Classroom Management and Educational Resources

Chapter 11 Reflection

The topic chapter 11 focuses on is classroom management including how the teacher serves as a resource, the classroom itself, and behavior of students. It starts off discussing the organization of the classroom as it pertains to the art classroom. Compared to other classes, an art class requires space for a myriad of activities. The textbook says, “Students need to be able to move fluidly around the classroom, gather and talk, access the Internet, use digital cameras, and display their work” (Freedman & Boughton, 2023, ch. 11 p. 2) Besides needing the space for art creation, an art classroom also needs to accommodate room for both independent and group work and a space for discussions or conferences. The chapter then goes on to discuss how to prepare yourself to be a teacher of visual culture. The first step is to develop your knowledge about visual culture itself. The authors mention how useful it is to become knowledgeable on what kinds of visual culture students are partaking in and what is directed at them. It’s also important to be a good critic of visual culture so that this skill can be successfully passed on to the students. The authors also talk about how beneficial it is to be well versed in some form of visual culture. In this section the authors state, “Perhaps nothing aids student learning more than having a teacher who genuinely cares about what they are teaching” (Freedman & Boughton, 2023, ch. 11 p. 6). Being passionate about one form of visual culture and having deep knowledge about it is something that can be effective in the classroom. A teacher could use that one form and create a lesson plan around it to incorporate it into the curriculum. When a teacher is excited about a topic, it translates to the students and could influence them to in turn be excited for the lesson as well. After this, the authors make the suggestion to collect images and resources from visual culture to explore. They also make a list of the types of objects or images that would be good to collect. They also talk about connecting visual culture to other school subjects. Art is a subject that can be connected to many ideas that are taught through different subjects so it is important to instill that connection in students early on. The next section is all about the classroom environment, starting with its appearance. The authors discuss the effect of color, the importance of exhibiting art, seating and meeting areas, storage space, lighting, and the availability of technological resources. This chapter ends with a section on how to get students to cooperate in the classroom. The authors say, “Teaching visual culture requires a balance between the establishment of rules and allowances for individual freedom in order to build a classroom atmosphere in which students feel confident and safe” (Freedman & Boughton, 2023, ch. 11 p. 29). They state the importance of having a classroom with structure and rules but that still gives students enough freedom to explore their own thoughts and ideas. They also mention how art teachers must remain alert and aware of students at all times to avoid any unwanted behavior but also to help facilitate the class running smoothly.

The idea that stood out to me the most in this chapter was the part where the authors talk about how having deep knowledge of one form of visual culture can be especially useful in a classroom. I agree with the authors thoughts that when a teacher is excited about a subject it translates to their students. I think it’s important for the art teacher to be at least somewhat interested in what they are teaching because it’s very easy to tell when they are not. I also agree with them that as art teachers of visual culture, we need to stay up to date and be aware of the type of visual culture that our students are partaking in.

This idea of bringing in a form of visual culture that I enjoy and have a lot of knowledge on is definitely something that I want to bring into my own classroom. Before taking these art education courses, I wasn’t sure how it would be possible to bring in something I enjoy into my lessons in a way that would be educational. But since we have begun creating our own lesson plans and looking deeper into how to teach visual culture, it makes me excited for all the possibilities of different lesson plans I can create around something I’m interested in myself.

Digital Art of a Giraffe by a Kindergarten Student

References:

Freedman, K. & Boughton, D. (2023). Elementary Art Education: A Practical Approach to Teaching Visual Culture [Unpublished manuscript]. Art and Design Education, Northern Illinois University.

Lloyd, C. (n.d.). Digital Art for Digital Kids: Digital Art Lessons for K-5. naeaworkspace.org. Retrieved February 24, 2023, from https://naeaworkspace.org/naea14_handouts/