Issue 2 / 2015
a newsletter for art teachers, by art teachers
• Imagination
• A Place To Learn
• A Note On Exhibiting Students’ Work
• More Than Just A Gallery
• Art Teaching Then, Now & Tomorrow: A Panel Discussion
• Learning Journey To The NAEA Convention (New Orleans)
In this issue of STAR POST, we invite you to imagine.
To imagine the kinds of learning environment that will offer rich and meaningful learning experiences for today’s learners. An inspiring learning space that supports the varied learning styles, and promotes deep and engaged learning for all. A nurturing environment which values every child and seeks to ensure each child fulfils their potential. What does this learner-focused classroom look like? How can we create it?
Let’s envision the exciting possibilities.
Do you believe it is possible to teach someone to be imaginative? Does being imaginative mean being creative? In the art educational process, are there ever times when the imagination needs ’tempering’? Or even ‘tampering’ with?
On 26 June 2015, STAR Academy Principal Mrs Rebecca Chew was invited to speak as a panelist on the topic of ‘imagination’ at The Art and Science of Imagination (second of the series of Roundtable@SAM). Her speech is reproduced in full here.
I believe that the creative imagination resides within the person, and the environment influences and impacts how the person will be shaped and moulded.
How the child will grow up to appreciate his world around him is shaped by his personal choices available to him as he grows up. What constitutes these choices are made often by a deeper call as to why we need to have an overall environment that supports arts education. These include an environment with many experiences of powerful group arts interaction, of technical excellence. Whilst we are in busy Singapore, there is a call to better understand the place of having quality arts experiences in a child’s life.
I’d like to focus on the quality of arts learning experiences where we can impact the lives of younger people. Learning cannot be taken for granted. Teaching imagination seems just too contrived if we take it as a once-off in situ process. It takes time. Layering. What matters is how our classroom practice can unpack our assumptions of what inquiry learning is, how we can better our arts practices through process over time.
The notion of process learning towards nurturing a creative mind is paramount and this contradicts our Singaporean way of wanting everything quick and fast. I use the analogy of a kueh lapis where we need to take time for the first layer to set before pouring the next layer over it. In the same belabouring way for the over 40 layers of kueh, time is of the essence for pacing a child’s learning and nurturing his imagination. Much can be learnt to hear the child’s voice, his imagination of what is possible, and made sense through his creative expressions.
Learning needs scaffolding over time. The design in planning how creative ideas can be nurtured over time, over months and years requires reframing our own expectations of how we can better approach process learning.
I’d like to share a 2014 lesson conducted by Ms Guo Xuanyun, an art teacher and STAR Champion from Frontier Primary School. Her students were given a variety of stimulus: illustrations by Eric Carle, a poem ‘If trees could talk’ by Heather Dent. Primary 2 students were given the opportunity to sketch from observation in the school’s garden, extend and draw from their imagination with chalk on the school’s basketball court, and interact with their drawings by pretending one of them was part of the drawing as a leaf, caterpillar and so on. They did individual collages before making ‘garden-inspired’ hats. The parade by the students was an extension of their imagination honed over a stretch of time.
There must be the opportunities given to subjective expressions of creativity, where the young person is given the space to explore, experiment, discover and express himself.
• Ideas that connect, weave and make sense of the many arts classroom routines we have;
• Ideas that bring life inspire the quality of conversations we can have with each child;
• Ideas that bring design thinking in those precious few minutes create new understanding and awaken thoughtful thinking.
Significantly, the strength to have one idea to burgeon into many ideas to take flight is critical to nurturing the creative imagination. This is where we need to be a constant dialogue, negotiation for those change players to discuss what constitutes a quality learning experience for our young. Often it is beyond the classrooms, to those outside (policy makers, discussants, artists, family, and teachers) that create the significant environment for the arts education process to be enacted. Structure drives behaviour.
We believe that every child has the imagination to be creative. What makes the arts learning worth its quality? Most of the time, we teach to scaffold the deeper understanding of life’s issues through art and music.
In 2011, the Ministry of Education set up the Singapore Teachers’ Academy for the aRts. The Academy is committed to create such dialogic spaces for the collective voices to come together as a professional fraternity. There is emergent work where educators have taken up personal choices to conceptualise their ideas and made them into visible expressions, especially where our students can have a better opportunity to understand the artist in us. This dialogue as self and as a collective fraternity can only continue to promote, reframe and legitimise the state of arts education in our Singapore landscape.
For this burgeoning work, I am hopeful and look to the future for more of these collaborative platforms to rise. STAR works with all arts education officers for their inservice professional learning in teaching art and music in our classrooms. We believe that every child has the imagination to be creative. What makes the arts learning worth its quality? Most of the time, we teach to scaffold the deeper understanding of life’s issues through art and music.
The scaffolded approach makes this inquiry into nurturing creative minds possible; how perspective can be discovered, non-contrived connections be made in the subject domain to larger issues of life, and deepen habits of mind, routines to draw from the resources of the surrounding, to make sense through the lessons.
This takes a huge reframing for most teachers. We inherit in our memory what we think were the best practices for teaching art and music. Yet we prepare the imagination of the child to take flight into a world unknown also to us. Often the transformative teaching practices anchor on the teacher’s ‘aha’ moments in understanding how process inquiry learning scaffolds more opportunities for the individual space to be explored. STAR provides the interstitial spaces in our professional learning programmes to reframe our thinking of how we can design a supporting arts curriculum in support for the larger civic goals in life.
That is where the mission of work lies — in providing these dialogic spaces to convene more educators in bringing insight to how the creative imagination can be nurtured. Therein lies the challenge. Therein lies also the much needed patience to see how the practice will transform lives over time to impact contemporary Singapore.
Exciting.
u Mdm Chun Wee San, Programme Manager (Art), STAR
“Look
at your learning space with 21st century eyes: Does it work for what we know about learning today, or just for what we know about learning in the past?”
— Sir Ken Robinson, The Third Teacher (2010)
In the two-year research study carried out by PESTA and STAR on Physical Education, Art and Music teaching, four distinctive and effective art teaching practices that foster emerging 21st CC were identified:
• Encouraging ideas generation and conceptualising artistic work;
• Creating a lively, visually inspiring art learning environment;
• Documenting teaching and learning as part of an artistic cycle; and
• Planning for group learning and collaborative art-making.
In the last issue, STAR POST shared some practical strategies to encourage idea generation and facilitate artwork conceptualistion. In this issue, we will look at some of the characteristics of an art learning environment that promotes deep learning, enhances student engagement and engenders the skills and competencies necessary for the 21st century.
Besides physical safety, intellectual safety is also of paramount importance in an art classroom. To embark on an artistic inquiry, students need to feel safe to take creative risks and have the confidence to explore new things and ideas. In an intellectually safe classroom, students are encouraged to explore divergent sources for ideas, and generate different possible solutions to art problems. They might fail in the process, but teachers would assure them that failure is not necessarily a bad thing; it can be “instructive”, as Dewey suggested, “the person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes” (p. 206). When students frame failure as a learning experience, and understand that the creative process is iterative in nature, it is then possible to transform failures and mistakes into educative experiences.
Dweck (2006) tells us that adopting a growth mindset can also be empowering and liberating. You won’t hear students lamenting that “I am not talented in art!” On the contrary, they believe that their artistic abilities and talents are malleable and not fixed, and these can be strengthened through persistence, hard work and dedication. Students feel empowered to learn and inspired to discover. Teachers also believe in students’ ability to learn, and conscientiously design learning tasks to support students’ art inquiry.
An emotionally safe environment empowers student voice, students can contribute with confidence, knowing that they will be listened to and their views help others formed more informed, educated opinions. They also celebrate the multiple perspectives and embrace the endless possibilities that a collaborative culture brings. There is a sense of inclusiveness, built on trusting relationships cultivated over time as students work and learn together.
A 21st century art classroom is also a haven of inspiration, a place for discovery and curiosity. Apart from contributing to a visually stimulating environment, the artworks around the classroom serve to validate students’ efforts and accomplishments. Besides accomplished artworks, teachers also display preparatory boards, sketches and exploratory works to illustrate the artistic process. Both finished and exploratory works are valued for providing insights into how students learn. Prototypes and demonstration aids are also purposefully integrated into the teaching and learning environment. The art displays could extend into other parts of the school compounds, and teachers might also create opportunities for students to learn about curating art exhibits in public spaces. When students participate in making decisions about their learning environments, it helps to instil a greater sense of ownership and belonging to the school. In the next article, A Note on Exhibiting Students’ Work, by Mr Lim Kok Boon, you will read practical tips and useful guidelines on creating a visually vibrant and inspiring environment.
