Open-ended Arts Curricula

As observed by Elliot Eisner in Arts and Creation of Mind, arts curricula can be incredibly flexible and dependent on a variety of factors- the teacher, administration, policy makers, etc. (Eisner, 2002). Art curricula is inherently open-ended, and often undefined. This ambiguity poses a great opportunity for teachers to allow student inspired learning. Eisner mentions that what is taught in the art room (teacher established goals) may or may not happen, which, on the surface, can be interpreted negatively (Eisner, 2002). Outcomes are usually a result of intervention, and are often intended (Eisner, 2002). However, we can evaluate students on the more happenstance learning outcomes, outcomes that are unintended and bring awareness to inquiries that occur spontaneously. Eisner uses the plant and seed metaphor, explaining that seeds that are planted do not come to fruition until they are watered (Eisner, 2002). Teachers plant the seeds, water the plant, and see where and how it grows. But the plant does not always flower as predicted. Art educators need to expect these nuances in student outcomes and be flexible to provide students with acknowledging their learning within the greater context of the student’s life. While such flexible curricula makes it difficult to predict when students will be ready to absorb the specific subject matter and content chosen by the teacher, it allows room for the student to apply their life experiences to the content in a more individualized fashion. By providing students with culturally and developmentally appropriate prompts through other visuals, stories, and questions, the art teacher can become the avid listener to the student to continue to adjust the learning segment based on the flow and demonstrated understanding of individual students and the class at large. 

With open-ended outcomes, it may be helpful for the instructor to identify any patterns that may arise when presenting students with certain materials. This understanding may assist the teacher in supporting student needs as they arise. Elliot Eisner in “What can Education Learn from the Arts about the Practice of Education,” discusses how materials influence one’s thinking and creativity (Eisner, 2002). He mentions how particular materials have demands which effect how we think while using it material (Eisner, 2002). Others materials may require a particular process through which intuitive ideas may become lost. Certain materials may influence one to focus on fields of color, as Eisner mentions, which may evoke senses and feelings which elicit yet more emotional responses (Eisner, 2002). These observations are present in my data analysis. 

Material Exploration

 After teaching and evaluating students on their material technique exploration of the day, students were given the time to create an artwork using the techniques discussed and taught. This open-ended prompt resulted in a range of data, with some patterns and overlapping ideas present. Within the data, I noticed three emerging categories. (1) the observable world; (2) imaginative ideas; and (3) continued material studies. This range of data was simultaneously sorted into categories which reflect the teacher-prompted material choice of the day: (1) watercolor, (2) collage, and (3) drawing. With each material focus comes a new set of affordances and limits. How does choice in material effect what students create? I have observed that material choice limits or expands the range of outcomes.  

While using watercolor techniques, most students simply explored the material by creating abstract compositions with less diversity in outcomes. In this category, neither the visual nor the written data reveal that the artwork was inspired by personal meaning, however, the data collected from my teacher notes reveals student expressions of excitement and focus as they were engaging the material processes for this lesson. Two students who were learning remotely and had access to other materials drew objects from the interior space around them, which was discussed in a prior lesson, and then filled in their drawings with the demonstrated techniques. In these two cases were more personal expressions. For example, one student depicted the family television with a made-up television show inspired by their pet. In another case, one student created a painting of an Egyptian Tomb, and shared their knowledge on the subject as they were painting. Some students who expressed having interest and more experience with the material depicted ideas which were more personal. Students who were just becoming familiar with watercolor continued to experiment with abstract or non-representational marks. 

In the Drawing category, I observed a moderate range of outcomes. Students who seemed less confident with their art skills were the most hesitant to draw and expressed frustration with open-endedness. As indicated in my teacher notes, this was observed mainly with my 4th and 5th grade classes. It was and not noted with my 3rd grade classes. The demonstrated drawing techniques coupled with the amount of freedom and flexibility of the lesson, potentially caused students to be hesitant with their creative process. This contrasts with my watercolor data observations, as students were noted as being more comfortable and engaged with the freedom afforded by the watercolor material.  

The group of collages had the most diverse range of outcomes. In this category were cities, landscapes, trophies, sports, characters, ships, animals, and food. There were far fewer abstract compositions in this category. Perhaps this is because of the immediacy of cutting and tearing shapes to conjoin in order to depict more complicated forms, as well as the time needed to arrange and re-arrange the shapes to achieve a more satisfying or accurate image. Additionally, this category revealed more evidence of collaboration when students were creating collages than any other material in the data. This was noted through student verbal and written submissions and teacher observations. 

This category of data was then divided into two sub-categories reflecting how the lesson was taught differently on two different days: (1) torn paper collage and (2) cut paper collage. Torn paper collages include artworks that were created without using scissors. This lesson was taught before the cut paper collaging techniques. The data also reveals that students were somewhat frustrated exercising this technique, perhaps due to the limitation of using their hands, rather than scissors, to form their shapes. With less control over shaping the material, this seemed to limit students’ decisions to create artwork that depicts an image that is specific or personally relevant to the student. Many of the artworks in this category are depictions of trees, landscapes, and bodies of water. According to the data, it seems that many students relied on a class-generated brainstorm list. The ideas on the list were similar between all classes, and included things such as waterfalls, mountains, rivers, and animals. Becoming aware of this pattern shows me that landscapes can be a relatable and accessible idea with which to prompt students. 

This subcategory contrasts with the subcategory “Cut Paper Collage,” which shows an even broader range of outcomes, as well as the depiction of ideas that align with the student’s individuality, daily experiences and personal ideas. In the “Cut Paper Collage” subcategory, the artworks revealed concepts which were more specific to the students’ lives. For example, one student created a collage of a figure in their work-from-home classroom desk with a stack of books. Additionally, students depicted their hobbies and interests outside of school, such as baseball and softball fields, stills from their favorite movies, and characters from video games. Sorting the data into this sub-category reveled that there were more instances of collaboration and experimentation than in the other categories. Such ideas include creating pop-up artworks, which was done by two students in different classes. This idea caught on in both classes, and other students created pop-up artworks as well. 

Awareness of such divergent outcomes can help the teacher better prepare for additional supports when students find their way down particular paths of discovery. Aside from the already flexible National Core Arts Standards that guide public school arts curricula across the United States- Why should the art classroom have so much flexibility in the first place?