Thursday, October 15, 2015

Kate's discussion on Chapter

Chapter 13: An Environmental Art Project for Children with At-Risk Tendencies: The Eco-Wall of Hope

What was the chapter about?
In this chapter, Michelle Creel provides us with an explanation and interpretation of a project she chose to implement in her elementary school.  At the time, Creel had taught at an Oakland Terrace School in Panama City, Florida.  Oakland Terrace School consisted of nearly 440 students, 46% of which comprised minority groups, mainly African American, Hispanic, and Asian students (p.99).  This particular school had a 73% mobility rate and 85% free or reduced lunch (p.98).  There was poverty, low self-esteem, and lack of social skills and motivation.  Given those factors, students were at risk of dropping out if their needs were not met.  Creel realized that in her school, ‘life was about survival’ (p.98).  Creel then questioned how these students could be helped?
She quickly realized that on some level we are all at-risk.  We are all at-risk in the way that creatures and habitats are endangered.  Creel then developed and ecological theme-based curriculum, which she had hoped would help with the development of empathy among her students.




  students arranging tiles             Kyree, Alexis, and Jeffery on the wall

What was the project?
Creel developed the project entitled the Eco-Wall of Hope.  This project would help to ‘address the issue of endangered species and challenge students to work on solutions to the problems that caused their endangerment’ (p.99).  Throughout the project, students incorporated research, science, literacy, social responsibility, writing, and art.  The process consisted of students choosing an endangered animal to research and they would then use that animal as the subject of their ceramic tile.  Students were also required to complete a poem or prose to accompany their tile.  Through the assistance of 10 high school students, the elementary students were able to combine their tiles to create the Eco-Wall of Hope.  The final step was for the students to reflect about their process and experience in their journals.

Article: The Endangered Species Sculpture Garden: An Interdisciplinary Environmental Art Education Curriculum for At-Risk Youth By: Michelle Creel

                          Alexis arranging tiles                                Eco-Wall of Hope

What were the key concepts?
There were five key concepts in this chapter, which consisted of:
·      Interdisciplinary Environmental Art Curriculum: teaching a unit across several different curricular disciplines while having it based around the idea of environmental art
·      Participatory Action Research: (PAR) is an approach to research in communities that emphasizes participation and action. It seeks to understand the world by trying to change it, collaboratively and following reflection (wikipedia.org)
·      At-Risk Children: students who are less likely to transition successfully into adulthood and achieve economic self-sufficiency (wikipedia.org)
Article: “Defining the Term ‘At Risk’”
·      Empathetic Development: the process of developing empathy
·      Endangered Species: species of animals or plants that are at risk of extinction

What are your thoughts?
1) This project was based on the idea that  ‘learning about issues that confront the environment and threaten its very existence may lead to personal understanding, empathy, and action’ (p.98).  What are ideas or activities that you have for incorporating empathetic development in your classroom?
2) What are ways you can think of in which you can foster the needs of at-risk students in your future school building?
3) What are at least 3 essential questions you would have asked students during the project of the Eco-Wall of hope?

The Activity:    
Students were asked to look at art that was created by artists who engage environmental themes.  These artists and their artwork consisted of:
·      Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels
·      Andy Goldsworthy’s Soul of a Tree
·      Mel Chin’s Passenger Pigeon
·      Joseph Beuys’ Coyote: I Like America and America Likes Me
Creel then used Anderson’s (2000) art criticism methodology to initiate a discussion among the students.
Anderson’s art criticism methodology is based around using ethnographic research.  Ethnography, the research method that centers anthropology, is becoming increasingly popular in art education. Ethnography consists of engaging in fieldwork, closely observing and recording behaviors and ways of being of a group of people, then writing an interpretive account that emphasizes descriptive detail (Marcus & Fischer, 1986).
The first stage consists of immersion and response.
Ethnographic criticism is a type of fieldwork that requires the researcher to immerse him/herself in the situation to be researched.  It should be approached with an empathetic attitude (Lankford, 1984).
The second stage, description, moves from surface (that which can be seen) to depth (that which is implied or indicated by the forms observed). The depth phase of description also includes the use of contextual and historical material as it is fitting.
The Final Stage is interpretation.  The longer the descriptive, analytic, discriminatory process goes on, the more strongly the researcher turns to connection making, trying to construct an interpretation, a narrative, a story, a framework that will make sense of what is found.
I would like you to choose one of the following artists and their artwork:
·      Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels
·      Andy Goldsworthy’s Soul of a Tree
·      Mel Chin’s Passenger Pigeon
·      Joseph Beuys’ Coyote: I Like America and America Likes Me
·      Sue Coe’s Meat and Pork for Your Fork (1987)
·      Alexis Rockman’s Bronx Zoo
·      Chris Jordan’s Midway

After choosing a piece to examine, I would like you to express your impression and thoughts about the piece, much like the students did in their project.  Then explain how you feel that Anderson’s criticism methodology would be beneficial to use in the classroom and why Creel may have used it during this project.  Please provide an image of the piece that you choose to discuss. 
(Using Art Criticism Strategies in Ethnographic Research, Author: Tom Anderson,  http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.uni.edu/stable/pdf/20716012.pdf?acceptTC=true)

Sources:



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