Cornell (2002) opined that 21st century learning is best facilitated in environments that “promote interaction and a sense of community [that] enable formal and informal learning”. In such environments, learning spaces are flexible and adaptable, and available spaces are used creatively to maximise its potential to develop 21st CC. Moveable furniture and fittings can also be reconfigured to accommodate both individual learning and collaborative inquiry. Teachers also actively infuse collaborative opportunities into the lessons and capitalise on the diversity within the class to enrich learning. Furthermore, the teacher is no longer confined to the front of the classroom presenting information, but moves around the spaces with ease to support learning, as well as learn alongside students. This flexibility extends to the curriculum spaces where students and teachers work together as co-learners and co-designers of learning experiences (McCombs & Miller, 2007).
Learning activities connect to the real world and extend beyond the traditional boundaries of the classroom. Students embark on learning expeditions to museums, galleries, artists’ studios, and other cultural institutions, and teachers tap on the resources that these places offer to provide students with immersive experiences to enhance their understanding of a topic under study. In their study on the value of educational field trips, Greene, Kisida and Bowen (2014) reported that students who attended a school-organised art museum tour demonstrated “improvements in their knowledge of and ability to think critically about art, display stronger historical empathy, develop higher tolerance” (p. 86). These students were also more likely to visit the museum again in future.
Learning is also connected to students’ personal interests and their lives. Learners are at the heart of the learning, where teachers help students find their interests and build on them to foster intellectual curiosity. Neuroscience research has also pointed to the importance of emotional connection and relevance to learning. Students are more likely to find learning meaningful when they are emotionally engaged with the content and when the learning is connected to their prior experiences. When learning is personally meaningful and gratifying, the rate of retention is also much higher.
In his book Making Learning Whole, David Perkins (2009) identified two plagues of teaching — 1) elementitis: teachers tend to teach a topic in a fragmented manner, and students rarely have the chance to see how the seemingly disparate elements connect, hence missing the bigger picture. Using the baseball game as a metaphor, Perkins suggested that this is akin to students practising the various components of the game, but never get to experience playing the whole game; 2) aboutitis: teachers teach about the topic, but students do not get to apply the knowledge and skills in meaningful ways or novel contexts. Perkins argued that teachers can make learning more relevant and worthwhile by letting students “play the whole game” and engaging them as members of the discipline, playing a junior version of the game in schools, so learning and work at school can matter to them more.
“We can facilitate deeper and richer learning when we design spaces with learning in mind.” (Chism, 2006, p. 2.1). How are you designing your learning spaces to facilitate meaningful student-centric learning experiences? Do share your ideas with us!
u Mr Lim Kok Boon, Programme Director (Art), STAR
Exhibiting students’ work can take many permutations and be driven by myriad reasons. This short text describes some of these possibilities seen in our schools, explains what motivates art teachers to exhibit students’ work, and presents some considerations to think about if you want to review the way you have been showing students’ work, or you are just starting out to explore this dimension of art teaching.
The term ‘exhibit’ means to put something up — typically an artwork or an object of interest — for public display. Both the process and the product related to an artwork can be put on display. By process, I refer to evidence of gathering information, ideating and conceptualising artistic work; or even after the work is made, written or image accounts by students of what they think and say in relation to other artworks or subjects.
By-products produced during the artistic process can sometimes be more interesting than displaying the final artefacts, even if that idea was discarded or abandoned. By-products open a window into the world of the maker. It shows aspects of ‘workin-progress’, how materials and technical processes
are applied, and more importantly, it shows features of the artistic process. Displaying by-products in sequence or in relation to preliminary sketches can show the imagination and art skills, as well as the thought processes of its maker.
The product can be referred to any physical object. Mock-ups for a final work or the final artwork itself could be a product. Displaying something incomplete sits between showing the process and the product. Showing something half-finished might show the concept, structure beneath and steps taken thus far; it might show an aspect of completeness that sufficiently demonstrates the maker’s technical competency. So showing process should refer to making students’ thinking and decision-making visible, while showing product ought to refer to displaying the complete artworks by students.
In the course of my work at STAR, I have the good fortune to visit schools, talk to art teachers and students, and view students’ work. Table 1 on page 9 and 10 shows possible combinations of why, what and how students’ works can be displayed.
• Show product, valuing certain characteristics of artworks
• Show process, valuing certain materials, technical complexity, steps, effort or other considerations
• Showing everyone’s work signals the importance of effort and commitment, and celebrates each work for what it is; motivates students to complete and submit their work knowing in advance they will be displayed
• Showing selected works allows the teacher or students to curate to a particular theme or feature, which brings out a desired aspect of the works when they are shown together. If artworks and artefacts are shown together, the appropriateness and coherence of the selection is important. The inclusivity and opening of what is selected, and how the justification is explained would make the exhibition outstanding
• Promote the good work of teachers; promote the school’s art programme
• Contribute to the vibrant visual environment and cultural richness of the school or community
• Inculcate the concept of exhibition as a Studio Structure (from Studio Thinking)
• Provide a platform for students to celebrate achievement and accomplishment
• Provide a platform to showcase an art curriculum
• Share with peers, teachers, and parents (e.g. exhibition timed with Parent-TeacherMeetings, Open House, Arts Festivals)
• Introduce new learning opportunities, e.g. using exhibitions as a means to build class rapport when student sub-committees are formed to make decisions, set-up, show visitors around and tear down exhibition
• Emphasise the idea that exhibition is an important facet of the artworld. “Exhibiting art completes the artistic cycle”
• Present new visual experiences, through regular new exhibitions, to inspire students to look, think, feel and question
Students’ work refers to things made or things done by students. They include things that show process, artworks, as well as resultant products of art learning.
• Artworks (any art form, design work or craft type)
a. Selected artworks (but usually varied within the same space, unless the room is a designated space, e.g. Design lab or Ceramic studio)
b. Every artwork by every member of the class
• Preparatory studies (not limited to 8 prep boards used for coursework examination!)
• Selection of artworks from every level, thus showing the richness of an art instructional programme
• Reflection captured on video or audio
• Mindmaps of art tasks or written assignments. Other diagrams such as schematics, flowcharts and instructions that may aid the learner could also be shown
• Work-in-progress
• By-products of a particular lesson unit
• Sketchbooks
• Individual sketches in different media
• Experimental artworks (e.g. large muralsized charcoal drawings; painting on furniture)
• Short videos made by students on a video loop
• Works submitted to an art competition
• Wall of reflection
• Written essays (examination scripts or typical written assignments)
• Written comments on artists’ works
• Writing about objects of interests
• Actual student demonstrations or miniworkshops (why just show when you can show and tell?)
TABLE 1
• Framed or unframed
• Mounted on thick card, black paper or compressed foam (or variant)
• Un-mounted, neatly pinned or stapled
• Placed on easels
• Hung on strings outside the classroom louvre windows
• Hung on strings across the classroom to create additional display space
• On plinths
• On work-tables or work-benches
• On display panels, or purpose-built display boards on wheels
• Slideshow of students’ work (on a screen)
• Website, ‘picture gallery’ or blog
• Personal or individual student’s portfolio display (or blogs)
• Communal wall
• Canteen art wall
• Corridor spaces or walls
• Art studio or classroom walls
• Special art galleries
• Dedicated art galleries
Other artefacts and objects on display in the art studio which often complement the display of students’ work to create a visually inspiring learning environment could include:
• Newspaper cuttings, journal articles or posters related to art
• Newspaper cuttings related to student achievement
• Exhibition brochures, postcards or posters
• Commercially produced posters (e.g. elements of art, principles of design) or posters produced by students in accordance to a certain theme
• Motivational posters: reminders, Studio Habits of Mind competencies/traits/habits, quotes by artists, quotes from Singapore artists
• Objects of interest: man-made; natural; textural; oddshaped; sorted by other themes
• Collection of curious, rare, unusual or intriguing objects
• Art materials or colour charts
• Progress charts (from fun to very serious types)
• Examination schedules and other important notification
• Artworks or images of artworks by other artists
• Interview transcripts of questions and responses
If we consider the activity of exhibiting students’ work as part of a lesson, the considerations we might have for lesson design ought to apply for organising the display of students’ work. In a rationale-linear manner, we could ask ourselves these questions:
• Purpose — Why do I want to show these students’ work? What has the class or individual invested in the process or product that deserves public viewing? How do I explain the purpose of an exhibition or display in one or two sentences to my colleagues or students’ parents?
