(This is a response to the post below)
In the art classroom, it is important that kids feel safe to make mistakes or to try something new, even if they are not sure they will succeed.
In the art classroom, it is important that kids feel safe to make mistakes or to try something new, even if they are not sure they will succeed.
To that end, one strategy that I use is simply to celebrate our shared learning experience at the end of class (either during our "wrap-up" session or when the students' general classroom teacher comes to pick them up). I verbally acknowledge that "mistakes are great opportunities to learn," that they are okay, and that I often learn more from overcoming a challenge or making a mistake than I do if there are no difficulties along the way.
I also stress this expectation throughout the year: that mistakes can often lead our creativity in a new direction. If a student (for example) makes a mark in a painting that they didn't intend to make (esp. if the mark can't be easily erased), I confer with the student regarding how to let that mistake lead their thinking in a new direction. Thus, they are not just trying to "fix" the mistake, but allowing it to change their thinking. I don't know how many times students have responded after they have finished their artwork, "I actually like it better now than I did before I 'messed up!' " The other option, of course is to discuss "creative fixes" for these situations, using the medium at hand or another artistic medium to allow the student to see their initial vision through to fruition. After all, it is their choice whether to change their thinking or to find another way to achieve their planned result.
A good fictional book to promote this concept is Ready to Dream by Donna Jo Napoli (2009). The story centers around a young girl who loves to create art; but other factors cause her artworks to turn out differently than she meant for them to (i.e. turbulence on a plane, something tearing her paper, etc). An adult artist helps her to see that these "mistakes" can inspire her to think about her art in new ways.
1 comment:
I agree, Kelly. Mistakes are a great opportunity to learn. It is also great for the students to see that we make mistakes as well in our artwork and what we think and do to remedy it. When a student makes a mistake, I usually ask them, "Can you turn it into something else?" or "Can you make your mistake into another part of your art?" The use of trying another medium is another wonderful option. Sometimes the mark or the mistake will not "cover up" easily and another medium is needed. It will usually work, but there are occasions when they simply try to change it, and want to start over. I would love to read the book you suggested. It sounds like a very good one!
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