Teaching art or teaching to think like an artist? | Cindy Foley | TEDxColumbus

Summary

The video script addresses the challenges and importance of art education in nurturing creativity. It critiques the focus on concrete, testable elements in education and advocates for a shift towards fostering creative thinking like artists do. The speaker, drawing from personal experiences and research, emphasizes the need to embrace ambiguity, generate ideas, and conduct transdisciplinary research. She argues that art education should encourage students to become 'master builders' of their ideas, rather than passive recipients of knowledge. The summary calls for a thoughtful approach to promoting creativity in schools, not just preserving art education for its own sake, but for its essential role in developing innovative thinkers.

Takeaways

• 🖼️ Art education has been impacted by standards and testing culture, focusing on concrete elements like art history and foundational skills.
• 🎨 The speaker believes art education should focus on developing learners who think like artists: creative, curious, and idea-driven.
• 📉 Creativity scores in the US have been declining, especially among children aged 6 to 12.
• 💡 The Wallace Foundation and Harvard's Project Zero found that quality art education can develop the capacity to think creatively and make connections.
• 🗣️ Communication and messaging are crucial in moving art education from a defensive to an offensive stance, especially around creativity.
• 🤔 Messages like 'I can't draw a stick figure' are problematic and hinder efforts to teach for creativity.
• 🔄 Teaching for creativity involves embodying three essential habits: comfort with ambiguity, idea generation, and transdisciplinary research.
• 🎭 Artists embrace ambiguity as part of their process, and art education should prepare students for lives of not knowing.
• 🔍 Artists are voracious researchers, and their research often spans multiple disciplines to serve their curiosity and further their thinking.
• 🏫 Future education should integrate disciplines like math, art, and science in service to ideas, fostering environments where creativity and curiosity thrive.

Q & A

What is the main issue the speaker discusses regarding art education?

The speaker discusses the issue that art education has been overly focused on concrete, testable subjects, rather than fostering creativity and the way artists think.

What does the speaker use as an analogy to describe the problem in art education?

The speaker uses a kindergarten image-word match quiz as an analogy, highlighting the challenge of matching abstract concepts like art with concrete answers.

According to the speaker, what is the number one thing quality art education can do?

Quality art education can develop 'the capacity to think creatively and the capacity to make connections,' according to research by the Wallace Foundation and Harvard's Project Zero.

What is the significance of the decline in creativity scores as mentioned in the script?

The decline in creativity scores, as measured by the Torrance creativity test, indicates a worrying trend that could impact student success, economic growth, and general happiness.

What are the three habits the speaker believes are essential to creativity?

The three habits essential to creativity, as mentioned by the speaker, are comfort with ambiguity, idea generation, and transdisciplinary research.

Why does the speaker argue that society's clichéd notions of creativity are problematic?

The speaker argues that clichéd notions of creativity are problematic because they perpetuate a narrow view of what creativity is, making it harder for educators to teach for creativity.

What does the speaker suggest is the first obstacle to creative work?

The speaker suggests that the first obstacle to creative work is discomfort with ambiguity, or not knowing.

How does the speaker describe the role of 'master builders' in the context of education?

In the context of education, the speaker describes 'master builders' as individuals who have the courage to have ideas, contrasting with the current model where educators often play this role and students are secondary.

What is the concept of 'transdisciplinary research' as explained by the speaker?

Transdisciplinary research, as explained by the speaker, is research that serves curiosity and is not confined to a single discipline, but rather, various disciplines work in service to ideas.

Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of 'play' in the creative process?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of 'play' because it is a way to kickstart the process of idea generation, allowing for the exploration of materials and ideas without the constraints of a specific outcome.

What is the speaker's vision for the future of art education?

The speaker's vision for the future of art education is one where educators are comfortable with ambiguity, student ideas and interests lead the learning, and disciplines like math, art, and science are in service to ideas, fostering a culture of creativity and curiosity.

How does the speaker propose to change the messaging around art education?

The speaker proposes changing the messaging from 'Don't kill the arts' to 'Don't kill the ideas,' emphasizing the critical value of art education in nurturing creative thinking, regardless of the career path chosen by students.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 The Impact of Testing Culture on Art Education

The speaker begins by discussing a kindergarten image-word match activity, highlighting the mismatch between the creativity of a child's answer and the standardized 'correct' response. This serves as an analogy for the challenges in art education due to the emphasis on standardized testing and concrete knowledge. The speaker argues for a shift in focus towards nurturing creative thinking, similar to how artists think, which involves being creative, curious, and willing to explore ideas and questions. The importance of creativity for student success, economic growth, and happiness is emphasized, with reference to declining creativity scores and the need for schools to foster creativity.

