Class #4 - Clarifying Questions and Art and the Creation of the Mind

Overview of Day
Blog - Make sure you keep up with your blog assignments and adding comments to your fellow classmates.

REMINDER - always check this site first for latest homework assignments and Blogging Journal site for latest writing prompts.

Video - Ascend School in Oakland

• Ascend on KQED SPARK
  

Art and the Creation of the Mind - Reading Discussion
Through the lens of our 3 big questions:

• What is the relationship between art and learning?
• What is art education?
• What is art education for and why does it matter?

We will look looking at the Elliot Eisner reading Art and Creation of the Mind, and use the following protocol for a discussion format:

1. Clarify: What are the key points advanced in this reading?
2. Analysis: How does this reading resonate with your personal experiences, beliefs and knowledge? Does it affirm or challenge? Explain.
3. Puzzles: Did this reading confuse you in any way or raise new questions?
4. Extensions: Note how this reading challenged, extended or deepen your thinking.
5. Reflection: How do the ideas in this reading relate to the Studio Habits thinking framework we have examined? You as a learner?
6. Follow Up References: Note any core ideas (or quotes) that you’d like to draw on from the reading in articulating your own art education philosophy.
   

Formulating and Refining Good Research Questions

Each student will present your leading research questions for your site research, along with the names of the sites (one school site and one organization).

1) In pairs help each other to refine your questions using the following protocol from the Madison Metropolitan School District Action Research Group:

• Guidelines for Developing a Question

2) Ask each other the following about your questions:

• What do you see?
• What questions does your review of this sampling raise for you?
• What are the implications for your focus on higher order questioning?
  

3) Then select one question and tune it with your partner using the Guidelines for Developing a Question (see link above).

4) Offer at least 2 ways the questions could be phrased to take students to higher order thinking.

5) Present out refined questions to the group.

HW – Due on February 16, 2009

1. Readings & Written Reflections on blogs: (see website for writing prompts)
Oakes, J. and Lipton, M. Teaching to Change the World, Chapter 1: Wrestling with Tradition, (Chapters 1, 2 and 3, starting on page 166 in your reader)

2. Art Fair Research and Presentation

• Present a 5-minute summary of the organization in class —it’s history, mission, art education programs and goals, pedagogy, who it serves and other things you think are important. [Make sure to include all content areas outlined in rubric.] Be sure to express your viewpoint on the strengths and weaknesses of the organization in relation to your thinking about the aims and purposes of art education. This will allow you some feedback and reflection time before your final presentation.
• Plan for your visual display you will install temporarily in our classroom - Plan ahead…think about where you will install in the room. Will you need to use tabletops and wall space? We will review the room space next class so that you can begin to envision your display.
• Please email your questions or concerns for any work you do this week so that we can continue to support you.