DAY 02 POST:
I think the best use of this class for my curriculum is to try and focus on using Web 2.0 tools to better assess certain, more difficult aspects of the Habits of Mind. The main focus for the Visual Arts SAC this past year has been reframing our assessment using the Habits of Mind (HOM) as developed by researchers at Harvard's Project Zero. These researchers have postulated that the studio art process contains a variety of different aspects of learning, and that art teaches students to think, reflect, and problem-solve in a way that is consistent with learning in any other discipline, and that is essential to creating a successful, life-long learner.
The eight HOM as defined in the book Studio Thinking are Engage & Persist, Express, Develop Craft, Observe, Envision, Reflect, Stretch & Explore, and Understand the Art World. For our purposes, these terms were combined to form six categories, each graded separately. In my classes, a typical curriculum unit has a variety of grades, each of which corresponds with one of the HOM categories. For example, in my Digital Photography class, I keep a daily shorthand record of a student's effort and focus, which at the end of the unit becomes the grade for "Engage & Persist". The finished photographic work itself is judged separately on its technical merits ("Develop Craft"), how clearly it communicates the intended idea ("Express"), and the level of creativity, originality, and exploration on display ("Envision, Stretch & Explore"). In this way a student who tries to say "But I'm no good at art!" can be reminded that craft comprises less than half of his or her ultimate grade.
The most difficult category to assess is "Observe & Reflect". It's fairly easy to , um, observe this habit in a student, based on how they work, the kinds of questions they ask, and the manner in which they complete their work. (Do they just bulldoze through a project, trying to "get 'er done", or do they stop and look at their progress, recognize their own strengths and weaknesses, revise their work, and then think through the best next step?) But it often feels too subjective, and ultimately not very helpful to the student, to simply assign a grade for this category and move on to the next unit.
I hope to create spaces online, using moodle, for students to post examples of their work, both finished and in progress. Students will then be assigned to comment on their work and that of their peers, the hope being to create a running dialogue that can be used in class as an entry point for discussion. Getting students to loosen up when discussing their work, and the work of peers, is often very challenging. Jump starting the discussion online hopefully will allow less outspoken students a chance to find their voice and share their insights.
The last category, "Understand the Art World", is typically assessed through written homework assignments or oral class presentations. These occur fairly infrequently, and so here is a place where I can hopefully increase student engagement and deepen understanding of the concepts presented though more frequent online blogging and sharing assignments. I hope to set up a space for posting links to helpful (and academically valid) websites for research-- a list that can grow as students contribute to the list sites they discover. Instead of writing an essay on an assigned topic and then printing out and turning it in to me, students can post their work online, with subsequent assignments involving both peer editing and commenting on the initial piece. I'm very excited about having students read each others' work-- as it is now, there is often no time in class for me to read select essays in class and deepen the discussion.
In short, Web 2.0 may provide an effective way to both encourage students to be more reflective, and assess their ability to observe and articulate what they see and know. I don't expect any "magic bullets" here, just a good start on finding solutions and becoming a better teacher.
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