05:02

🚫 Problematic Messages in Society and Art Education

The speaker addresses the issue of common, yet unhelpful messages about creativity that are pervasive in society. These clichéd notions of what constitutes creativity make it difficult for educators to teach for creativity. The speaker defines 'teaching for creativity' as instilling habits used by artists, specifically comfort with ambiguity, idea generation, and transdisciplinary research. An interactive activity is used to illustrate the discomfort that ambiguity causes, which is identified as a major obstacle to creative work. The speaker shares experiences from teaching and learning contexts that demonstrate the struggle with open-ended creative tasks and emphasizes the need to embrace ambiguity as part of the creative process.

10:04

🌟 Cultivating Creativity and the Role of Art Education

The speaker transitions from discussing the barriers to creativity to envisioning a classroom where students are encouraged to be 'master builders' of ideas, emphasizing the importance of play in the creative process. The speaker shares personal insights as the spouse of an artist, highlighting the research habits of artists and how these habits can inform educational practices. The narrative continues with a call to action for the reimagining of educational spaces to foster transdisciplinary thinking and creativity. The speaker concludes with a passionate appeal to value art education not just for its own sake but for its role in developing critical thinking and creativity, which are essential for the 21st-century learner.

Keywords

💡Art Education

Art education refers to the teaching and learning of visual arts in schools. In the video, it is discussed in the context of being impacted by standards and testing culture. The speaker argues that art education should focus on developing learners who think like artists, emphasizing creativity and curiosity rather than just concrete skills and knowledge.

💡Creativity

Creativity is the ability to generate new and original ideas. The video highlights its importance for student success, economic growth, and general happiness. It is described as a critical skill that should be fostered through art education, encouraging learners to think creatively, develop ideas, and embrace ambiguity.

💡Ambiguity

Ambiguity refers to the state of being unclear or having multiple possible interpretations. The video discusses the discomfort that ambiguity can cause, but also emphasizes its importance in the creative process. Artists often embrace ambiguity as a part of their work, and teaching students to be comfortable with it is crucial for fostering creativity.

💡Idea Generation

Idea generation is the process of creating new concepts or solutions. The video suggests that art education should focus on teaching students to generate ideas, much like artists do. This involves encouraging play and exploration to stimulate creativity and innovation.

💡Transdisciplinary Research

Transdisciplinary research involves integrating knowledge and methods from different disciplines to address complex questions. The video illustrates this with the example of the speaker's husband, an artist, who researches across various fields to inform his art. It argues for an educational approach where disciplines serve broader ideas and curiosity.

💡Standards and Testing Culture

Standards and testing culture refers to the educational focus on measurable outcomes and standardized assessments. The video criticizes this approach in art education, arguing that it limits the teaching of creativity and the development of artistic thinking, as it prioritizes concrete, testable skills over creative processes.

💡Play

Play is described as an essential component of creativity and learning in the video. It is the act of engaging in activities for enjoyment and exploration, which can lead to new ideas and innovative thinking. The video advocates for incorporating play into art education to encourage students to experiment and discover.

💡Teaching for Creativity

Teaching for creativity means designing education that fosters creative thinking and problem-solving skills. The video argues that this should be the focus of art education, moving away from merely teaching art techniques and history. It involves encouraging students to be curious, explore ideas, and embrace ambiguity.

💡Monet

Claude Monet is used as an example in the video to illustrate how traditional art education often focuses on replicating an artist's style rather than their creative thinking. Monet's revolutionary ideas and questioning of the natural world are highlighted as aspects that should be taught to inspire creativity and innovation in students.

💡Master Builder

The term 'master builder' is borrowed from the Lego movie and used in the video to describe individuals who have the courage to have and implement ideas. In the context of education, it suggests that both teachers and students should be seen as master builders, actively engaged in creative processes and idea generation.

Highlights

Art education has been impacted by the standards and testing culture, focusing on teaching concrete things like elements of art, art history, and foundational skills.

The author argues that art education needs to focus on developing learners who think like artists - creative, curious, questioning, idea-generating, and playful individuals.

Creativity is being touted by business leaders, educational reformists, economists, and thought leaders as the number one thing needed for student success, economic growth, and happiness.

Creativity scores in the US have been declining, especially in children aged 6 to 12, according to the Torrance creativity test.

Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talk highlights the challenges schools face in cultivating creativity.

Research from the Wallace Foundation and Harvard's Project Zero found that quality art education can develop the capacity to think creatively and make connections.

There is a disconnect between creativity and art education, partly due to the way the field has been communicating and messaging.