• Methods — How can I best showcase the quality of learning from exhibiting these works, given the constraints of space, time and other resources? What would be important qualities of the works (e.g. tactile, colour) that I want to show that serves as an ‘enabling constraint’ when I consider how the works can be displayed? How can I display the works so that they show students’ learning and accomplishment?
• Evaluation — How can the effectiveness of the display be evaluated against what I have set out to achieve?
From an artistic approach to lesson design perspective, we could ask ourselves these questions:
• Types of Goals and Priorities — What are my students curious about? How will my students benefit from the display? What aesthetics and educational objectives can my students achieve? If there is a stronger element of learning that comes through during the selection of works, how can I re-purpose the display?
• Types of Learning — What different things can students learn from organising and selecting works, putting up works, discussing works and the process of display? What will come more naturally for this specific group of students for the display of specific group of works?
• Types of Presentation — How can I allow my students to experiment with different types and modes of presentation? What have we not tried before? What can we learn from contemporary art exhibitions?
• Types of Evaluation — What are the different ways I can evaluate the process of the setting up of display?
The difference between the rationale-linear and artistic approach lies in their philosophical root rather than how they might pan out in reality. The former believes that a singular plan must be executed with finesse and exactitude from start to finish. The latter believes that purposes and plans are allowed to shift as long as the situation and context call for it to maximise imagination and learning possibilities.
According to David Burton, the exhibition planning process can be divided into five steps and involve students. More often than not, teachers plan and execute an exhibition plan. Although involving students will be a more tedious process, there are benefits that outweigh the tedium. The following checklist is adapted from Burton’s book Exhibiting Student Art (2006). Accompanying questions are added to facilitate teacher discussions on exhibiting students’ work.
• How can we encourage students to build consensus to decide on a theme?
• How is a ‘theme’ defined and explained to students?
• What criteria can we use to guide and aid students in their decision-making process?
• Does a theme help the selection of students’ work, or do students’ work help create a theme?
• Does a theme help answer the questions students may have?
• What spaces are available to show students’ work?
• How do we use the space purposefully to bring out the theme and the best of every work?
• How do we encourage students to discuss and come to a consensus on where each work is placed?
• How would an exhibition timetable and checklist help students to manage the task?
• How would visiting art exhibitions help students learn about exhibition design?
• How is the documentation process important to learning?
3. Exhibition Installation
• What does ‘exhibition installation’ entail?
• What existing display support do we have access to (e.g. easels, display stands/boards, plinths)?
• How will I put up each work without impeding the viewing or damaging the work? What will be manageable for students?
• How does the exhibition text support learning (e.g. exhibition description, wall text, students’ writings or drawings)?
• Are signs required to lead the viewer to the exhibition or display?
4. Exhibition Show & Tell
• Why is it important to ‘show and tell’ about an exhibition?
• What experience can different viewers have?
• How might a series of exhibitions over time cultivate an art audience?
• What happens during the gaps of exhibitions?
Exhibition
• Why is an exhibition reception important to student-artists or other stakeholders (e.g. exhibition preview, private-view, parents-night, opening/closing event)?
• What are the types of events that can accompany an exhibition to:
a. Promote understanding of the artworks, techniques or a particular theme/issue;
b. Provide air-time for student-artists to talk about their works;
c. Extend student-artists’ learning about exhibitions or about art;
d. Connect to other learning within and outside school?
• What kind of feedback will be constructive to our students’ learning process (i.e. from viewers, parents, other students, teachers)? Why?
Exhibiting students’ work can be a rewarding process, and can be used by teachers to teach, and reflect on professional practices. As illustrated above, involving students in one or more steps of an exhibition process can have educational outcomes. Like any teaching activity, the facilitation and quality of interaction between teacher and students are paramount to the learning. Exhibiting students’ work can be a reflective process because it requires us to explain what we teach, how students learn, and what is meaningful to students. Our own art education philosophy can be summoned and questioned by our thinking and actions as we plan, execute and evaluate an exhibition of students’ works. From an artistic standpoint, the saying “the journey is more important than the destination” might be useful to understand the value of exhibitions, rather than the grandeur or complexity of what is on display.
Burton, D. (2006). Exhibiting student art: The essential guide for teachers. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Marincola, P. (Ed.) (2006). What makes a great exhibition? Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative.
Marsh, C. & Willis, G. (2007). Curriculum: Alternative approaches, ongoing Issues (4th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.
u Miss Xie Shangyi, Art Teacher, Nanyang Girls’
It is a privilege that the school has a gallery space to exhibit artworks, and students are very encouraged to see their works on display. Such a space also has a lot of potential for learning beyond serving as an exhibition platform. Deciding the artworks and where to put them up is an art in its own terms, and there is certainly value in mastering the eye of curation. Becoming a curator is a career option that has long been neglected in local schools. Hence, instead of having the works ‘magically’ appearing on the walls, the art unit has decided to task the job to the students. We started the curatorial and docent module that spanned over a month.
More information about the Nanyang Art Gallery is available at: http://nyghartelectiveprogramme.weebly.com/ half-is-a-place.html
The first exhibition curated by the students was a solo show titled Half is a Place by our artist-in-resident, Mr Michael Chang. The experience was made as authentic as possible by allowing the students to work with a practicing artist and understand his range of works. From the many conversations with the artist and ploughing through written articles, students started to research and brainstorm for a suitable theme to link the selected works together. Thereafter, students were divided into the curatorial committee and docent committee to start understanding the gallery space and create an ideal audience experience. Students worked very closely with the school’s art technician, Ms Michelle Lim, to ensure that their ideas are practical and feasible.
The students were very quick and sensitive to pick up the theme of home that runs unconsciously throughout the artist’s works. That was something that Mr Chang himself was not aware of, and it was refreshing for him to see a retrospective of his works through the students’ perspective. Initially, the students had ambitious ideas to create an enclosed area representing a living space to contrast with the outer wall where the artist’s street photography could be displayed. However, after much experimentation and considering practical issues such as ensuring a comfortable viewing distance for all artworks, the idea took a drastic change and they adopted a more welcoming atmosphere to the gallery.
Having a group of student-curators can be a challenge as every individual has her opinions, and conflicts are unavoidable. But with the same goal in mind, and after many conversations and consultation with the teachers and artist, students learnt to negotiate and work as a team. Very quickly, the exhibition fell nicely into place and was accompanied by an audio guide that can be downloaded with a QR code. Students took pride of their curation and took the initiative to create publicity materials, and even had a competition on Instagram to attract more attention. The publicity announcement made to the school was very well-received and the exhibition welcomed an unexpected number of viewership.
Though this module might seem irrelevant to the syllabus and art-making, it has actually allowed the students to include the audience experience into the equation of art-making. Art is not just a self-indulgent activity, and looking at art is not merely about a picture in the book or on a website, the curation of the work plays a major part in maximising the art viewing experience. This module has also introduced the students to the contemporary art world through Mr Chang’s work, and extended the student’s understanding of art beyond the 19th and 20th century Western painting and sculpture. Students were able to apply their theoretical knowledge into a real gallery space with a real audience, the school population, in mind.
The art unit has plans to convert part of the gallery space into one that art students can frequent to do still-life drawing. We believe that drawing is a habit than a skill learnt. Still-life set ups and materials will be made available to students in the gallery, and the gallery space will be a nurturing environment for students to come whenever they are free to draw. The still-life set up will be changed every month to ensure that students have a range of objects to observe and to keep up the novelty.
The gallery is not just a space to exhibit works, but a space for experimentation, creativity, learning and fun.
u Mdm Victoria Loy, Master Teacher (Art), STAR
When I first started my teaching career at Presbyterian High School, I was responsible for teaching art to graduating classes. As a Beginning Teacher, I had to deal with 101 students who had zero inkling that their final projects were due in six months’ time. To better equip myself to support the students, I decided to take the proactive approach and seek out different schools with a niche in art. Extensively for three months, I would visit the schools after working hours and diligently learn the various art forms like batik, tie and dye, paper cut etc. from experienced art teachers. Through exposure to the different teaching styles of these experienced teachers, I was able to glean much and deepen my understanding of what constitutes good teaching. While it was a nerve-wrecking and exhausting six months, my efforts paid off fully when a high percentage of my students received distinctions in their national art examination that year.
