Ariel Kay

A little more here,” Julian says to Yael as he holds the tongue compressors and cut cardboard circle, while Yael applies the hot glue. That morning, the two rising eighth-graders worked on their original painted sculpture they titled Blast. This was my second year teaching them at the summer program in Central Texas, for grades one through eight.

After eight years teaching elementary art and two years instructing art education at the university level, I finally decided to implement a fully choice-based art program. In TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior) programs, students are engaged and invested because they have the freedom to collaborate with their peers and create work that is meaningful to them and to strengthen their skills in problem-solving and design execution.

Yael and Julian originally set out to make a football because they are both passionate about the sport. Each morning, they entered art class eager to pick up tools and get to work. They were instantly devoted to creating their sculpture as a team.

Jaquith & Hathaway (2012) state, “authentic collaboration in the studio classrooms occurs organically when students share interests or simply enjoy working together. Self-selected, collaborative work can be invigorating and motivating.” The boys created a structure for the football, then decided not to cover it and to shift the direction of their project. “We were really excited to experiment with other materials to try to make something,” says Julian.

The boys utilized wooden tongue compressors, cardboard, acrylic paint, and experimented with incorporating aluminum foil. Julian and Yael learned the Studio Habit of Mind, Stretch & Explore by examining possible outcomes with various materials. Their final artwork evolved and changed just as things do in real life. They were “inspired by the universe” and hope their artwork “makes people think about space” and makes them “feel happy.”

Another powerful example of collaboration from design conception to completion is Denis and Jae’lin’s rocket ship sculpture, titled Rock Star. The seventh-graders were highly invested in their work even though the project was complex. Jae’lin and Denis were exemplars of the Studio Habit of Mind Engage & Persist.

Another teacher walked into art class and was impressed to see the boys exploring how to cut and connect multiple triangles to form the point of the rocket ship. They were learning through trial and error and continuing to persevere through challenges. Denis says, “It’s better to collaborate because it’s easier to do work and it’s fun.” Together, students can accomplish more and enjoy the process.

In order for students to be successful members of a team and therefore society, educators must cultivate opportunities for learners to strengthen emotional intelligence and understanding of oneself and one another. Through the purposeful incorporation of self and social awareness skills into the art studio, we provide students opportunities to build successful relationships and execute responsible decision-making.

Students are engaged and invested because they have the freedom to collaborate with their peers and create work that is meaningful to them.

Taylor (2020) asserts that using choice “promotes student agency, empowers artistic voice, and supports differentiation of instruction and students’ individualized needs.” When students feel their ideas are valued and supported by their peers and educators, they cultivate confidence and self-efficacy—they believe in themselves and in each other, collaborating rather than competing.

In a TAB studio setting, students have the freedom to choose when and with whom they collaborate, and they have ownership over what they make. There is space for young artists to explore and experiment with various materials and methods to execute their artistic visions. Through the two art projects discussed, we see how the teams chose to work with the 3D building station in unique ways. Both groups came into the studio each day eager to get to work with the utility knives and hot-glue guns. They were engaged and empowered by the opportunity to utilize these tools to make work that was relevant and meaningful to them. The peers in both teams fed off each other’s enthusiasm and inspired each other to make work they were proud of.

Ariel Kay is assistant professor of practice at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. arielkay@txstate.edu

The TAB Studio: Building Self-Esteem through Teamwork