Society often perpetuates cliched notions of creativity, making it harder to shift towards teaching for creativity.

Teaching for creativity means embodying the habits artists employ - comfort with ambiguity, idea generation, and transdisciplinary research.

Artists thrive on ambiguity and tackle it head on, while students often struggle with not knowing.

Art education should prepare students for lives of not knowing by embracing ambiguity.

The Columbus Museum of Art shifted its approach to engage people in what made Monet revolutionary - his way of thinking and questioning.

The Lego Movie's message that creativity is about the potential for ideas, not just following directions, resonates with the author's views on art education.

Educators should foster classrooms full of 'master builders' - students who have the courage to generate their own ideas.

Play is essential in art education as a way to kickstart idea generation.

Artists are voracious researchers who serve their curiosity through transdisciplinary research.

The future of education should not be about discrete disciplines, but rather disciplines in service to ideas.

We should create centers for creativity that cultivate, champion, and measure idea-driven thinking.

While championing art education, be thoughtful about the message and emphasize the critical value of ideas, not just the arts.

Art education is essential for 21st century learning and can help students think like artists, regardless of their career path.

Transcripts

Translator: Jihan Chara Reviewer: Denise RQ

We are going to get started with some kindergarten image-word match.

I would like each of you to determine

what is the word that matches the image in number seven.

Starting to come up with some ideas?

Good.

Get them in your head because I want to share with you

what my daughter Adeline chose.

(Laughter)

Adeline chose 'art,'

and as her parent, I thought that was awesome,

but this is an incorrect answer according to the testing guide.

The correct answer is 'mud,' and I'm sure that's what you all chose.

Right, right?

How can something so nebulous be so concrete?

Actually, I think this quiz is a fitting analogy

for the problem in art education today.

Art education has been impacted

by the standards and testing culture like all other disciplines,

and in a lot of ways, we've been focusing on teaching things that are concrete.

Things like elements of art, art history, and foundational skills.

In essence, we're teaching things that we can test and assess.

But I believe art education needs to focus

on developing learners that think like artists.

Learners who are creative, curious, seek questions, develop ideas, and play,

which means we need to be much more intentional

about how we communicate art's critical value

and how we teach for creativity.

So, creativity - let's do a little case making around this.

Most of this you know.

Creativity is being touted by business leaders like the folks at IBM,

by educational reformists,

by economists, even folks as Dan Pink

as the number one thing we need

for student success, economic growth, and general happiness.

We also know the creativity scores in this country are on the decline,

that Torrance creativity test, which has been administered for decades,

has now shown, since the 1990s, a decline,

especially in ages 6 to 12 in the United States.

We also know due to Sir Kenneth Robinson's now famous TED Talk

that schools are fundamentally and foundationally

challenged to cultivate creativity.

But I'm going to share with you some research

that the Wallace Foundation did with Harvard's Project Zero

in which they found the number one thing quality art education can do is develop

"the capacity to think creatively and the capacity to make connections."

So then why is there such a disconnect

between creativity and art education?

I think there's actually a couple of reasons why.

But we are going to focus on communication and messaging.

Those of us in the field have been working

to really move art education out of a defensive place.

We've been trying to make a case for our own existence,

and we're trying to move it more towards an offensive message

especially around creativity.

But we're not there yet,

and so, we're going to place that for another talk, at another time.

Instead, I want to focus on a message

I think is much more problematic and pervasive -

and I hate to put you on the spot,

but I actually feel you are to blame.

I mean, not you per se, but you as a group of people

who actually really support art education

Let me give some context.

As a parent, I often hear adults saying things to children,

as well as to other adults, and to the educators,

things like this,

"Oh, my goodness! Look how well you've drawn that horse!

It's so realistic! You're so creative!"

You've heard messages like that before?

Here's another one I think I hear almost daily,

"Oh, Cindy! I really support art education.

It is very important! I mean, I'm not creative.

I don't have a creative bone in my body. I can't even draw a stick figure."

(Laughter)

These messages are incredibly problematic and the more ...

You may not think they are a big deal,

but the more society pushes them out

and continues to foster

these cliche notions of what is creativity,

the harder it is for those in the field, like me,

to begin moving towards teaching for creativity.

Teaching for creativity. What do I mean by that?

I believe teaching for creativity is embodying the habits the artists employ.

Habits in particular, there are three

that I think are essential to creativity.

They are: one - comfort with ambiguity,

two - idea generation, and three - transdisciplinary research.

We're going to talk about those in a moment,

but first, we're going to do a little audience participation.

I would like each of you to use something on your person:

paper, pencil, your program, phone, glasses; it doesn't matter.