Stemming from my own experience as an overwhelmed Beginning Teacher, I believe other Beginning Teachers did not have to undergo such struggles. Because of the experience I’ve had learning from other teachers, I strongly felt that I should create similar learning opportunities for the Beginning Teachers, offering them a glimpse into other art teachers’ classrooms.
At STAR, I tailored the Beginning Teacher Programme to support our new Art Beginning Teachers (BTs) in their first 1.5 year of teaching. Besides conducting professional development sessions on classroom routines, pedagogies in art teaching, and assessment for learning in art, I have also incorporated a special Learning Journey to Art Experienced Teachers’ schools for these BTs.
STAR thanks the following schools for hosting the Learning Journeys.
Thank you for your gracious hospitality and generosity!
• Ang Mo Kio Secondary School
• Chestnut Drive Secondary School
• Huamin Primary School
• Ngee Ann Secondary School
• St. Joseph’s Institution
• Raffles Institution (Year 5 & 6)
To tap on the teacher-leaders’ rich experiences and expertise in art teaching, I decided to invite selected experienced art teachers to host the learning journeys. I strongly believe that the BTs would benefit immensely from the sharing by the experienced teachers and they will also get to see different school learning environments through these learning journeys. Having the teacherleaders conduct these learning journeys is also pertinent to engendering a supportive teacher-led culture.
STAR hopes to nurture a strong teacher-led culture — that is, professional learning for teachers by teachers, and from the ground up where experienced teachers identify their own strengths and choose to lead others in learning. We hope to nurture a culture of open-ness where teachers share their teaching practices with other teachers. We encourage teachers to step forward to lead and share their knowledge with the fraternity. The sharing of expertise is mutually beneficial for both Beginning Teachers and teacher-leaders. While the Beginning Teachers reap from the knowledge shared, teacher-leaders who share gain from refining their teaching and mentoring practices. I see great value of doing this as I believe that “the best way for one to learn is to teach”.
1. Short tour of art facilities — art studios and art galleries (if applicable);
2. Sharing on the school’s art curriculum (e.g. the school’s general art programme, upper secondary art programme, art-related enrichment or CCA);
3. Sharing on how to build rapport with students and art studio management tips;
4. Sharing on art coursework (if applicable) and how the curriculum is designed developmentally over the years to prepare students who are taking the art national examinations.
Opened up my eyes and mind to the possible processes we can have in our lessons.
Refreshing to hear and see what other art teachers do in their schools. — Beginning Teacher
ST shared a lot about his journey. His assurance that to build something takes time makes me feel better and more motivated in being an art teacher. — Beginning Teacher
Mrs Vivian Tan
St. Joseph’s Institution
I gladly accepted the opportunity to share with the Beginning Teachers about the art programmes at St. Joseph’s Institution (SJI) because I am a strong advocate for collaboration. I believe every professional conversation can lead to mutual learning and understanding. The sharing session on 9 March 2015 confirmed this belief. As I shared the way we at SJI have developed our curriculum across levels, I became clearer about our rationale for doing certain things, but I also spotted blind spots in the curriculum that needed to be fine-tuned.
At the same time I felt energised through the sharing. It was truly an honour to have the opportunity to share with others about why and how we do what we do. I would use an aroma pot to illustrate this point. I felt like the lid has been removed from an aroma pot, and the scent was allowed to spread across the room. Some may enjoy it more than others, nonetheless it had the opportunity to be utilised.
My advice to all Beginning Teachers is to constantly seek to grow and share. Think of how you can grow from this experience, or how you can make something even better when you have the chance to do it again. Share with others your professional thoughts. If you are unhappy professionally, do something to improve that situation rather than to complain. If you can’t change a situation, let it go, at least for now.
Ngee Ann Secondary School
We felt really humbled to be able to share our teaching reflections with these enthusiastic Beginning Teachers. They reminded us of our days as Beginning Teachers when we were mentored by caring and professional experienced teachers in our respective schools. It was an invigorating and reflective experience for us to engage in such positive dialogue about art education and practice with passionate educators.
Upon reflection, we reminded ourselves of the constant need to communicate more openly and closely with our colleagues in the art team to provide direct support. We also realised the need for professional development in the range of media that we can facilitate. By doing so, we can provide more avenues of aesthetic development for our students.
Our advice for the Beginning Teachers would be for them to, first and foremost, familiarise themselves with the role of a 21st century art educator. They will also need to constantly hone their craft, reflect upon their lessons, and learn to harness the potential of new media for teaching and learning. Only when they become truly reflective educators and practitioners will their students be able to benefit most. Their art teaching paths may not be easy, but we are extremely confident that with resilience and passion, they will find great joy in the art education journey.
“A classroom that is functioning successfully as a third teacher will be responsive to the children’s interests, provide opportunities for children to make their thinking visible and then foster further learning and engagement.” (Fraser, 2012)
“We need to think about creating classroom environments that give children the opportunity for wonder, mystery and discovery; an environment that speaks to young children’s inherent curiosity and innate yearning for exploration is a classroom where children are passionate about learning and love school.” (Heard & McDonough, 2009)
“But education is not about transferring information from one to many; it is about learning within the student. When printed books were new, transferring information was vital, but today, information is ubiquitous and readily available, and students can pick it up when and where they want. Instead, the classroom ought to focus on assimilation and application of knowledge to new contexts. The teacher becomes the guide on the side, instead of the sage on the stage, requiring wholly new learning spaces and teaching techniques.” (Mazur, 2013)
“To truly shift the educational paradigm, learning spaces also must reflect a network of connected places outside the classroom. Where learning can flow from one space to the next, and a sense of community is fostered.” (Kiefer, 2012)
Fraser, S. (2012). An authentic childhood: Exploring the Reggio-Emilia approach in the classroom. Toronto, ON: Nelson Education.
Heard, G., & McDonough, J. (2009). A place for wonder. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Kiefer, A. (2012). Learning per square foot. American School & University.
Mazur, E. (2011, October 18). A landmark gift for learning. Retrieved July 7, 2015, from http://harvardmagazine.com/2011/10/harvard-initiative-learning-teaching-gustave-ritahauser-gift
a | edge, an annual art teachers’ exhibition organised by STAR, is back in its fourth year running. The much-anticipated show opened on 13 March 2015 and the event was graced by Mrs Chua Yen Ching, Deputy Director-General of Education (Professional Development). The opening night was a delightful and cosy gathering of family members, friends and students as we immersed in the arts and enjoyed the visual feast.
1. Connecting art teachers to promote collaborative practices
2. Enhancing artistic processes and deepening inquiry
3. Exemplifying reflective practice (encouraging meta-cognition)
4. Celebrating personal narratives and collective identity
Since 2012, a punctuation mark has been chosen as a graphical and symbolic stimulus for art creation. The theme for the exhibition, which changes annually, serves as a catalyst for generating conversations between teacher-artists in the fraternity. This year, the punctuation mark chosen is the ellipsis. Traditionally used as an indication for a leading statement, an unfinished thought or a slight pause, ellipses are also used as an omission of a specific noun in certain styles of writing.
In line with celebrating Singapore’s 50th anniversary, the ellipsis, appearing visually as a series of three dots can also represent our thoughts and reflection on our collective past, present and future. Working with this theme produced interesting and experimental results. Many artworks focused on certain processes rather than the end products. They remind us to look beyond the surface and investigate the material at hand more thoroughly; or slowly examine how time can change our perception of things or the physical material.
View a...edge 2015 artworks and lesson ideas at https://staraedge.wordpress.com/
The Academy encourages practice as part of one’s professional learning. As arts educators, it is meaningful that we upkeep our own practice so as to deepen our understanding and passion for the subject. It is only with practice that we can have genuine confidence to demonstrate and model an art skill to inspire our students. It is also through consistent engagement as reflective artists that we can become insightful of what we teach.
