Using and Colecting Data in the Art Room
Teachers collect and use data all the time in their classrooms, but in art classrooms, it’s quite different. Art is already based on producing a visual product and the proof is in the pudding. Observation is one of the main ways to gather data in the art room. Besides viewing how students are creating their projects, photos and digital portfolios of final projects provides a visual record of their work. Final projects show cumulative understanding of techniques and work well for summative assessments (Taylor). Quizzes, Q & A sessions, and unit tests can be used for formative and lastly, getting students involved in goal setting and having them assess their own progress gets their buy in (Reid, 2021).
I like to collect data by inventorying the questions students ask me and studying this student data reveals their preferred learning styles. If I explain a project, without pictures or movements, the visual and kinetic learners have lots of questions to gain an understanding of the project. The auditory learners get right to work after verbally repeating what they believe the project to be back to me. When I show a slide deck or video showing step by step instruction and techniques, the visual learners are the ones who can get right to work. The auditory and kinetic learners need more from me, ask a lot of questions and work slower.
Working with different learning styles provides the opportunity to fine tune lesson plans and work towards planning for each student's success. Understanding that visual learners tend to be more logical and detailed oriented (Learning Styles Explained) helps me to communicate with them in a very picturesque, step by step manner using a slide deck, and when I do that, they are engaged and moving forward without much need of attention during project time. I sometimes take the information that I have created on the slide deck and turn it into a worksheet that can stay at the tables. This way the visual learners can work at their own pace, the readers appreciate having instructions at their fingertips and slower paced students use it as a reference.
The auditory learners want to listen. Because they tend to be more social and emotional, they are the students who, once they have heard the instructions, get to work, and talk about it. The emotional side of them can get excited about the personal nature of what they are creating, or they can be very insecure and ask lots of questions. The noisier bunch for sure and I plan for them by reserving time to talk with them.
Art is physical, and when projects involve a lot of cutting and gluing, modeling, or even blowing bubbles into colored water, rolling balls in paint, and moving to different stations, the kinetic learners, who are more physical, are happier in the art room. They are wiggle worms and get anxious when we are not busy with hands on work. The challenge is how to create movement that is meaningful to them relative to what we are learning and to be sure to incorporate movement into lessons that are more cerebral and sedate.
It does take some time to create lesson plans that set all students up for success. But once they are planned, they can be used for years to come.
When evaluating students' strengths and interests, their artwork usually paints the picture. They are happy to express their interests by personalizing their projects. I use this to plan and create lessons that speak to their interests. Drawing the human body while in action gets the sports minded engaged. Technical lessons that require conceptualizing and planning engage future architects and engineers. To be sure I am challenging them, I refer to photos of past lessons, and look for weaknesses that can be addressed and techniques that need reviewing as well as for signs of proficiency. Having students hold up their art in photos helps me to put a face to the project, and therefore, their needs.
Understanding weaknesses helps to determine assessments. I gear down an observational assessment to be sure a student who is not physically or mentally able to complete projects is not compared to students who are able or gifted. This usually means their work does not have the craftmanship I might see in others. For formative assessments, I can be sure there are questions for everyone. Goal setting is perfect for all students because they know their abilities and desires to improve more than anyone.