Overview

At Laity, students own art making becomes infused with a variety of images and approaches. They are very aware of popular culture and may want to incorporate elements from this culture into their art.

Students learn to accept that other's preferences may differ from their own but begin to appreciate multiple artistic solutions and interpretations. Questions asked in response to artwork become more refined and probing. Study of historical and cultural context gives students insight into the role of visual arts as a record of human achievement. As they consider artworks in historical perspective, students begin to gain a clearer understanding of what they themselves value.

With exposure comes several levels of thought which emphasizes exploration and discovery of visual arts. Students begin to form a foundation of learning about visual arts and continue to increase appreciation of visual arts. At the next level students continue to develop and explore through creative experiences. Their foundation of understanding and appreciation become stronger and continues to build. With further training, the emphasis becomes more introspective as students move to develop their own level of competence and personal style. In visual arts, the goals for these levels are related and parallel. The goals, content, instruction, students outcomes and evaluation methods naturally increase in sophistication and complexity when learning new styles.

What Students Learn

As a result of learning in visual arts, students become critical thinkers able to creatively solve problems using their knowledge and intuitive interpretations. They become holistic in their approach to problem solving, being able to accept and evaluate within the structure of everyday society. They are able to exercise flexibility in thought and work successfully with others while still retaining confidence in their own individual strengths. The visual arts student will apply retained knowledge to "think outside the box," ensuring they are valuable and contributing members of a team.

Laity Teaches: