Me: How do you feel about doing some art projects this semester?

Student 1: Its fun doing art- you know, but I cant draw. Its frustrating when we have to draw faces, and people and stuff cause it doesnt come out the way I want it to. I suck at drawing. And, like when I work hard it still makes me feel like I cant do it. I just want it to look real. Me: Are you excited about taking art this semester? Student 2: Yes! I think it is going to be fun, but I am not good. Me: What do you mean youre not good, can you explain? Student 2: I am in 8th grade and my art looks like my little brothers who is in kindergarten. Not on purpose.

Me: Wow, you have a unique style that I find so interesting and awesome! Student 3: That style is called I Cant Draw. Me: Sure doesnt look that way to me.

My ears have been filled with these heartfelt comments every year, time and time again. I spend my whole semester trying to break down students preconceived notions that they are not artists or cant draw. I can imagine it being very difficult and perhaps painful to start an art piece already doubting yourself and your abilities. This is a debilitating and discouraging thing to feel, especially when participating in an art class that requires several large, publically exhibited art products. I never want my students to feel like this. I never want my students to fear creating an art piece. Comments like the ones above have shown me that students need to feel successful when creating an art project in order for their confidence as artists to increase. They need to feel that their artistic abilities can grow, and that they will not stay stagnant. I would like to know how these negative pre-conceived notions came about in students minds. Students come to class wanting to be great. They want to excel. I need to help that happen. By the end of this research, I hope to hear things like: Me: How do you feel about creating art and being an artist? Me (Pretending to be a student): I can do it! I am a capable artist who can figure out anything and create anything I want so long as I work hard and practice. And, this even applies to other subjects in my life. This is where I need to push my students thinking. I need to expand their minds, and help them learn that they are capable of anything. They can create amazing art, and they have what it takes within them already so long as they believe that they can do it. To get here, we must first explore the common assumptions students (and adults) make about themselves and about art. Based on conversations with students, there seem to be two main reasons that they doubt themselves and their artistic abilities: 1. Some students have assumptions about what making art really entails, and what being an artist means. 2. Some students did not have much success in the art processes and products they have created in the past, thus cementing many of their views about their capabilities as artists. The first source of doubt emerges from a belief that artists are born. You either have it, or you dont. You become an artist over night, not through hard work. In David Bayles and Ted Orlands Art and Fear they comment how there seems to be this conventional wisdom that while craft can be taught, art remains a magical gift bestowed only by the gods (1993, p. 3). Anna Held Audette, an accomplished artist and author of The Blank Canvas: Inviting the Muse debunks this ideas and writes: 1

Artists also and this may surprise you dont depend on talent, a capricious gift bestowed in unequal measure that will fail to stand up if not carefully cultivated through work. Of the two abilities, talent and the will to work, it is the latter that plays the more important role in an artists development (1993, p.42). I find this interesting. I believe that some individuals possess natural abilities that let some things come easier for them than for others, but without practice and hard work nothing great will come of it. You cannot possibly expect to stand in front of a cement block and karate-chop the block in half without practice, knowledge and god knows what else it takes to do this daring feat. It seems that most students understand that to be able to read, write and do arithmetic they have to practice and work hard over the course of several years why is art any different? Where did this idea develop that art is a talent that you either have or dont, and why is it so ingrained into our culture? What does it really take to get good at something? And what frame of mind supports the idea that we are capable of growing our abilities and ourselves?

Deliberate Practice & Mindset: Artists are made, not born.

A work of art is the trace of a magnificent struggle. Robert Henri

To get good at something, you need to practice. We hear this time and time again in our lives, and as teachers we need students to truly understand what this saying means, and how it applies to anything they may want to master in their lifetime. I believe that some students have a battle going on in their minds about the effects of talent vs. practice and effort. I wonder (and fear) if my students believe that if they do not have talent in art, does it mean they will not practice to get better? Mindset and Talent Bayles and Orland define talent as what comes easily (1993, p.26) for some and not others. I see by student comments and their actions in the studio that this talent belief affects their perception of practice. In the art class I see how the belief that if you are talented you do not need practice, because you already have 2

