Who Am I? What is Choice?
I'm Sarah DeKett and I have been teaching art at Mesick Schools since 2006. I graduated from Western MIchigan University with a Bachelor's Degree in Art Education and from Central Michigan University with a Master's Degree in Humanities. When I'm not in the classroom with my students, I enjoy playing and exploring with my family. We love camping, biking and kayaking together. I also enjoy photography, running and reading as my hobbies.
What do I want students to learn while in my art room? Is it more important to grade a final work of art or allow students the opportunity to play, explore and make mistakes while learning how to be creative? Reflecting on these questions has re-focused my teaching philosophy on Teaching for Artistic Behavior or TAB. It is often called 'Choice-Based Art' and has been shown to promote independence, creativity, problem-solving skills, collaboration, and deep self-reflection of artwork made by students.
In a choice based art room, artwork alone cannot provide sufficient information for assessment. I will prepare my students for the twenty-first century world they live in by incorporating a paperless grading system with the use of digital portfolios and blogging. By implementing choice into my art room, my students will naturally refine their higher order thinking skills using Lois Hetland’s 8 Artist Habits of Mind. Students will:
What do I want students to learn while in my art room? Is it more important to grade a final work of art or allow students the opportunity to play, explore and make mistakes while learning how to be creative? Reflecting on these questions has re-focused my teaching philosophy on Teaching for Artistic Behavior or TAB. It is often called 'Choice-Based Art' and has been shown to promote independence, creativity, problem-solving skills, collaboration, and deep self-reflection of artwork made by students.
In a choice based art room, artwork alone cannot provide sufficient information for assessment. I will prepare my students for the twenty-first century world they live in by incorporating a paperless grading system with the use of digital portfolios and blogging. By implementing choice into my art room, my students will naturally refine their higher order thinking skills using Lois Hetland’s 8 Artist Habits of Mind. Students will:
- Express their ideas and beliefs through their artwork
- Engage and Persist through challenges and setbacks
- Stretch and Explore for deeper understanding of new media and artforms
- Develop Craft to become more skilled in their chosen media
- Envision their projects from start to finish, learning how to come up with an idea and follow through with their vision
- Observe the world around them through artist's eyes
- Reflect on their work, their process, and their learning in order to grow
- Understand the art community and use the resources available to them through their peers, their teachers, and the greater world of other artists.