Global Rural Trust Fellowship 2013
Julie Midkiff and Allison Shriver were awarded $10,000 from the Global Rural Trust to travel abroad and bring back international experiences to their Art and Gifted classrooms. Their grant was entitled From Appalachia to Art Application with Julie and Allison traveling to France, Italy, Greece, Croatia, and Turkey to study the connection between European/Mediterranean Art and the Appalachian Arts and Crafts Tradition. "In Appalachian culture, there is a great pride in passing down the tradition of making arts/crafts in which our students can relate." To make real world connections between generational learning, they investigated the guild and systems of art/craft education from European/Mediterranean cultures and planned interactive, hands on activities for students at our school.
While we made connections between our travel experiences from this grant to the arts and crafts of Appalachia, we also found we made other connections as well. Myself, as an elementary art teacher, reconnected with Art history, Art theory, and Art making. Allison, the then gifted teacher, broadened her knowledge of Art institutions, architecture, Art history and arts and crafts media. There were moments of unintentional learning, language barriers, physical barriers, and exhaustion as well as unexpected outcomes, delightful tour guides, meeting new friends, encountering new experiences, and other unpredictable learning moments. Our travel grant experience itself sparked new ideas for the implementation of some of our learning experiences into units and lessons for our students. Even years later, we both find ourselves making connections from our travel experiences to new learning opportunities for our students.
Experiential and Place-Based Learning
John Dewey, Art as Experience, and Experiential Learning
Theoretical Foundation in Art Theory and Experiential Learning
John Dewey contributed to the fields of Art and education as a pragmatist, progressive educator, and liberalist. Dewey’s theories relating to Art and art education have their roots to theories related to the artistic process, the importance of experiential learning, to knowing one’s self and environment, the context in which art is made and interpreted, and the connection between the arts, social justice and democracy (Goldblatt, 2006). Deweyan thoughts and educational models have influenced educational writers, philosophers, theorists and artists since the publication of texts such Art as Experience (1934) and Experience and Education (1938).
John Dewey believed that experiences and the environment were essential for learning. Dewey challenged the censoring by the second Council of Nicea of the church’s use of statutes and incense due to the council’s belief that these elements distracted parishioners from the act of prayer. Dewey argued the sensory information provided by the statues and incense were experiential artifacts and acted as catalysts that led to transformative experiences, enabling parishioners to experience prayer in new and valued ways. Dewey connected this account from the Council of Nicea to learning by placing Art as an exemplar in education. The concept of Art as an exemplar is the Deweyan belief that students need opportunities to appreciate and encounter “experiential” artifacts that lead to sensory details that enable higher understanding of the human experience.
Students being able to comprehend through their own sensory experiences that enable higher understanding of the human experience is a tall order for the field of education and specifically art education to fulfill. However, Dewey believed that “art functions as experience” (p. 17), the “processes of inquiry, looking, and finding meaning are transformative” (p. 17) and “expanding perceptions opens venues for understanding and action” (Goldblatt, 2006, p. 17). He believed how one acts and responds to his or her environment is never ending, ongoing process. Dewey defines one’s environment as “the whole scheme of things” (p. 18) such as “the imaginative and the emotional” (p. 18), “the combined legacy of civilizations, the collective past, as interpreted by artists” (p. 18), and “a funded intelligence that connects worldly events with personal and public histories” (Goldblatt, 2006, p. 18). Dewey continuously mentioned in his writings the goal of making connections to the ideas of what is “good and right” (p. 18) and describes the artist crafting his or her “outgoing response with the incoming energy of their environments, shaping and reshaping ‘until it [is] good,’ satisfying and unifying” (p.18).
Just as artists use the artistic processes and creation of artwork to merge themselves with their environment, Dewey believed students could use the same processes, sensory stimulation, and environmental responses to learn about others and the world in which they live. Dewey upheld Albert Barnes’s method of artistic inquiry via systematic investigation as a means of learning as a basis for re-envisioning how schools should educate children, leading to another Deweyan idea that through the same types of systematic investigation, that schools should enable students to revitalize and expand student viewpoints, encourage students to envision the possibilities of alternative landscapes that are different from their own.
References:
Dewey, J. (2005). Art as experience. New York: Berkley Publishing Group.
Goldblatt, P. F. (2006). How John Dewey’s Theories Underpin Art and Art Education. Education and Culture, 22(1), 17-34.
