When you first start teaching, you may notice that you are struggling to get a grip on students. You may have the purest intentions to help students by answering all of their questions and letting them share their stories even when they were longer than you anticipated. However, you are not necessarily helping students when you do this. Students need structure to function well in a classroom with their peers. By directing students to wait to share stories, you are teaching them patience and healthy self-regulating skills they will need for the future. This post contains some insightful tips to maximize classroom functionality. There are two key elements to foster student attention which are strong educational resources and proper classroom management.
One of the best resources for teachers is knowledge of their own students. It is important to pay attention to students interests such as the movies they watch and video games they play. Also, ask students what they do outside of school. It is essential to have them know that their interests are important to you. This increases student engagement and motivation. It is your professional responsibility as a teacher to make sure students are learning at their maximum level within your control. As much as an art educator should be well rounded in the field of art, it is critical to become strong in your own art form. Being strong in your own art form allows you to better reflect on it and see its quality in the context of similar forms. With that, students need exposure to the surplus of art forms that exist. In order to do so, teachers need good visual resources. A lifelong process of collecting pictures of visual culture over different time spans can be helpful to share with students. I have begun collecting resources myself (Image Below). This allows them to understand that art is perceived differently in separate contexts of time. Another helpful way to expose students to art is by having a visiting artist chair which is symbolically filled by the artist through pictures of their work. These useful methods to increase exposure are only helpful when students can make connections. Doug Boughton and Kerry Freedman state that “…the power of images is gained by the associations students make and by the power afforded the image” (9). Be sure to have students display their artwork to express that visual culture is essential for them and their peers to experience. When students put up their own work, it lets them know that they have an influence on their own environment.
The logistics of classrooms composure also play a large role in student efficiency and reduced chaos for you to manage. Boughton and Freedman word it best when stating that “The appearance and organization of the classroom is part of the hidden curriculum: it teaches students what to pay attention to, how to move, how to interact with each other, and what to value in terms of the things they see”. Students can learn to understand color theory by simply splitting students into groups based on primary and secondary colors or warm and cool colors. Overall, the color of the room itself helps create a mood for students and should be considered. It is the teacher’s role to ensure that students are always stimulated and interested by the classroom environment. Art classrooms tend to require more movement than a typical classroom, so it is important that the classroom has flexibility. Different sized groups are needed often, so having lightweight chairs and desks that move easily will allow reconfiguration to be easier than without. Having bean bag chairs in the classroom for discussions may lead to a discussion environment that is more comfortable. Another method to managing the classroom space is offering media centers to help students explore new mediums independently after they complete an assignment. When students are creating art with personal intentions, they become intrinsically motivated. A tip for the educator to keep classroom space less cluttered is to have an electronic portfolio for students. This allows more space for future projects and a digital record of student work in the case that damage happens to a student’s project. These suggestions for a better classroom environment fall short without a teacher who is constantly alert of student behavior. Teachers need to be aware in hopes of preventing unwanted behaviors by anticipating future events.
Students need to be a part of an environment that provides good resources to promote freedom and risk taking. Investing time in your students and having them be aware of the importance of their needs creates a positive classroom environment. Students should feel safe, comfortable and respected with the intention of establishing a healthy learning community. Teachers that create these environments will be respected by their students. Some students will learn how to manage themselves better when you apply these methods as a role model. If the classroom may still be chaotic to some students, you can assign them roles to help them take on responsibilities. As an art educator, you are not only teaching art, you are teaching student’s discipline. A dance teacher I once met claimed that dance was the medium in which she taught her student discipline, responsibility, and respect. These skills are applicable to any field and carry a lot of weight.
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