As the K-8 art teacher, there’s a lot of variation in my day. One class period I’m singing a song about how to make green, another I’m teaching 3-point perspective drawing. One thing that stays consistent throughout the day, however, is my philosophy that an artist is largely made in how they make their art, not just in the quality of what they are making. To support this mindset in my classroom, I use something called “The Studio Habits of Mind.”
The Studio Habits of Mind is a research-based framework that helps students navigate the many steps and routines of the creative process. The Studio Habits were developed through Harvard’s Project Zero in the early 2000’s. Lois Hetland and a team of researchers studied the habits of practicing artists and high school art students and identified eight Studio Habits which include: Develop Craft, Engage & Persist, Envision, Express, Observe, Reflect, Stretch & Explore and Understand the Art World. They found that these habits help artists improve their art skills, problem solve, and provide concrete language for the thinking process that happens during art making.
Something I love about the Studio Habits is how universal they are across grade levels and subjects. Kindergarten is currently learning to Understand the Art World by studying how artists show feelings in their artwork without using words. Middle schoolers are also deepening their understanding of the art world through looking at how Surrealist artists used linear perspective to create mysterious and sometimes impossible spaces. Students can develop their craft of singing in music class, engage and persist on a challenging problem in math class, or stretch and explore different ways to throw and catch a ball in PE. Studio Habits create a universal language of learning that can be used by anyone in any environment.
Most importantly, the more that I weave the Studio Habits into my teaching, the more I have seen a shift in how students define success. Maybe they’re still working on their craft mixing the perfect shade of green, or drawing a tree-house in 2-point perspective, but they can leave the classroom feeling proud that they stretched themselves to try something new, and engaged and persisted, even when things were hard.
FRIDAY BLOG 