Feature Stories
Art Education and Differentiated Instruction
By Cris Guenter, Ed.D.
California State University, Chico
Chico, California
Art education has a long history of instruction that focuses on process, portfolio, and product. This three-pronged approach meshes well with the approaches of differentiated instruction. According to educator Carol Ann Tomlinson (2001), the intended goals for differentiated instruction are "multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas, and expressing what is learned." There are other parallels, as well. When establishing an effective differentiated classroom, it is critical to remember that "different learners have differing needs," which, as any art teacher will tell you, is also a given for every group of students in art education classes. In art education lessons, the expectation and hope is that each student will go through a thinking process, a creating process, and a developing process that results in a unique product. In this regard, art education really has an anchor in differentiated instruction from the beginning.
"Brain-based" training educator Eric Jensen offers a framework for a visual art assignment that illustrates this same idea:
Give students an assignment to complete only as visual art. They cannot do it in a list of text-like format. It must be drawn, webbed, illustrated, mapped, done as decoupage, or cartooned. Let the students share what they did with their peers, get a peer edit, then revise. Finally let them share their work with the class, then write down how they felt about in a learning log or journal. (Jensen 2001, 59)
Good art teachers do not just teach art and assume that differentiated instruction automatically occurs. Instructors intuitively carry out some of the activities noted below, but other processes are to be thoughtfully considered to make instruction and learning environments proactive and supportive for the many learners that come a teacher's way.
Giving students responsibilities and talking about classroom procedures and group processes that need to occur in the art classroom set the stage. Jensen (2001) encourages us, right from the start, to involve students with visual tools (graphic organizers, pictures, color recognition, etc.) and to provide adequate training in using these visual tools.
Suggestions for differentiated instruction in an art education classroom can range from approaches requiring little preparation to approaches requiring much more involved preparation. Some approaches on the "low-prep" end include: varied journal or sketchbook prompts, options for varied modes of expression, negotiated criteria, choices in reading content, and whole-to-part and part-to-whole explanations (Tomlinson 2001). Wouldn't it be engaging to have students conduct an art critique that used the used the whole-to-part and part-to-whole explanations?
Differentiated instruction approaches that require more time and advance preparation, but offer richer results, include: tiered activities, tiered products, learning contracts, multiple intelligence options, personal agendas, simulations, and graduated rubrics (Tomlinson 2001). Clearly these approaches and how you go about implementing them will vary by class, course, and age of your students. Investigating and trying one or more of these may pleasantly surprise you and your students.
When thinking about your students, your art education content, and your intentions for differentiated instruction, consider student readiness and interest and differentiate at a pace that is comfortable for you and your students.
References:
Jensen, Eric. 2001. Arts with the Brain in Mind. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Tomlinson, Carol Ann. 2001. How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.