OBJECTIVES
Why artistically collaborate? (Art Worlds, World of the Florentine Renaissance Artist, Collaboration in Contemporary Artmaking, Dartmouth, Click Clack Move)
Theoretical influences (Emergent Pedagogy, Collaboration in Contemporary Artmaking, New Culture of Learning, Click Clack Move)
Benefits (Students as Producers, New Culture of Learning, Collaboration in Contemporary Artmaking, Ermergent Pedagogy, Listening, Thinking, Acting Together, Click Clack Move)
Limitations (Collaboration in Contemporary Artmaking, Some Tools for Radical Pedagogy, Art Worlds, Emergent Pedagogy, Listening, Thinking, Acting Together, Click Clack Move)
Why artistically collaborate? (Art Worlds, World of the Florentine Renaissance Artist, Collaboration in Contemporary Artmaking, Dartmouth, Click Clack Move)
- Better outcome: everyone has their own unique perspective. One collaborator can help point out things their peer wouldn't see on their own. Peers can help accomplish a task together by putting together their physical, intellectual and emotional capacities for a result that can't be done by only one person.
- Exposure/connections: collaborating allows for others to see your work and process. It often creates friendships and future opportunities.
- Survival: collaboration is driven by a common need that can't be achieved on one's own. Collaboration can help overcome economic, political or social factors. More people means more power to change!
Theoretical influences (Emergent Pedagogy, Collaboration in Contemporary Artmaking, New Culture of Learning, Click Clack Move)
- Constructivism: students construct their own knowledge; self-guided learning
- Cooperative Learning: students all contribute their skills to share with the class; interpersonal learning
- Transformative Pedagogy: students examine their own beliefs and values to transform themselves and society for the better; socially-engaged learning
Benefits (Students as Producers, New Culture of Learning, Collaboration in Contemporary Artmaking, Ermergent Pedagogy, Listening, Thinking, Acting Together, Click Clack Move)
- Empowerment: students recognize how creativity can impact their community for the better, realize that their voice and perspective matters.
- Democracy: students learn how to work together and appreciate their differences, building equitable social structures.
- Social skills: humility, empathy, accountability (and hopefully friendships!)
- Critical thinking: through interacting with one another and working together, students analyze their own thought processes and in others.
- Motivation: results in increased academic achievement, students feel more accountable for one another, can't "let the other person down".
Limitations (Collaboration in Contemporary Artmaking, Some Tools for Radical Pedagogy, Art Worlds, Emergent Pedagogy, Listening, Thinking, Acting Together, Click Clack Move)
- Need for space: it is important to make sure students also have equal authorship and opportunities to express their preferences and feelings.
- Personalities: some personalities are more active or passive, it's important to find ways to balance and make these characters work together to decrease chances of conflict.
- Academic standards in evaluation: be careful how collaborations are graded. If students are expecting a grade from you alone, they may take advantage of others by 'loafing' or adversely trying to control the group to get a good grade.
- Identification: make sure collaborators identify their needs, goals and resources (such as skills or time) before starting the collaboration. Set up a structure in the beginning or else things may fall apart quickly!
