Dear Teachers,
Why Create? is an extensive web quest that has been written for a multicultural exploration of art/crafts, while promoting art appreciation through the study of the “whys” of art making. It also provides studio application of a variety of art/crafts and exposure to four career opportunities for the artist; Art Director, Art Historian, Art Educator and Graphic Designer.
This quest may be shortened to accommodate a single art/craft lesson or it way be used in its entirety for facilitation of a complete course of study on art/crafts of the world.
In preparation for utilizing this web quest, your students should be exposed to basic art vocabulary, elements and principles of design and practice of generic skills like cutting, gluing, painting, sketching, etc.
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You will need: Computers on-line LCD projector MS Word MS PowerPoint A variety of materials for the specific art/crafts you choose to cover.
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Other resources you will need: Textbook, Art In Focus, Glencoe McGraw-Hill Brown Bag Ideas from Many Cultures, Irene Tejada, Davis Pub, Inc Art from Many Hands, Jo Miles Schuman, Davis Pub, Inc OR any other “how to” manuals for students
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Optional Materials: Jump drives for PowerPoint storage Scanner Digital camera Video camera
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Facilitator vs. Instructor Teacher–directed vs. Student-directed learning
When I first implemented this web quest, students were coming to me with all kinds of questions saying they didn’t understand what to do. I thought that maybe I had made the web quest too large. But upon further reflection I came to realize that I had “programmed” my students to rely too much on me. When they had questions, I would sit with them and explain or demonstrate further. I would direct their learning because I was utilizing a teacher-directed method of teaching. If students could get quick answers to their questions from me, they would not need to read the web quest, would not learn near as much as this site afforded them and I would continue in a teacher-directed mode of educating. I noticed that most of the student’s questions stemmed from not reading the web quest. They wanted to get the information they needed to “get by” in finishing their project and get a grade. However, because of the extensiveness of this web quest, and the specific tasks that are to be performed by each student, it must be read and studied in its entirety. This made this web quest even more successful for me because as I directed them back to the website with their questions, I was becoming more of a facilitator and the students were becoming more self-directed in their learning. As soon as the student’s and I were able to acclimate to our “new” roles in the classroom, the web quest became an exciting learning resource and I watched students get more involved, take responsibility for their own learning and experience real value in what they had learned as they taught the rest of the class (including their art teacher) new skills, techniques and concepts for making art.
I hope this web quest will stimulate a rich learning experience for you and your students!
Sincerely,
Gregory Zolna
Author of Why Create? and fellow art teacher