1:1 | TAB Studio with Mrs. B

Normally I teach both abstract and non-objective art in a full-on unit. This year I decided to revise that. While I think the information included is important, it was information that could be learned in a shorter amount of time…with the right activities and check-ins. I am lucky as our school is 1:1 and has a set of TVs at the front of the school that we can hook in to.

Day 1: Each class broke into 5 equal groups. They brought one computer with them and we headed to the front of the school. Each group hooked into a tv, and they were asked to first define both abstract and non-representational/non-objective. After that, each group went thru a slideshow and determined if an image was abstract or non-objective, based on what they had discovered in their definition search. At the end of class, we went thru the slideshow as a whole class.

Day 2: We briefly went over the definitions of each style of art. The students then were to watch 2 videos through playposit. One video was on Joan Jonas and the other was Soo Sunny Park. They students had to determine which artist would be considered abstract and which was non-objective. They also had to say why. This was really to stress the difference between the two genres and to let them see 2 artists at work.

Day 3: At the start of class, we had a check for understanding where kids defined each term, said what they had in common and what made them different. Then it was time for was our image find day. Each student had to create a document that contained 10 images. Five of the images had to be abstract. Five had to be non-objective. They also had to say why they chose those images–what drew them to those pieces. I like having them do this because it causes them not to choose the first 5 they find and to really search through a ton of images. Furthermore, it gives me some behind the scenes info into art they find intriguing.

Days 4-6: These were studio day. Students chose which type of art they wanted to create, then had 3 days to create that art. It was awesome. The first day about 60% of students were working, but by the second day, 95% were working and not rushing thru. I was very pleased with the conversations and the engagement by my students.

Day 7: Our final day of the bootcamp was reflection day. I asked students to fill out a google form. I asked them again to tell me the differences and similarities between abstract and non-objective. I asked them what genre their artwork fell into. Then I asked some opinion questions about the bootcamp and abstract/non-objective work. With the extra time left that period, kids could finish up anything they hadn’t gotten to over the past 3 studio days.

This was a huge success. It wasn’t so long that they eventually lost interest. And, it was focused and narrow enough for 95% to understand the two concepts.

Well, it’s a new bootcamp approach for me and my students. Normally when we do bootcamps, there are many demos by me. And, since I don’t want to spend the whole class period doing demos, it ends up being one per day and then work time. So, each approach is learned separately. Granted, this has been okay for our drawing bootcamps and painting bootcamps. Last year I followed this approach for printmaking as well. It was kind of a disaster. Most kids didn’t really learn much, they whipped through each technique, and they wasted a lot of materials. So, this year, I decided we needed to do something different.

My school is 1:1 MacBooks, and it is an expectation that we include a technology component. I thought this would be a great way to meet that expectation and change up the bootcamp. This year, I would expect the onus of learning the techniques on the students. We talked about how this bootcamp would be different and that they were the ones to watch the demo videos for the technique they needed to learn. I would only be doing one demo–inking and pulling prints.

I create a Google Slides with my expectations for the bootcamp and shared it with my students in Google Classroom. At the start of the bootcamp, we went over it. I expected that each student would learn a minimum of one printmaking technique. They students could decide to either work alone or in groups of up to 4 people. Each group had to make 3 copies of an artwork that utilized different printmaking techniques. AND, they couldn’t repeat techniques in their piece. So, for example, a group of 4 had to create an artwork that had 4 different printmaking techniques. If you worked alone, you had to learn 2 techniques.

While I have 2 things I need to revise for next year, and I will get to those in a minute, I think overall this was a success. The majority of the kids watched multiple video demos before making decisions on what they wanted to learn. They communicated with others on the artwork creation and learned from each other when they had questions about techniques. Of course I had those that needed more attention than others, and I had some that needed modified requirements, but that is normal in a TAB classroom where differentiation is a common occurrence.

The biggest thing I have to revise is HOW I deliver the information and expectations to the students. The multiple copies aspect of printmaking was a difficult concept for many. I also want to look at the time line for next year. The students had 8 studio days (48 minute periods) to create and do a google slides for a presentation. I think I need to make it a full 2 weeks (10 days), not including a day for presentations.

I am proud of my students. They worked hard and learned way more than they realize. I plan on trying to incorporate this type of bootcamp into our future bootcamps. I am glad that I put the learning was put on their shoulders because it allowed me more time to observe and interact with my students.