities, and creativity - Being told that they, and there art are inadequate

- Unstructured - Teacher may distribute materials but children are told to make what they want - Children have much input and choice

- Some children feel uncomfortable with the lack of structure - Limits teacher's role to organizing the environment - Children cannot create from nothing. They need ideas and suggestions

- Controversy exists - Brookes (1986) teaches five elements of shape: dot, circle, line, curved line, and angle line - Lowenfeld & Brittain (1987) disagree. Drawing is viewed as free expression. Teaching young children to draw pushed product over process - Edward's (1999) Teach drawing but not to young children. Wait until 10 or so

- Best of both worlds - Subtle structure with much child direction and input - Teacher supplies the theme - Teacher introduces new materials at art center - Teacher extends or builds on an existing activity or suggests a new technique - Teachers poses a problem - Teacher extends art into other curricular areas

- *Arts and crafts are opposite terms* - Motivation comes from within child - Kids are not often responsive or interested in teacher-directed experiences - When art is forced, children become extrinsically motivated, may lack meaning, or expressiveness or detail

- Use with older children who have solid foundation in processing and want to make products - When children tire of visiting the art center and have run out of ideas for processing - Introduce children to new cultures - While allowing for individual expression

1. Personally expressive 2. Balance of process and product 3. Open ended 4. Allow for discovery and experimentation 5. Active engagement and sustained involvement 6. Intrinsically motivating 7. Success oriented 8. Available to all children 9. Involve legitimate artistic media 10. Developmentally appropriate

Young children need to express themselves personally with a variety of artistic media

- Young children are process oriented - Enjoy art for the sake of doing and making - Often little concern for how it turns out - Older children become product oriented

- What they want to make (content) - How to go about making it (process) - What it will end up looking like (product)

They have discovered for themselves a new artistic technique through their own active experimentation

- Art should engage children - Capitalize on the young child's need for sensory-motor exploration and movement

- Children will engage in art for the sheer pleasure and reward inherent in it - *Monetary and symbolic reward decreased children's interest in drawing* - Teacher's praise actually increased it - Be sure praise is aimed at the process not the outcome

- Ensuring that art is developmentally appropriate - Moderately challenging - Teacher goal is to help children become competent and feel good about themselves

- Art is neither masculine nor feminine - Art fosters children's feelings of esteem, success, special needs, exceptionalities, and multicultural backgrounds - Punishment should never include missing art

Have easels, finger paints, clay, etc Collage, paper Printing Design Resist Sculpture

- Take into account child's developmental abilities - Never mind chronological age

Teachers use information to inform decisions regarding curriculum, assessment, behavior guidance, and interactions with children: 1. Age/Developmental Level 2. Individual Child 3. Family/Culture

*Not Creative Art:* - Photocopied or mimeographed sheets - Cut and past activities - Tracing patterns - Coloring book pages - Dot to dot - Crafts - Holiday gifts

1. An emphasis on teacher input and direction 2. A high degree of structure 3. A specified product