Blog 4

Questions :

5) How will you create a holistic portrait of the learners in your classes? What will you need to know about them, and how will you apply your knowledge?

This is a difficult question! I think that a holistic portrait of the students in my class can only be gained through experience and knowledge of them over time. Kerlavage states that the cognitive, emotial/moral, social, language, physical/perceptual, and aesthetic development of the student must be considered to gain a holistic understandingof each student, and I think this level of information requires intensive and long-term experience (I want to say "exposure") with the child. As we see examples of their actions behaviours, ways of doing things, and ways of thinking, we can batter assess what "developmental level" they have reached. I find some irony that I am considering this article after looking at the problems with a developmental model of art in the last blog - once again, we cannot seem to assess learning without relying on "levels". I do, however, think that the more we understand each child as an individual, with their individual levels of development, the better we can tailor our expectations of growth within the child. This should also lead to a greater understanding of the child's individual learning styles and areas for growth, and make it so I can adapt my teaching style to the needs of my class and the individuals within the class.

6) As a teacher, why do you think the knowledge of holistic development is important in providing appropriate instruction for your students?

Again, as mentioned in the last blog, I do not think we can just teach developmental stages of art to children. A holistic view of the learner allows us to pinpoint strengths and areas of growth within the child, and deal with them (when possible!) on a child-by-child basis as well as tailor class instruction to the needs of the learners. It also allows us to highlight where potential "roadblocks" might occur, and what the causes of them might be.