Trevor and Hunter's Ongoing Experiments With Gravitational Force

Trevor and Hunter continue to work with marbles and various building materials using friction and balance to keep their track designs intact.

Rhizomatic Curriculum Structures Are Never Static

After the initial teacher presentation on Leonardo's notebook illustrations, children find their way to art centers within the room and begin working on self-initiated art ideas. This transitional phase contains some uncertainty as students move about in many directions, gathering materials, conversing with one another and going about the business of setting up their creative spaces. Some children are influenced by the Da Vinci presentation. Others begin with a pre-conceived art idea only to change direction after they realize they would like to pursue another idea. Others are inspired by collaboration.
Artists generate ideas through memory, observation, collaboration, imagination, experimentation and psycho-emotional processes. The rhizomatic curriculum structure is ever changing.
Art production has now become a vehicle for practicing idea generation. Children take ownership of the art ideas they are developing. The teacher's role shifts from authoritarian to enabler, facilitator, consultant, coach and collaborator.

Visualizing the Rhizome

TAB Teachers disseminate knowledge in many ways. Large group presentations are one way.

Students select a center to begin their art activities.

Students formulate ideas as they work from centers. They may also change their plan,  begin  a new idea or new collaboration.

Johnny and Suzy offer two examples of the changes that can occur when choice is afforded students in a TAB Classroom. Rhizomatic learning experience may flex in many different ways, depending on the students and the teacher.  TAB classrooms are dynamic places to learn and create art.

Bryan Reinholdt Vists the NPE Art Room

Three weeks ago, University of Kentucky film maker and art educator Bryan Reinholdt visited our art room. Bryan has been working on a series of films documenting the creative process. At the 9 minute mark of this film, Bryan captures our 2nd grade construction artists at work in our block building center. Enjoy!

Center for Creative Art Teaching

I first met my good friend and colleague Bryan Reinholdt through the Teaching for Artistic Behavior Group back in 2009. Since then Bryan has been working very hard as an art teacher, artist and art education advocate. Currently, Bryan is collaborating with Dr. George Szekely and Dr. Ilona Szekely to promote creativity development through the Center for Creative Art Teaching. The children at New Palestine Elementary and I have been very happy to assist Bryan with an inspirational art advocacy film featuring Dr. Szekely, University of Kentucky art education students, and the teachers and students at Trinity School in Atlanta, Georgia.

2013 New Palestine Elementary Choice Based Student Art Exhibition

Last Friday evening was our student art exhibit. Typically, I am talking to parents and students all night long, but this year I wanted to get a quick video in order to convey a sense of variety and energy generated by the children's art.

The video does not capture the work of our cardboard construction artists nor did I film our thespian artists, who performed two experimental theatre works that were favorably received by our parents.

Kudos to all of our student artists and a special thank you to our PTO Parent Volunteers who helped my set up the show on the morning of the exhibition!

Many thanks to Sugar Creek Elementary art teacher Clark Fralick who always puts up with me the week we are hanging the show and a big thank you to Tony Strangeway, Mark Kern, and Bruce Miller, our administrators who support our art programs!

Rhizomatic Learning Resources

Interested in learning more about rhizomatic curriculum structures through choice based art education? If you are connected to the Yahoo TAB List-Serve, TAB Facebook pages ( Midwest ), you are already inside a massive art education rhizome. For developing a choice based art education curriculum and supporting a rhizomatic learning community in your art room go here:

If you would like to learn more about rhizomatic learning theory, Dave Cormier's blog is a good place to start.

Many internet based resources on rhizomatic curriculum are related to electronic learning communities but have theoretical and philosophical underpinnings to choice based art education:

This is a great essay by Curtis Bonk and Donald J. Cunningham
http://www.citeulike.org/group/616/article/516970

Your the Teacher: http://blogs.ubc.ca/chendricks/2013/02/01/etmooc-rhizomatic-learning-philosophy-courses/

Rhizomatic Learning: Too Cool for School: http://ianinsheffield.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/rhizomatic-learning-too-cool-for-school/

Delueze and Guattari's non-linear essay on rhizomatic learning from their classic, "A Thousand Plateaus."
http://danm.ucsc.edu/~dustin/library/deleuzeguattarirhizome.pdf