Jonathan

McHugh

Instruction and Assessment Philosophy

Why teach art?
- Enjoyment of the visual arts is a fundamental aspect of a high quality of life.
- Formal and informal visual art saturates our lives, and it is important to be able to evaluate and interpret its
quality and messages.
- The critical thinking and problem-solving skills involved in creating and evaluating artwork are universal and
necessary for the success of future generations.
- Art is a form of self-expression that surpasses verbal explanation, and the process and product can powerfully
impact the creator and the viewer in a unique way.

What skills can be assessed?
- Colorado State Standards Comprehend, Reflect, Create, Transfer
- Thinking Skills:
o Students learn to experiment with materials and solutions to problems.
o Students can solve problems and navigate or improve upon failures in their work.
o Students apply all levels of Blooms taxonomy of thinking.
o Students appreciate multiple perspectives from culture, history and styles of expression.
o Students develop the ability to evaluate the quality of products without one right answer.
- Collaboration and peer feedback gives students new ideas and can enhance their ability to generate and
develop ideas and technical content knowledge.
Effective classroom management is vital for establishing a safe environment for students to
make mistakes, experiment, and accept input from their teacher and peers.
Critiques develop students ability to honestly and positively discuss their peers work. The
ability to confidently provide and accept constructive feedback is important in all aspects of life.

How do I assess?
- Differentiation, based on knowledge from formative assessments and pre-assessments, is indispensable in
assessment. The actual grading component should be differentiated based on how much students grew, their
effort, whether they challenged themselves, and how well they met the project and process criteria.
o For example, a student who begins at an advanced level and shows no growth should not necessarily be
scored as highly as a student who begins at a basic level and demonstrates a high amount of growth and
improvement.
- Formative Assessment
o One-on-one verbal feedback for each student is a crucial way that the teacher can give students ideas
and feedback about how to improve where they are struggling, and how to challenge themselves further
in the areas where they are successful.
o A quick review at the beginning of each class and closure at the end of each class are both important for
checking in with how well the class is understanding the content. 1-5 scale of understanding, exit tickets,
or think-pair-share type strategies are a few useful examples.
- Summative Assessment
o The teacher and students provide verbal and/or written feedback about the quality of final products.
This reflection enables students to determine and improve upon the following:
Did I communicate my ideas and message successfully?
Did I successfully implement relevant artistic techniques in an effective composition?
Did I experiment with a variety of ideas and develop the most effective artistic solution?
Did I meet the project requirements while still expressing myself in an original manner?