Critical thinking
and creative problem solving skills are developed in the art room when students
create artwork. Art projects introduce students to new materials and require them
to make decisions when progressing through different steps. Experimentation and
flexibility are often required and students are pushed to discover what techniques
will be the most successful.
Creating the
illusion of realism and perspective also requires a great deal of attention and
problem solving. Gaining the ability to carefully observe where a light source
originates, the shadows it creates, and how to render that information with
different media also requires critical thinking and creative problem solving
skills.
Students are also making
decisions regarding what they think and how they feel about different visual
imagery. They encounter ideas portrayed from multiple perspectives and are
encouraged to be reflective and understand artwork deeply. Students learn to
recognize and express the emotions of others, developing empathy and compassion
and understanding how context impacts artwork.
Decision making is the direct result of problem solving and providing your students with the nurturing support and positive learning environment to explore different avenues and achieve success will go a long way in engaging students in critical thinking. Realism is definitely one of those subjects in art education that provides many opportunities for problem solving, as well as many opportunities for you as a teacher to help students work through issues and hone their critical thinking skills. It sounds like you are providing students with lots opportunities to experiment and explore!
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