Wheaton teacher makes art 'current and relevant'
Lauren Nielsen teaches art at Edison Middle School in Wheaton. She's also an artist herself, displaying her work in Naperville and Chicago galleries. Her online portfolio features her charcoal and colored pencil portraits. The Daily Herald recently talked with Nielsen about her classroom projects and the future of arts education.
Q. What is your favorite class project and why?
A. I have many favorite projects that I like to teach, which makes it difficult to pick one. I'd say my top three favorites are printmaking, stop-motion animation and paper mâché.
Printmaking is fun because it's the first time that many students have ever used carving tools to create a relief-style work of art.
Stop-motion animation is awesome because it encourages collaboration and creativity as students work in groups of three to create scenes, sets, props and characters that tell a story through a series of digital photographs. This project also allows students to use iPads and tons of new tech resources.
Lastly, paper mâché rocks because students can get their hands messy and work three dimensionally.
Q. How is technology making it easier for kids to be creative? How do you embrace technology to teach art? How does that approach compare with traditional art teaching methods?
A. Technology provides students with a plethora of tools and readily available resources. Whether it be digitally altering a photograph online, searching for a craft on Pinterest or using YouTube to watch art-making videos, the internet is full of outlets for anyone with the simple desire to be creative.
While technology can be an incredible aid to creative possibilities in the classroom, it's important to not lose sight of traditional hands-on art techniques and practices. I believe there needs to be a balance between the use of both.
By embracing some of the many digital resources that are available to our students, my projects continue to stay current and relevant to my students' daily lives, which, in turn, allows for a sense of connection and pride in their work.
Technology keeps my lessons and projects interactive and engaging. Rather than simply lecturing to my students, digital resources are continuing to be implemented.
Q. What's the future of arts education? And what do you think it will look like during the school day?
A. I think art education will continue to foster creativity in students while encouraging them to "think outside the box" and become lifelong problem-solvers.
In the future, I imagine a lot more choice-based art classrooms with plenty of digital resources available for students.