A middle school art educator uses a dream room design lesson to help students explore criticality and better understand themselves, their communities, and the world around them.

Leigh Anne Hildebrandt

Over the last three years, I have been an action research participant with the National Art Education Association (NAEA) in the Connected Arts Network (CAN), where we research and apply the HILL Model, developed by Dr. Gholdy Muhammad. Her work promotes five pursuits of learning in the classroom: identity, skills, intellect, criticality, and joy. This past school year, our action research focused on each of these pursuits in our classrooms.

Personally, the pursuit of criticality seemed the most daunting because it involves “the teaching and learning of multiple and diverse ways to advance students’ consciousness and social awareness by teaching students how to name, understand, question, and disrupt injustice, hurt, harm, or pain within humanity and the world” (see Reference). It was important to me to find a way to address this pursuit with my students in an authentic and meaningful way.

We were getting ready to start our final project, which focused on having students design a dream bedroom using two-point perspective. In order to address the criticality pursuit, I challenged students to move beyond a basic dream room design and develop a bedroom based on one of five design restrictions (see Resource):

1. Luxury vs. Necessity: Designing on a Budget. Students were provided with a blank cement room with four walls and a strict budget. They had to track every expense, forcing them to distinguish between basic needs, such as safety and sanitation, and luxury items.

2. Accessibility and Inclusion: Accessibility Elements & Design. Tasked with integrating at least five accessible design features, students researched accessibility needs and design considerations for people with disabilities. This included wider pathways for wheelchairs and placement of switches to provide independence.

3. Redlining: Location, Location, Location. Students explored the history of redlining, a practice that limited access to housing and resources in certain neighborhoods. They considered how the effects of redlining continue to shape urban environments, including differences in access to green space and exposure to higher temperatures, and how those conditions might affect their room’s view and physical size compared with a room in a suburban environment, such as the town where they live.

4. Safe Spaces and Sanctuary: Mindful Design Elements. This restriction focuses on mindful design that considers the needs of people with ADHD or autism. Students considered sensory input, such as lighting and sound, and created specific zones for stimming, focus, or rest.

5. Environmental Impact: Green Design. Students researched green design, prioritizing material longevity and the reduction of chemicals like VOCs. They were asked to consider how their choices affect both global health and personal well-being.

Once students were presented with the design restrictions, they ran with it. Walking around and speaking to them, studentsʼ excitement was palpable. One student shared that she is autistic and wanted to design a room that would suit her personal needs. Another student shared that a family member uses a wheelchair and wanted to explore a room design that would allow that person to move freely in the space without restriction. A third student belongs to a large family and noted that working on a budget was an important consideration. It was evident in studentsʼ final projects and design boards that they didnʼt just learn a technical skill; they gained a deeper understanding of their community and those around them.

Addressing criticality in the classroom is difficult when you don’t know where or how to start. If I learned one thing from this experience, it is that our students are open and willing to engage with it; we just have to provide the conversation starter. This was evident throughout this project. Criticality can be taught in an age-appropriate way that is authentic to our students. I would encourage any art educator who is trying to tackle the concept of criticality in their classroom to try something like this. It didnʼt feel too overwhelming, and with a little effort and polish, the results will almost certainly surprise you.

Leigh Anne Hildebrandt is a visual arts educator with fifteen years of middle school experience in Connecticut, currently serving as unified arts coordinator and art teacher. She advises several clubs and was a participant in the NAEA’s Connected Arts Network. Holding a B.A. in Art Education and an M.Ed. in Instructional Design, she is now pursuing a sixth-year certificate in Technology Integration to enhance art instruction. hildebrandtl@newtown.k12.ct.us

A New Point of View: Designing for Understanding