A Big Idea: Conceptual Velcro

February 15, 2021

In my class last semester, I launched a teaching technique coined by Dr. Sydney Walker of The Ohio State University as “Big Ideas.” From Dr. Walkers book, Teaching Meaning in Artmaking (Walker, 2001) and numerous professional journal articles in the field of art education, she has explored the idea of using big ideas as a vehicle for impressing upon teacher and student alike that the purpose of art education is producing meaningful art pieces...and that the journey to get to the result is just as important as the final product.

If a student doesn’t know why they are practicing a skill, they are less likely to learn it and retain it.

“All content and skills taught as part of the lesson should be with the strict purpose of providing the student what they need to communicate the meaning in their artwork successfully.” You should also draw from this statement that the meaning that is communicated through the artwork should be of the student’s choosing within the parameters of the assignment. (A.C. Statten, 2014)

As Statten states in this passage, the student will attain a higher level of learning if they are using a skill towards a goal they understand...and even more so if they play a part in creating/conceiving that goal. If students create goals, that are based around their own interests and knowledge that they can build from, it takes some focus off the final product. That is the role that big ideas play.

This is how it works: students choose from a set of “Big Ideas,” arranged for their age group. Big Ideas are overarching concepts that, we as humans, are all concerned with: Freedom, Power, Identity, etc. Students then brainstorm different aspects of their Big Idea and come up with a Big Idea Statement. This statement will form the bedrock of their artistic inquiry. It should imply a movement, action or goal. From these statements, they will derive multiple Essential Questions.

Essential Questions are questions that explore the Big Idea statement. These inquiries help the student artist articulate their personal experiences and beliefs through and into the art. They are not yes or no questions but provoke further inquiry and stimulate students to investigate answers. Students then explore and create artistic ways to investigate their Essential Questions and seek to dive deeper into their Big Ideas.

Here is an example that I share with my students:

We’ll start with a theme: TIME

Now brainstorm different ideas and concepts about time……….

Age Memory Perception of time Mortality/immortality Measuring time

Time travel Past/History Decay/ravage of time Legacy Value of time

Let’s say we decide to go with Time as Value as my Big Idea

We now craft that into a Big Idea Statement. It should imply movement or a goal.

We should value time as a precious resource.

Now start building your essential questions: questions that explore your big idea…

How does the constriction of time affect our daily lives and the outcomes?
If time is the most precious of resources, how can we utilize time better?
How can I explore the concept of time as a concrete thing?
How do our actions affect the value of our future?
Is it possible to collect or “bank” time?
How could I translate the idea of “time is money?”

These essential questions will help you to investigate and come up with ideas for images you will be creating in this class. From here you might decide to:

Do a series of comic book illustrations with heroes combating “time”
Use “Alice in Wonderland” character, the white rabbit to represent time
Create a series of monster illustrations built upon the elements of time
Create a cartoon series with characters humorously dealing with time issues
Do abstract images with elements of quantum physics and time displacement
Create a series of political illustrations depicting time crushing economies and countries/politicians

My post reflection with my students at the end of the course showed that they overall felt like it was a positive experience. Several students noted having an abundance of ideas to draw from because they selected their own idea and means to investigate it. Selecting a big idea with personal relevance is a key factor in the efficacy of the big idea for the artmaking process (Walker, 2004). Two students, who admitted to arbitrarily choosing a theme and Big Idea, felt less driven and agreed they would have been better off choosing and investigating in ways that aligned with their interests. Students were overwhelmingly proud of the works they had created and felt the power in the meaning making and visual communication they were trying to express and investigate with their series of images.

Integrated into the process were two key factors that greatly improved idea and content creation: idea sketching/journaling and group critiques. Weekly, students would share new sketches, brainstorming and Essential Questions (EQ) in an informal group critique. This allowed students to revisit, re-evaluate and reconstruct their big idea statement, EQ’s and themes. Because of the weekly sharing, the class became familiar with each other’s works allowing for a healthy creative collaborative spirit in the classroom that students reflected they had not experienced before. Many EQ ideas were generated in those sessions.

In reevaluating my lesson plan, I will incorporate certain artists that I feel are helpful in telling stories and conveying ideas. Assigning students with the task of viewing and referencing artists and art that they feel is relevant to their Big Idea is another way to enhance the inquiry process. We recently showcased digital illustrator, Dan Mumford talking about his process that resonated with students very well due to his integration of ideas, objects and themes he integrates into his work. Another familiar and accessible storyteller, Dr. Seuss, also is an excellent vehicle for making meaning through art and story. Basing retellings or counter-narratives of classic and well-known media is an intriguing way for teens to grasp on to.

I thoroughly enjoyed this process and will continue to revamp and retune this use of Big Ideas as an aid in art education and creating meaning in my students’ artmaking. Even students who felt less successful at the final products, admitted to enjoying the process of creative inquiry process and essentially creating their own curriculum. That is the real focus here. That students can take a step back from the resulting products and technical agility and just dial in on the process of generating and synthesizing creative inquiry. Whether the final product is inventive or well-crafted is secondary. As Walker states, “although an artist might enact all of the elements of the artmaking process-big ideas, personal connections, knowledge, artmaking problems, and boundaries-inventive artworks, rich in possibilities for substantive meaning, are subject to the artist’s handling of these elements” (Walker, 2004).

Big Idea Lesson Plan

High School, Intermediate to advanced Digital Art

Duration:

12-15 week Semester, producing 1 inquiry every 3 weeks

Objective:

Students will explore and investigate a central theme through four artworks of their choosing. They will explore their process(es) and their resulting products in a final presentation

Materials:

Students will work within any (or combination of) digital creation software(s) that they choose to utilize in their investigation.

Process

Step One: Choose a Theme from the list provided: IN CLASS PRESENTATION

POWER PRIDE CONFLICT EMOTION ENVIRONMENT COMMUNITY

IDENTITY TIME MUSIC TRANSORMATION JUSTICE VALUE RELATIONSHIPS

Step Two: Fill out the Big Idea Worksheet

Craft a Big Idea Statement

Craft 2-3 Essential Questions investigating

Step Three: Journal/sketch visual ideas investigating your big idea driven by your EQ’s

Week 1: End of week...Journal/Sketches Critique: share ideas in informal critique
Week 2: End of week...Journal/Sketches Critique: share ideas in informal critique, begin Big Idea Piece No. 1, share progress
Week 3: End of week...Share Big Idea Piece, your inquiry, EQ and process in Critique
Repeat as needed.
Last Week of Semester: Final Presentation. Students will arrange sketches, journaling, individual pieces and accompanying EQ’s to share their creative process with the class. The will share the Big Idea project as a powerpoint presentation
Final Reflection and Exit comments

References

A.C. Stratten, August 27, 2014. So What is the Big Idea?https://whatitmeansforart.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/big-idea-2/

A.C. Stratten, September 02, 2014. Big Ideas for Instruction https://whatitmeansforart.wordpress.com/2014/09/02/big-ideas-3/

Mumford, D. (2016). How Freelance Illustrator Dan Mumford Does Jaw-Dropping Work - Adobe Creative Meet Up | Adobe UK. Nov 29, 2016. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/TpVRQEKyfkI 2/15/2021.

Seussville.com. 2021. https://www.seussville.com/

Walker, S. (2001). Teaching Meaning in Artmaking (Davis Publications, 2001)

Walker, S. (2004). Understanding the Artmaking Process: Reflective Practice. Art Education, May 2004 (6-12).