SYNTHESIS AND CONCLUSION 1

Synthesis and Conclusion: Service Learning Portfolio

Angela Natrasevschi
Art 325
Professor Fahey
Spring 2016

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Introduction
Throughout Concepts in Art Education I was challenged to link theory to practice.
My learning was largely focused on understanding how artistic learning occurs in
children, adolescents, adults, and special populations. As well as, understanding concepts,
which have shaped past and present art education pedagogy. I developed these
understandings though readings, in-class discussions, essays and group projects.
Ultimately, these understandings informed and developed my teaching experiences in
service learning. During service learning each week I reflected on my students learning in
blog entries. Similarly, every week I reflected in journal entries that connected my
teaching experiences to the theoretical readings and class discussion.
Theory in Practice
Throughout my service learning there were several overarching themes that
emerged from my teaching experiences that related to the theoretical readings. The theory
that became the most evident in the practice of my teaching experiences was the
originator instinct, emergent curriculum, praxis, expeditionary learning, differentiation,
and student choice.
Originator Instinct
According to Marilyn Zurmeuhlen (1990), the originator instinct is essentially the
feeling of making something which did not exist before. The originator instinct had a
large presence in my teaching experiences. In the collaborative art making many of our
classes were centered around, the originator instinct really came alive. One student
demonstrated this by continually creating interactive pieces. The student tapped into this
originator instinct by creating interactive pieces that every one could experience. The

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student transformed the classroom a treasure map, through marking xs that made a
winding path to our collaborative treasure chest. The student enjoyed when other teachers
and students discovered the path to the treasure, the student had created an aspect of our
collaborative piece that did not exist before, the treasure chest now had a treasure map.
The originator instinct came alive in many of the students when they combined
different materials from the creation stations in ways they had never seen or done before.
One student exemplified this by combining 2d and 3d materials. The students used a wire
sculpture of a duck as a stencil for painting on burlap, and then integrated the painting of
the duck into a habitat created using other 3d materials. This student was very excited to
describe her process to other students and teachers, the student wanted to communicate
their experience of feeling the originator instinct (Zurmeuhlen, 1990). Many students
demonstrated experiencing the originator instinct during my teaching experiences, each
student accessed this feeling in their own way, but every time they did they became much
more involved and passionate in the art they were making (Zurmeuhlen, 1990).
Emergent Curriculum, Praxis and Expiditionary Learning
The Reggio Emilia approach to emergent curriculum discussed by Carter &Young
(1997) was another theory that became very evident in my teaching experiences during
service learning. The emergent curriculum is designed to let students play with
materials (Carter &Young, 1997). In the first lesson we allowed students to play and
experiment a variety of materials. Emergent curriculum interprets play by asking, how
can teachers give students opportunities to play more with the themes of these stories?
Teachers develop this inquiry through documentation (Carter &Young, 1997). In my
teaching experiences this work happened through documenting and tracking students

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process throughout class and week-by-week, and reflecting through blog and journal
entries. By observed and documenting students interests this informed the lessons that
we developed, we were motivated to encourage all students emerging themes of interest.
Encouraging all students happened through a theme of collaborative art making. We
showed documentation of process and projects of specific students and the collective
class work remind students of the connections they were making week to week.
The motivations of emergent curriculum, and expeditionary learning were also
reflected in my pedagogy during one on one interactions with students. During the vessel
and valuable objects lesson, one student expressed their interest in an animated character
to me. What emerged by the end of the lesson happened through the process of playing
the story out with the student (Carter &Young, 1997). According to Don Ihde as cited in
Zurmeuhlen (1990) art as praxis is expressed when action precedes conception. The
student expressed their interest in the animated character the student then demonstrated
praxis, through a rolling and unrolling of string around a plastic cup. The student
meditated on this action for several minutes before expressing that words went inside
of the cup. The cup became a vessel for words and the student and I began playing the
story of the animated character out through using the cup as a telephone game. To guide
this emerging theme, I took the student on a learning expedition to experience the can and
string telephone booth in the building attached to the art education studio. According to
Expeditionary Learning (2015) during learning expeditions students are active
investigators. The student demonstrated their active investigation in bringing the can
from their mouth to their ear, and developing conversations about the animated character
in their investigation. The praxis and learning expedition transferred into the creation of a

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cup and pipe cleaner telephone that the student used to play the story of the animated
character out through conversation with other teachers and students using the art object
the student created.
These examples are only some of many other art experiences from my service
learning where my understanding of theory influenced my pedagogy in planning lessons
and one on one interaction with students. These interactions emerged often in
multilayered ways where I had to practice guiding students using an amalgamation of my
understandings of theories.
Differentiation and Student-Choice
According to Heather Fountain (2014), when designing instruction for a
differentiated curriculum, one of the key questions to consider is how much control or
choices do students have in directing their own learning in your classroom? Giving
students options and choices was one of our main motivations in developing each art
experience. We wanted each student to make connections with the content though their
choice making. We encouraged this through the presence of idea bubbles in our class, by
having students come up with varying approaches to that weeks concept at the beginning
of each class, we encouraged independent investigation and demonstrated a few ways to
make sense of the content and apply it to a creation. We encouraged these variations of
themes by narrating student-specific choices throughout the class and adding them to our
idea bubble. One product strategy for a differentiated curriculum is learning
centers (Fountain 2014). In our classes we had creation stations that were organized by
designated materials that often related to specific artistic processes we were teaching in
that lesson. By documenting students interests and discoveries at the creation stations

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throughout the teaching experiences, our students showed us what they were the most
interested in, so we could to further differentiate the curriculums content and materials to
motivate engagement.
Conclusion
Ultimately, what I have learned throughout my experiences in Concepts of Art
Education will inform who I become as an art educator. The connections I have learned to
make from theory to practice will continue in my cognizance with planning and guiding
students learning. I would like to continue inspiring the originator in every student
through differentiated lessons that allow for student choice, empowerment, and
engagement. Service learning has been one of the most empowering and rewarding
teaching experiences of my education thus far. I am grateful for the art and connections I
had the privilege to develop with students throughout this course, and the indispensible
knowledge and practice I have realized.

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References
Carter, M., & Young, M. (Directors). (1997). Setting sail : An emergent curriculum
project [Motion picture]. United States: Harvest Resources.
El Education. (2015, August). Structure and Elements of a Learning Expedition [PDF].
EL Educaiton.
Fountain, H. L. (2014). Curriculum. In Differentiated instruction in art. (Worcester,
MA: Davis Publications), 116-128.
Zurmuehlen, M. (1990). Studio art: Praxis, symbol, presence. (Reston, VA: National Art
Education Association), 3-7.