Today was the announcement of the West Central Michigan Regional Scholastic Art and Writing winners. I have been fortunate to teach art for the past 9 years and have been participating in this competition for the last 6. Each year, I pour over student work and try to think like the jury will before selecting the best 20 to be judged in a variety of categories. 

This year, I was a little worried about how we would do. We received 19/20 last year and I thought there was little to no chance of topping it. And of course, I am probably the only one who even cares about doing that. For my students, they don't care about what the art program has done in the past (nor should they), they only care about what is happening now and what I am doing to help them learn, grow, and achieve. 

And although we did not get 19 awards like last year (I am not sure we will ever do that well again), I was more excited about what was earned than any previous year. It might be because we achieved the first American Vision Award for our middle school, or the fact that there were a couple students who won multiple awards, but I am probably most excited because the work that won was truly unique pieces created by my students and not handed down from me. 

In each case, the work is purely the point of view of the student who created it. I may have showed them a technique, or introduced an influencing artist or movement along the way, but ultimately the students are the ones making the choices for how and what they want to say with their work. This is what I have found the most exciting take away from this year's competition. 

I don't want to knock what other art teachers do (because I do this, too), but I hope to push myself beyond a one size fits all product at the end and allow more choice and student voice in the process. I am trying to do that more and more with each lesson and not to the expense of Art History or technique. 

Just see for yourself by checking out our 2013 winners below: 

How do you handle choice in your classroom? Do you participate in the Art and Writing Awards? Post any links to student winners or lessons that relate. 

If you follow my classroom blog, you would have seen that this past week we have been using MacBook Airs almost daily to help get ready for the 1:1 rollout next semester. I feel very fortunate to be one of the pilot teachers in my building with this equipment and have been experimenting with ways I can enhance what I have always done by blending in their use. 

I am a pretty big tech advocate and it has become a natural part of my curriculum. So, when it came time last week for me to present various printmaking artists and techniques to my students, I figured I would take the opportunity to blend in the use of technology for note taking as I lectured. In the past, I would have had students take notes on paper and then turn in a summary of what they learned. I would have ended up with piles of papers (some without names or incomplete) that I would rifle through to grade. 

Since I had access to computers, I decided to have kids take notes in Moodle, turning in their notes and summary digitally. When I had envisioned this, I planned for it to be very similar to the old process of note taking. Kids would write down segments of what I said as it related to the artist on the screen and blend it in with their opinion. And this did happen. But so did something unexpected, which completely blew my mind. 

As I was talking about artists, students were taking notes and then some started to do something more. Instead of being passive sponges for the information, students stepped out of that role and opened a new tab in their browser to do further inquiry on specific pieces of information they found to be particularly interesting. Before I knew it, kids were searching images for artists beyond the ones I had on the screen, wanting to know more about their cohorts and contemporaries as I brought them up (Shepard Fairey being a major one). 

When this happened, those students shared the information they found back with me and the class. They asked me more about what peaked their interest and contributed content. I no longer became the single point of information; students stepped into the role and started to fill information gaps that they wanted patched. 

I was really taken aback by this occurrence. It was not something I had envisioned within the realm of what I had planned. I am really excited about this development because it changes the way I have to present information. Instead of it being a static exchange from me to my students, it can develop into an organic growth of information that begins with me but ultimately is guided by the student. 

When we do this type of learning activity again, I will encourage this type of inquiry. I will also take the time to model the behavior so all students feel comfortable doing their own investigation beyond that is being covered by me. This experience of unplanned learning really flipped what is possible during a lecture and I look forward to sharing what happens when we do this again.

What are some instances of unplanned learning that you have encountered? How have you used those moments to transform the way you deliver content or plan learning activities? I am interested because I have an idea on how to move forward with experience, but know I can learn more from those of you who have transformed instruction due to moments like these. 

I took this picture almost a year and a half ago when I started my classroom blog. I love buying new art supplies (especially pastels) and breaking them into smaller pieces before making anything with them. I often encourage my students to break them, too - which they find shocking. I also like pouring watercolor paint on my paper before drawing and doing other things that mark up the page so it is not so perfect before I begin. There is something about a clean white sheet of paper, or perfectly shaped pastel that can be pretty intimidating...

Although I do not suggest breaking other materials in the classroom, sometimes things happen like shattered rulers, busted brushes, and half-chewed erasers. As an art teacher, I find all kinds of moments that include broken bits and pieces I have to fit together again. Sometimes it is materials, other times it might be a improperly handled  project, and a lot of times it is my budget. Regardless of what gets broken, it is about what is done when the breaking happens. Dwell over it, or learn from it? My hope is that this blogging experience will help me learn from those moments and break through to new experiences that will help me be a better teacher.