How I learn is a lot like how I teach...I like to play! I view my own personal style of learning as a combination of the Social Cognitive Theory and the Constructivism Theory. I learn best with authentic experiences and when I can get my hands dirty, literally. As an artist, I am a visual learner who does best in a few different classroom scenarios. Firstly, I excel when I can watch someone do something (vicarious learning) then practice it myself (enactive learning). This is where the Social Cognitive theory comes into play at its best for me. However, I also strongly related to the Constructivist theory, especially with the aspects of authentic tasks that I can apply to real situations and experiences, and the aspect of get in, get dirty, experiment, explore, and learn! Below are a few images of just what I do. Before I learned how to do this (and what you are seeing is screen print) someone had to show me, then I had to apply what I just saw to my own work and along the way figure out how to make that process work the best for me and my ideas.
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| This is my work area. I have things EVERYWHERE! I make a mess, play around, and then clean up. I like to see how something may work or look, and when I learn, I also like to see how something will work. I'm very visually inclined, which relates back to SCT. |
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| I set things up and then just figure it out as I go along, a very constructivist approach. |
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These three images show phases in the creation of a piece of mine. As you can see I work with layers, and I work with visuals in hand. I have to test things out as I go, whether it's a color or line placement. Just how I work is learning through the Constructivist theory because I experiment and try so many different things. However, it's also ties back into the Social Cognitive theory because I set goals (self-regulation) and work hard to meet them. The goals for me when working on the two pieces above were 1. finish 10 or more pieces in a week, 2. have a framed exhibition ready to install in 2 weeks, 3. be in the printmaking studio ALL day every day of my week of vacation. I had to reflect on compositional choices, think critically about the message I wanted to convey to my audience and whether it was successful, and then of course the fun part of figure out how I was going to do it all! The entire life of an artist is a constant lesson where you always question, self-regulate, discover, and achieve. In a way I feel like this relates to one of my favorite quotes:
"Why do people think artists are special? It's just another job." -Andy Warhol
Yes, being an artist is a job, but also a constant learning experience (key word!) that I wouldn't trade for anything...much like teaching!
If you are interested in seeing more of my work (prints, photographs, paintings, drawings...) please check out my website www.stoneking-stewart.com |
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI too have found that I learn through Social Cognitive theory and constructivism. As artists, we must learn through our experiences and our personal efforts in the classroom, especially when that consists of watching and then doing ourselves. I'm so thankful to have someone to talk about this concept of learning and teaching with, especially with your already pre-existing experience in the classroom and print shop. I find it interesting because like you, I follow both the social cognitive theory by setting goals for myself but also, the constructivist theory by experimentation and trial and error. However, I don't know about you, but I find it hard to stay motivated in my other classes when I'm not doing art because they aren't set up in the ways of these two theories and how we think as artists.