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Lesson Plans


Re: A curious question

From: KPRS (KPRS)
Date: Wed Mar 01 2000 - 18:14:20 PST

  • Next message: Heather Leal: "Re: Gyotaku"

    Re: What is wrong with how kids think today? And how can we encourage
    divergent thinking>

    I think by nature, artists/art teachers are problem solving creatures. We
    normally know instinctively and intellectually that there is more than one
    solution to a given problem. And, I dare say, or at least for myself, I know
    that there may even be more than one right answer to the problem. It has
    been my experience on the high school level that students want to cut to the
    chase, get the one right answer, and move on. They just want to regurgitate
    the answer back and get the "A". That is until they get into my class,
    where I make them give me 6 thumbnails to every problem. I also teach 2
    classes of Gifted Students, and 1 English Elective....while there may not be
    any 'thumbnails' required in those disciplines, I do make them give me 6
    solutions to the problem.....and I teach them HOW to seek those solutions,
    by essentially deconstructing the problem....looking at the 'bits' of the
    problem, and then reformulate the problem to find a variety of solutions.(of
    course this is the simplification of what I do with the kids)

    I have found over the years that this 'way' of opening them up to solutions
    has made learning more meaningful and challenging to them, and has actually
    given them 'ownership' to their own learning. (And of course NONE of the
    works of art coming out of my class looks like any other...and each kid
    learns from the others' solutions as well).

    San D 

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