— Mrs Rebecca Chew, STAR Academy Principal
Beginning Teacher, Ms Lim Hui Chi (Bukit View Secondary School) conveyed her thoughts on Singapore’s education system through her work ‘Grow’
Second-time A | EDGE artist, Mr Gabriel Chong
A brand new feature introduced to this annual exhibition, STAR invites school leaders with art backgrounds to exhibit their works as
2015 was
to
Mrs Tang Tak Seng, President of Singapore Teachers’ Art Society; Retired Art Teacher (last taught at Springfield Secondary School)
Mdm Suzannah Lee Bte Abdullah, Retired Art Teacher (last taught at Temasek Secondary School)
Mdm Fatimah Sawifi, Head of Department for Aesthetics, Chestnut Drive Secondary School (not in photo)
Mr DZulkifli Mohd Akbar, Retired Art Teacher (last taught at Yuying Secondary School)
Mdm Victoria Loy, Master Teacher (Art), Singapore Teachers’ Academy for the aRts (Panel Moderator)
Miss Karen Yeh, Art Teacher, National Junior College
Miss Ng Siew Kuan, Head of Department for Aesthetics, Ang Mo Kio Secondary School
Mr Sawlani Gopal Kalyan, Art Teacher, St Hilda’s Secondary School
Mr Clifford Chua, Principal, Palm View Primary School
In conjunction with the a…edge art exhibition, STAR organised a thematic panel discussion on Art Teaching Then, Now and Tomorrow. A group of nine art educators, past and present, gathered on 14 March 2015 to share with the audience their experiences of art teaching and learning in the past five decades. Chaired by Master Teacher, Mdm Victoria Loy, the panel engaged in candid conversations on: why we teach, then and now; value of art; what counts as a good teacher; and how teachers learn.
Throughout the 2 hour session, many heartfelt tales emerged, inspirational stories told, words of encouragement conveyed, and thoughtful insights expressed. Their passion for art and the unwavering courage to teach was evidently palpable. For the panelists, as well as, the many art educators in the audience, it was an afternoon of deep reflection on our professional identity as art teachers, deliberating on questions such as “who are we?”, “why do we teach art?” and “how do we teach and learn to teach art?”
The panel discussion featured a diverse and accomplished line-up of speakers, who also shared their aspirations and wishes for the future of art education in Singapore. STAR POST shares some snippets of the panel discussion.
Mrs Tang Tak Seng
The way the student expressed himself or herself depend very much on their aesthetic cultivation and the mastery of expression skills. Many people tend to believe that talent plays an important part in the arts. But we must understand that without proper coaching and constant practice, the artist’s potential cannot be fully developed. This is where art teachers come in. A good art teacher can inspire and motivate his or her students so that their potential can be developed to the fullest. In order to guide our students more effectively, we need to upgrade ourselves from time to time so that we would be able to provide new knowledge and approach in art to our students.
… I would like to say teaching art is full of joy and satisfaction. It is also challenging. But if you have the passion for art, you will go for it and I am sure, you will be able to overcome all the constraints that you encounter.
Mdm Suzannah Lee Bte Abdullah
Over the years, no matter how challenging and trying teaching art was, it was always a pleasure to know that art was an outlet and vehicle of expression for some students. Now that I’ve retired, I look back with lots of fond memories. It has been a great developmental journey in education, and personally I would suggest that those who are interested to teach art to stay on with art and teaching, no matter how difficult it might be. When you overcome it, it is a joy especially when you see all the artworks around [the school]. I think it [art] is a rare skill. It can, however, be developed in your students even if they come without the skills. And that’s something rewarding for art teachers.
As art teachers, we develop culture builders. It is important to have culture builders because they give emblem to the art that they make. These are emblems; they are the country’s identity and soul…
— Mr Clifford Chua
Mdm Fatimah Sawifi
I think to be a good teacher and art teacher, we need to have the passion for the subject and teaching, before anything else… I feel that an art teacher must exhibit his or her passion by making lessons exciting and teaching it with dynamism. Somehow, the energy and passion will be cascaded to the students.
…If we continue to believe and show that it is important for our students to go through an art education because art has an unparalleled way of building character and infusing values in the students, you will ultimately get colleagues to believe that it is also an important subject for the students to be learning in schools.
Mr DZulkifli Mohd Akbar
When I first started out as an art teacher, like any teacher who just begun to teach, I had an unwavering passion. But I knew that was not enough. I had to attend a diverse range of courses, from Western Art, Chinese painting, sculpture, pottery to silk screening, to hone my technical skills and expand my knowledge. I discovered that learning was more than just to upgrade myself. Keeping in touch with the contemporary art provided me with a platform to sustain the passion. My learning continued even to the age of 51 where I took up my degree in Contemporary Art at Curtin University.
The imparting of skills to our students is important but I think what’s more important is to show them your conscientiousness and commitment. It is these values we need to possess and pass on to our students…
Miss Karen Yeh
Regardless of our profession, it’s important to constantly be a reflective practitioner. The current school that I am in has a team of 6 art teachers. We have this Whatsapp chat group called ‘Imperfection is okay’. Why is this so? Because all of us are constantly striving towards ideal lessons but it is through this ‘Imperfection is okay’ chat group that allows us to do peer group sharing and reflection. Each time after our lessons, we would reflect on what are the things that went well and things that did not. I feel that having a reflective practice is very important because only then do you know how to improve yourself.
Miss Ng Siew Kuan
We should always continue to seek learning opportunities, which are already readily available to us. There are masters out there. Strive for the opportunities to learn from them. But like what Karen said, be reflective practitioners so we can get more out of just learning from imitation. In addition, I also wish to share what a colleague of mine shared, “you can learn from a Master but never walk in his shadow”. So whilst we learn from a Master, we need to have a direction in mind too.
I would also like to add that while we learn from other professionals, we should absolutely continue with our artmaking practice should we want to remain relevant. In my opinion, the challenge to art-making is drawing the essence of our feelings, translating all these intangible feelings and experiences through a medium. When in touch with our feelings, only then we are able to empathise and guide our students.
Students develop civics literacy, global awareness and crosscultural skills. When students study the work of an artist, they study the artist’s culture as well. Through sheer examination of an artwork, we are developing a sense of awareness of different cultures, people and ideologies in our students.
It is important that through art, we inculcate cross-cultural skills in our students to raise global awareness. Art is more than just mindless drawing. It develops critical and inventive thinking skills. Take ‘O’ level coursework for example, I am always amazed to witness the thinking process a student undergoes. Starting from selecting a theme, interpreting artists’ works, analysing ideas, synthesizing ideas to putting things together, critical thinking and decision-making skills are developed through the process that students are involved in.
Mr Clifford Chua
Art nurtures students who dare to be risk-takers. The culture of art class and studio life is that of experimentation and exploration. This also means that it is also a culture very familiar to failure. The students in my art class were not fearful of failing because I think in art, we provide the safety net for the children to fail...
Failure in art is only a stepping stone towards greater success because then they know what not to do… Art encourages risktaking and promotes resilient. When a student goes through a good art programme, he will fail time to time again but gets better.
As art teachers, we develop culture builders. It is important to have culture builders because they give emblem to the art that they make. These are emblems; they are the country’s identity and soul…
You are going to inspire the students to be culture builders by what you do in your classrooms. In addition, what kind of culture they will build largely depends on you and how well you do your job. Your work may have just started and there’s a lot more to do if you really want our students to be really creative, wonderful culture builders.
Do you have an interesting short story to tell about your art lessons? A brief descriptive text to thank a great art teacher you had? Or an inspirational colleague?
As part of the a…edge exhibition, STAR also invited art teachers and visitors to the art exhibition to reflect on their art days as either a student or teacher, and inscribe their thoughts on the red disc cards. Over the ten days, many wonderful stories and memories were shared, and the ‘disc sculpture’ blossomed. It embodies the joys and challenges that we share, and the dreams that propel us forward and keep us going!
See more on Instagram #aedge2015, #ourartdays, #sgartstories
From a narrative perspective, stories provide the means to understanding experience, and in the teaching context, lived experiences that shape and reshape a teacher’s identity (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). Connelly & Clandinin (1999) framed professional identity as “stories to live by” — the stories that teachers live, tell, relive and retell. They opined that it is through these narratives that teachers’ knowledge about themselves, students, subject matter, contexts, and beliefs about teaching and learning are unravelled. Simply put, stories of experiences define who we are and form our identities.
