Arty On

When I first started teaching using the PYP framework, I didn't really know what I was getting into.  I was fortunate enough to be hired by a school who was willing to take a teacher with no experience in the PYP, support me with professional development and mentors, and surround me with knowledgeable colleagues to observe and learn from. I would say one of the best, but least talked about, advantages of teaching art using the PYP framework is the ability to focus on the emergent curriculum .  " Emergent curriculum is based on the premise that children are most successful at learning when curriculum experiences account for their interests, strengths, needs, and lived realities.   In emergent curriculum, both adults and children have initiative and make decisions. This power to impact curriculum decisions and directions means that sometimes curriculum is also negotiated between what interests children and what adults know is necessary for children’s education and ...

I write this post after a week of taking the time to appreciate the positive happenings going on in the PYP art studio (and in general) at my school.  We're 9 weeks into the new school year, which means the "honeymoon" phase has worn off.  Group dynamics have shifted in classrooms, students and teachers are settling in to their comfort zones.  We are all feeling the effects of a new routine, sleep schedule and daily demand on our minds and bodies.  After weeks of saying "yes" to new opportunities, we might be feeling overwhelmed.  Viruses from summer travels have taken a tour of the school and been exchanged.  It can be easy to fall into old ways of doing things because they are comfortable and easy.  I find that this is the exact time that I need to stop and be more aware of what's happening around me...throughout the school, with my colleagues, among students.  I need to focus on the positive, appreciate others, and maintain a growth mindset. ...

How does a choice-based classroom allow for student artists to develop their ideas in a meaningful way?  This is a question I am currently experimenting with and offering varied solutions for in my PYP art studio. For the most part, I'm finding that there is no end to the ideas that students want to investigate.  However, some of them enter the art studio with so many ideas that they find it difficult to stick with just one.  They are enthusiastic, they are motivated, and they want to try it all!  They ping pong from here to there, experimenting with one technique, then collaborating on another, engaging in making mistakes, and finding out what they like and don't like as an artist. I love this about running a choice-based art studio. However, I also wonder what the limit of these explorations should be?  At what point does a student need to choose a topic, medium, or technique and explore it more in depth?  What is the role of the teacher in ensuri...