mastered it with ease. If you have to practice hard, then it shows that you will not be good at it, ever. For example, I have a student named Jean who is an advanced artist; some say she is the best artist in the school. When she is assigned a drawing project, her work displays great knowledge of artistic techniques and skills. The class will comment on her amazing work, and some students become attached to the idea that She can do it, I cant. No one sees her practice drawing outside of art class, thus creating this illusion that her ability is a gift. Little do they know that she has practiced rigorously, on a daily basis, for her whole life. Students see the ease of her ability, not the struggle. Carol Dweck would say that Jean has a growth mindset, while the students who think her work is great because of her talent alone have a fixed mindset. Dweck describes a fixed mindset as believing your qualities are carved in stone (2006, p.7). A fixed mindset person thinks, If at first you dont succeed, you probably dont have the ability (2006, .9-10). Dweck explains that people with fixed mindsets believe Effort is for those who dont have the ability. People with a fixed mindset tell us If you have to work at something, you must not be good at itThings come easily to people who are true geniuses (2006, p.40). On the other hand you have a growth mindset person who believes that they, and their abilities, can grow and that nothing is set it stone. A growth mindset person is someone who believes that they can do anything and improve on anything so long as they practice. They feel that failures are just stepping-stones to improvement, and that failures are not a sure sign that you will forever be doomed to suck at that particular skill. When students believe that artists are born, and that talent reigns over hard work and practice, some assume that their talent alone should help their art look like a professional artists who has worked hard over years and years when they have just started as artists. I call this the Art Illusion. This illusion is where students see the outcome of hard work, but not the hard work itself when it comes to making art. We glorify final art pieces, and beautiful products, but rarely do we praise the artists dedication, hard work, and the effort they put into the final piece. I see handfuls of students who want to compare themselves to professional artists or the art teacher or even one other. They expect to have the most refined, polished artwork overnight, without the experience and craftsmanship built over years of continuous practice. And, if they cant produce such work as quickly as they expect, they think of it as a failure or believe that they do not have the ability to attain this goal. The fixed mindset conquers. In essence, some fixed mindset thinkers think art comes naturally without practice or knowledge. Carol Dweck clearly sees this too as she explains how people believe artistic ability is a gift: You can develop verbal skills or mathematical scientific skills or logical thinking skills, and so on. But when it comes to artistic capability, it seems more like a God-given gift. For example, people seem to naturally draw well or poorly (2006, p.67). To draw a realistic human face, an artist must have: Knowledge of human proportions An ability to draw symmetrically The ability to use value to portray depth The knowledge of the medium one is using to create the image The ability to manipulate all of these techniques and skills to create a complex two-dimensional illusion of a three dimensional object

As you can see, there are many steps to be aware of. Furthermore, even though an artist may understand these essentials they would need to be well practiced in how to do these things effectively in order to create an aesthetically pleasing image. For example, to add value (the difference between light and dark such as highlights and shadows) one would need to practice how to do the shading smoothly. This takes much practice to get a realistic difference in light over a surface. Yet many students come into the class with the idea that someone who is good at art would be able to soar over the steps and just know how to draw. In essence, some think art comes naturally without practice or knowledge like breathing or blinking. As an art instructor I need to show students how art develops over time, and that most works of art require labor and multiple steps to develop a final piece. I need to help shift fixed mindsets into growth mindsets where students are ready to take on risks, confront the challenges, and keep working at them 3

(Dweck 2006, p.9). I would like to show my students how having a growth mindset could help them understand that they are capable of anything, so long as they understand the value of practice, and the idea that they can grow their abilities. I would like to create art projects where they begin to understand what it takes to be an artist, and to experience what it takes to master something, and be proud of it. I want to design art projects that help foster the idea that all students can grow as artists. The Power of Deliberate Practice and its Competition with Talent Artists also and this may surprise you- dont depend on talent, a capricious gift bestowed in unequal measure that will fail to stand up if not carefully cultivated through work. Of the two abilities, talent and the will to work, it is the latter that plays the more important role in the artists development. -Anna Held Audette The Blank Canvas

I have witnessed many students give-up on projects, or not even want to start because they feel they have already tried it before and sucked at it. In my mind, these students are confusing trying with practice. Trying is like sampling something to see if you like it. Trying is going to Baskin Robins and asking to sample Cotton Candy Explosion to see if you are willing to cough up $4.00 and commit your taste buds to this particular flavor. Practice is dedication to get good at something. Practice is a focus at something you are doing, and doing it repeatedly, sometimes leading to exhaustion. Practice is a deliberate push for growth and enhancement. Journalist and educator, Kathleen Cushman in Fires of the Mind explains how deliberate practice is practice that gets the desired result of increasing mastery (2010, p. 71). Cushman explains what deliberate practice looks like: their [students] learning tasks were set at a challenge level just right for them. They repeat a task in a focused, attentive way, at intervals that helped them recall its key elements. All along they received and adjusted to feedback, correcting their mistakes and savoring small success (2012, p.6). Deliberate practice is practice with a focused mind on growing skill and mastery. It is not about doing something over and over again while youre checked out, or multitasking. This type of practice is what gives us results; this is the type of practice that allows us to grow. To understand this idea of deliberate practice, I have my students do leg squats. I point out how their leg muscles are shaking after about the tenth to fifteenth squat. I explain just like in reading, mathematics or sports it takes continuous practice to be good at something. I show how when the muscles are not used to something, when the muscles are not practiced, they are weak. The movements are clunky and shaky. But with practice, they get stronger and perform much more smoothly. The same goes for the muscles in our brain and the muscles in our hand. Nothing happens overnight. I have them look at their drawings, focus on the shaky lines, and as a class we connect the shaky lines on the paper to the shaky muscles in our legs when doing leg squats. It takes practice to train the fine-motor skills in our hands. It takes practice to hold a pencil and draw with complete control. Daniel Coyle explains this physical muscle training phenomena beautifully in his book The Talent Code (2009). He describes how he believes he cracked the talent code, in a deeper physical sense. Here, he explains that talent really is created from practice: Every human skill, whether its playing baseball or playing Bach, is created by chains of nerve fibers carrying tiny electrical impulse basically a signal traveling through a circuit. Myelins vital role is to wrap those nerve fibers the same way that rubber insulation wraps a copper wire, making the signal stronger and fasterWhen we practice swinging that bat or playing that note, our myelin responds by 4