John Dewey contributed to the fields of Art and education as a pragmatist, progressive educator, and liberalist. Dewey’s theories relating to Art and art education have their roots to theories related to the artistic process, the importance of experiential learning, to knowing one’s self and environment, the context in which art is made and interpreted, and the connection between the arts, social justice and democracy (Goldblatt, 2006). Deweyan thoughts and educational models have influenced educational writers, philosophers, theorists and artists since the publication of texts such Art as Experience (1934) and Experience and Education (1938).
John Dewey believed that experiences and the environment were essential for learning. Dewey challenged the censoring by the second Council of Nicea of the church’s use of statutes and incense due to the council’s belief that these elements distracted parishioners from the act of prayer. Dewey argued the sensory information provided by the statues and incense were experiential artifacts and acted as catalysts that led to transformative experiences, enabling parishioners to experience prayer in new and valued ways. Dewey connected this account from the Council of Nicea to learning by placing Art as an exemplar in education. The concept of Art as an exemplar is the Deweyan belief that students need opportunities to appreciate and encounter “experiential” artifacts that lead to sensory details that enable higher understanding of the human experience.
Students being able to comprehend through their own sensory experiences that enable higher understanding of the human experience is a tall order for the field of education and specifically art education to fulfill. However, Dewey believed that “art functions as experience” (p. 17), the “processes of inquiry, looking, and finding meaning are transformative” (p. 17) and “expanding perceptions opens venues for understanding and action” (Goldblatt, 2006, p. 17). He believed how one acts and responds to his or her environment is never ending, ongoing process. Dewey defines one’s environment as “the whole scheme of things” (p. 18) such as “the imaginative and the emotional” (p. 18), “the combined legacy of civilizations, the collective past, as interpreted by artists” (p. 18), and “a funded intelligence that connects worldly events with personal and public histories” (Goldblatt, 2006, p. 18). Dewey continuously mentioned in his writings the goal of making connections to the ideas of what is “good and right” (p. 18) and describes the artist crafting his or her “outgoing response with the incoming energy of their environments, shaping and reshaping ‘until it [is] good,’ satisfying and unifying” (p.18).
Just as artists use the artistic processes and creation of artwork to merge themselves with their environment, Dewey believed students could use the same processes, sensory stimulation, and environmental responses to learn about others and the world in which they live. Dewey upheld Albert Barnes’s method of artistic inquiry via systematic investigation as a means of learning as a basis for re-envisioning how schools should educate children, leading to another Deweyan idea that through the same types of systematic investigation, that schools should enable students to revitalize and expand student viewpoints, encourage students to envision the possibilities of alternative landscapes that are different from their own.
References:
Dewey, J. (2005). Art as experience. New York: Berkley Publishing Group.
Goldblatt, P. F. (2006). How John Dewey’s Theories Underpin Art and Art Education. Education and Culture, 22(1), 17-34.
Place-Based Learning: We Are NOT Just Going On Vacation!
When describing our travel grant experience to a greater audience, a common initial response is that we just had an organization pay for a vacation. While experiencing a travel grant experience is exciting and leads to new experiences, it is much more work than a regular vacation. The initial step is to find a travel grant to apply for, complete the application, and justify why you need to travel to a certain destination to bring these experiences back to your classroom. Although you have put in the time and effort to apply for the grant, you are not always funded. In the last five years, I have applied for seven travel grants, and have only been funded for two experiences.
Place-based learning is the idea that teachers can design their own plan of professional development that is dependent upon visiting or living in a specific destination in order to gain knowledge or experiences to integrate and implement into their classrooms. Patterson (2014) contends that international experiences can expand a teacher’s content knowledge on global topics (Kirkwood, 2002), help a teacher find his or her place within a larger global system (Dolby, 2004), reiterate cross-cultural awareness (German, 1998), and inspire a teacher to create innovative classroom skills and practices (Garii, 2009). Teachers who engage in international travel as professional development can increase the benefits to themselves, their curricula, and classroom practices by thoughtfully planning before, during, and after their travels, pre-planning and studying host cultures, journaling throughout the travel study sequence, seeking cultural and interpersonal interactions in the host country, engaging in and continuing in a dialogue with travel colleagues during and after they return from international travel.
