Point of View: Choice-Based Art in International Schools

Choice-based art education encourages students to take ownership of their artistic journey by providing them with the freedom to select their media, subjects, and techniques. As a veteran international school art teacher, I have had the privilege to teach and live in six different countries over the last twenty-six years. My transition to choice began in 2016 when I was teaching art near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I can say from experience that implementing choice-based art in international schools comes with its own unique set of joys and challenges.

International schools attract students from all over the world, and many of my students come into the art room speaking no English at all. As a choice-based teacher, I was already employing creative visual strategies to reach as many students as possible.

Using Visual Guides
What do I mean by creative visual strategies? When twenty-five students are working on potentially twenty-five different projects at a time, a teacher needs to figure out ways for students to be as independent as possible. One solution is to use visual guides that are accessible to all students rather than relying on verbal instruction for things like setting up workstations or exploring tools and techniques. These visual tools help all my students be more independent and confident in the work they create.

Acquiring Art Supplies
Access to good-quality art supplies can be an issue when teaching abroad. Here in Sri Lanka, it’s not possible for me to hop in the car and head to Michaels to get what I need for class. All my art supplies are ordered in bulk in November and shipped in annually by sea. If I run out of something, I simply have to wait until the next shipment arrives in August.

The silver lining in this is that it forces me to get out and explore local markets and find creative solutions, like the time my students in Cambodia and I used a bamboo rooster cage to create a Dale Chihuly–style sculpture.

Communicating with Parents
International school communities bring together people from various backgrounds and with differing expectations for art education. Some parents in the community may hold traditional views on what constitutes valuable artistic skills, such as realistic drawing.
Open and proactive communication with the school community is critical in explaining the benefits of choice-based art education and how it encourages 21st century skills such as fostering creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.

I start this process every year with a slideshow at Back-to-School Night, showing examples of what the children might bring home, explaining the difference between adult and child aesthetics, and modeling questions parents might want to ask their children to dig deeper into the artwork that comes home.

Exploring Assessment Methods
Some international schools follow standardized assessment and grading systems that may not align with the principles of choice-based art education. I am grateful to have taught at International Baccalaureate schools that use an inquiry-based philosophy, but there are many schools out there that use traditional grading methods with a focus on evaluating technical skills or adherence to specific artistic styles.

To address this challenge, teachers can explore assessment methods that emphasize growth, process, and critical thinking. Examples of this might be portfolio reviews, self-reflections, peer evaluations, and evaluating progress using the Studio Habits of Mind. All of these methods shift the focus from the final outcome of one particular project to the development of the whole child.

Connecting through Social Media
Over the past two decades, online communities and social media have emerged as invaluable resources for teachers from all over the world to come together and share ideas. I thought about the shift to choice-based art education for years, and it was the support and insights of other teachers in choice groups on Facebook and Instagram who gave me the confidence and strategies that I needed to finally take the plunge. I encourage art teachers out there who are contemplating the shift to join online communities, ask questions, and make connections with other art teachers around the globe.

Conclusion
Teaching internationally has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and using a choice-based art approach honors the diversity and lived experiences of my international students. Connecting to other choice-based teachers and adjusting my teaching practice to encourage choice has changed both my life and the lives of my students and helped me to realize that our commonalities as human beings far outweigh our differences.