Today, I told my students that I hoped they struggled with our exercises. I want them to be uncomfortable with these lessons. I want them to be frustrated.
If it’s too easy to “succeed”, then we’ve missed the point. If success comes too easily, we have failed because we’re not learning.
After two blind contour drawing exercises, I asked my students to write a few sentences: two things that they hated, or that frustrated them. Then, tell me something you learned (or something positive). *note: the video above shows students creating gesture drawings; blind contour drawings are very different.
In the book, The Innovator’s Mindset, George Couros discusses the difference between a growth mindset and an innovator’s mindset. They are very similar, with slightly different goals. A growth mindset enables a learner to grasp the concept that, with practice and hard work, they can learn a skill. An innovator’s mindset pushes this concept even further: not only can you learn skills, but use these skills to orchestrate something new and better ~ true creativity.
Where does this happen in our classroom? Many times, right at the beginning.
Northern Art Teacher 