"You first eat with your eyes, and then with your stomach"
I feel like one of my strengths is that i'm open-minded. I am willing to let them use different forms of expression to share their ideas. Last year for the opera reflection they were allowed to use any medium they wanted. Some made videos, others created a PowerPoint presentation, some others chose to just answer the questions. The students felt empowered because they could do their project anyway they wanted. Because they were allowed to do what they wanted- they did a great job.
One of the aspects I would like to work on more, is teaching them how to interpret and analyse the meaning of media.
When I was in culinary school, we were taught that the first sense we use when we talk about food is sight. Food needs to be aesthetically attractive. It should include different elements, such as height, colors and texture. An entree served in the old-fashioned way (meat at 6 o'clock, starch at 3 o'clock, veg at 9 o'clock) is no longer considered aesthetically pleasing. Food that is stacked up, color-coordinated, and include "crunch factors" attracts your eyes, and then your stomach. In a well served plate, every element has a role. Nothing gets put on a plate unless there is a special reason for it.
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| Courtesy of http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/ |
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| Courtesy of http://moroccanfood.about.com/ |
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The same happens in a classroom. Visuals used to engage students need to be as attractive as a stacked up meal. They need to be interesting enough to hook the students and make them want to learn more. Visuals should be thoroughly analysed before being used- how is this video or picture related to what we are learning? What impact does it have on the rest of my presentation? Does this image enhance my project, or did I just choose it because I thought it was funny?
Many times students don't consider these questions when selecting the images they present. This results in a great project that is lacking an aesthetic quality, or where the pictures just don't make sense.
Helping the students develop a better "eye" as to what visual they can/should use for their projects is a collaborative effort between teachers and the art teachers (teaching about aesthetics, and how not to "crowd" a piece of work, maybe?).
I agree with the three questions you suggest all students should consider while creating their work. I find that there is sometimes a huge difference in aesthetic quality between the students´ work, and I think that if these questions were fully addressed, then they would all produce better quality work. Additionally, I think that the art teachers have a lot of expertise that they rest of us should tap into more.
ReplyDeleteI loved your example about food. Definitively, sight is very important before eating your favorite dish.
ReplyDeleteI try to use different resources to satisfy students' learning styles. Of course, you find lots of visual learners everywhere. By using attractive visuals in the classroom, you can "hook" most of them easily. Once, they are motivated and willing to work, we have to teach our children to effectively find, interpret, and evaluate images and visual media.