The 8 studio habits of mind, along with other extremely valuable content from Studio Thinking 2 by Hetland et all (2013), have proven to be wonderfully aligned with the NCAS artistic processes and process components. Hetland et al (2013) delineates the value of each of these eight key segments of visual arts education and details what each habit entails in the learner's development of artistic processes, thus, artistic literacy. These eight key segments were quite easy to align with the four artistic processes and associated processes components.
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The last few days I have been doing so a deep review of the National Core Arts Standards (NCAS) and supplemental materials. These documents and the NCAS structure, framework, foundational philosophies, lifelong goals, along with the writing / planning team are all highly exceptional. A deep study of this content has revealed an outstanding tool to be trusted and used to write and assess all future art curriculum. My own summary of these key NCAS elements of arts education and the development of lifelong artistic literacy can be summarized in my D.A.L.I. summary matrix of the development of artistic literacy through visual arts education. This matrix analysis will lead to a quality curriculum assessment tool.
Today I revisited the framework of the Model Cornerstone Assessments for second and fifth grade provided by NCCAS. This structure offered a superior template for writing future assessment plans for any grade level. The key traits I noticed in these two examples are as follows:
1. Short Description of Assessment - I believe this section has to be written after other parts of the assessment plan are figured out and worked through. 2. Strategies for Embedding in Instruction - I feel that this section also needs to be written after other parts of the assessment plan are figured out. This section includes specific reference to the four artistic processes. 3. Detailed Assessment Procedures - This section of the cornerstone assessment plan clearly states that it is based on content written in the next sections of the assessment plan but that it is foundational to nearly all assessment procedures. I would include this section almost identical to how it is written now in all assessment plans. 4. Knowledge, Skills, and Vocabulary - These sections are where I would begin constructing my assessment plan. a. Vocabulary - I very, very strongly believe the vocabulary should be written in three tiers. Tier 1 for basic vocabulary the learner is probably already familiar with but needs content-specific reminders about. Tier 2 words would include words that students have probably or possibly heard before and can rather easily figure out what their definitions are in the content-specific setting. Tier 3 words are those words that are very content-specific and that learners have probably not heard before. These are the words that need to pointedly be defined and explained and consistently used for the best levels of student learning. b. Knowledge and Skills - This section clearly and specifically points out the learning activities learners will be expected to demonstrate. These elements are easily aligned with artistic processes and then key anchor standards. 5. Strategies for Inclusion / Differentiation Strategies - These sections provide a clear explanation of the necessary differentiation based on each individual learning setting and context. 6. Resources - If following the "Backward Design" model, one should complete this section first in the assessment planning process. These are the key traits students will model when they have a clear understanding of the key anchor and performance standards. 7. Task-specific Scoring Devices and Rubrics - This section offered the student self-assessments, teacher formative assessments, and teacher summative assessments. This section begins with an assessment focus plan that could be used as an actor to writing any type of assessment desired for the associated unit. This NCCAS cornerstone assessment framework is easily followed by any teacher and easily aligned with any national, state, or local content or performance standards. It is an effective and quality assessment-planning structure. Today I need time to think about all the new content I have just read about. I need time for the new information to soak in and connect with or bridge the gaps with my previous knowledge, beliefs, and understandings. Tomorrow I predict I will have a newly informed view of what contemporary art curriculum could / should look like according to NCAS and their foundational philosophies and lifelong goals. NCAS is an OUTSTANDING resource for any stakeholder in education. I continued reading content related to NCAS today and am fully and thoroughly impressed by the content that has been shared so far. I so look forward to more in the future. This resource has been and will be immeasurable in my future curriculum writing knowledge and activities. The supplemental resources are priceless in guiding a teaching curriculum planning and writing work.
Did I find any answers to my research questions today? Yes and I am excited to find more. My brain is filled with so many ideas, thoughts, and questions. These are my three key research questions: 1. What do scholars cite as critical elements of contemporary art education? 2. What are key elements for creating and implementing contemporary art curriculum for students in third grade? 3. How can I use a rubric to assess the structure and content of contemporary elementary art curriculum and to design my own? Today I developed a deeper understanding of how the NCAS assist teachers with designing and implementing contemporary art curriculum (question 2 above). They are built upon research-based discoveries, philosophical foundations, and lifelong goals in the arts and arts learning. They clarify what artistic literacy and the artistic processes are. They give a fully-rounded view of how to write, deliver, and assess curriculum; detail what the artistic processes encompass across arts content areas and grade spans; and provide a framework of anchor standards and performance standards, creative practices, enduring understandings, essential questions, and model cornerstone assessment with which to construct quality arts content and instruction (NCCAS, 2014). What's next? I need to clarify my understanding of the conceptual framework for the NCAS. I will sort the data I have found and organize it in a matrix for further analysis. My anticipation is that I will be able to narrow down the narrative explanations of all of these key art curriculum elements to more concise segments with definitions or descriptions of each piece. After this, I will find more data on what scholars cite as key elements of contemporary art education. I will also have to search specifically for third grade-appropriate art content, skills, tasks, and performances within each of the artistic processes. References NCCAS. (2014). National core arts standards: A conceptual framework for arts learning. New York, NY: NAEA. Today I read through all the NCAS (National Core Arts Standards) supplemental material on the NCCAS (National Coalition for Core Arts Standards) wiki site: A truly enlightening experience for someone as passionate about art education as I am.
One of the overriding themes in this literature is the connection / correlation of visual arts and visual literacy to literacy, inquiry, and comprehension skills (Coleman, 2012). Coleman outlines seven guiding principles that are intended to guide the planning and writing of art curriculum and its supporting materials. As one of the authors of the Common Core State Standards, he correlates these guiding principles for the arts with key aspects of Core Standards in Literacy and other areas of study. Another big idea is that NCAS guide student learning through and across all the arts content areas as well as throughout age levels of growth and achievement. NCAS provide a philosophy, framework, and foundation for student growth and learning that has breadth AND depth, preparing learners with lifelong skills. The conceptual framework of NCAS is built upon this grounding philosophy and centered around student learning and achievement (Conceptual Framework, 2014). References Coleman, D. (2012). Guiding principles for the art. New York, NY: NAEA. NCCAS. (2014). National core arts standards: A conceptual framework for arts learning. New York, NY: NAEA. Finding a place to start was the hardest part. I'm on my fourth title by now. My research questions are narrowed down to three pretty good ones:
Some of the things I "think" I understand before even beginning this analysis are that NCAS is an effective framework for writing quality art curriculum, it is easy to follow and use in curriculum writing, and it will work well in the "backward design" curriculum planning model of Wigging & McTighe. It will certainly be enlightening to reframe my previous 20 years of curriculum writing under the former National Visual Arts Standards. I wonder how quickly or easily a 20-year habit can be comfortably yet adequately adjusted? |
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