wrapping layers of insulation around that neural circuit, each new layer adding a bit more skill and speed. The thicker the myelin gets, the better it insulates, and the faster and more accurate our movements and thoughts becomeEveryone can grow it... Its indiscriminate: its growth enables all manner of skills, mental, physical. Skill is a cellular insulation that wraps neural circuits and that grows in response to certain signals. (2009, p.5-6) That is a bit more scientific than I go into when I have my students do the leg squats. But, basically I want students and people to understand that art is a skill. It is a matter of training your mind and your body. You are building muscle training your mind, and building myelin sheathes around the neurons in your brain, like in Coyles explanation. You are trying to get the muscles in your hand to manipulate the tool you are holding to create the vision in your head smoothly. Youre trying to get the curve of the chin to be a smooth arc and not a jagged bumpy line. Everyone can train in the arts. I suppose we can think of practice as a way to build up myelin in order for our movements and thoughts to be faster and more accurate. What is key here is the way you train, the way you practice. This is why deliberate practice is crucial to developing and growing into a stronger master. In Geoff Colvins Talent is Overrated he explains how deliberate practice is activity designed specifically to improve performance (2010, p.66) and for starters, it isnt what most of us do when were practicing (2010, p. 65). The practice we do must be specific to the intended performance, a specific activity to refine or enhance a specific activity. It is activity designed specifically to improve performance, often with a teachers help; it can be repeated a lot; feedback on results is continuously available; its highly demanding mentally, whether the activity is purely intellectual, such as chess or business-related activities, or heavily physical, such as sports; and isnt much fun (2010, p.66). Lets look at an example of deliberate practice from the art studio. Imagine a student who wants to create more realistic three-dimensional drawings. To make this improvement, they must begin by practicing value (the art element defined in art as the difference between light and dark) and shading, creating a 7 point grey scale with a pencil. Next, they would push themselves to learn a gradated grey scale with smaller differences between shades. In order to achieve smooth shading without showing a separate line of transition between each grey tone, a student would have to tighten or loosen the muscles in their hands in a controlled manner, manipulating the pencil as they create very deliberate shades of grey. The student will practice shading smoothly and focus on their control of the pencil, changing the amount of pressure from light to hard. This is a very specific activity for a very specific result. The activity is manipulating the muscles in your hand in order to control the pressure on the pencil when shading. The result is smooth transitions and gradations, which help make the drawn object look more realistic and three-dimensional. I feel that in the past I have created projects that require practice with a purpose to improve skill, especially when we allot time to experiment, when we share feedback and repeat techniques. But, how do I have students engage in deliberate practice? Students do not go home and practice art every day. Most go home and practice sports, math or reading. Over the course of an average students lifetime, they have practiced for years to do other school subjects, but rarely do I have a student who spent years practicing art. Yet, here they are in my class for a semester and most expect to create work like a master who has practiced for years. Both Cushman and Colvin share similar viewpoints on what deliberate practice is. In a nutshell for me deliberate practice is deliberate purposeful repetition, something with your heart, body and mind on full force and focus. I remember when I practiced clay molding in a sculpture class. Though I sat at the potters wheel for hours a day I was not getting better. I sat there smashing the clay, poking it, and basically only halfheartedly attempting to mold a simple vase. Whereas in my mind I was practicing, since I was sitting there for hours doing the same stuff everyday I was not practicing deliberately. I wasnt getting any better, and I wasnt going to get any better. Practice to me was spending hours doing the same thing. But, unlike when I practiced other things in my life I wasnt really there. My mind was daydreaming about surfing and hanging out with 5

friends; my body was tired in just following random movements of poking, squishing, slapping and pinching clay. And, my heart was not passionate about what I was doing, because I was frustrated and not determined. On the flip side I also had a drawing fundamentals class where charcoal was the medium and deliberate practice was the game. Here, the teacher structured the projects where I had to do deliberate practice for specific skills. We had to use powdered charcoal and lambskin chemises to add value to our images. Oh my god, I hated this so much. But, I wanted it so much too. Instead of just giving us the medium and having us practice playing with it in various ways, he had us do very specific practice where mind, body and heart had to be in focus and full force. Show me a sphere would be his greeting in the morning. No good mornings, no how are yous, no review of the agendas. Just show me a sphere. We would then have to lay down some charcoal dust and blend and move the dust around with our fingers and chemise. He would walk around and tsk at this and tsk at that. So annoying. But, every class he would give some feedback and ask us to watch each other. He would have us only darken and lighten the sphere. Just a round shape, over and over and over again. He would have us pay attention to our bodys position while working, he would tell us to look hard at what we were attempting, and he would say, you do this well, then you can make anything. Dont you want to make anything? In the end, I learned to watch out for my bodys position so that I didnt put added weight on my arm, thus on my hand, thus creating pressure on my fingers or the chemise. I learned to feel the movement of the sphere, and to focus on controlling the medium. The practice of redundant movements, and the intense focus of seeing the arcs in the sphere and the shades of dark and light, and the undeniable want to do this right made me understand. Ask me to show you a sphere, Ill show you a sphere. Heck, Ill show you even more. In my art class though, I struggle with how students can do deliberate practice the way I had done deliberate practice when learning art. Here I have combined Colvin and Cushmans explanation of deliberate practice to create a simple list outlining the must-have characteristics of a student assignment that promotes deliberate practice:
1. Set an appropriate challenge at a level the student can attain, but allows them to push for growth 2. Repeat tasks, and practice over and over again with this in mind: Be focused Be attentive 3. Feedback. Receiving feedback from teacher and classmates allows for adjustments of mistakes. 4. Acknowledge and appreciate successes.

