Making a difference in the Art room: Clare’s story
Arriving at the residential in July 2021, I was so excited to meet with other artist teachers and explore how we could learn together and take this learning back to our classrooms. It was the first time I had done any CPD since the pandemic had seriously curtailed our ability to work with colleagues from other schools. I work in a one-person department in a middle school on the North East coast and, therefore, networking opportunities like this are the main way I get to connect with other art teachers.
The 3 days at the University of Leeds were to prove to be an important milestone in my teaching career. I didn’t know it at the time. I was just relishing the opportunity to share stories, exchange ideas, look at opportunities for my students and continue to inspire myself to be the best art teacher I could be.
I want my students to love making art and for it to be a source of joy to them, whether they decide to follow a creative career or not. The residential gave me a renewed confidence to teach art history and a refreshed outlook on teaching art in general. Since then, I have been using the Superpower of Looking with my students a whole lot more.
When Abigail introduced the idea of the PG Certificate, I was ready to run a mile. My previous experience of postgraduate study had been hard-going and I was reluctant to undertake anything extra as I was working hard putting my school’s Artsmark accreditation evidence together – no small feat! A year later, however, when I received an email reminding me about the PG Certificate, my interest began to be piqued.
I applied and started the course in Autumn 2022. I remember the first Saturday Seminar – sitting in a room with 5 other art teachers, terrified about conducting research and having no idea about how I was going to even start. I am no academic and just the thought of academic writing scared the pants off me. However, with the support of Abigail and Anne-Louise, I discovered that I do have research skills and can write academically. Over the past 2 years, I have been conducting action research within my own classroom and it’s not over yet…
A chance conversation with the parent of a former student set me off on this journey. The student told me that they lost their love of art during their GCSEs despite achieving an A grade. She commented that it had “sucked the life out of her”. Despite the experimentation that the course afforded her, she felt that each piece of work was set to meet specific criteria rather than develop her own artistic style.
The curriculum felt geared towards what the examiners wanted, fulfilling a strict structure of self, peer and teacher assessment. She said, “I think GCSE art burnt me out and sent me into quite a creative slump for a while and it took a long time for art to come back as a hobby after it had felt like a chore for so long!”
I’m not ashamed to say that this made me cry, and it still does! It spurred me on to look at methodologies and pedagogies that can be used to develop students’ intrinsic motivation in art – to see themselves as artists. One particular theory began to catch my interest and intrigue me. I discovered Teaching for Artistic Behaviour (TAB) – a teaching philosophy developed in America. I began to wonder whether it could work in the UK.
This approach allows the students to see themselves as artists and to discover what it is that artists do. It is a theory that is linked closely to the Studio Habits of Mind that were developed by Harvard’s Project Zero and choice-based learning. I conducted a small study with some of my students and it has had a real impact on them. Those that took part said they were more fully engaged with their learning, prepared to take greater creative risks, and felt increasingly independent;
“I like the control and power I have over my own work. I can create it the way I like – as an artist would. Also bringing things in to draw helps me as I enjoy it more and we can work together to help each other”. (Student F)
For the first time in many years, I feel like I am starting to make a real difference for my students. I am more fully engaged with my subject. I look for opportunities to include play and choice in my teaching and my students are reaping the benefits. I am continuing my research as I know that I have only just taken the first steps on my and their journey and I’m looking for more opportunities to use what I have learnt and do further research.
At the start of this journey I didn’t think I had the ability or capacity to really succeed. Thanks to all the support and encouragement I have received through Art Teachers Connect and the PG Certificate, I have developed my practice and continue to use my research on art education in my classroom. It has become part of who I am as an artist-teacher. I have had a support group of fellow artist-teachers from around the country that I am sure will be firm friends for life.
I will forever feel part of the Art Teachers Connect community.