This article from Lars Lindstrom explores the concept of aesthetic learning in arts education. It discusses the combination of convergent or divergent goals and medium-specific or medium-neutral means and investigates the potential utility of this framework in various contexts and for different purposes.
The author defines aesthetic learning in terms of a conceptual framework based on two dimensions. The goal dimension is described as convergent or divergent. Convergent learning is goal-directed, focused, and rational, while divergent learning is explorative, open-ended, and intuitive. The means dimension is described as medium-specific or medium-neutral.
Medium-specific learning emphasizes the forms of representation, such as words, pictures, algebra, and dance, while medium-neutral learning emphasizes instrumental aspects of learning, such as academic achievement or personal development. By combining these dimensions, the author arrives at a suggested definition of what is meant by learning about, learning in, learning with, and learning through the arts.
The four ways of learning discussed in the article are:
- Learning ABOUT art: This involves acquiring knowledge and understanding of art, craft, and design as a subject of study.
- Learning WITH art: This refers to using art, craft, and design as tools for learning in a medium-neutral manner.
- Learning IN art: This involves immersive learning experiences within the context of art, craft, and design.
- Learning THROUGH art: This refers to the development of students’ aesthetic sensibilities and studio habits of mind through guided experiences tied to curriculum goals.
I am also interested in focusing on these five trainee sloyd teachers, Fredrik, Gun, Hans, Ivar and Johanna, who volunteered to participate in the study. They were assigned the task of interpreting a ‘chandelier’ (source of light):
- Fredrik was to try the relatively new material. So, he is learning ABOUT sloyd.
- Gun is learning WITH sloyd. Her goal is to make a light to hang on a hook in the living room. She is also learning THROUGH sloyd. Her sensitivity to the children’s suggestions transforms the task into a family project. It also makes her reflect upon and reconsider her own ideas.
- Hans is learning ABOUT and WITH sloyd. He is working on making a chandelier and trying forging.
- Ivar is learning IN sloyd. He has a wide scope in searching for the optimal expression. He is also learning THROUGH sloyd.
- Johanna is learning WITH and IN sloyd. She wants to make a personal interpretation of a chandelier, intended to hang in a window with the sunlight reflected in its crystals. She is also learning THROUGH sloyd.
To sum up, Lindstorm compares four ways of teaching by Hasselskog’s (2010) with learning ABOUT, learning IN, learning WITH and learning THROUGH art, craft and design. The four-fold table above is used to define each ideal type. They describe role models that the teacher should have in his or her repertoire, as below:
- Instructor (ABOUT), Facilitator (IN) – apprenticeship system – Teaching for Making
- Advisor (WITH) and Educator (THROUGH) – reflection and dialogue are at the forefront -Teaching for Understanding. However, the two approaches are complementary.
To conclude Aesthetic learning should support and be facilitated by a balanced curriculum based on teaching and learning about, in, with and through the arts. The role of aesthetics in a balanced curriculum is to challenge conventions, encourage curiosity, and foster critical thinking. It also offers opportunities for students to explore new perspectives and question traditional views, promoting a deeper understanding and appreciation of diverse forms of expression.
As Marie Møller-Skau (2023) argue that arts-based teaching and learning contribute to future teachers’ ability to meet the requirements of education in the twenty-first century, as this could expand a teacher’s didactic and pedagogical repertoire to facilitate building creative, collaborative, diverse and inclusive learning environments and meet pupils’ need for artful, playful and meaningful learning.
References:
Barnes, J., & Shirley, I. (2007). Strangely familiar: Cross-curricular and creative thinking in teacher education. Improving Schools, 10(2), 162–179. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480207078580
Giorza, T. (2016). Thinking together through pictures: The community of philosophical enquiry and visual analysis in transformative pedagogy. Perspectives in Education, 34(1), 167–181. https://doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v34i1.12
Møller-Skau, M. (2023). Exploring student teachers’ aesthetic learning processes
https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2023.2278802