hello everybody, i just registered and i am very happy i found this message board.
i'm an NT who is about to finish the MA degree in art education.
this summer i will be involved in teaching an art course specifically geared towards people on the spectrum. i'll have about 10 students who are "higher functioning" but i haven't met them yet and i'm not sure what to expect.
i've been reading some of the posts here and they are very helpful, thank you all for the information.
however, i would like to ask any of you if you could offer me some advise more specific to art education. i'll be very grateful to all of you who take time to respond.
for example i was wondering what kinds of art assignments did you like and why. what were your strengths and weaknesses. are there are any specific materials that you were sensitive to, for example couldn't stand the material's smell of the way it feels in your hand.
i know that all people are different and i won't expect that what you tell me will be true of everybody but i was just looking for some ideas about the kinds of things i'll might need to take into consideration.
thank you all for responding.
With art at school I prefered it alot when I was guided along the creation process, and I knew exactly what to do at all times. It might defeat the process of creativity but I liked it more.
I agree with Bob Bobson.
I liked it when I knew pretty much what was expected, as long as there was enough room to exercise my own artistic vision. If I was having a problem with something or was unsure of something, I needed to know that the teacher can and will explain it to me.
And most of all, I hated it when the teacher took points off for my piece being 'different' from the others!
What age group?
I hated that had to stick to the tasks, they were simple and boring. I learnt myself to draw, and my AV and sig I've made myself. I ignored many of the things the teachers suggested like that I should color the whole paper. I just assumed I wasn't ready to use colors yet, and that was apparently the best. I learnt myself shading, that wouldn't be possible if I were to color the whole paper.
I'd agree with Bob and Luai.
I need clear steps to reach a result and I sometimes need to be reminded what the steps for a task are.
I'll use my 3D Modelling and animation as an example here. When introducing a new concept; lets say modelling a realistic head, one of my tutors would break this down into stages from beginning to end. He would then describe a stage and give the class time to complete that stage - while walking around to provide further help - before moving onto the next stage.
One area where I have difficulty (because I'm particularly good at reproduction and very good at picking visual details) is getting over the sense that my work isn't Correct.
Along with this, I have to know how something relates to the space around it. My example here would be; a Table is always X high so to fit it on my paper I need to draw it Y high.
That's more or less what I mean about correctness. The 'pure' artist concept of, "It just has to look right" doesn't seem to work for me.
I guess what I'm saying above, is be prepared to give reassurance when something isn't Exactly correct.
I'd also suggest not giving too many options all at once.
Oh yes. Here's a biggie that's happened to me recently.
"You're thinking too much, you know how to do this."
I process auditory information very slowly. I may well know how to do something, but I need to process the steps in relation to the current stage of what I'm working on.
I realise that may not make a whole lot of sense, but that's the way my brain works.
In short, when the tutor said I was thinking too much (about something that was simple from his point of view) I was actually trying to remember the 'correct' procedure of key strokes and mouse clicks to get the desired result.
I am (probably) on the spectrum and have a BA(hons) in Illustration.
The only things I noticed that set me apart from the NT people on my course were:
1.
I hate the feel of sugar paper used for mounting work.
2.
Whereas other students would spend weeks developing and analysing the ideas for a final piece of artwork in their sketchbooks, I worked in a completely different way. Within an hour of being told what the project brief was, I would have created an exact '3D image' of my finished artwork in my head. I would then exactly recreate the artwork in reality.
Whilst my work was always very well recieved by my lecturers, I could never answer the questions like 'why have you approached the project like this?', 'why have you used these colours/materials?', 'what are you trying to convey with this piece of work?', 'what was your developmental process?'.
I just intuitively KNEW that that colour combination/composition/image would work perfectly because I had seen it in my mind, so I didn't need to do any developmental work. The lecturers found it impossible to understand that.
3.
State the obvious. Some things that NT people think of as 'common sense' are not obvious at all to people with AS.
I remember my lecturers telling me that I hadn't done enough background research. I thought that was odd, because I used to spend at least an hour everyday researching Modern Art. The lecturers only had to talk to me about the subject to realise that I knew far more about it that anyone else in the class.
My lecturer then had to explain to me that unless I had EVIDENCE of my research in my sketchbooks (photocopies of pictures/computer printouts/notes on the artists) they could not tell whether I was doing any research at all. From then on, I filled sketchbook upon sketchbook with evidence of my research, and got the highest research grade in my class.
