Contemporary Art as Public Pedagogy

PART I: UNIT OVERVIEW

·       Unit Title: Individual VS. Peer Perception of Self

·       Enduring Idea:

Understanding how others see us influences our identity

·       Key Concepts about the Enduring Idea:

Identity, self-awareness, bias, value system, expressionism, semiotics, intertextuality, social media

Rachel’s 5 Challenges:

1.     Influence – the power of both positive and negative influences

2. Goal Setting – the importance of dreaming big
3. Journaling – the powerful impact of writing goals, thoughts, emotions and dreams down
4. Acceptance – understanding, inclusion, respect, compassion…the first steps to eliminating prejudice
5. Kindness – simple, deliberate acts of kindness positively impact the recipient and the giver

·       Key Concepts about Contemporary Art as Public Pedagogy:

Symbolism, metaphor

·       Essential Questions:

1. How do the objects that we keep around us define who we are?

2. How can we use kindness to shape our communication when we are giving feedback to our peers online?

3. In what ways do the things that our peers say about us impact how we feel or see ourselves?

Rationale:

Students need to learn how online platforms use  visual culture to share perceptions and definitions of our identity because it is one of the most common tools that youth are using to learn in the 21^st century. As teachers, it is our responsibility to provide them with the foundation to analyze and create informed representations within the new online culture. In doing so, we create safe online practices and encourage the exploration of their identities during vital growth stages.

·       Unit Objectives:

1.     Students will understand how the objects that they have around them symbolize a part of who they are as indviduals

2.     Students will be able to apply the understanding of symbolism and metaphor to create photographic self-portraits within the context of an online community

3.     Students will give and receive positive feedback through the online platform SeeSaw.

4.     Students will use their peer’s feedback to reflect on how the online representation/object presentation of themselves is similar or different from their own perception of self.

·       Standards:

1.     9.1.B. Recognize, know, use and demonstrate a variety of appropriate arts elements and principles to produce, review and revise original works in the arts.

•       Visual Arts: • paint • draw • craft • sculpt • print • design for environment, communication, multi-media social media

2.     9.2. D. Analyze a work of art from its historical and cultural perspective.

3.     9.4.B. Identify uses of expressive symbols that show philosophical meanings in works in the arts and humanities

·       End of Unit Assessment:

1.     Object as Self-portrait photograph

2.     Posted comments on SeeSaw

3.     Written reflection

OVERVIEW OF LESSONS

LESSON 1:

Students will read the NY times article as the foundation of understanding how we use objects to define who we are. They will then explore the BBC museum online and question what the last object says about who we are as a society. Then, students will begin brainstorming and answering the question “what object defines you as a person?”. With these activities, students will learn how we create meaning from objects by analyzing the social and visual contexts.

LESSON 2:

Students will bring in their object and photograph it with their ipad in the studio. Students will have to decide on a background color and arrange the object within the space of the light box. Students will need to title their work and upload it onto the SeeSaw platform. Students will learn how the objects and visual decisions they make are metaphors or symbols that represent a part of who they are.

LESSON 3:

(This lesson is an extension of the Rachel’s Challenge lessons that are currently being taught throughout the school as a building initiative to reduce bullying and increase kindness. In a way, this is an interdisciplinary connection) Students will review the 5 ideas presented by Rachel’s Challenge. We will focus on the first challenge “Influence” and the idea of practicing positive gossip. Students will share and discuss a moment where they felt disrespected, bullied, offended or misunderstood as a result of something that someone posted as a comment online. Students will watch the video about the “Compliment’s Project” Through the context of this conversation, students will be instructed to go onto SeeSaw and comment on their peers work. They will write not about the way that the photograph looks, but what they learn about the person through looking at the photograph.

Lesson 4: Students will reflect on the comments from their peers and write a reflection about what they learned from what others saw in their photograph.

ARTMAKING PROBLEMS:

-        How do you create narratives through preexisting objects?

-        How does color and composition (posing) change the story of an object when photographed?

ARTMAKING BOUNDARIES:

-        Students will be limited to one object that is no larger than 2ft long but no smaller than a penny

-        The object can be brought in from home or found within the school environment

-        Students will photograph their object in the corner of a light box

-        Students will be able to choose from 4 different color backgrounds

-        Students will need to use their ipad to photograph their object

-        Students will not be allowed to edit their photograph

-        Students will need to photograph their object within a vertical frame

-        Students will need to use SeeSaw to upload and share their photograph

TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE

-        How to use the camera on the ipad to focus and adjust exposure

-        How to upload a photograph onto SeeSaw

-        How to leave comments on SeeSaw

ARTWORKS, ARTISTS, ARTIFACTS:

-        http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/about/british-museum-objects/

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES:

Technology: 

-        Individual student IPad’s (or digital camera’s)

-        SeeSaw Application

Online:

-        Rachel’s Challenge Program: https://rachelschallenge.org/programs

-        Compliments Project Video: https://rachelschallenge.org/blog/instagram-compliments-blog

Materials:

-        Carboard box at least 2 ft x 2ft (or a corner in the room/on the counter)

-        Clamp light

-        Blue, Red, Yellow, white and black construction paper

-        Masking Tape (to hold the background onto the cardboard

-        Cameras

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:

-        School Wide: Bullying and student behavior

-        ELA: Expressive writing and communicating central ideas through writing

-        Social Studies: Historical cultures and time periods demonstrated through objects.