Although when I think about the practice I have my students do, it looks like deliberate practice does take place. Think back to the value activity described earlier. That satisfies a number of the deliberate practice characteristics, especially when the students and I give each other feedback on how to improve. What I really like about this particular activity is that I have students do these things in their sketchbook. After a week of practicing, with some experiments, students have a timeline that shows their first attempt to their most recent. It clearly shows progress. And, when they feel frustrated that they are not getting any better, or are still far from what they would like I have them look back at their attempts. It is a visual showcase of their constant progress, which shows success in learning how to shade and add value properly. I see it makes them feel better when they can see how much improvement they have made. But, that is only if they did Deliberate Practice. There are some who just do the required task, the same way I attempted to practice my clay vase. Malcolm Gladwell, who is an advocate for understanding how success develops in people, explains that researchers believe it takes 10,000 hours of experience with an activity to be considered an expert within that field. In my head, I am thinking this is 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. Gladwell states: The idea that excellence at performing a complex task requires a critical minimum level of practice surfaces again and again in studies of expertise. In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise ten thousand hours (2008, p.40).

Well, darn. I highly doubt my students devote this amount of time to their art, but I do know that they have and will continue to clock in some serious practice hours in my class. I just wonder if sharing Gladwells idea about 10,000 hours to mastery would encourage students to practice more. Perhaps sharing his research and examples supporting this idea would get students to value practice and process, before wanting to jump to final products or end performances. This really makes me wonder how much practice can I expect my students to do? I wonder how much the idea of practice affects student performance. Will teaching students how to practice change student perceptions of themselves and their art. I think about how students can see their own progress, and how we should celebrate the small success. In theory, this may help students feel confident in art. Yet, I also believe peoples assumptions about talent are embedded so deeply that it affects their perceptions of how much practice and hard work can make one drastically improve and grow. Case in point: I had a student who had worked incredibly hard for a couple days (about 4 hours) on drawing the face of a comic superhero she created based on an element from the periodic table of elements. We were doing an integrated project with science, humanities and art where students were to create an Elemental Superhero (a superhero that has the power to manipulate one of the elements on the periodic table of elements). Previous weeks she had learned from art class the rules of drawing the human face and body, we talked about using references to help guide drawings; we discussed sketching basics, and how to use mistakes on the paper as guidelines for more accurate lines. We talked about being accepting of each other and our own work, since we were learning new and difficult things we had to understand that our work would develop over time with practice and multiple drafts. This student was actually an advocate for everyone to not compare their work to the professional comic artists we were looking at for samples, and to celebrate the amazing growth and development of our own art. We were still in the stage of practice and preliminary drafts of the faces, since the students found faces to be the most important and difficult thing of their comics. After week 3 of practicing what we have learned (how to draw the human face), she gave up. This looks terrible. I cannot draw. I tried, but I am not a good artist she explained. This comment has been ingrained into my memory, because this is not the first time I heard this from students. I saw her red face, and my eyes watered up. I explained that she had worked on these new drawing techniques for only a couple weeks, was working on her first drafts, and that it was understandable that she would feel frustrated. I reassured her that it is normal and natural for the drawing to not look perfect after only a few tries, and that we should look at the vast improvements instead. She cut me off and commented how she tried, she couldnt do it, how she is not an artist and how she never was and never will be. This student did continue to work hard on her project, but everyday she made the same statements and I saw her confidence drop even though she continued to practice and her comic character began to look increasingly better. She did not see the fact that her character improved dramatically, and that her practice illustrated great improvement in her skills. She only saw failure, and that she wasnt an artist. I continued to be very close with this student, and I later pushed her to share more insight on her belief of practice and skills. She expressed that she was never good at art, and that practice wasnt going to get her anywhere even though she tried. I asked her about math and reading and practice. I wrote down her comment, and kept the paper in my pencil box: Art is different. I dont have the talent. Practice or not, I cant do it. Ouch. Is this students fixed mindset holding her back, preventing her from even engaging in deliberate practice? Is her fixed mindset enabling her to see her progress from each draft she made? What can I do to help students understand artists are made, not born?

