Understanding and describing artist's unique styles is really challenging for middle school students. Today students looked at a work by Vincent Van Gogh and we discussed the unique way in which he used line, color and texture. These elements are pretty easy to discern. But then we discussed the way in which he divides space across the picture plain. That's when things got a little complicated. We muddled our way through together only to end up with confusion once students were tackling these ideas in their groups.
That's kind of how learning goes. Order is replaced with chaos when new learning upsets the 'working model." Then, for a time there is comfort in stasis, only to experience chaos again with new learning.