In celebration of SG50, STAR has published Portraits: Narratives of Singapore Arts Educators. This publication shares the personal stories of 16 arts educators, and portrays the unique roles they play in the holistic education of our students. These reflective stories offer us a glimpse into the teachers’ personal and professional lives, and provide invaluable insights into their professional identity formation. STAR would like to express our gratitude to the 16 art and music teachers for sharing their stories, and contributing to our understanding of the professional identity of our Singapore arts teaching fraternity. We have proudly launched Portraits on 2 June, the event was held in conjunction with CAPS! Artist Talk.
**Three copies of Portraits have been sent to all schools, and the e-book version is available at http://joom.ag/dcrb?f#.VZDXv1NSF64.mailto We hope you will enjoy reading it!
• Top row: Mr Low Joo Hong, Mdm Anwara Khatun, Mdm Faridah Hajarmustika
• 2nd row: Mr Zaki Zulfakar, Mdm Victoria Loy, Mr Chia Wei Hou
• 3rd row: Ms Charlotte Tan
• 4th row: Mdm Fatimah Sawifi
STAR is pleased to present the second edition of Let’s Talk about Art! This toolkit, which includes an instructional guide, prompt cards and two posters, provides teachers with practical guidelines and strategies to facilitate art inquiry using effective questioning techniques.
Upon trialling the toolkit, our 2014 STAR Champions (Primary) has provided STAR with valuable feedback for refinement of contents. STAR Champion Mdm Aliah Hanim (Queenstown Primary School) shares her lesson ideas and reflection on pages 31 – 34.
Mdm Aliah Hanim Queenstown Primary School
The P3 students have pre-requisite knowledge on elements of art, like shapes, colours and form. In this activity, students are given paper to explore how it can be turned into a 3D form. Pupils will repeat the form and assemble them to create a larger form.
Imagine that you were approached by the Principal to create a sculpture for the centre island at the school carpark. Use techniques discovered during your exploration activity to create a prototype of your representation and vision.
01
Understand how 3D form can be created from 2D materials
02
Create different forms by spontaneously manipulating each shape e.g. folding, curling, rolling or crushing
03
Learn how to assemble their repeated forms to create a larger form
Students were introduced to the works by Richard Sweeney. The routine Think/Puzzle/ Explore was used at the beginning of the lesson to direct personal or group inquiry and to uncover current understandings as well as misconceptions. The routine also activated students’ prior knowledge and generated curiosity and ideas.
Teacher’s questions, followed by possible student responses
What do you think you know about this topic? “They are 3D works. They are made from paper/cardboard.”
What questions or puzzles do you have?
“How is a paper/cardboard which is flat, able to ‘stand’? How can I get the paper/cardboard to mould nicely into the shape/form that I want?”
What does the topic make you want to explore?
“I want to explore the ways to make the paper ‘stand’ and also explore the ways in changing the shape and form of the paper.”
Students were also introduced to the works by Alexander Liberman . His works were selected to get students talking about the relationship of the sculpture with its surrounding space. This discussion provides the link to the elegant art task that would be presented to students. The routine See/Think/Wonder was used to encourage students to make careful observations and thoughtful interpretations.
Teacher’s questions, followed by possible student responses
What do you see?
“I see huge metal pieces. I see repeated forms. I see red.”
What do you think about that?
“I think the artist used red to attract people’s attention. I think he repeated the forms so that his sculpture will look neat and not messy.”
What does it make you wonder?
“I wonder how tall the sculpture is. I wonder why the sculpture was placed in that area. I wonder how the pieces were put together.”
FOCUSING ON EXPLORATION AND EXPERIMENTATION OF MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES
choices — Art investigation with different types of paper & techniques
Students were introduced to the different types of paper such as watercolour paper, rice paper, vanguard sheet and construction paper. They explored the different techniques to create forms from these papers. Through their exploration, they also discovered the different properties of these papers and understood how these properties affected the way the papers were manipulated in the creation of forms. We then had a discussion on the techniques that they had discovered. These techniques were elicited from the students, and a list was done up for students to try and explore those techniques, that they themselves, have not discovered.
With the varied types of paper to work and experiment with, students had the opportunity to decide which type of paper works best for them. The different types of adhesives presented also gave them a chance to experiment which adhesive works better in securing their forms to create their sculptures.
FACILITATING REFLECTION: REFLECTION IN ACTION
While students were busy with their investigations and explorations, I had the chance to walk around to chat with some groups. I ‘caught’ some students thinking hard and so I went over to probe into their thinking. They raised some of their concerns and queries. At the same time, they shared their solutions and methods in overcoming the problems. Through their trial and error, they managed to work out different methods and problem-solved along the way.
Students’ thoughts while reflecting on their processes
01
Is this the effect I was trying to create? It did not work. What should I do next?
02
How can I turn this into a ball-like structure?
03
How can I get these strips to stick out?
FACILITATING REFLECTION: REFLECTION ON ACTION
Students got together to reflect on their artwork after the completion of their sculptures. It got them to think about their art-making process and how they overcame each hurdle to reach to their final artwork. It was also an opportunity to share any ‘mistakes’ or accidental effects that they had discovered, and which also played a part in the creation of their final sculptures.
Teacher’s questions
01
How many times did you try till you get the final work? How did you feel?
02
What are some of the challenges and difficulties that you faced?
03
What do you enjoy most about the activity?
04
Share any mistakes or accidental effects that you discovered during your exploration.
What I enjoy about having student-centred art lessons is that it kept my students engaged in their learning. It feels great to observe them having fun exploring together and bouncing off each other’s ideas. The exploration also gave opportunities for students to elicit the necessary art vocabulary associated to the particular lesson unit.
When faced with choices, they learnt to be responsible decisionmakers. In addition, they also developed their problem-solving skills when encountered with difficulties. I gained better insights into my students’ thinking during the art discussion. It gave me a good sense of where they were conceptually, and I was able to identify their developmental stages.
An area to consider is that perhaps I could have brought the students out for a sculpture walk to let them experience the scale of outdoor sculptures.
u Mdm Ira Wati Sukaimi, Lead Teacher, Mayflower Secondary School
“Creativity and innovative thinking are essential life skills that can be developed.”
This enduring understanding was shared by Professor Olivia Gude at the National Art Education Association Convention in New Orleans last March. The statement established the premise for further inquiry into pedagogy, content, assessment and competencies that visual arts education nurtures and inspires. Set against the conference theme The Art of Design: Form, Function and the Future of Visual Arts Education, the role of design in contemporary societies and its implication for visual arts education was thoroughly examined in light of a fast converging line between art and design processes. A group of nine art educators from Singapore was privileged to be part of this discourse. Nominated from different schools, the teachers embarked on an 8-day learning journey to the US to broaden their perspectives on art education, to deepen knowledge of museum-based learning, and to investigate how art concepts and design processes may be interfaced and applied to art teaching practices in Singapore.
Via a constructivist approach, our delegation of art teachers was able to interpret and concretise newfound concepts, and contextualise trends, ideas and recommendations that were gleaned after each day of conference. This was facilitated through daily meetings and discussions, as well as reflective journaling on a shared blog. These platforms allowed our teachers to continuously engage in a dialogical process and to co-construct knowledge based on their prior experiences and existing environments.
Our delegates raised some pertinent points that transpired from the conference sessions. With regards to museum-based learning for instance, the group concurred that it is important for schools to work closely with museum educators to ensure a continuum of collaboration that would engage students more effectively in deepening their appreciation and sharpening their perception of bigger understandings through connecting with artworks and artefacts. Partnership between schools and museums should not be a once-off enterprise. Since what is on show is frequently changing and the learning needs of different student profiles do not remain constant, programmes and activities should be differentiated and targeted to offer more meaningful experiences for students. Both teachers and museum educators need to engage in meaningful dialogue to feed each party with relevant information to conceptualise learning processes for students. Museum-based websites such as Handheld Art and The Barnes Foundation were also found to be rich online resources for teachers to assist in designing museum-based lessons. It is especially useful as a resource to craft generative topics and big ideas when planning lesson units.
Facets of design thinking strategies were delved into by different presenters during the conference. Dr Delane Ingalls Vanada (University of North Carolina) for instance, introduced the concept of abductive thinking as a mindset that facilitates the creation of new ideas or sense-making that is based on inference and intuition. While inductive and deductive thinking dispositions require evidence and objective explanations, abductive thinking would allow one to be more receptive to other possibilities derived from assumptions and presentiments. The concept of social design was also presented as a potential method to create existential contexts for students, and the introduction of wicked problems were seen by some as a possible impetus to design meaningful curriculum plans in schools.