Building Success & Confidence Tackling past failures

Some students feel they did not have much success with the art processes and products they have created in the past. Developing this sense of failure, either by not meeting their own or someone elses expectations has affected how they see themselves now in the present as artists. A student comment from Cushmans Fire in the Mind explains, when people are only faced with failures, they tend to want to give up. They need to see their own progress, so that they dont only see how bad they are doing. They need to see the fun in it, and to see 7

some reward in completing the task (2010, p.5). Overcoming this sense of failure is what I feel my art class could do for them, especially by providing them experiences where they see and feel success with art. I feel that throughout the art process students can accomplish steps where they feel successful, thus encouraging them to celebrate the process, and not just judge the final product. I feel that building success in the art studio will help grow confidence as well. But, I still wonder if, and how much, a fixed mindset would affect a student seeing the progress and feeling the success. I define confidence as a feeling and belief in yourself that you are capable of doing, creating, and/or achieving what you would like to do. It is believing that you have what it takes to accomplish what you need to accomplish. Having confidence in yourself can allow you to have the courage to do things that make you feel uncomfortable, and to persevere when times get tough. I see confidence as courage. Students need confidence to start things, and to finish things. It would be very discouraging to start an eight-week art project without confidence that you can do it, and do it well. It takes confidence in ones self to tackle an art project, or any other project, for that matter. The artist and art teacher Robert Henri stated the work of the art student is no light matter. Few have the courage and stamina to see it through (1923, p.12). Creating something from nothing requires confidence that you can do what you wish to do, and that you can trust your abilities and intelligence to take you where you need to go. Tackling this fear of the blank canvas by putting blood, sweat and tears into your work can leave artists with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Ron Berger, an amazing teacher and phenomenal speaker has stated in Ethic of Excellence If youre going to do something, I believe, you should do it well. You should sweat over it and make sure its strong and accurate and beautiful and you should be proud of it (2003, p.1). As an art teacher I feel that projects should be created to allow students to do what Ron Berger states above. I also feel that a good project would allow students to tackle challenges and obstacles as professional artists do, and allow them to gain confidence in themselves and their capabilities. At the end of the school year I send home all the artwork the students have created. I take down displays and let the students do what they wish with their artwork. This is a time when I see if students care about their work, if they respect the work they created, and if they see the value of their hard work in what they create. If a student wants to keep their artwork, either to take it home or give away to someone special I can see the pride the student has in the work they created. If it goes in the trash I wonder why. Where did I fail, and where did my projects fail the student? Often I see a great piece of artwork that I am proud to show off for my student, and yet the student is embarrassed and ashamed. When I ask why they feel this way, they explain that the work isnt good enough, and everyone elses is better. This should not be happening. Helping students move away from the past failures by seeing the progress, improvements and successes in the present is where I feel my responsibility lies as an art teacher. What I ask my students to do should be challenging for each student, but attainable with effort and practice. It is the struggle and accomplishment of the struggle that builds pride and confidence. With each assignment and task I need students to look back at their progress, and to take time to see the improvements and development of their ideas and skills. When my students learn to shade, push their ideas, refine their work and so on, I take time in class to celebrate the ever evolving and growing art process. Whether I say a comment here and there, have a whole class discussion or have students celebrate each others accomplishments, these things need to happen in an art studio. I am also very passionate about not only me pointing out success to a student, but having students celebrate their successes with other students. Students, especially middle school students, take great pride when a fellow student acknowledges the hard work they do. Id like to share this example of celebrating process and progress. I vividly remember a time when I felt a student was really proud of themselves, and acknowledged their hard work. We were working on a perspective-drawing project where students were asked to design a cityscape, which would connect to other students cityscapes. This particular student, Karl, had learned how to draw in one-point, two-point and threepoint perspective. When I teach perspective drawing, I have students write numbers on the bottom of their papers. Every single drawing they do must have a number, and be placed in numerical order in a folder/portfolio I keep in the classroom. Karls number one attempt was drawing a house in one-point perspective before he learned anything at all about perspective drawing. Number ten was a house with neighboring houses, light posts, mailboxes, and trees in one point perspective. By page twenty, he has two-point perspective buildings 8