And I'd like you - you'll just get a couple of minutes -

to actually create something that represents the idea of metaphor.

Go ahead.

(indistinct chatter in the audience)

Alright. Be honest.

How many of you had a surge of panic when I just asked you to do that?

(Laughter)

I want you to savor that sensation.

You actually are off the hook,

but I want you to savor that sensation for a moment.

What you just experienced is, I think, the number one obstacle to creative work:

that discomfort,

and that discomfort is ambiguity, it's not-knowing.

I actually learned this from a group of teachers.

We'd been working with them, and they told us, "You know what?

We find that it's really difficult

to engage our students in creative work, in particular, open-ended projects.

It just makes it really hard."

Ironically enough, later that afternoon, we had that same group of teachers,

and we gave them a challenge similar to the one I just gave you.

Interestingly enough, almost immediately,

a couple of them announced they needed to leave for the day.

(Laughter)

Another group needed a break at that moment,

and still, others stayed in the classroom

but refused to participate in the activity.

What we realized

is students struggle with ambiguity because we all do.

Artists, on the other hand, realize that ambiguity is part of the process.

They take it, they identify it, and they tackle it head on.

If artists are doing this, can't you imagine

if art education was a place

where we knew students could go to prepare for lives of not knowing?

I work at the Columbus Museum of Art, and for years now,

we provided the kind of art education that our community requested.

So for example, when we had an exhibition of the work of Claude Monet,

we taught about his history,

we allowed folks to experiment with his materials and his process,

and then, we finally would create lesson plans

and allow others to do the same.

In essence, what we were doing

was generating content and allowing folks to make mini-Monets.

But then it dawned on us

we were not actually engaging them in what made Monet Monet.

And that was the way he thought; Monet's ideas were revolutionary.

He questioned the natural world, the way we see,

he questioned the politics of the time,

and that's what made his work so exceptional.

It was at this moment we realized

we needed to be teaching for idea generation.

So I'm going to have you jump with me now from one artist to another.

(Laughter)

The Lego movie gave us such a gift when they presented the movie this summer.

More or less, what they said

was creativity is not the Lego kid in the direction booklet

but creativity is the bucket of Legos and the potential for ideas within.

Legos are just another material like drawing materials

to help us make ideas manifest.

What I loved about this movie

was the idea of the master builder

or the person who has the courage to have ideas.

But it dawned on me, in much of education, the master builders are the educators.

They're the ones who have ideas, great lesson plans.

But students are secondary to that process.

Students are often more of the artist's assistant,

or sometimes, even just the factory worker getting the project done.

Visualize a classroom full of master builders,

a classroom full of master builders at play.

Yes, play. Play is essential.

Play is a surefire way to kickstart ideation.

Artists play.

They play in a number of ways.

They either play with materials until ideas begin to manifest

or they play with ideas

until they realize what media or materials they need to bring that into reality.

Imagine an art education where educators were comfortable

with the ambiguous classroom

where student ideas and interests lead the learning.

So I need to be honest with you:

nothing in my career, my education, or my teaching

has influenced my thinking as much as being married to an artist.

I am married to Sean Foley,

and what I can tell you about artists is that they're voracious researchers.

They will research anything - bizarre things.

And what I've learned

is that they'll do anything that furthers their thinking.

Let me give you an example.

About ten years ago, Sean had this idea

that if painting were dead what if he were doctor Frankenstein?

He immediately rereads Mary Shelley. He rewatches all the classic horror films.

He then devours books at the library

on natural history, history of medicine, anomalies of nature.

He then starts purchasing taxidermic animals.

(Laughter)

But then, he informs me that we need to go to London.

He must go to London in order to study the museums of the pre-Enlightenment,

and in particular, the early operating theaters.

So in essence, his research manifest,

and Sean ends up making monsters of his own, like this one.

So what Sean was engaged in is transdisciplinary research

or research that serves curiosity.

Imagine if the future of education was not about discrete disciplines

but rather was about disciplines like math, art, and science

being in service to ideas.

What kind of spaces might we create in order to foster that type of thinking?

Could we create centers for creativity

where we cultivate, champion, and measure this type of thinking?

I don't want you for a minute to stop championing art education,

but I do want you to be thoughtful about the chant.

When we say we want creativity in our schools, we often say,

"Don't kill the arts,"

But today, I want that battle cry to address art's critical value,

"Don't kill the ideas."

I want my own children to think like artists

no matter what career path they may choose.

I believe art education is essential for 21st century learning.

And with your help, we can flip the counterproductive messaging

and allow our educators to develop centers for creativity

where ideas are king and curiosity reigns.

Thank you.

(Applause)