The Influence of Reggio Emila On How I Teach

As I devote a huge part of my summer to learning how to transform the BGE Art Zone into a center of choice-based learning, I have spent considerable time going through the massive library of photo documents that I have accumulated over the years. I will share those in a minute, but first I want to tell a little bit about why I want my students to learn in a choice-based classroom.

Most of my art instruction around the DBAE approach in which I was trained during the 1990's, but have always felt that impact of my brief experience with the Reggio Emilia  approach in 1998-99 made me the teacher that I want to be. That was the year that I went to graduate school to get a degree in early childhood education. To make ends meet I took a job at a childcare center in Atlanta, Georgia, making $5.25 an hour. I know now that the impact on my student loan debt (and the ancient Volvo that I ran into the ground) was well worth my time there. 

Some Polaroid images taken when the "atelerista" at a childcare center in Atlanta, Georgia.

 The children were pretending that the playscape was a ship amidst shark-infested waters. Two of the boys were stranded on "an island."

DBAE focuses on the production of art, art history, art criticism, and aesthetics. These are definitely valuable to our students, yet the approach is very teacher-centered. Reggio Emilia's approach to art education was designed in post-World War Two Italy for young children, so children and the way that they learn are at the heart of the approach. I always thought that it would be great to find a Reggio Emilia school to work in when I "retire" someday.

A huge part of Reggio Emila is documenting the learning of children through copious anecdotal notes and photographs. I might not be great at keeping anecdotal records for 600+ children, I do take photos as frequently as possible. This works best when I set up centers for my students to explore the visual arts through. 

In 2013 I attended a seminar on choice-based art education at the GAEA conference for art educators in Savannah, GA. While impressed with its connections to Reggio Emilia, I was not convinced that I could make it work in my classroom. Over time I have incorporated more and more center time into my students time in the art room. 

The photos below were taken in April 2015 during a Kindergarten class.

Biggie" straws, yarn, clips, & pipe cleaners!

A tower made by a Kindergarten student.

The Importance of Documentation

Button Gwinnett Elementary began using Class Dojo in August 2015. If you are not familiar with Class Dojo, it is an app that allows teachers to communicate with parents via instant messaging. It was initially intended as a behavior management tool, but the website/app has added several capabilities as the school year progressed. Photos and videos can be posted to parents of individuals or groups of children as they learn. Teachers can message announcements to parents, which helps reduce the consumption of copy paper. Each homeroom teacher sets up a page for students on their roster, and then shares it with other teachers that work with those students. Teachers award Dojo points to reinforce positive behaviors, which is linked to our positive behavior initiative. I have used Class Dojo to offer praise, to cite concerns, and to share special learning moments "in real time" in the art room. It is an excellent way to communicate with parents!

My second method of chronicling life in the Art Zone occurred at the urging of Liberty County Schools' superintendent Dr. Valya Lee. She has encouraged its teachers to maintain Twitter accounts to share the wonderful learning moments in our classroom.  Our Twitter account for Art at BGE is Rebecca Hager @BGEArtZone.  

I have fallen out of the habit of blogging with such simple tools in my grasp. Tonight I am reflecting on the importance of documentation for the student, the parent, and the teacher for a class that I am taking via The Art of Ed. I have tried to communicate with parents in many ways throughout the 10 years I have been at BGE. From newsletters to art nights and at least two awesome art shows, it is always a joy to share what the Visual Art bring to our children. 

Students learn how to reflect on their own learning as they discuss their art with others or write about it. They are thrilled when a photograph is taken of their work, especially when

that image is messaged to their loved ones. They also become better writers! I have even had a student write poetry in response to a collage of a tree that she made over several weeks.

Documentation is important to parents because it is not always easy to get a child to tell to what happened during the school day. We want to know what is happening while we are not with out children, whether it is positive or there is an issue that needs to be addressed. I was fortunate to be able to share texts back and forth with my son's kindergarten teacher last year. That feeling of connection was a comfort as I shared my days with more than 600 children a county away. 

Documentation is a tool for reflection and of validation for educators. It is used for communication, but is also reflected in our annual evaluations. Most importantly, it is a tool of advocacy. In a time when the fate of many visual arts programs are weighed in the balance against school finances, it is vital to let all stakeholders know the value of art education in our students' lives.

We Are Diving Into Learning

This is actually a blog that was drafted, yet never published in 2014. It was also made into a newsletter that was sent home to parents when we realized that the website that I had maintained for five years had been taken down when a system wide change in networks had occurred. I am publishing it now, because I think it deserves to be documented here.

This is my 8^th year in the Art room at BGE. I always enjoy jumping back into my explorations of the visual arts with our students. Most agree that the best part of art is making it, even if art history, criticism, and appreciation have been a part of Art Education for decades. The latest national trends are pushing students to become more reflective and verbal about their artistic experiences than ever before. I am truly enjoying this challenge, even if it means we might create fewer projects in 2014-2015 to make time to reflect upon what we are making.

The first weeks of school have made good use of Button Gwinnett’s 2014 school theme “Diving Into Learning.” We are examining artworks that have watery themes and subjects. We have explored contemporary artists whose art explores our oceans, as well as more famous artists such as Winslow Homer, Paul Klee, and illustrator Eric Carle. We will continue to use this theme to direct our explorations in Art as long as student learning directs us there.

Kindergarten

Is a time when students are making connections to the world we live in. Frequently student work is more about the process of creating art rather than what the end result should look like.

This includes learning how to do draw with crayons or markers, to tear paper, how to cut with scissors, and how to use a bottle of glue. You can see to pictures of student work to the left.

 

First Grade

Is still process-oriented, yet students are learning how to talk to others about the art they are experiencing and creating. In August we used a number of children’s books related to the ocean to explore collage and crayon resist. This month we are using the whimsical “fish art” of artist Paul Klee to explore line, color, and making choices as we create our own fish compositions.

 

Second Grade

Our second grade students generally begin the year experiencing how lines are used to create forms in sculpture using a variety of paper strips. This year meant that we examined to sculptures of British artist Alan Ross. Students used paper tubes, construction paper and a variety of tools to create relief sculptures of life “under the sea.”

 

Third Grade

Students began exploring images of fish that are both realistic and imaginative. We reviewed the elements of value and color that most learned in second grade before creating a large fish drawing from our memories and imaginations. Students chose a color of paper to draw on that complements one color of oil pastel. By mixing that color with black or white oil pastels, students are creating monochromatic fish “paintings. They are also furthering their understanding of how primary and secondary colors are related to one another.

 

 

Fourth and Fifth Grade

Students examined the lines and patterns of several contemporary seascapes as we discussed the artistic principal of movement. Each student has created a composition full of wavy, watery lines. Each has used his or her imagination to add at least one ocean creature or object, and used color sticks (similar to colored pencil) to color these. Fourth grade has added patterns to their layers of waves, contributing to the sense of movement in the water.  Currently 4^th grade is using values of blue and violet to paint the water and sky in these compositions. Fifth grade is using values of blue and green watercolors. All students are enjoying the chance to explore new ways to use watercolor in their work.