down. By page forty, he has three-point perspective cities. Any time Karl got frustrated, or vented, I cant do this. This is horrible, or tried to sneak a draft into the trashcan I would catch him, or another student would catch him. Check out the folder is what we would say. Karl would then walk over to the folder sighing and flip through the pages. Then he would comeback to his seat, and start working. Can you do this? Id ask. Yeah Karl would reply. What changed your mind? Id say smiling. Cause my work looked horrible in the first few pages, and in comparison Im really actually good now. It looks like I know what I am doing. Karl would say while laughing. Depending on his mood, I would either keep asking him questions, or leave it at that last comment. By the end of the project Karl and all the other students where asked to look carefully at each page. Students were asked to look for signs of strengthening skills or other signs of improvements, and to think about the amount of effort and hard work it took to improve each page after each page. After the project was completed, I remember Karls enthusiasm about ways to display the final product. He commented how he thought the final piece should only go up if everyone could put his or her first drafts next to the final. I want people to see my hard work and how I got better. Our class later that week, after the final display was up celebrated the process and progress of improvement by laying out everyones pages. I think the students were more excited about seeing everyones drafts than they were about the final project. Actually, thinking back on that day students seemed really proud of the growth they made through this project, and not just happy with a pretty final product. In order to boost students confidence and ensure they feel pride in the work they create, teachers need to plan for success, in both the process and the product. When planning art projects, the materials we choose, the steps we create and the products we design can help students succeed. We want students to love to learn and love to do art. Give them the techniques, skills and confidence and they will take it where they need to go. How can I plan to make sure all students feel, and are, successful in my art class, while forgetting the past failures? Well, for starters: 1. Plan a challenging project that pushes students art skills (both technically and mentally). 2. Keep documentation of progress in a portfolio or sketchbook for each student. Documentation of progress can be drafts, sketches, practice sheets, etc. (Nothing should get thrown away.) 3. Have students look at their own, and each others, progress by reviewing portfolio components. 4. Emphasize the growth of skills, and improvement of techniques. 5. Celebrate the process, not just the final product. This can be done by emphasizing and valuing the hard work, the effort and the practice put into the drafts. Thinking about Karl and the cityscape project, you can see how he was able to see and celebrate his success growing and learning as an artist. What I didnt share earlier is that Karl really hated art. Before he came to our school, art was something that showed him something at which he was no good. By showing his progress and having him visually see his vast improvements he developed more confidence in himself. He felt pride and success. In the context of this action research, I define success as how students feel about the art process, and how they feel about the final results. Success for a student is when they have accomplished goals, have put in effort and dedication into their work, and when they take pride in a job well done. In a nutshell, if a student feels that they have overcome challenges, and are proud of the final outcome of their work and performance then they feel successful. If they do not learn from mistakes, move on from challenges and frustration occurs at the level where students give up (this could be in the form of quitting or not caring and still working without effort) then success would not be accomplished. 9

Having students feel successful when making art, and finish the art piece is an essential component of project-based learning because the success develops strong confident students. If you think about it, as beginners you can only fail so many times before you doubt yourself as a capable artist. I acknowledge that in art many challenges and difficulties occur, and it is part of the creative process to solve dilemmas throughout the project design, but we as teachers need to make sure students can overcome these steps with dedication, focus and hard work, and help students accomplish what they need to do. Having challenges, making mistakes, exploring and experimenting, and problem-solving are crucial to learning, but taking all that one learns through these events and moving on is important. Moving on with better knowledge and more experience from these challenges builds confidence in students.

The Overall Plan: How to Cultivate Confident & Successful Artists

This semester in our schools art studio, my students will learn and understand what a growth mindset is. Hopefully, the will also find the value it can have in boosting their confidence and securing a positive experience and relationship with the arts (as well as other aspects in their lives). Together the class will support each others growth mindsets and help elevate each others confidence and success. Id like for my students to see how a fixed mindset person finds the need to always prove themselves, thus making challenges and mistakes a damaging affect to their self worth and image. This type of mindset sees ability as set. This is the student who says I am not capable based on previous experiences and attempts at art. A growth mindset individual, however, is going to understand that, with practice, they can and will improve. This mindset will prove to be more nurturing and powerful for handling setbacks and difficulties. This is the student who says I am capable because I practiced. To accomplish this I have laid out the following topics that I will cover over the course of the semester: 1. Students will identify with a mindset (growth or fixed) 2. We will all use proper praise and language (that which supports a growth mindset) 3. We will learn about deliberate practice (practice with a purpose) and do it 4. Students will participate in multiple feedback and critique sessions (pushing for improvement) 5. We will emphasize process over product celebrate the process of learning and growing This list is the main topic list I will refer to throughout the semester. These main categories are what I hope will help cultivate a growth mindset in my art studio, thus connecting to my main goal confident and successful artists! 1. Identifying with a Mindset (Growth or Fixed) The first aspect of establishing and cultivating a growth mindset in the art studio is to have students identify their mindset. In order to do this students should first start by thinking about their basic relationship with art: do they see themselves as artist? How do they feel about their art? How do they feel when making art? Do they feel that the art class will help them get better? etc. By thinking about these types of questions, students can begin to make statements about how they feel, thus revealing an insight into how they think. For example, here are some statements students have said about themselves and their relationship with art in the past: I dont think that I am a good artist because I am not good at getting my ideas down on paper, and making it look good. I believe I can become a good artist because I have the mentality that I can do whatever I want. 10

