Although each Learning Through Art residency is unique, years of research and professional development have resulted in a set of approaches and philosophies that are present throughout all of the residencies. Read below to learn about LTA’s strategies and follow links to see examples of them in action.
Modeling Artists’ Thinking & Process
LTA
teaching artists encourage each student to think like an artist by
modeling their own artistic process as well as exposing them to works of
art and a variety of ideas and approaches. Watch a video on the Learning Through Art YouTube Channel of a teaching artist discussing a work of art with students.
Reflective Practice
Reflection
is an integral component of every LTA residency and can take the form
of group discussions of student artwork, individual sketchbook
reflections, and checklists of goals generated by students.
Open-ended and extended investigations
Each
LTA residency begins with developing an Essential Question, a question
that is designed to address a big idea within the chosen curriculum
area. For example, “What connects or divides us?” is a question designed
to examine historical conflicts in social studies as well as have
students think about their personal relationships. These types of
questions serve as the guiding framework for all 20 sessions. View an example of lesson plans that demonstrate this practice.
Material and idea explorations
In
order to build technique and foster student innovation, LTA teaching
artists include sessions that are solely dedicated to investigating the
properties and possibilities of materials and ideas. Watch a video on the Learning Through Art YouTube Channel of one of our teaching artists leading a material exploration.
Collaborative and interdisciplinary projects
The
structure of LTA is designed to foster collaboration with educators
from other disciplines, and often students in LTA create group projects.
These collaborative approaches create natural opportunities for
interdisciplinary learning and creative generation of new ideas and
solutions.
Balancing process and product
It
is important to LTA that teachers, parents, and students value the
importance of exploring, thinking, and participating in the artistic
process. Therefore various stages, including preliminary sketches and
student writings, are exhibited in addition to finished works. In our
annual A Year With Children exhibition, “process boards” that demonstrate the development of a project are as important as the final works exhibited.
Photo: 2nd graders at PS 28 painting with teaching artist Kristin Ann Melkin. Photo: Leticia F. Luevanos