Studying images of families in works of art and in snapshots is compelling, and the author wondered if looking at both types of images side by side might help students understand both kinds of images more fully. Snapshots often prompt detailed and vivid stories among family members and friends. Therefore, she wondered if dialogue about snapshots…

A focus on school reform within the field of elementary education has brought an arts-integrated approach to teaching and learning to the forefront. This is not a new approach, as integrating what many call "hands-on activities" in the classroom is quite common. The difference lies in the quality and depth of the approach to teaching and learning,…

Argues that studying professional art critics can provide material for studying art criticism in the classroom. Focuses on the published work of Lawrence Alloway. Describes how his work covered a wide range of artists and movements and how he was politically proactive in promoting underrepresented populations of artists. (KM)

Describes a computer system in which art reproductions are described and entered into a database containing 27 categories of information. Named the Visual Art Index System (VIAS), its underlying structure is influenced by contemporary models of aesthetics and art criticism. Maintains that the database and laserdisk can effect teaching methodology,…

Explores the sources of art criticism and reviews some extant pedagogical models. Outlines the content skills to be developed and the role of art criticism in a discipline-based teacher training curriculum. Recommends that art criticism should incorporate pedagogy and other disciplines of art. (KM)

The collected papers from three conferences about art education are documented in three volumes. The first conference addressed art education, aesthetics, and art criticism. Eighteen scholars representing classroom teachers, museum educators, and university faculty were invited to prepare papers on the general topic of aesthetics and art criticism…

Discusses problems in the teaching of art history to art students. Reports on a study in which student analysis and categorization of their own paintings and paintings of other artists became the primary activity of an art history course. Concludes that this approach enhances the use of art history as a source for students' own creative work. (CFR)

This essay explores "modernity's" influence on school art and on educators and researchers. It argues that the deep channels of modernity have cut fine arts away from the curriculum, isolating it on an island of professional practice and specialized study. A new approach would reinterpret art as popular, political, site-specific, communal, and…

This document summarizes the proceedings of the Getty Center's national conference. The keynote addresses and views of panelists and audience members are presented. Over 400 art educators, educational leaders, school administrators, artists, and elected officials from across the United States discussed discipline-based art education (DBAE). This…

Seeks to introduce elementary and middle school students to cultural differences in artistic styles, and to develop students' critical skills by examining four different cultures' interpretations of a common subject, the fish. Provides several instructional strategies to strengthen students perception of works of art. (KM)

Provides six lesson outlines to help teachers motivate high school students to discuss basic questions about the meaning and function of art, aesthetic responses cultural context, and artistic skill. Illustrates artwork from the Museum of Modern Art by Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Meret Oppenheim. (KM)

Outlines an issue-centered approach to teaching aesthetics, where students identify and analyze possible solutions before learning an aesthetician's viewpoint. Suggests that teachers acquire basic aesthetic knowledge but also be willing to accept planned uncertainty as an educational principle. Presents a fictional art forgery scenario to…

Discusses the psychological context of aesthetic literacy in relation to E. D. Hirsch's ideas on cultural literacy. Argues adults should not interpret artworks for children and notes the implications for curriculum planners. Provides examples of childrens' understanding of art works. Maintains that any curriculum is the interaction of content and…

A course focusing on the avant-garde epoch and presenting an in-depth look at the arts of the period is described. Peer instruction, individualized instruction, experiential learning, and contracts were incorporated into a traditional lecture format. Student characteristics and attitudes were monitored. Course successes and problems are outlined.…

Suggests that a social action position is needed to effect desirable changes in theory and practice of art education. Compares five goals of multicultural education with three feminist approaches to art teaching. Discusses how art teaching should incorporate theories about feminist aesthetics, social change, and women's art history. (KM)