PART II:

·       UNIT TITLE: Object as Self Portrait

·       ENDURING IDEA/THEME: Understanding how others see us influences our identity

·       LESSON NUMBER: 1

·       LESSON TITLE: Object Portraits

·       GRADE: 6

·       TIME ALLOTMENT: 40 minutes

·       LESSON SUMMARY:

-        Read NY Article

-        Explore BBC Museum artifacts online

-        Whole group discussion

-        Individually brainstorm ideas for objects

·       ARTWORKS, ARTISTS and/or ARTIFACTS:

-        https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/30/what-objects-tell-the-story-of-your-life/

-        http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/about/british-museum-objects/

·       KEY CONCEPTS: Symbolism, Identity

·       ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: How do the objects that we keep around us define who we are?

·       STANDARDS: 9.2. D. Analyze a work of art from its historical and cultural perspective.

·       INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS: Social Studies: Historical cultures and time periods demonstrated through objects.

·       LESSON OBJECTIVES: Students will understand how the objects that they have around them symbolize a part of who they are and decide on one of those objects to use in a photographic self-portrait.

·       ASSESSMENT: 

- Informal Walk About: I will observe students as they read and look for on task behavior such as a quiet voice, remaining on the assigned web page and taking notes. I will listen to student conversation as they explore the BBC online museum and listen for positive peer to peer conversation that asks questions, makes observations or actively adds to the exploration.

- Participation in whole group discussion: Students will provide verbal feedback on how they believe the objects are a representation of who the cultures are. Students will verbally compare and contrast the first and last objects.

- Creation of online or paper and pencil mind map that demonstrates students brainstorming and choice of object.

Part III: Implementation

In my unit I am having my students grapple with many of the ideas that were introduced in Exploration 3: Public Pedagogy of Everyday Objects. As a 6th grade teacher I think that this lesson will be interesting and productive for my students because they are at such a sensitive point in their growth process. At the age of 11 and 12, my students are constantly confronted with the desire to "fit in" or do the opposite and "stand out". As a teacher, I often see the consequences of this as them deciding to follow the rules or break them. They explore their boundaries by pushing them and often end up in the middle of drama because one person said something about another. As a teacher, I try my best to guide and comfort them through their boy problems and listen to their arguments on why Fortnite is the best game ever invented. One of the largest and most frequent cause of this drama is social media. My students are constantly using SnapChat, Facebook and online gaming platforms to communicate outside of school. One of the biggest issues that stem from this type of communication is that what is being said falls under the category of "trash talking". Boys and girls alike have come to accept that the conversational norm is to agitate, insult or emphasize the flaws in other people. I felt like this only encouraged one of the other underlying issues in the world of online communication which is that people presented themselves as the person that they desire to be, instead of who they really are.

These two observations brought me to my Unit Lesson idea. Students will be creating a self portrait by photographing an object that they think represents who they are. I chose to focus on the objects instead of their face/bodies because of the restrictions on sharing that information due to their age and also because it feels like a safer task for them to tackle. I plan on doing this lesson during our REM time at the end of the day. This time is meant for students to catch up on their school work or work on their homework. I have chosen to use this time because we are in the middle of State testing and because of this my class time is limited. This also means that the expectations of trust and feeling of community will not be established due to this being a mix of students from each class. Having students work with objects instead of their own bodies I hope will bring about more authentic conversation because they are not as attached to the object.

I will have the students look at the BBC's History of the world in 100 objects online and have them compare and contrast the first and last objects. I think this is important because it will lead them to consider a few things:

1. The material that objects are made out of: The first object is made from stone while the last is made out of plastic. I think that students will quickly jump into the conversation of how our environment is being destroyed because our society wants more for cheap.
2. The process that went into the creation of the object: The first object needed to be dug by hand from the earth. It was then chiseled by hand over many days. The last object was created by a machine and produced in a mater of seconds. Students will have to think about how labor has become easier over time.
3. The creator of the object: The first was most likely created by an artist who was working for royalty. Slaves were most likely the people who pulled it from the ground. The machines that created the credit card are most likely manned by people who are of the lower class or maybe by no people at all.
4. What the object symbolizes or stands for: the first object is one that is preserving the royal family and is a representation of people. The last object seems to only represent money.

Students will then have to come up with an object that they think represents who they are, considering some of the things that we talked about in class. They will photograph their objects in a light box and be able to chose from a variety of background colors. This will help focus the viewers attention to the object and nothing else.

