Online Art School / Teaching Strategies

Give Students Responsibility

Giving students responsibility in making decisions about their artworks, and chores (appropriate to their age and ability) to do in the classroom not only helps the art room to run more smoothly, but helps them develop a sense of ownership of their own artmaking practice.

As students accept responsibility for keeping the room and materials clean and tidy, this should help them to begin to be more responsibe in general. As students show more responsibility, they can be trusted with more freedom.

Here are some tips for giving students responsibility:

• Have students work together in teams responsible for cleaning different things - palettes, paintbrushes, desks, sinks, floor...
• Delegate particular students helping roles during class - Handing out books, collecting books, reading to the class, demonstrating a technique they discovered - try to include all students from time to time with some role
• Be consistent with important routines, such as cleaning up after the class
• Let Students know why the chores have to be done - explain the reasons

We all need to know what is expected of us. Kids are no exception. Clear rules are essential to classroom management, and as a teacher, it is easy to become tired of enforcing them constantly, but that is what kids need. Despite at times endless whinging, kids need the security of clear rules.

When the rules are not followed there need to be reasonable and consequences for the offeneders. If there are no consequences, students will quickly realise that the rules don't need to be taken seriously.

Most behaviour problems are the result of boredom. If students are honestly having fun, they are much less likely to engage in negative behaviours.

The Prevention: Plan Interesting, Hands-on, Well-Paced Lessons

Interesting Lessons

Hands-on Lessons

Students love to get active and creative. Many lessons are focused on listening and writing, and as a result, students are often starved of hands-on practical experiences where they can engage with materials, explore cause and effect and learn by doing - it is a much more effective way of learning that hearing something explained.

Even in theoretical lessons, it is important to plan lessons that allow students to be actively engaged, rather than just writing notes or absorbing information.

Well-paced Lessons

Lessons should be planned that give most time to active engagement of students, with a realistic expectation of students' attention span.