Educational Psychology—Limitations and Possibilities

838 The Praeger Handbook of Education and Psychology
“masterpieces.” My students became my apprentices. In concert, we would create art. In concert,
all of us would be enriched.
Just as a master seeks to improve her craft, I decided to engage members of the community
to collaborate in the construction of my studio/classroom. I collaborated with the Director of
Education at the Montclair Art Museum to create “Crit and Create: Race in America.” As an
apprentice learns from the master, students taking Crit and Create: Race in America learned to (a)
analyze art and primary sources, (b) examine several perspectives, (c) become familiar with the
techniques artists use to create their art, and (d) utilize their new knowledge and skills to create
their own monument to race in America. There are several stages in the design and implementation
of Crit and Create: Race in America. Each will be described and related to postformal thought.
STAGE I: PREPARING THE CANVAS
The first stage in Crit and Create was the creation of a calendar of the events in concert with
the school calendar and the museum calendar. This proved to be more problematic than originally
anticipated because I wanted to cover so much. An examination of the school calendar brought
home how little time there is in one marking period! I met with the Director of Education from
the Montclair Art Museum to devise a schedule that would honor both of our commitments while
serving to achieve our teaching objectives. Gary Schneider and I wanted our program to
� validate alternative teaching and assessment methods to stimulate higher thinking;
� demonstrate that making the community an extension of the classroom improves student involvement;
� illustrate that studying art improves visual literacy and problem-solving skills;
� show that studying art and its relation to the humanities spurs student reflection on their values and
heightens their social consciousness; and
� create an environment in which those with a minimal understanding of art become both comfortable with,
and enthusiastic about, art.
To accomplish these objectives, we scheduled three in-school and out-of-school events for students
and the museum staff. The culmination would be an evening opening, at the museum. By
considering the museum as “our backyard” and a major educational resource, students began to
understand that “emotionally derived knowledge” is as important as “rationally derived knowledge.”
This partnership with the museum staff encouraged students to develop satisfying and
meaningful connections with the larger society and to forge bonds between the two worlds.
Using the community as a direct extension of the classroom provides a strong foundation
for intellectual and emotional development and reflects postformal thinking; it improves both
the student’s life and the life of the community (Kincheloe 2001, p. 343). Through community
involvement, students enhanced critical thinking as they reflected on classroom activities and
developed commitment to social issues. Students witnessed first-hand that what they learned
in the classroom really does relate to real life. Crit and Create expected students to immerse
themselves in both the artistic and the societal environment. It also provided positive role models
and experiences that required them to practice and hone their communications skills.
After my conversations with the Director of Education of Montclair Art Museum, I met with
the principal, Elaine Davis, to inform her of the new partnership and the new approach to teaching
history through an investigation of the arts. She was pleased at the prospect of expanding the
classroom into the immediate community, of students working in cooperation with museum
personnel, and of students becoming “masters” in more than one discipline.