The end goal, is to have the students upload their pictures and have other students comment on their work. During this lesson I will refer back to the school program that we have implemented this year called, "Rachel's Challenge". This is a program that was started by the family of Rachel Joy Scott who was the first person to be shot and killed in the 1990 Columbine attack. The program uses the life of Rachel to present a set of challenges to students of all grades to be kind and accept one another. It acknowledges the influence that we have on one another and how that can create a chain reaction. This is what I will use to guide students in their comments. My hope is that the comments that students leave focus on the positive traits of the people who created them. It will teacher students to consider what they say online and how it makes them and others feel. We will all realize by the end that the reason why this is important is because the way that others see us, speak to us and treat us becomes a part of who we are.  

Reflection:

I am having my students grapple with many of the key ideas of public pedagogy. Public pedagogy is grounded in the stories and experiences of others. As teachers, we must consider the tools and strategies we can use to teach effective storytelling. In this lesson I used what was introduced in Exploration 3: Public Pedagogy of Everyday Objects to guide me. It was in this lesson that I learned how metaphor could be one of those tools. One of the definitions that was shared described metaphor as, “…a symbolic comparison of experiences that is not a literal representation.” In my mind this was saying nothing different from what I had been taught in my own education as an elementary student. I always knew that it was a way of comparing poetically. However, I had always thought of it as a useful tool to compare the characteristics of someone’s personality or aesthetic appearance, I had never thought to use it to compare experiences. In my response I created a metaphor of “house” to “museum”. In this creative process I not only had to consider the visual external experience but the internal emotional experience. When we dive into our internal selves it leaves us vulnerable and cautious. With the use of metaphor, I was able to create and share an honest part of myself while feeling safe.  I thought that this would be important to incorporate into my lesson because I was working with a group of students who had not established a community trust, did not know each other well, and were all at an age where they are experiencing a high level of self-consciousness.

In addition, I included concepts from Exploration 2: Upstander Art. This lesson taught me that public pedagogy is centered around the concept that “There is never a single story about any place or people.” This prompted me to ask my students not only to explore their own story but the stories of others. I felt that is was important for my students to look at the work created by others while also providing feedback. Public pedagogy is not an isolated form of education. It asks students and teachers to connect with others because it is through these experiences that our lenses shift and our perspective widens.

Lastly,  I wanted to make sure that in this lesson I taught my students that art can empower others. Public pedagogy is not about learning with the same set of people over and over again. It challenges us to actively engage all people including those in the minority. An important component to this concept is being able to respond with empathy and sympathy to individuals artwork that may tell a story that lies outside of the majority.  It was as important for me to provide the chance for my students to talk to one another as it was to teach them how to communication with one another. By providing them with the expectation that their critiques needed to be positive and share something that they learned about the person, students learned and experienced empathy and sympathy.

In a perfect world, what I imagined would happen is that my students would have discussions on how the world has become a material drive place, create sentimental and unique photographs, and lift each other up with deep, meaningful comments. However, what I really thought would happen when I taught this lesson was much different. The first was that my students would all follow each other. What that means is that one person would come up with an idea for an object and then the rest of them would use the same idea. This happens a lot in many of my classes because my students are confronting the reality that they want to fit in and not stand out. The second thing that I thought would happen is that students would use less words and more emoji’s in their responses and disregard the critique expectations completely.

I was not able to teach the entire lesson to my students as I wanted to. I was only able to get through the first part of the unit where my students created their photographs. The largest challenge that I faced was time. My school is in the middle of standardized testing and my class time is cut in half. I realized when I was presenting the information to my students on the first day that these lessons not only require meaningful content but a slow pace. My students were filled with many questions and discussion took us in interesting directions that I had not planned. When I realized that this was going to be an issue, my first reaction was to completely cut out the discussion completely. However, I felt like the students were learning vital information as they talked about what they thought was the next big move in society. So instead, I created a timed agenda that each student could look at so that we could all keep in mind what we needed to get down by when. Another thing difficulty that I faced was holding students accountable for bringing in the objects to school. Some students were right on task while the others I had to completely take out of the group because they had failed to bring in something to photograph over and over again. If I was doing this in a real class instead of a small group I would handle this issue by having students set a reminder on their ipad, contact home and finally require them to find something in the room that they could use.

I feel that to teach this lesson with more ease, I would be interested in researching how certain social skills could be used to guide the discussion and tackle conflict when it arises. I feel like if I had a larger tool kit of communicating techniques I could accommodate faster for each student as they go through the process of sharing. In addition, I think that one of the biggest things that I would like to research is how our interpersonal relationships have changed over time. As I said before, I think that one of the biggest parts of public pedagogy is being able to communicate with a person no matter who they are. With our age being so dependent on electronic communication I wonder how to make it easier to create comfort in a circle discussion when students are asked to talk face to face.

Reflecting back on this course what stands out to me is how much it has gotten me to question. This course exposed me to my own bias and what I have been leaving out of my teaching. I feel like I have collected different stories as I have worked through each assignment. They are stories of women, queers, refugees, and others who are often not in a teachers mind when they are planning out lessons, organizing a room or ordering supplies. I think that the most important thing that I took away from this course is that if we are meant to grow as teachers we must always ask ourselves why we teach what we teach.