Heather Bode

ARTE 344
FACILITATION SHEET
Title: Chapter 4: Art and Cognition: Knowing Visual Culture
Author(s): Kerry Freedman
Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003).Teachingvisualculture:Curriculum,aesthetics,andthe
sociallifeofart.NewYork,NY:TeachersCollegePress.
Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):
Teachers should take into consideration the wide variation of visual art students experience
through out their diverse lives since this will affect their education (Freedman, 2003, p. 85).
Connecting meaning to art and critical reflection is essential to students art education in order
for them to understand visual culture and improve their own art. (p. 65, 80). Students learn from
reflections, which is a part of the constructivist conceptions of learning (p. 80).
Short Overview (Including at least 2-3 important quotes):
According to Freedman, Art that challenges them to consider their own relationship to it, and
promotes a response of intellectual surprise, creates new expectations, illustrating the connection
between emotion and cognition (p. 65). When students are encouraged to understand the art
they are viewing through discussion they will be able to find meaning in the art and connect with
it (p. 65). This process is important in students own artwork (p. 65). Freedman also discusses
how analysis should comprise analytical thought (p. 76). Freedman affirms, The contents and
structures of childrens drawings differ across histories and cultures, indicating that development
is influenced by time and place (p. 76). A student who was born in China or Africa will possess
completely different artistic ideas and concepts than a student born in America. Gesell (1940)
believed that gender also affects art production and stated that boys are fundamentally more
imaginative than girls (as cited in Freedman, 2003, p. 71). As stated by Freedman, the
constructivist conceptions of learning include 1. Learning is not the result of development;
learning is development. 2. Disequilibrium facilitates learning. 3. Reflective abstraction is the
driving force of learning. 4. Dialogue within a community engenders further thinking. 5.
Learning progresses in the direction of the growth of constructions (p. 80). While students are
learning about and seeing visual art everyday their brains are still developing and forming views
on the world (p. 80). The uncertainty that art entails provides students with opportunities to gain
problem-solving skills (p. 80). If students talk to their peers and are prompted with discussion
questions by their art teacher, they will learn more in the classroom (p. 80). Teachers must alter
and update their lessons or curriculum continuously in order to keep up with the current visual
culture influencing students (p. 85).
Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational experiences/or
teaching experience
Students should create art that really means something to them personally in order to
communicate an emotion, a personal experience, or a concept they feel passionate about (p. 85).

While at St. Marys I noticed that some of my students were excited to depict their family life
lessons while others just wanted to paint their friends or not paint their family members at all.
Students possess different cultures; thus, their family values and point of views are different (p.
76). When some of my students incorporated their favorite Pokmon characters into their
paintings, they were incorporating visual culture they were effected by and it possessed meaning
for them. Several of my students had specific family memories they wanted to depict in their life
lesson paintings, which also were very meaningful. When asked to reflect their ideas in an artist
statement I could tell they put a lot of thought and effort into their family life lesson concepts.
The Think sheets and discussions really helped my students to utilize deeper level thinking,
which helped them learn about and express themselves. If I did not use the word mapping
technique, many of my students would have made life lesson paintings about working hard
similar to my own family life lesson instead of brainstorming their own personal idea. As a
future art educator, I will utilize Freedmans advice by making sure to transform my lessons
while viewing the current visual culture my students are interested in and exposed to (p. 85).