Blog 9: Knowledge Bases

Recently, in one of my art education graduate classes, our class created a list of ways in which teachers can build their students' knowledge bases as part of the artmaking process. Though I never seemed to consider it before, it makes sense that children need to acquire information on their subject matter, technical skills, media choices, and context before they are asked to create a meaningful piece. According to Sydney R. Walker, building upon students' knowledge bases enables the "understanding of the [big] idea in a supportive structure that carries their artmaking beyond the manipulation of media to the exploration and expression of meaning" (Walker, p. 97).

Recently, I have been planning a unit based on my preferred art education approach, trend, and a big idea. My approach being inquiry-based and my trend is visual culture. However, I have also been pondering over how I can educate elementary school students about visual culture since I have always seen it as complex considering the depth of reflection, research, and contextualizing that typically occurs. Even though I prefer teaching younger students, I still wanted to develop a unit based on visual culture that could be tailored to different grade levels. I found that, through learning about knowledge bases, I can develop a foundation for what students can learn about the function of visual imagery in society based on what their grade level suggests they can cognitively achieve.

For instance, elementary school students should be able to conduct observation, reflect on their past experiences, handle simple research, and communicate their ideas. In reading Teaching Meaning in Artmaking, chapter 7 analyzes the artistic practices of working, contemporary artists. Here, Walker suggests that through purposeful play, risk-taking, experimentation, postponing the final meaning, and inquiry, students can pursue creating meaning in their art (Walker, p. 115). The artistic practices of Sandy Skoglund were what caught my attention because of her use of all these elements that I thought would be perfect for children to begin learning about my essential questions. At first, my idea of teaching visual culture focused on how students can use artistic disruption to reveal hidden societal concerns seemed very unreasonable for the elementary setting. However, based on Skoglund's practices and the knowledge bases most appropriate for younger students, I thought of how students can still participate in exposing and conveying hidden meaning once you take them through strategies of play, exploration, discovery, and inquiry. My most important realization is not focusing on, at least at first, social issues; students would learn more from having the freedom to play and explore art without being entrapped by how they can reveal a social concern. Once the artwork is developed and created, students will then be qualified to unearth meaning and draw connections with real-world problems.

Citation:

Walker, S. R. (2001). Teaching Meaning in Artmaking. Davis.