Tim Gunn, who mentors hopeful participants in the reality television show Project Runway, graced the conference with a keynote speech entitled Ready, Set, Design: Bringing Design into the Art Classroom. In a candid fashion, he shared that his own experiences as an art student was meaningfully facilitated by the different teachers he had the privilege of working with during his school days. They had left an indelible mark in the way he now approaches his own lesson designs. He believes that to create profound experiences for students, teachers have the responsibility to provide opportunities for students to hone their critical thinking skills through fostering the imagination. Students should be encouraged to create works out of the predictable, be allowed to process information for themselves and empowered to accept or reject teachers’ feedback during in-process critique and reflection sessions. He reiterated that students will acquire efficacy through selfdiscovery and exploration.
Our delegates were also privileged to be able to visit three schools in New Orleans. Through the school visits, our teachers were able to recognise different curriculum approaches such as Arts Integration and Inter-Disciplinary, and observed how a pre-professional arts institution facilitates studio-practices for its students. While our teachers identify with the value of each of the different curriculum approaches, there is an understanding that due to certain system requirements, our desired educational outcomes may not be as effectively facilitated should these approaches be adopted schoolwide. Nevertheless, the delegates felt that there are tenets from the observed strategies that can be applied in their own teaching instructions, to foster specific student competencies. The group also observed and acknowledged the significant contribution of teaching-artists in enhancing the arts curriculum, as they brought into the class, current and contemporary ideas and practices that seem to engage students more successfully. The collaboration also kept teachers abreast with trends and developments in the creative industries and contributed to opening up teachers’ perspectives about their own pedagogical approaches.
Our teachers have returned to Singapore, and the learning journey had injected fresh insights and new learning to every member of the delegation. With ongoing inquiry, dialogue and reflection, they are preparing themselves to engage in active experimentation (Kolb, 1984) to test out their ideas and discoveries in their own school contexts.
Handheld Art: http://bit.ly/1g7Ae9u
The Barnes Foundation: http://bit.ly/1R29urv STAR NAEA Delegation Blog: http://bit.ly/1JpfFij
u Ms Lee Say Hoon, Art Teacher, Frontier Primary School
Through the mark-making activity that was introduced to us during the camp, I realised the importance of immersing pupils in the exploratory process of art-making. It served as a reminder to me that the end product should not be the sole focus of a lesson. It was indeed an eye-opening experience that allowed me to realise how exploring materials can widen one’s perspective about art creation. I used to think that artworks are usually created using readily available art materials and tools. But after going through the mark-making task, I realised that anything that we see around us can be used as an art tool to create an artwork. The process of articulating how marks are made and looking at how others use a similar tool in a different way can be a good learning experience to deepen our understanding of how a tool can be used to create different outcomes. In the context of art teaching, I have learnt that introducing such exploration activities could lead to more creative work or expression. Also, getting pupils to observe artworks closely, reflect and articulate their thoughts about other people’s artworks is also important too. This will help them develop the skills to appreciate the thinking behind an artwork.
Through the gestural and gestalt drawing activities, I have learnt that our preconceptions about ourselves and things around us could affect our art-making process. We might not be comfortable doing certain art forms due to the lack of self-confidence and competency. But through the drawing lessons, I realised that there is a need to learn how to move out of our comfort zones and put aside the preconceptions so as to stretch our potential.
For primary school art, just like any other subjects, I feel that providing pupils with the opportunities to build their confidence in art-making is crucial. As a teacher, creating a safe and nonjudgmental learning environment is extremely important to ensure pupils are comfortable in making artwork and sharing about them. Also, moving pupils out of their comfort zones is vital. With proper scaffolding, we can help them build their confidence in art-making and stretch their utmost potential.
As for the visit to Raffles Institution (College), I have learnt that the art-making process has a lot to do with self-discovery, and is often an unpredictable journey for every student. No one can predict or foresee the final outcome of their artwork during the initial stage of exploration. It is through constant refinement of ideas and skills that lead to the final artwork. It is hence the exploratory journey that allows students to grow their art knowledge and expand their repertoire of art skills. As a primary school art teacher, I feel that there is thus a need for us to design lessons that build specific art skills gradually so that pupils have the opportunities to refine their skills as they progress.
From the museum visit experience, I have gained deeper insights about art teaching. Given the opportunity to play the role of a student, I realised that being able to see and talk about an artist’s work, and given the opportunity to listen to how others interpret and view the artwork was indeed a very engaging experience. From the teacher’s point of view, I also came to understand that it is important for us to be equipped with good questioning techniques to facilitate quality learning during such excursions. As stated in the readings, our goal for museum visits is to encourage students to strengthen their ability to look closely, think critically of things they see and experience, and formulate their own interpretations based on contextual information provided by the museum, docent, or teacher. As teachers, I have learnt that we must be mindful not to be too ambitious in selecting too many artworks for discussion. Instead, it will be more productive to focus on a few pieces of work and facilitate an in-depth discussions with them.
Lastly, through the micro-teaching sessions, I have learnt that in order to create an effective lesson, it is important to consider whether the resources used, activities planned and concepts taught are age appropriate and engage the students in an authentic manner. Providing differentiated instructions may sometimes be necessary to ensure tasks given are manageable for all the students. In terms of the use of art questioning strategies (e.g. See, Think, Wonder / Ten Times Two etc.), I have learnt through my micro-teaching and lesson observation that careful selection of teaching strategies is important as not all the strategies help to achieve the objectives of the lesson.
I clearly remembered the very first task that we were assigned to do during the art camp where I first met the wonderful teachers and trainers — to collect 8-10 items that represent you. Initially, no one knows exactly what we should be looking out for, some of us worked alone, others in pairs. When all of us returned from our ‘scavenger hunt’, with trinkets and other items picked up from the wilds, we started to share why we have selected those items and how they represented us. And from there, we got to know each other better. With that, we created our first artwork using the ‘unconventional’ method.
That was my first encounter, my first experience as an art teacher. At that moment, I felt proud to be there, proud to be an art teacher, talking about art and sharing ideas on art.
Another interesting session during the Art camp was the sculpture and installation workshop. My group members and I got to create a 3D artwork from scratch. We used the materials available in the studio to create an installation art, adding our personal items as the finishing touches before presenting the work to the rest.
I enjoyed this lesson a lot as the artworks, be it ours or others, conveyed much meaning and introduced a different perspective on what constitutes art. In particular, the group that integrated music and the running tap into their installation left a lasting impression on me; what they have created was both functional and aesthetically pleasing. In all, it was really an enriching experience.
At Nanyang Polytechnic, colour theory was the main focus of the workshop facilitated by Mr Yang Tien. The session on tonal value left a deep impression on me as never have I thought that creating a grey strip of values could be so challenging. This exercise forced us to look at values more closely and I gained deeper insights on how this can be translated to classroom teaching.
I have never liked portrait drawing, and just like many others, I felt inferior about my own drawings as I can never get the facial features in place or the proportions right. Attending this drawing session was something I feared initially.
To prepare myself for the lesson, I read up on Betty Edwards’ book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and it sort of instilled some degrees of confidence in me as she stated that everyone can draw. True enough, after the workshop, I can finally draw a portrait with the right proportions. My confidence level increased and I have attempted more portrait drawings on my own, using my kids as my models.
This was my first art exhibition. The whole exhibition process provided me with a brand new experience. From the brainstorming of ideas, exploring concepts, consulting, artmaking to exhibiting, it is totally unbelievable! It was indeed tiring, as I needed to balance work, home and ATPP, but at the same time, I truly appreciate the learning and art-making process. In art-making, the exploration aspect is very important. We may be good at certain art forms or materials, but through explorations, new
forms can be discovered. Take for example, crayons, I used to think that crayons are simply colouring tools, but I soon realised it can be used for many other situations.
Crayons can be heated and melted, so I explored the different brands on the market, heated them with different temperatures and in different directions. The results were amazing. Consultations with our trainers and feedback from my course-mates helped a lot, and it brought me to a whole new level of exploratory space.
Exhibition set-up was another level of challenge. To exhibit all the artworks in a confined space was not easy. Through the set-up experience, I have learnt the importance of categorising artworks and managing the space constraints that we might face when curating an exhibition. I truly appreciate the exposure I was given and would definitely be able to apply what I have learnt.
