EDITOR'S LETTER

Nancy in Napa, California.

Back when I was first teaching art, my approach to instruction was to provide freedom within structure for my students. That philosophy is much more developed today through choice-based art education, Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB), and the Studio Habits of Mind.

Choice-Based Art Education
Choice-based art education is a method of instruction that provides students with options for self-direction in three areas: media, process, and interpretation. It usually involves setting up centers in the art room for independent exploration, each dedicated to a specific art media.

The choice-based method was first initiated in elementary art rooms in the 1970s by Katherine Douglas and John Crowe. It focuses on encouraging students to come up with their own ideas for art-making and selecting their own media. In a modified-choice art room, students may be given a limited array of options from which to choose, an assigned theme or Big Idea with choice of media, or an assigned media with choice of content. Many teachers also employ skill builders or bootcamps to quickly introduce students to media before they move to the centers.

Teaching for Artistic Behavior
Connected to this approach is the philosophy of TAB. Developed by Katherine Douglas, Pauline Joseph, John Crowe, and Diane Jaquith in 2001, TAB invites students to think like artists and make all major choices regarding their artwork.

In TAB, the student is considered to be an artist and the art room is the student’s studio. In a full TAB practice, every decision made by the teacher is with the full intention of students working independently, but many teachers do favor a modified-choice approach. Centers may also include skill builders and bootcamps.

The Studio Habits of Mind
Many Choice/TAB teachers also incorporate the Studio Habits of Mind in their teaching practice. These eight ways of artistic thinking are Develop Craft, Engage & Persist, Envision, Express, Observe, Reflect, Stretch & Explore, and Understand Art Worlds. The habits can serve as starting points for students for the purposeful and reflective practice of making art.

In This Issue
In “TAB for Tiny Humans,” Lori Wallace supports her belief that TAB provides the most developmentally appropriate method of art instruction for young students.

Clark Fralick shares the wonder and inspiration provided by working with a familiar material in “Captivated by Cardboard.”

In “Altered Image Collage,” Jane Montero describes how she embraces choice and gives an example of an altered self-portrait lesson.

At the high-school level, Betsy DiJulio’s students use a variety of means to develop complex compositions on their own in “Prepare Yourself.”

At a state conference last year, I asked TAB teacher extraordinaire Clyde Gaw if he would like to co-edit a SchoolArts issue with the theme of Choice/TAB. He graciously agreed. Many thanks to Clyde and all the authors included in this issue!