Miller, Hougham & Eitel (2013) describe Adventure Learning expeditions coupled with place based education principals as a means of “exploring real-world issues through authentic learning experiences within collaborative learning environments” (Doering, 2006). The Adventure Learning framework is comprised of seven principles; (1) must be adventure-based, (2) researched based, (3) be supported through collaborative and interactive online environment tools, (4) use the internet to connect varied audiences, (5) use media and text within the online environment to educate, engage, and inspire, (6) have pedagogical guidelines that support teachers in implementation and engagement, and (7) include synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities that engage students, teachers, and content experts in the content being explored. Later principals added as a response to dealing with localized issues and are place-based in theory are (a) an authentic narrative that unifies the expedition, curriculum, student activities, media, and learning experience under a common purpose or theme and (b) the identification of a location and issue to explore (including textual factors surrounding the location of the issue).
References:
Miller, B. G., Hougham, R. J., & Eitel, K. B. (2013). The practical enactment of Adventure Learning: Where will you AL@? TechTrends, 57(4), 28-33. doi:10.1007/s11528-013-0674-9
Patterson, T. (2014). You’re Doing What This Summer? Making the Most of International Professional Development. The Social Studies, 105(6), 274-277. doi:10.1080/00377996.2014.930402
Place-based learning is the idea that teachers can design their own plan of professional development that is dependent upon visiting or living in a specific destination in order to gain knowledge or experiences to integrate and implement into their classrooms. Patterson (2014) contends that international experiences can expand a teacher’s content knowledge on global topics (Kirkwood, 2002), help a teacher find his or her place within a larger global system (Dolby, 2004), reiterate cross-cultural awareness (German, 1998), and inspire a teacher to create innovative classroom skills and practices (Garii, 2009). Teachers who engage in international travel as professional development can increase the benefits to themselves, their curricula, and classroom practices by thoughtfully planning before, during, and after their travels, pre-planning and studying host cultures, journaling throughout the travel study sequence, seeking cultural and interpersonal interactions in the host country, engaging in and continuing in a dialogue with travel colleagues during and after they return from international travel.
Miller, Hougham & Eitel (2013) describe Adventure Learning expeditions coupled with place based education principals as a means of “exploring real-world issues through authentic learning experiences within collaborative learning environments” (Doering, 2006). The Adventure Learning framework is comprised of seven principles; (1) must be adventure-based, (2) researched based, (3) be supported through collaborative and interactive online environment tools, (4) use the internet to connect varied audiences, (5) use media and text within the online environment to educate, engage, and inspire, (6) have pedagogical guidelines that support teachers in implementation and engagement, and (7) include synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities that engage students, teachers, and content experts in the content being explored. Later principals added as a response to dealing with localized issues and are place-based in theory are (a) an authentic narrative that unifies the expedition, curriculum, student activities, media, and learning experience under a common purpose or theme and (b) the identification of a location and issue to explore (including textual factors surrounding the location of the issue).
References:
Miller, B. G., Hougham, R. J., & Eitel, K. B. (2013). The practical enactment of Adventure Learning: Where will you AL@? TechTrends, 57(4), 28-33. doi:10.1007/s11528-013-0674-9
Patterson, T. (2014). You’re Doing What This Summer? Making the Most of International Professional Development. The Social Studies, 105(6), 274-277. doi:10.1080/00377996.2014.930402
Research Methodology: Self/Autoethnography and
Arts-Based Educational Research (ABER)
For this class, I created a narrative that is an auto-ethnographic piece of writing reflecting upon my travel experiences and how this experiential learning has been integrated into my art curriculum, with the other part of the project being a digital version of the travel experience with resources for other teachers to use to make curricular and educational connections between Appalachian Arts and Crafts created in our region to craft traditions found in the countries we visited (France, Italy, Greece, Croatia, and Turkey). As a creative, graphically designed, digital product, I intend for the creation of the digital curricular resource to be an organizational and resource tool that is designed as an interactive digital resource created by a teacher that participated in a unique form of professional development that resulted in a first hand, in depth study of art and art institutions that were part of the travel grant experience, with links to PDF versions of lesson planning/unit planning ideas and hyperlinks to useful websites for more information either about the type of art, media used, or culture of makers of the craft or art being studied.