4.
Working in groups is a very bad experience for me. I have to be in complete control of my artwork. I cannot predict or control the actions and ideas of other people so they must NOT be involved in creating my artwork in any way!
5.
When giving instructions, especially instructions that involve many steps, WRITE THE INSTRUCTIONS DOWN, clearly, logically and include every detail of the process (especially the details that you think are just 'common sense'). Like I_like_kittens, many people with ASD cannot process or remember lists of instructions when they are given verbally.
6.
Be patient. If a student keeps coming to you over and over again, asking how to do something (even though you have told them many times before), bear in mind that telling them again verbally will probably not help. Write down the instructions for them, or put simple posters on the wall with step-by-step guides for basic tasks (colour mixing/paper stretching/using computer programs etc.)
I hope this helps, and good luck with the teaching career!
Sorry, if that's difficult to read, I kept switching from first person experience to giving instructions.
No idea why, I really should proof read my posts better.
Art was my best subject but I was disappointed to lose marks because I didn't exhibit pictures in the local show. This was because the teacher didn't tell me of this requirement. Believe me, had I known, I would have put in many art works to the show.
So, I think it is important to encourage the students to enter some of their works in art shows at some stage. Maybe they wouldn't all have the confidence at first, but it is a good idea later on.
I agree with the comment by another poster that marks shouldn't be deducted simply because a work is "different". Instead of "different", say it is "original".
Geez grades at art!
If it was something like pop-art the grades would pretty much be the same as the student would get at other subjects, like social studies.
And... Not necessarily the schools in general's fault but this might illustrate alittle how the grades were given when I went to lower secondary last year (Norway here). A usually successful student who mostly got 5's(B) and 6's(A) got a 3(D) on a sculpturing task. The parent was furious at the teacher as the boy usually got good grades in other subjects. I also got a 3 at that task even though I was very happy with my sculpture, the teacher said it got a bad grade because it didn't look very athletic (I copied how I remembered my own body). The teacher knew that I had alot of talents within art, but unlike the other boy I wasn't offered a second chance to improve my grade.
... I've got a knack to pour out the badest words for the things I've grudges against these days.
It's one thing to teach new techniques, it's entirely different to tell someone that they have bad creative skills because the result of their work isn't identical to everybody else's. Teaching things like shading, coloring, etc. will help people become better at drawing, but getting angry at students for not doing EXACTLY as you say is something I wish a few of my art teachers could have thought about a little harder. After all, how is it really art if it all has to be exactly the same?
My elementry art teacher was a b*tch. Our art classes were once a week and she would make the project streach out for over a month or so. I remember making a paper lantern things and having trouble with it. I asked for help but she ignored me and then said something rude to me when it came out looking wrong. She rarely let us paint because it was "messy" and when we did it was with a medium that wasn't that messy such as watercolor (why then was she an art teacher if she was afraid of getting a little messy?) She also had an obsession with Vinant Van Go and showed us Starry Night whenever she could. Another time she had a sub teacher and we were supposed to read a paper about one of the masters (guess which one) when I asked why we were reading as opposed to doing something artsy I was sent to the courner. The next time that sub came she simply ponited to me and then the courner.
I received a BFA in graphic design a few years ago.
I realized very quickly that the most important thing I needed is an end product. If you are going to draw a flower, show some examples of at-level drawings of flowers. For some reason I always thought I should be working three or four levels higher than what I was at. (I feel like that doesn't make sense so I'm trying again.) If you are going to have the kids make a vase you can show them different styles of high-art vases, but also show vases that kids their age created. That way they are seeing the beautiful aesthetics and have something to think about in their own creations, but also have a age-appropriate limit as to what they will actually come up with. (It always devestated me when my capacity to craft my art didn't go as far as my mental ability create it)
That's all I can think of. good luck!
Alas I think the original poster peeked in last spring and has vanished.
I got really annoyed when I found the art teacher my older daughter had in 10th grade gave her a C for a perfectly beautiful picture. Both my daughters are very artistic but my older girl got discouraged and because she only told me ages later, there was nothing I could do. She is good at arranging food platters though and when she works at Woolworth's Deli, they ask her to do the platters because she is very neat but creative.
I could post up a copy of the picture that got the C and people could tell me what they think but I think it should have got an A. The teacher didn't really give a proper explanation of why she marked it down either.