How art can prove beneficial in academics?
To all the teachers and tutors in India, ever heard of one pagers? I bet most of you have not heard of not just one pager but any other fun and learning assignments. There is a reason behind why companies like Capgemini are reluctant on hiring many Indian engineers, which the head of Capgemini of India himself states was lack of training and knowledge. Well that’s interesting, because aren’t we Indians supposed to be smart and intelligent since we were born? Apparently not if we are going to keep practicing old methods of learning, without bringing innovation to not only the learning method but also to the way the students think.
There is a reason why lifestyle in the west is revolutionizing while we are still living a somewhat improved lifestyle compared to a couple of decades ago. That reason is not only being creative but utilizing that creativity in the field of knowledge of the respective person. But you see, being creative is not as simple as rote learning. So now the question rises, how can one become creative while learning at the same time?
Remember how this blog began by that one pager question? Well that is certainly one way of doing it, Afterall one pager is one of the most famous way to assess the understanding of students while also having a look at their creativity level. For those who do not know what a one pager is, it is a one page assessment sheet consisting of a few questions which are directed to every individual student. Most, if not all one pagers consists of at least one question that asks them to sketch what they have made of that chapter or topic.
The art does not have to be perfect, in other words the teachers are not to assess on how well drawn or how pretty the sketch is. The teachers or tutors are rather expected to be assessing the level of understanding and the creativity that the students have utilized on that art to prove their understanding. This assessment helps gain student’s knowledge as they are now being challenged to answer in their own words what they understand rather than copy pasting the textbook stuff. They are also now required to draw the picture that they have created in their mind. These answers and art also help tutors in a great way as it becomes more clearer to them where the problem lies within the students’ understanding, if there are any, and they can more easily be able to give the students suggestions more clearly.
One pager is just one way to utilize art and there are many other creative assignment methods out there which require students to utilize their art one way or another. So why are we still sticking with conventional methods of simply answering the textbook questions after each chapter? For a nation to become developed and a superpower, it is essential that the education system keeps revolutionizing. So is this how we are going to be recognized as a superpower in the world, by sticking to our old traditional and conventional methods of teaching?
