Combine an implicit constructivist environment ( in-person learning) and an explicit constructivist environment (remote learning).
Here’s the gist:
Consistent virtual open studio time blended learning and meaning construction for student artists.
Here were my questions:
How can we create a feel of in-person interactions with remote learning?
How can I facilitate studio collegiality of an in-person learning environment in a remote setting?
Remote is not in-person however, might we clean the glass enough that they begin to reflect one another?
Here’s my thinking:
I was creating short 3-4 minute video demonstrations. My students were making the work and posting what they’d created. The quality was all over the map. And there wasn’t the feel of working in the studio together. We were all missing it. Starting with my painting class, I implemented an open studio on Google Meets that was 1 1/2 hours. I said to the students that they can come, work on their paintings along with their colleagues. I let them know that they didn’t have to stay for the entire time or come at all. It was optional. It was so surprising when the students started to come in to the Google Meets.
Soon, out of a class of 25 students, I had about 20 in attendance. Many of them stayed for the entire time. We really didn’t talk that much. there were conversations here and there. Mostly the students came into see one another and work alongside one another, virtually. Inspired by this attendance and experience of virtual studio time, I started to schedule more frequent open studios with all my classes at all grade levels. We all met for about 30 minutes twice a week. I met many, many pets as well as parents through these open studios. I think what everyone ( including me) needed was time to connect through working in the studio (virtually).
Artists of all levels and ages are social through their work. Students / artists whom are otherwise fairly quiet will talk and talk about their work when they feel they’ve connected with a like mind. An implicit constructivist environment is all about connecting like minds. The virtual open studio created space for connecting through art making. This connection through art making is an implicit constructivist environment. Students are creating meaning as they are connecting with one another while making art. Student work did not magically improve or evolve over night. We incrementally created our community in a virtual setting and we moved from explicit ( stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt) to implicit (essentially or very closely connected with; always to be found in) constructed environments. This happened because students were able to see one another and work side by side (virtually). Sure, we did reflection using Google Classroom, Ted-Ed and FlipGrid along with many other strategies, this is the big picture. Students needed and came to virtual open studios. This fostered overtime deeper thinking, resilience in process and meaning construction within their work.
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