Providing untrained Visual Arts teachers in St. Lucia with an online training package on the use of experiential engagement in the art classroom.
Experiential engagement teaching practice is based on two fundamental principles: that people learn best through active engagement and direct experience. By engaging in hands-on activities, student teachers will hone their visual literacy and appreciation of aesthetics as they work to turn visual, tactile, and spatial concepts into solutions. Additionally, student teachers will delve into experiences, stories, abstract ideas, social issues, and requirements.
Experiential engagement in the art classroom is a teaching approach that emphasizes hands-on, immersive experiences for students to learn and create art. The pedagogy behind this approach is rooted in constructivist and social constructivist theories of learning, which propose that knowledge is constructed by individuals through their own experiences, interactions with others, and reflection on those experiences.
In the context of the art classroom, experiential engagement involves providing students with opportunities to actively engage with art materials and processes, to explore their own creative ideas, and to collaborate with their peers in the artistic process. This approach is often characterized by open-ended assignments that allow for multiple interpretations and outcomes, as well as a focus on process over product.
The goal of experiential engagement in the art classroom is to foster creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills in students. By engaging in hands-on art experiences, students are able to experiment, take risks, and develop their own artistic style. Additionally, by working collaboratively and reflecting on their experiences, students can develop communication and interpersonal skills, as well as a deeper understanding of their own learning processes.
Some strategies for implementing experiential engagement in the art classroom include:
Providing open-ended art projects that allow for multiple interpretations and outcomes.
Encouraging experimentation and risk-taking with art materials and processes.
Facilitating collaboration and discussion among students during the artistic process.
Incorporating reflection and self-evaluation into the artistic process to encourage metacognition.
Providing opportunities for students to share and showcase their work with others.
Overall, experiential engagement in the art classroom provides a dynamic and engaging approach to teaching and learning that can help students develop a range of skills and competencies.