This critical thinking project was modified from an earlier one which asked students to construct a concept of "Art" by drawing on their analyses of a most- and least-favorite artwork they select on a field trip to MoMA. After trying this assignment once, I realized that the explicit emphasis on what students most or least liked did not necessarily target the characteristics of the concept. Nor were many students prepared to write papers on their individual analyses without some staging that provided a sharing of analyses and built excitement. The various perspectives students offered on the artworks in their PowerPoint presentations illustrated a range of considerations – from technique to style to subject matter – that fostered greater depth and breadth in their final papers. But the changes I made in the project itself required a leap of faith into teaching with technology.
Initially unsure as to how students would respond to this new activity, I was again surprised by their enthusiasm for learning and working with technology. The visual media of Blackboard, PowerPoint and online inquiry were particularly effective in this project as they formed a motivational, hands-on, collaborative basis on which students then developed the abstract concept of “modern art.” Students got caught up in selecting images as examples of this concept and then were asked to find the common conceptual ground among, perhaps, a Picasso, a Schiele, and a Rothko.
This was difficult work, and given their final papers not all students elaborated a particularly well-founded concept, but the engagement itself was ultimately productive. Having students find and select images they think are good examples of the concept and presenting what it is that they see in these images got some students over an indifference towards art. It also got them to engage with the pieces in a playful way conducive to moving from the notion that art has one particular meaning for which we must defer to authorities, to the idea that meaning is constructed through a playful dialogue with art.
Since it is a Critical Thinking project, my concerns lie not so much in how well the project teaches students technology skills as in how well it fosters critical thinking abilities. Technology in this project enables multi-dimensional stages in which students learn to recognize various perspectives and the reasons supporting each, see critically, and form abstract concepts dialectically, by shifting back and forth from particular examples to the general, essential properties these have in common. While these abilities can certainly be fostered without extensive use of technology, its incorporation enriches the process and teaches complementary skills simultaneously.
Using the technology provides students access to visual media and research about art. It also enables collaboration and sharing through group presentations and Discussion Board forums. By posting documents incorporating images on Blackboard, students become more familiar with the use of images within a text document. This simultaneously prepares students for learning how to put together a multimedia PowerPoint presentation. The inquiry-based learning approach used in developing this activity was facilitated by the ease of online research.
As noted above, this activity is a modified version of an art project I have used before which was less successful than I had hoped. The problem with the former art project was that it was too theoretical and abstract. Here, students are asked to play the roles of art exhibit curators and members of a museum’s Board of Trustees. Instead of starting by having students write an essay on what falls within (and beyond) the parameters of their concept of “Art,” students here sift through many examples, and by process of elimination, weed out those examples they consider inessential to modern art. What is left is what they consider to be essential, and thus definitive of the concept. Students build towards the abstract concept by working first with visual examples, a medium with which many are more immediately comfortable.
Students work with visuals and present their work to the rest of the class. Through this process, their argumentation is improved. Students learn to “see critically,” here meaning to recognize the questions posed by images, and to use language to articulate and communicate this vision. The “texts” they are working with are evident through their presentations, and other students in the class are able to ask questions if the justification offered is not clear. My hope is that through this project, students enhance core critical thinking skills, cultivate technological proficiency and develop a greater understanding and appreciation for modern art.
Activity Overview
The goal of this project is to use critical thinking abilities to put together an art exhibit that introduces modern art to people who do not know what this means. The Board of Trustees of a large and powerful modern art museum has asked each student (role-playing curators), to present paintings and sculptures that they consider to be necessary for such an exhibit. Money is no object. The idea is to collect a small number of artworks that exemplify modern art. Students work individually at first, collecting pieces from several online modern art collections (MoMA, the Whitney, PS1) and explaining how each piece demonstrates the concept. Students then come together in groups of about four.
Each group chooses five pieces, out of those chosen individually by the members, which best exemplify modern art and develop a PowerPoint presentation to be presented to the rest of the class (acting in the capacity of a Board of Trustees) who assess the presentation and vote on which collection to purchase.
The instructor models a PowerPoint presentation that asks students to think about the purposes, function, meaning and significance of art. Students, at this point, have been introduced to both Blackboard and PowerPoint. The activity includes preparation of a PowerPoint presentation, and so requires computer lab time to help students work with PowerPoint. In terms of course content, students at this time have studied language use, are learning about concept formation, and are about to move into examining reasoning, for which this activity helps prepare them.
Students are evaluated according to their group PowerPoint presentations, which are delivered to the class. Students, playing the role of Board of Trustee members, assess how effectively each group has assembled, conceptualized and presented their collection of artworks as an introduction to modern art.
To participate in the activity, students complete the following steps:
Step 1: Individually
Go to the following websites to pick out six pieces of modern painting or sculpture that best illustrate what “Modern Art” means:
Museum of Modern Art http://www.moma.org
P.S.1 http://www.ps1.org
The Whitney Museum http://www.whitney.org
Based on the pieces of art you have selected, define your concept of modern art by identifying the conceptual “boundaries” that you are using. Why did you select these boundaries and the pieces of art that fall within them?
On Blackboard, copy and paste the images you’ve chosen on the Discussion Board, and defend your choices with a compelling rationale. Why have you chosen these pieces? How do they illustrate your concept of “Modern Art,” its purpose(s), ideas, techniques, etc.? Might someone with a different concept of “Modern Art” object to one or more of the pieces you selected? If so, how would you defend your choices?
Step 2: In Groups
Read what your group members have posted. As a group, you will be allowed to choose only five pieces of art to illustrate what “Modern Art” means. Choose these as a group and provide a written statement explaining the rationale for your choices. Working in your group, develop a PowerPoint presentation, which seeks to persuade the Board of Trustees (i.e., the rest of the class) to purchase pieces of, or your entire, collection.
Step 3: The Gallery
You will now present the PowerPoint to the rest of class, which acts as the Board of Trustees. Bring in a printout of each piece your group has chosen. These will be taped to the classroom walls and the Board of Trustees will then vote on each piece, providing a brief explanation for each selection. The ten pieces getting the most votes remain and are “purchased” as the Introduction to Modern Art Collection.
Materials and Resources
The following are samples of the groups’ presentations: