LEAven Blog

Recently I attended a local arts festival and visited with several of the artists. I love visiting just after the gates open as the fair comes to life. That seems to be the best time to have excellent conversations with the exhibitors.

I engaged several painters in these conversations, asking about their work, their techniques, and their path to become a featured artist. As we talked a consistent theme emerged about how they carry out their artistic process. One of the questions I typically ask relates to how they select the color palette they use for their work. I expected the answer to be that this was something pre-planned—that they were very intentional about how they applied color to each piece. What I found instead was that each artist used a process where they added colors that just “came to them” as they were working. They began a canvas with a general idea and trusted that their work would lead them to an appropriate and distinctive use of color. They were willing to follow a path of experimentation and inquiry to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

As I reflected upon these thoughts it occurred to me that this was not much different than the learning process I have seen with students in a project-based format in the classroom. Often students have an indistinct vision of what they might want to learn or accomplish at the start. But then, as they explore, they often find tangents or nuances to investigate that they did not imagine at first. This process often leads to a much richer and rewarding learning experience. While both the artist and the student may finalize their work in the end, the journey is much more satisfying without a distinct end destination that is planned in advance.

It seems to me that artists and project-based learners teach us that the deepest learning takes place when we do not expect it. If someone is telling me exactly what to paint or what to learn but it lacks the intrinsic motivation, the end result is likely to be less “sticky” and profound. But supplying regular opportunities to ask good questions, research answers to those questions, and provide the freedom to shift and adapt the exploration leads to a meaningful learning experience.

I realize that there are some skill-related parts of the curriculum that we must teach so that our students have the basic skills to accomplish the learning that is described above—lessons that will not neatly fit this learning process. However, it is clear our students need the freedom to question, research, explore, and adapt with our guidance so that can make learning their own.

As we look ahead to a new school year, what opportunities will you provide your students for this type of exploration? How will you practice asking good questions with them? What freedoms will your provide them to embrace the various interests and passions with which God has blessed them, and how can this work be augmented to better prepare them for greater service in God’s Kingdom, both now and in the future? Intentionally reflecting upon these questions will serve to enable your students to be true artists of learning in the classroom. May God bless each educator as you prepare to best serve the students under your care as you head back to the classroom.