Autoethnography is being employed for this qualitative inquiry because ethnography itself is described by Clifford Geertz as “process and product” (Schwandt, 2007) and anthropologists and ethnographers today agree that ethnography should encompass more than “primarily an interpretive endeavor” (Lassiter, 2014). Schwandt (2017) states that autoethnography was once defined as “the cultural study of one’s own people” but “now commonly refers to a particular form of writing that seeks to unite ethnographic (looking outward at a world beyond one’s own) and autobiographical (gazing inward for a story of one’s self) intentions.” Other characteristics of autoethnography include keeping the subject and object that is being examined in simultaneous view, the intent to illustrate and evoke rather than to state or make a claim in content, and to “invite the reader to relive the experience rather than to interpret or analyze what the author is saying.” The second qualitative approach/method being used is a hybrid form of arts-based educational research (ABER). Cahnmann-Taylor & Siegesmund (2018) suggest there are two strands in contemporary in arts-based research methodology today: hybrid forms and those who produce art for scholarship’s sake. Hybrid forms are described by Barone and Eisner (1997) using the term “blurred genres” while laying out the theoretical framework for arts-based research such as outlining the qualities of arts-based texts/resources, the creation of a virtual reality with degrees of textual ambiguity, the presence of expressive, contextualized, and vernacular forms of language, the addition of empathy used by researchers in the lives of research participants, and the presence of an aesthetic form through from the unique perspective of the researcher. Cahnmann-Taylor & Siegesmund (2018) quote Tom Barone to explain the reasoning behind the blurred genes ideology and the contextualization of art as Barone suggests “because many postmodernist innovators began their careers as ethnographers and sociologists (rather than as artists, literary critics, or art theorists.)” The flexible categorization of what is considered and can be considered Arts-Based Educational Research fits the exploratory and experiential nature of learning through various facets of digital media, such as through digital artifacts such as museum pamphlets of current or past art exhibitions, websites, online videos, and digital representations or reproductions of art and architecture as a learning resource for teachers and students.
References:
Barone, T. & Eisner, E. W. (1997). Arts-based educational research. In R. M. Jaeger & T. Barone (Eds), Complementary methods for research in education, Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Cahnmann-Taylor, M., & Siegesmund, R. (2018). Arts-based research in education: foundations for practice. Place of publication not identified: Routledge.
Lassiter, L.E. (2014). Invitation to Anthropology (Fourth ed.) Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Schwandt, T.A. (2007). The Sage dictionary of qualitative inquiry. (Third ed.) Los Angeles: Sage.
Autoethnography is being employed for this qualitative inquiry because ethnography itself is described by Clifford Geertz as “process and product” (Schwandt, 2007) and anthropologists and ethnographers today agree that ethnography should encompass more than “primarily an interpretive endeavor” (Lassiter, 2014). Schwandt (2017) states that autoethnography was once defined as “the cultural study of one’s own people” but “now commonly refers to a particular form of writing that seeks to unite ethnographic (looking outward at a world beyond one’s own) and autobiographical (gazing inward for a story of one’s self) intentions.” Other characteristics of autoethnography include keeping the subject and object that is being examined in simultaneous view, the intent to illustrate and evoke rather than to state or make a claim in content, and to “invite the reader to relive the experience rather than to interpret or analyze what the author is saying.” The second qualitative approach/method being used is a hybrid form of arts-based educational research (ABER). Cahnmann-Taylor & Siegesmund (2018) suggest there are two strands in contemporary in arts-based research methodology today: hybrid forms and those who produce art for scholarship’s sake. Hybrid forms are described by Barone and Eisner (1997) using the term “blurred genres” while laying out the theoretical framework for arts-based research such as outlining the qualities of arts-based texts/resources, the creation of a virtual reality with degrees of textual ambiguity, the presence of expressive, contextualized, and vernacular forms of language, the addition of empathy used by researchers in the lives of research participants, and the presence of an aesthetic form through from the unique perspective of the researcher. Cahnmann-Taylor & Siegesmund (2018) quote Tom Barone to explain the reasoning behind the blurred genes ideology and the contextualization of art as Barone suggests “because many postmodernist innovators began their careers as ethnographers and sociologists (rather than as artists, literary critics, or art theorists.)” The flexible categorization of what is considered and can be considered Arts-Based Educational Research fits the exploratory and experiential nature of learning through various facets of digital media, such as through digital artifacts such as museum pamphlets of current or past art exhibitions, websites, online videos, and digital representations or reproductions of art and architecture as a learning resource for teachers and students.
References:
Barone, T. & Eisner, E. W. (1997). Arts-based educational research. In R. M. Jaeger & T. Barone (Eds), Complementary methods for research in education, Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Cahnmann-Taylor, M., & Siegesmund, R. (2018). Arts-based research in education: foundations for practice. Place of publication not identified: Routledge.
