Responding to Student Art Consider...

The younger the student, the more important it is to deliver on a one-to-one basis rather than in a large group situation. The problem with praise...when teachers say “I like it!” or “I like the way you___,” is that you are making judgments and expressing personal values—often for realistic, neat, adult-like work.

Also, research indicates that consistent overuse of praise actually diminishes the behavior of being complimented. This praise can also focus the student’s attention on whether or not his/her behavior is likeable. The student quickly learns that s/he must perform to please the teacher rather than successfully accomplish the learning task.

Provide positive feedback (rather than praise) through descriptive statements.

Describing Behavior: “I noticed that you’re sharing your glue with you’re partner.” “This clay pieces represents a tremendous effort on your part!”

Describing Artistic Decisions: “I noticed that you tried several ways to attach the tube together. First you tried gluing them and then you tried bending them. Now you have pushed one inside the other and they are holding together well.” “Your clay pancake feels so smooth!”

“Look at all the curvy lines you made!” “I see many different colors in your drawing.” “You used many rectangular shapes to make your buildings.”

Paraphrasing: Child: “I made ‘Heart Man’.” Teacher: “Yes, you did...He’s enjoying a sunny day.”

Provide positive feedback (rather than praise) through interpretive statements. Interpretive statements allow the teacher to model for the child the way art communicates to other people. “The yellow in your picture makes me feel warm inside.”

The expression of emotions must be done with care The expression of emotions must be done with care. A banal, “Your picture makes me happy,” does not communicate a depth of feeling nor explain to the child the source of that response. “I feel so peaceful when I look at the blues in your print.” “You used lots of jagged lines to express your anger at being knocked over by your friend.”

Interpretive responses based on feelings and memories must be genuine, unique, and thoughtful. When confronted with a “Guess what I made?”, it is appropriate to resort to a description of media and artistic elements followed with an open-ended question that may elicit further description from the child.