No, I am not an artist. Im terrible at making things look good or neat. I dont think I can be a good artist because Im not focused or neat enough to put my ideas into a drawing. It comes out ugly, jumbled and not at all like what I was envisioning. I think everyone is or has the potential to be a good artist, even if some are better then others. If I tried I know I could be one (a good artist). I do not think Im an artist because I dont think Im very good. I probably could be a good artist if I get help a lot. I never felt like I was an artist because I didnt think I was good enough to be considered a real artist. I am very creative and stick with want I like. I actually think I can be a good artist if I try hard enough and do my best. I think I am good at art because I do whats on my mind and it is usually creative. I think I am a decent artist who is continuing to learn. I could be a better artist if I practiced more, but right now I am not the best. I am still trying. Yes, I think Im a pretty good artist. I think Im pretty good because I a very creative person and I express myself well through art. I think I am a good artist because I make things vibrant and I spend time working on my art until I think it is good enough. No, I am not an artist and my artwork is bad. I just cant do it even if I try hard. I am not an artist because I never think like an artist or do good art. The skills and creativity it takes to be good not me! By having students answer questions that refer to their relationship and thoughts about their artwork, they can create statements that show whether they believe they can grow in their abilities, or not. Once they have done this, I would like for them to read an article by Carol Dweck that explains what the mindsets are and how each mindset affects a persons point of view towards themselves and life. This will be followed by a short quiz created by Dweck that generally shows the mindset of each student. From the statements, to the article, to the quiz, students will get a good insight on why a growth mindset will benefit them in this art class. I would like to talk with my students as a whole class to discuss how we are feeling about art, and how a growth mindset can encourage confidence and the feeling of success. 2. Proper Praise and Language Matters Praise It is important as a teacher to give praise to students. Praise is what makes us feel good inside, and often times can elevate confidence and courage to continue through the challenges and tough times. Praise can make or break a students motivation. A simple impressive work comment is like a little shot of coffee to a students confidence level. But, a Wow, I am very inspired by your focus and hard work when working through this challenging photography piece. Your determination is on fire! is more like praise that serves a growth mindset. This praise is more like a balanced nutritious meal then a shot of coffee. It nourishes long-term confidence in a students ability to overcome obstacles through perseverance. What you say, especially with the power of the art teacher (who some students see as the master of all things art related) can greatly affect how a student thinks and feels. To push the praise we give to the next level, to the growth mindset level, we need to think about not just giving praise but think about the type of praise we give our students. Different types of praise, the different ways we say things can either secure a fixed mindset, or help establish and secure a growth mindset. Here Carol Dweck explains the danger of particular praise: 11

People with a fixed mindset already focus too much on their ability: Is it high enough? Will it look good? Wouldnt praising peoples ability focus them more on it even more? Wouldnt it be telling them that thats what we value and, even worse, that we can read their deep, underlying ability from their performance? Isnt that teaching a fixed mindset? (2006, p.71) For example here is some praise I used to say (I am so embarrassed to share this) as an art teacher that taught students to have a fixed mindset: Cool, youre really great at this! Wow, you did that? Just now? It looks great! Thats your first try? Hey, thats already awesome! Do you see how the praise above focused more on the students ability? They dont mention anything about hard work, effort, or practice. Sure, they will make a student feel a bit better, a little shot of coffee to energize the confidence. That type of praise, however, the type that focuses on the end result, the final product and/or the students ability instead of the determination, perseverance and practice that would be cultivating a fixed mindset. With that in mind, I will spend the semester concentrating on giving more growth mindset-like praise such as: This is great, because it shows how hard you worked and how you stuck through the challenges of these complicated techniques. This project required students to persevere and think about creative was of solving tricky problems. Your multiple drafts and ability to learn from your mistakes have allowed you to create a powerful piece of artwork. This must have taken a lot of time because of the complexity. Im so proud of the dedication you have when working. With whatever praise I give I would like to focus on praising the hard work and the process of learning and growing. As Dweck remarks We can praise them as much as we want for the growth-oriented processwhat they accomplished through practice, study, persistence, and good strategies. And we can ask them about their work in a way that admires and appreciates their efforts and choices (2006, p.172). The Can-Do Attitude (Can versus Cant) Which is a growth mindset statement: I cant do art or I cant do this art technique, but I will be able to once I practice? I want to catch those cant and turn them into statements that are more growth mindset. I would like to think that I can have my students stop saying cant and start saying can, but knowing many of my students and myself, I understand that sometimes we do feel that we cant do something. But, here is the difference: if I say a statement like I cant and leave it at that, then that is a fixed mindset. Whereas, if I understand that I feel that I cant at the present, but can in the future with practice I cant do this right now, but if I practice more I can that is more growth mindset. A growth mindset, in other words, is a can-do attitude. I know that as a teacher, I could try to catch a student and change the cant to can like in this scenario: Casey blurts out I cant do this! Argh! Teacher replies Dont say cant. You can. 12

I feel that this does not value the possible frustration, or just the feeling that they cant. I know that at times I feel and know that I cant do something, but the catch is that I know I can in the future if I practiced hard. I want to honor my students feelings by not saying Dont say cant. You can. Id rather say something like I understand you feel that you cant right now. But, I know that you can with more practice and hard work. You got this! With that quote you can see I valued the frustration and general feeling of cant I know we all feel this at times but still retained a sense of hope for future success. It always bothered me when my teachers said Dont say cant. You can. Kinda cheesy saying, to be honest, and I know when I have said this to middle school students some tend to roll their eyes. I find that my students appreciate when I do not down play their feelings, but value and understand them then give them words of encouragement. Something like: I can see that you are having a difficult time. I feel that way too when I do art sometimes. But, I can assure you, with practice you are going to soar.

