After reading Chapter 4 in ReWired, Ive been sitting with the ideas shared about uni-tasking and multitasking.
As I sit and contemplate this idea, I cant help but arrive at the place that any truly authentic artistic process is multitasking. It isn't as obvious as having a text message and music and all the other exterior stimuli mentioned in the chapter, but consider this....
When one arrives at the moment of creative insight, there are multiple things occurring. On one level is indeed the subject of technique or craft. Manipulating material is a task which requires the student/artist to pull from past experiences and knowledge. Introduce mixed media and instantly you're multitasking purely on a physical level of art production. Add to that "idea" or "intention" This is another layer of the process which now requires the artist or student to marry concept with technique. Of course, initially this might be done with sketches or plans or maps or what have you, which assists the artist in realizing the big picture and likely the artist will notice and be open to multiple paths to that place.... is this not another layer in the multitasking layer cake?
I would propose that most creative endeavors are internal (and somewhat intuitive) multi-tasking moments. It may appear, in a classroom that a student who is deeply involved in a painting or a drawing, that they are uni-tasking because the exterior stimuli may be limited, but I would argue that this seemingly uni-tasking picture is far more complex than that and as artists, guides, mentors and teachers, we help students protect that process by NOT deliberately introducing our ideas of "exterior" multitasking .
Its a bit like the example of video gaming and the author points out that most IGen kids do not multi-task when playing video games because it "demands much more of our mental resources"
Nothing in life is a "uni-experience" So how can there truly be uni-tasking? As teachers (or any subject) tasks need to be creatively woven into the fabric of experiences we present to students.
Multitasking is not the problem in my opinion, its the kind of multitasking (and what is inspiring it) that can enhance or inhibit learning.
Learning to Develop Craft:
This was an interesting chapter for me. Early in the chapter (pg 33) the author says "we almost never saw technique taught as an isolated skill" I love the concept that students "think with these skills".
The concept of "play" was also discussed and I believe this is extremely relevant "when students are just playing around, Beth finds she can help them with technical issues in a low-stakes way with out threatening their self confidence." I whole heartedly agree.
As I read through this chapter and considered how this manifests in my own classroom, I do a lot of "technique" and "studio practice" at varying degrees as students progress through the art program. In Jason's class he feels "With out becoming responsive to the properties of the material, entering into an ongoing dialogue with it, students are just implementing fixed ideas and might as well be using any material."I agree with him and believe this is a fundamental step in artistic development.
Like Jason, I want my students to really get to know a material. For this reason, in my mixed age group 3-5 classes, I place far more emphasis on development of technique. Students are always challenged with personal idea as well, for it is there they find the investment and perseverance needed, but "playing with", "experimenting with" and developing technique is the emphasis so when they arrive to my 6-8 classes, they already have an existing rich dialogue with many materials and can then, with confidence express deeper meaning and idea.
Chapter nine made me smile as well, as I cant even count the number of times Ive suggested to my students they can not see. They of course look at me like Im insane the first time but soon understand what I mean as I continually challenge them to "see it differently" "see it bigger" Break the world down to an exquisite composition of light, texture, color shape etc. Simple yet complex. Like the author states, "looking is not always seeing".
This past Fall in my "Art of reflection class" We took the kids out to their "spots" by the lake and asked them to "observe color" Journal and reflect about what you see. It was at the height of the colors turning so we had a fairly rich, but expected description of the colors they saw. "yellow, red, orange" The past four or five weekends I had spent afternoons raiding the paint swatch section of the local hard ware stores (dressing differently each weekend... tee hee hee) I had acquired probably 1500 swatches, you know, the kinds with value changes on them too?.... so more like 6000 variations of color. I cut these up and gave a huge envelope to each student and sent them into the woods again. The task? To find all the colors. They of course we incredulous.... "What? where are we going to find electric lime?" One student asked.... I just smiled and off we went.
The kids eyes were opened for sure. Just about every color, from electric lime to deep purples, turquoises etc were found. The world became far more colorful from that day..
I can say for certain, at my school, this skill does extend beyond the walls of the art room.
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