Blog 6 – Creating a Productive Learning Environment in the Art Room

My current philosophy for creating a productive learning environment in the art classroom includes keeping enthusiastic, passionate, and prepared to teach my content, as well to keep a positive teacher to student relationship that involves a social emotional component. Preparing students to learn, by first teaching students self-regulation, a social and emotional component will help students perform academic tasks and better equip themselves for the process of making. Students develop strategies and become owners for classroom management in the art room.  By taking time to reset emotions first, such as Mount Desert Elementary School in Northeast Harbor Maine has done, students are set to take responsibility for learning.  Proven responsive classroom techniques such as yoga exercise/poses or stretching, music, and/or conversation with morning meetings, students reduced stress, gathered and composed themselves for a fresh start before any learning could take place.  The importance I see introducing a social emotional component to art classroom management prepares students to meet obligations of self-control, which is crucial for the many activities that takes place  in the art room.  As well, it empowers them to embrace the process of struggle, the messiness and frustration inherent in making, creating, and producing; to grapple with uncertainties; to transition from one thing to the next; to accept the range of emotions and deal with them responsibly.