3. Deliberate Practice (Practice with a Purpose) In order for a large art project to be done in an art class at a project-based school there needs to be practice. I would never ask students to do a final art project without allowing them to practice newly learned skills, explore mediums and techniques and pushing their ideas. I dont want a final product if the process meant nothing to my students. I feel that they are there to learn, not make pretty art for the sake of decorating. I want their art to show hard work and learning. And, to show that they need practice, deliberate practice, in order to improve. Ron Berger, in his section about multiple drafts in An Ethic of Excellence shared an experience where process and practice was not happening: When I was a student in public school I turned in final-draft work every hour, every day. Work was generally done in one draft, and we kept cranking it out and passing it in. Even if we cared about quality there wasnt much we could do: we needed to get things done and passed in. (2006, p.87) When I think about Bergers experience, I wonder where was the practice? How could the process be valued and the learning and growing appreciated if students always jumped to the final product? Doesnt this rely on ability and not process? This must also put great pressure on students to do things great the first time, even if it is their very first time. That is scary. With every project I assign there will be multiple drafts and exploration that will need to be done. There will need to be practice in order for my students to see that hard work and diligence will improve their art skills. I plan to have students do multiple drafts of their drawing, followed by critique sessions where they can get feedback from each other in order to push their work to the next level. With the practice I have students do I will use the characteristics of deliberate practice list (listed previously) I created based of Colvin and Cushmans ideas of deliberate practice. 4. Feedback and Critique Sessions (Pushing for Improvement) Asking for feedback, and being open to critique are brave and valuable ways to improve and grow as a person. Seeking these things out, and accepting the constructive criticism is a way of saying Im learning, help me. I will be following Ron Bergers three rules to critique: Be Kind. Be Specific. Be helpful. (2003, p.93). These rules provide the basis for creating a safe environment where people are free to give and accept feedback without feeling hurt or shy, to be clear and specific when giving advice, and to give helpful, constructive feedback that helps the person work. Berger states that he uses critique as a primary context for sharing knowledge and skills with the group (2003, p.92). I also see critique and feedback sessions as a way for students to share their knowledge and skills. This is a great time for students to see each others growth and the 13

things that they have learned. I also notice that this is when students share what they have learned in the class, thus showing students that growth and learning in the arts is possible. Id like to share a story of what happened during one of my critique sessions: Angela never liked my class because she felt it made everyone aware that she did not have any art talent. My class was a reminder of what she felt she did not have, which was art talent. During a critique session, I remember many students saying amazing things like: You need to make the eyes symmetrical. I had a hard time doing this, but I figured out a trick, let me show you how. You should make the lips look round. I practiced how to shade things this week to make them look round. I couldnt do that either, but I practiced with Lisa, and we got better, come sit with us. With comments like that, I could clearly hear how people were learning and growing, and wanting to help others. They wanted to share their newly developed skills. I remember Angela getting lots of feedback and not utilizing the new suggestions. I had asked her why and she replied, I dont care about feedback. Whats the point if I cant do any of it? I remember that response like it was yesterday. I told her to think about the comments people gave and to notice if people where learning and growing as artists. Do you think people are getting better? Do you think people are practicing to get better? Do you think some peoples third draft is better then their first? I asked her. My point was to get her to see that others were improving, as could she. I then had her talk with a student who felt that they got better, especially by using the feedback from our critique sessions. Eventually, Angela pushed through and began to notice that she could learn and push her skills, especially if she got tips and suggestions from her peers. With this experience in mind, I will be having critique sessions where students can give feedback throughout the duration of each project. Some will be more formal where the whole class can respond to others, and some sessions will be more causal where partners can link up and give feedback. Either way this will happen for each project at least once. 5. Process over Product Celebrate the Process of Learning and Growing Earlier I had talked about Karl who had done a perspective cityscape project. I explained that I kept the portfolios of every single page that illustrated the students learning and attempts at perspective drawing. This is a great example where the process was valued and treated with great respect. We did not just throw out the drafts and celebrate the final product. Students were able to go back to their past drafts and see the progress and growth they accomplished. This was a visual reminder that peoples abilities can grow. One of the projects we will be creating this semester is a linoleum block-printing project. This is a great project that shows students that first prints/attempts are far from the best. It is a process, and a long one at that. With block printing, it takes multiple tries (we call them test runs). Test runs are done to see how colors work, to test clarity, to figure out water to ink ratios for opaqueness and transparency as well as to see how the image transfers onto different textures of paper. It is very rare when the first test run print is the best. I think this is a great project because the process clearly shows improvement with each test run, and students will be able to make decisions and see how those decisions improve the print. I will have everyone keep all the prints, and put them in order. In the end I would like for students to look back and reflect on the process. With each project I assign for my students I would like the process to be celebrated and for each student to be able to see and feel the growth they are having over the semester. *** There are several ways that teachers can cultivate a growth mindset in their classroom. I feel that the guidelines and checklist I have created will give me some structure to follow. I am eager to see what will work 14

best for my class and what needs to change. Overall, I truly feel that a growth mindset will help alleviate fears and anxiety in my classroom. Art class can be a scary thing for may students, and I would like them to see this class as a great place to freely express themselves and learn the wonders of art without any holdbacks.

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