This was my first lesson observation in Art. From the perspective of a Chinese-medium teacher, I realised that the possibilities in art is endless, it is a subject akin to a living organism, where each and every detail could be extended to infinite uses. The limitations exist only in the mind of the teacher. It is not just about teaching the subject, but rather a task of stretching the artistic potential of each student and exploring how art may contribute meaning to the learner, or even how the learner uses art as a vehicle to express himself or herself.
In conclusion, I felt that this course was extremely helpful to my becoming a teacher in the subject of Art. The latent potential in a person is crucial in unleashing the full artistic potential in the student and opening the mind of possibilities of a student. This meant that the onus is on the teacher to continually reinvent himself or herself such that the art pedagogy remains fresh and enlivened.
What can you do with twigs, leaves and stones? How about paint with them?
What is your journey in art like? Tell us using a strip of paper!
The 6-month long part-time ATPP consists of 2 modules — basic studio skills and art teaching. The studio module culminates in an art exhibition that celebrates the teachers’ artistic endeavours. The exhibition showcases the explorations, reflections, and achievements of the art teachers in their personal inquiries and journeys towards becoming artist-teachers. The next run of ATPP commences in Sept 2015.
For enquiries, kindly contact Ms Tang Hui Jing at tang_hui_jing@moe.gov.sg
u Mr Hairol Mohamed Hossain, Art Teacher, Anderson Secondary School
Creative Thinking Skills Through Art
Edited by: Diane B. Jaquith and Nan E. Hathaway
Publisher:
Teachers College Press
I happened to come across this book as I was browsing through Amazon.com. I was then searching for books on art pedagogy for my teaching resource. I got attracted by the title of the book, The Learner-Directed Classroom Developing Creative Thinking Through Art I remembered thinking to myself to myself that this was exactly the kind of book that I have been searching for. It is the kind of book that I can refer to when I need information related to student-centred art pedagogy.
What I like about this book is that it is concise, contains very useful strategies, meaningful and relevant to our classroom teaching. The content of the book is divided into four parts, each progressing into the next. It begins by discussing about Planning for Paradigm Shift, followed by Supporting Learner Autonomy, the third segment presents the Consideration For Special Populations and the last segment delves into Thoughts on Reflection and Assessment. Each part is written comprehensively and offers practical, applicable and easy to follow tips and hands-on advice from insightful educators.. This is precisely what teachers need most in the midst of their hectic schedules.
I find this book useful as the information helps me generate ideas when I am caught in a bottleneck situation. I will browse, select and read through some of the related content that is useful to me before I pen down some ideas to design a lesson plan for my students. I will make the necessary adjustments to tailor to my students’ ability, needs and interests as I am teaching both lower and upper secondary students. What is important is that with ideas from the book, I am able to design student-centred lessons filled with meaningful, engaging activities, provide appropriate resources for my students, and create art lesson whereby students take charge of their learning and develop their thinking skills, and my role is transformed into a facilitator and motivator, providing a safe environment for students to learn and grow.
I strongly recommend this book to Art educators who are seeking transformative change in their teaching, and it is useful for both primary or secondary school teachers.
A new feature in STAR POST, Hey! Check This Out!, is a platform for sharing. STAR invites art educators to contribute an innovative art-making idea or a practical teaching tip, or simply recommend your favourite art or education related book, a great art resource website, the must-see art exhibition in town, a not-to-be missed learning journey, the best place for urban sketching and lots more!
Share with us in 300-400 words, and let’s check it out! For more information, please contact Mdm Chun Wee San (chun_ wee_san@moe.gov.sg)
CAPS! is a series of workshops offering teachers the opportunity to work in-depth with selected medium of interest or various related aspects of art practice. Local practicing artists and professionals in art-related fields will be invited to offer tutorials to guide participants in conceptualising and producing artworks, and to share knowledge on peripheral aspects of art.
All selected participants are required to:
1. Work with a given theme, possibly for a?edge 2016
2. Attend scheduled workshop and/or tutorial sessions with artists
3. Prepare for a critique session of final artworks on the last day of CAPS!
Participants will be encouraged to submit proposals for a?edge 2016, MOE Art teachers’ exhibition, upon completion of their artworks.
Session 1: 2 Nov – 6 Nov 2015 (4 full days, excluding 4 Nov)
Session 2: 9 Nov – 13 Nov 2015 (4 full days, excluding 10 Nov)
More information will be provided in September.
Enquiries: Mr Lee Pheng Guan, lee_pheng_guan@moe.gov.sg
The theme for the fifth instalment of this exhibition next year is the question mark (?). Also known as the interrogation point, query, and eroteme, the question mark indicates an interrogative clause, or phrase. After the rousing celebrations for SG50, it is perhaps a good time for us to ask ourselves the reflective question: “Where do I/We go from here?”
You are invited to explore, discover and create an artwork that responds to the theme. Exhibition will take place in March 2016, submission of proposals will be in early January. More details will be furnished in September.
Enquiries: Mr Lee Pheng Guan, lee_pheng_guan@moe.gov.sg
COMMAS introduces art educators to strategies for fostering collaborative art processes and building communities through joint, participatory art activities. Participants will work with local art practitioners to conceptualise ways to design and facilitate collaborative art inquiry that emphasises the value of collective learning, and draw inspiration from the rich diversity of the community within and beyond the art class. Look out for more details in September.
11 Nov – 13 Nov 2015 (3 full days)
Enquiries: Mdm Chun Wee San, chun_wee_san@moe.gov.sg
The Artist-Mentor Scheme (AMS), a collaboration with the NAC, provides opportunities for teachers to learn from established practitioners in specialised areas of art, music, drama and dance. Through approaches such as co-teaching and mentoring, teachers develop greater confidence and competencies in these specialised areas. The briefing session on 30 September aims to clarify queries you may have of the AMS.
The Arts Pedagogical Research Fund (APRF) supports teachers in their research of student-centred arts pedagogies, in order to improve teaching practices. It aims to build Arts teachers’ capabilities in understanding and implementing effective, evidence-based student-centred Arts Pedagogies.
Closing Date for Submission of Proposals commencing in Semester 1 2016: Friday 30 October 2015
Briefing for interested participants: 30 September 2015; 3.00pm – 4.30pm; Blk J, Theatrette, AST Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1tz6dtcNXHYgNO4GAtEcV33KipKPzn5xHxr9hAThcQZI/viewform
Arts
• Craft Research (http://www.ingentaconnect.com/)
• MIRAJ Moving Image Review & Art Journal (http://www.ingentaconnect.com/)
• Visual Inquiry (http://www.ingentaconnect.com/)
• Visual Arts Research (http://www.jstor.org/)
Click on the titles above to access the full-text articles. Do visit the e-Resources page (http:// readacademy.moe.edu.sg/resources-and-services/e-resources/) on the library website for more selection of e-journals and databases. Please contact the library at moe_readacademy@moe. gov.sg to request for the log-in details.
In addition to the online resources, READ@Academy also subscribes to the following print journals/titles which are available for loan:
Arts
• Art in America (http://readls2pac.carl.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1115409)
• ArtAsia Pacific (http://readls2pac.carl.org/?section=resource&resourceid=21075753)
• British Journal of Photography (http://readls2pac.carl.org/?section=resource&resourceid= 21075709)
• Ceramics Monthly (http://readls2pac.carl.org/?section=resource&resourceid=20325397)
For more titles on Arts, have a browse on the online catalogue (http://readls2pac.carl. org/#section=home).
Due to subscription restrictions, please note that the use of these resources is restricted to MOE staff only.
Mr Lim Kok Boon Programme Director (Art)
Mdm Victoria Loy Master Teacher (Art)
Ms Tang Hui Jing Programme Manager (Art)
Mdm Chun Wee San Programme Manager (Art)
Mr Lee Pheng Guan Programme Manager (Art)
Ms Tan Bee Ngoh Programme Executive
Lim_Kok_Boon@moe.gov.sg 6664 1502
Victoria_Loy@moe.gov.sg 6664 1551
Tang_Hui_Jing@moe.gov.sg 6664 1550
Chun_Wee_San@moe.gov.sg 6664 1546
Lee_Pheng_Guan@moe.gov.sg 6664 1545
Tan_Bee_Ngoh@moe.gov.sg 6664 1549