Engaging Learners Through Artmaking

The authors who introduced the concepts of Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) and choice-based art education have completely revised and updated their original, groundbreaking bestseller that was designed to facilitate independent learning and support student choices in subject matter and media.

More than ever before, teachers are held accountable for student growth and this new edition offers updated recommendations for assessments at multiple levels, the latest strategies and structures for effective instruction, and new resources and helpful tips that provide multiple perspectives and entry points for readers.

The Second Edition of Engaging Learners Through Artmaking will support those who are new to choice-based authentic art education, as well as experienced teachers looking to go deeper with this curriculum. This dynamic, user-friendly resource includes sample lesson plans and demonstrations, assessment criteria, curricular mapping, room planning, photos of classroom set-ups, media exploration, and many other concrete and open-ended strategies for implementing TAB in kindergarten–grade 8.

Book Features:

• Introduces artistic behaviors that sustain engagement, such as problem finding, innovation, play, representation, collaboration, and more.
• Provides instructional modes for differentiation, including whole-group, small-group, individual, and peer coaching.
• Offers management strategies for choice-based learning environments, structuring time, design of studio centers, and exhibition.
• Illustrates shifts in control from teacher-directed to learner-directed, examining the concept of quality in children’s artwork.
• Highlights artist statements by children identifying personal relevancy, discovery learning, and reflection.

Katherine M. Douglas, named Massachusetts Art Educator of the Year in 2017, and Diane B. Jaquith are co-directors of the Teaching for Artistic Behavior Summer Institute at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. They are also co-founders of Teaching for Artistic Behavior, Inc., supporting teachers who practice choice-based art education.

"This up-to-date, improved edition will quite possibly move authentic, free-will-based art education forward in leaps and bounds."

—Arts & Activities

"I highly recommend this text as a valuable resource for anyone interested in the idea of student choice in the art classroom, and as a great companion to the first-hand experience of seeing a TAB classroom in action."

—Teachers College Record

“Engaging Learners through Artmaking invites art teachers to engage in shop talk, to listen to ideas about a different way of teaching, and to share their reservations, their interests, and their experiences with opening up their classrooms to accommodate student choices.”
—From the foreword by Christine Marmé Thompson, Penn State University

“Engaging Learners Through Artmaking is a powerful tool for keeping student agency at the center of artistic learning. Emerging and veteran teachers alike will treasure this book because it provides practical, critical, and contemporary examples of choice-based art education from a dynamic community of practitioners.”
—Laura K. Reeder, Massachusetts College of Art & Design

Appendices
Foreword to the First Edition
Preface to the First Edition

Foreword by Christine Marmé Thompson

Acknowledgments

PART I: TEACHING FOR ARTISTIC BEHAVIOR PRACTICES

Chapter 1. Defining Teaching for Artistic Behavior
   The Three-Sentence Curriculum
   The Spirit of Teaching for Artistic Behavior

Chapter 2. Curriculum
   The Three-Sentence Curriculum
   Expanding the Three-Sentence Curriculum
   Additional Factors for Planning Curriculum
   Emergent Curriculum
   What Is Your Planning Process?
   Sidebar 2.1: How TAB Teachers Plan Curriculum

Chapter 3. How to Structure the Class
   Behave Like an Artist
   Instructional Sequences
   Sidebar 3.1: Crowe's Theory of Everything
   Teacher Reflection
   Sidebar 3.2: The Feedback Loop

Chapter 4. The Learning Environment
   Room Arrangement
   Sidebar 4.1: Room Arrangement Considerations
   Anatomy of a Studio Center
   Challenges to the Learning Environment
   Beyond the Classroom
   Sidebar 4.2: Alternative Learning Environments

Chapter 5. Ideas
   Discovering Content Through Exploration
   Demos About Ideation
   Challenges to Ideation
   Integration with Classroom Curricula
   The Child Is the Artist

Chapter 6. Quality
   Motivation
   Sidebar 6.1: Play/Care
   Questions About Quality
   The Language of Studio Thinking
   Going Deeper with Quality
   Sidebar 6.2: The Magical Dolphin
   Learning About Quality Through Art Conversations
   Sidebar 6.3: Wonderful Original Work

Chapter 7. Assessment for TAB Art Programs
   Purposes for Assessment
   Sources of Assessment Information
   Self-Assessment
   Teacher Reflection Through Assessment

Chapter 8. Exhibition
   The Why and How of Exhibition
   Further Benefits of Exhibition

Chapter 9. Advocacy
   Sidebar 9.1: Ten Benefits of a Choice-Based Art Program in Elementary and Middle Schools
   Advocating for TAB
   Sidebar 9.2: Talking with Your Administrator About Choice-Based Art
   Visibility

PART II: STUDIO CENTERS

Chapter 10. Drawing
   The Drawing Center: Materials, Resources, and Management
   Early Activities at the Drawing Center
   Drawing Concepts, Conventions, and Genres
   Going Deeper with Drawing

Chapter 11. Painting
   The Painting Center
   Early Activities at the Painting Center
   Painting Techniques
   Going Deeper with Painting

Chapter 12. Moving Into Three Dimensions
   The Collage and Paper Sculpture Center
   The 3D Design Center
   Early Activities at the 3D Design Center
   Sidebar 12.1: On Toilet Paper Tubes, Scotch Tape, and Strawberry Baskets
   The Sculpture Center
   Media for Sculpture
   Storage and Completion of 3D Artwork

Chapter 13. More Media Centers
   Printmaking
   Printmaking Centers
   Going Deeper with Printmaking
   Clay Center
   Going Deeper with Clay
   Fiber Arts Center
   Digital Arts
   Sidebar 13.1: Real Interactions with Media

Chapter 14. Small and Ephemeral Centers
   The Paper Arts Center
   Characters
   Architecture
   Ephemeral Centers
   Sidebar 14.1: Architecture Center Menu

Chapter 15. Looking Ahead
   Regional TAB Groups and Events

Appendix A: Lesson Plans

Appendix B: Assessments

References

Index

About the Authors