student artwork | TAB Studio with Mrs. B

How to grade artwork is a topic that comes up often in groups populated by art teachers. I am sure that not one art teacher really wants to grade art, but unfortunately for most of us, it’s part of the expectations those in higher pay grades at central office place upon us. But, if we really thought about it, is grading the artwork itself really a good measure of a student’s artistic growth, learning, application and understanding? And, isn’t that the point of school–growth, learning, application and understanding? I mean, school is the best place to “screw up”–to fail at something, reflect on it, and learn from the process/what went “wrong”. No big merger or client’s money is really at stake here, so why not take risks.

Risks are huge in creating artwork. All the masters that so many teachers use in their classrooms are great because they took risks and experimented. For every artwork that was successful, they had at least 3 that either sucked and were failures or just were meh. (Just for the record, I am making that number up. I am basing it on my own journey as an artist.) If that is the case, why are we holding our students to different standards that working artists don’t hold to themselves?

If we grade artwork on how many lines students used, or if they incorporated X# of organic shapes and X# of geometric shapes, then how do we as teachers know what are they really learning. I don’t know many artists that work like that? Why are we telling them they need to have this or that? Shouldn’t the artwork dictate that? Whose work is it anyway? Letting the students figure out where and what to use or not use in their work will help them learn how to grow as an artist. Having conversations with them will help them reflect and grow. 20180828_135406

BUT, what if we just decided NOT to grade the artwork and grade their engagement in the process instead? What could that lead to? I’ll tell you what it could lead to. It could take the pressure off students to be “perfect” in their work. It could tell them that they are in charge of their work, not me, the teacher. It could lead to students taking risks in their artworks. It could lead to students trying new media and techniques. It could lead to experimentation that otherwise may not have happened if they are just trying to have X# of shapes in their work. It could lead to failure, which in turn with reflection leads to learning. And all of this leads to the students learning to behave, think, and become artists. And, isn’t that what one of our end goals of art education should be?

This unit was something I have been wanting to have my art students do for some time, but it never seemed to be the right time. Well, in January of 2018, I looked at my art 2 students and decided this was the group that could pull it off. And, I was right. While not every student hit it out of the park, most did…in one way or another.

This was my final unit for my art 2 students. We spend over 6 weeks working. It will also double as their final exam. Here is the information students were given about the curation of a show. They were given a few days to figure out what they wanted to do, then they jumped into the work.

This unit was amazing. Most students decided to curate a show of their own new work. I’ve never seen so many of my students jump in and work constantly–walking in the room and getting right to work. They were passionate about what they were creating because it was all them…I had no say in what they could create. They came up with their own themes for their shows, and figured out what type of create to meet that theme. One group of 3 boys had originally decided to curate past work they had made, but out of no where began to collaborate on a large panel piece of a dragon in space. I was thrilled by how well they worked together.

About a week prior to the hang, they made flyers to advertise their shows. They hung copies in different areas of the school and we added information to the cafeteria announcement slides.

Finally the day came to hang their show. I gave them some pointers on how to hang their art on the walls of the student centers, and then let them go. In addition to hanging their pieces, they added labels and a show/artist statement. They all look so fabulous. I am so proud of my students. And, the comments from others around the school have all been so positive. I know my students are proud of their work. I can tell, even if they won’t admit it to me.

The show will be up for a week, and on it’s final day we will have a closing reception with some small snacks, drinks, and a “guest book” for each student that people can sign. Next week, I will meet with each student individually to talk about their curation experience and together we will decide on a grade for their exam.

I am really glad that I finally was able to do a unit like this. I really like to show off what my students create, but usually it just gets hung in the fine arts hallway. It really showcases the students and their talents.