scaffolding "studio thinking" strategies in the urban high school art program

2013 IAEA Conference Presentation

Scaffolding Studio Thinking Strategies in the Urban High School Art Program

Elizabeth Drake & DiDi Grimm Lincoln Park High School

Artist Studio Habits

Studio Habits of Mind

Identify & describe 8 important types of cognitive activities that artists engage in when making

& reflecting on works of art.

1. Develop Craft:

Technique : Learning to use tools, materials and artistic conventions

Studio Practice: Learning to care for tools, materials, and space

2. Engage & Persist:

Learning to embrace problems of relevance within the art world and/or of personal importance, to develop focus and other mental states conducive to working and persevering at art tasks. Perseverance!

3. Envision:

Learning to picture mentally what cannot be directly observed and imagine possible next steps in making a piece.

4. Express:

Learning to create works that convey an idea, a feeling, or a personal meaning.

5. Observe:

Learning to attend to visual contexts more closely than ordinary "looking" requires, and thereby see things that otherwise might not be seen.

6. Reflect: Question & Explain

Learning to think and talk with others about an aspect of one’s work or working process.

Evaluate

Learning to judge one’s own work and working process and the work of others in relation to standards of the field.

Learning to reach beyond one's capacities, to explore playfully without a preconceived plan, and to embrace the opportunity to learn from mistakes and accidents.

7. Stretch & Explore:

8. Understand the Art World: Domain & Communities

Learning about art history and current practice.

Studio Thinking is Critical Thinking

All artists, students and professionals, raise questions, think, reason, solve problems and

reflect on artwork and processes.

Artists comprehend, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate problems using learned art skills

and content knowledge.

Learning the Studio Habits

1.  Students review habits

2.  Engage in activities to learn the studio habits

3.  See habits aligned to project guidelines & rubrics

4.  Reflect on habits during and after art-making experiences

5.  Discuss habits during pair & share critique

6.  Reflect on studio habit prompts during self-assessment

Art I: Introducing the Studio Habits

•  Present Studio Thinking PowerPoint •  Display habits and common Studio

Thinking prompts in classroom •  Map each habit in small groups •  Display and discuss small group maps

with whole class

Advanced Students: Review the Habits

•  List all art activities that align with each studio habit

•  Small group discussion of habits •  Large class discussion of habits

Aligning the Habits to Project & Course Guidelines: Summer AP & IB Art Portfolio

Aligning the Habits to Project & Course Guidelines: Art Electives

Project Guidelines Sketchbook Investigation

Aligning the Habits through Project Self-Assessment Rubrics: Art Electives

Aligning the Habits through Project Self-Assessment Rubrics: Art Electives

Aligning the Habits to Project & Course Guidelines: Art I

Aligning the Habits through Project Self-Assessment Rubrics: Art I

Aligning the Habits through Project Self-Assessment Rubrics: Art I

Aligning the Habits through Project Self-Assessment Rubrics: Art I

Mid-Project Studio Thinking Reflections: Electives

1st week of project reflection 3rd week of project reflection

Mid-Project Studio Thinking Reflections: Electives

Final Project Studio Thinking Reflections: Electives

Final Project Studio Thinking Reflections: IB & AP Portfolio

Expanding Knowledge of the Habits through Project & Course Guidelines Planning Project Proposals & Critiques

Aligning Art Standards to Studio Thinking & Common Core

Aligning Art Standards to Studio Thinking & Common Core

Aligning Art Standards to Studio Thinking & Common Core

Studio Thinking Habits of Mind, developed by researchers at Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero, Lois Hetland and Ellen Winner

Common Core Alignment to Studio Thinking, Louise Music, Executive Director, Department of Integrated Learning, Alameda County Office of Education

Edited to align to LPHS Units of study, National Visual Arts Standards & 21st C Skills and Studio Thinking Framework with Common Core

Please email if you are interested in LPHS Studio Thinking instruments:

Elizabeth Drake eadrake@cps.edu DiDi Grimm dagrimm@cps.edu

Thank you to our CPS colleagues, the CTC @ NEIU and Every Art Every Child for support! Please visit www.everyarteverychild.com for more information on Studio Thinking.