Lassiter, L.E. (2014). Invitation to Anthropology (Fourth ed.) Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Schwandt, T.A. (2007). The Sage dictionary of qualitative inquiry. (Third ed.) Los Angeles: Sage.
Miniature Galleries and Resources
Paris, France
Montmartre: Bohemian and Historical District of Paris. Home of the Moulin Rouge, Windmill of the Salty Pancake (Renoir), former home to both Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh, and location of Sacred Heart Basilica.
For more about Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Moulin Rouge, 1893-95, see the Moulin Rouge section below coupled with the Eiffel Tower section or click here.
For more about Auguste Renoir's windmill, click here.
For more about Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Moulin Rouge, 1893-95, see the Moulin Rouge section below coupled with the Eiffel Tower section or click here.
For more about Auguste Renoir's windmill, click here.
*Louvre Museum: The first art museum established in the world after the French Revolution. The collection ranges from antiquity to modern work. When we visited, the Louvre was in its first year of inviting contemporary artists to exhibit new work. The infinity symbol on the Glass Pyramid represents the work of Michelangelo Pistoletto.
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*Near Paris: A Tour of The Palace and Garden's of Versailles
Guest Contemporary Artist for 2013 was Giuseppe Penone.
Click here to learn more about the Palace of Versailles, click here.
Guest Contemporary Artist for 2013 was Giuseppe Penone.
Click here to learn more about the Palace of Versailles, click here.
*Near Paris: Giverny, The Home and Japanese Gardens of Claude Monet
Click here for more information about Giverny.
Click here for more information about Giverny.
Examples of Connecting the influence of Japanese Printmakers upon Claude Monet (Impressionist) and Vincent Van Gogh (Post Impressionist) in my elementary Art classroom.
*Back to Paris for one last night and tour. Dinner at the restaurant of the Eiffel Tower, boat tour of the Seine River, and the Moulin Rouge connection to Henri Toulouse- Lautrec.
*Before boarding the overnight train that would take us to the Port of Venice (Italy), we did visit the Orsay. (More resources will be coming soon for the Orsay Museum.
Venice, Italy
We disembark from the sleeper train experience and embark the Carnival Sunshine for the Mediterranean cruise section of our travel grant experience.
Our tour guide introduces us to the Venetian Renaissance at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco and we see works by Tintoretto and Titan.
to learn more, click here.
Future connections to be made between Venetian glass and glass companies such as Fenton and Blenko glass in West Virginia.
Our tour guide introduces us to the Venetian Renaissance at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco and we see works by Tintoretto and Titan.
to learn more, click here.
Future connections to be made between Venetian glass and glass companies such as Fenton and Blenko glass in West Virginia.
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Future connections to be made between traditional Croatian embroidery and Appalachian embroidery samplers.
Athens, Greece
Greek ruins in the modern day world, the Olympics, the Acropolis, and the Archeological Museum.
Ephesus, Turkey
*We toured Ephesus archeological and historical site and visited a state supported Turkish Carpet Weaving School/Workspace.
Connections between Turkish Carpet Weaving, the traditions of weaving in Appalachia, and connections to my own past as a fiber artist/weaver was made.
Connections between Turkish Carpet Weaving, the traditions of weaving in Appalachia, and connections to my own past as a fiber artist/weaver was made.
Taormina, Italy (Sicily)
We toured the municipality of Taormina, visited ruins being excavated, a amphitheater with ancient origins being used for modern day purposes, viewed Mount Etna from Taormina, then walked around the inactive crater of Mount Etna with our Italian Volcanologist and CNN correspondent.
Future connections to be made between traditional Italian Majolica pottery and Appalachian potters will be made. Students made connections between the imagery of Italian pottery and Fiestaware (HomerLaughlin).
Future connections to be made between traditional Italian Majolica pottery and Appalachian potters will be made. Students made connections between the imagery of Italian pottery and Fiestaware (HomerLaughlin).
Pompeii, Italy (Naples)
We toured the cameo factory and learned about which shells and tools are used to carve authentic cameo pieces for jewelry. Our tour guide then walked with us and gave us a history of the vegetation of the area, the grounds of Pompeii, and explained the impact of the excavation of the site from the ash that fell from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August, 24th, 79 A.D.
Rome, Italy and Vatican City
Our tour began with a bus tour around the ancient Roman ruins of bathhouses, the Coliseum, and the People's Square. We then walked through the walls of Vatican City, toured the Vatican, Hall of Maps, Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museum, and Saint Peter's Basilica.