Name-Annette Saldana

Class- LTC 8740 Curriculum in Art Education

Assignment-Pinks Senses: Meaning Curriculum
Date-4/26/15
"As you journey through life, choose your destination wisely, but don't hurry there. You will
arrive soon enough. Wander the back roads, the forgotten paths, the unknown ways, as you keep
your dreams in your heart as the light that guides you. Seek out new voices, strange sights, and
bold ideas. Such things are riches for the soul. And if, upon your arrival, you find that your
destination is not exactly what you dreamed it would be, don't be disappointed. Think of all you
would have missed if not for the journey there, and know that the true worth of your travels lies
not just in where you've come to be, but in who you became along the way." ~Linda Staten
Rationale for Meaning in Curriculum:
Holistic art education encourages students to be in connection with mind, body, and spirit.
Through mindfulness one can pull inspiration and creativity from imagination, fantasy,
memories, and the subconscious. When working together, mind and body, facilitate the needs of
multiple intelligence learners. The kinesthetic movements that occur in visual arts often spur
expressionism that helps students to become more centered. Matters of the spirit are approached
as students begin to investigate existential and philosophical questions that may guide them into
more reflective practices. Daniel Pink mentions that spirituality can be described as the basic
desire to find purpose and meaning in ones life. (Pink, pg. 214).
The holistic art educator can lead students into art projects that are more meaningful by thinking
more intently about the ways lesson plans are devised. Daniel Pink makes mention of meditation
and exploration as a means for bringing what is internal to the surface. Eisner, Gude, and many
other scholars have made great strides in considering how to implement essential questions and
big ideas into our curriculum frameworks. Eisner once stated, When children are invited to
disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find
the words that will do the job. (Eisner, pgs. 70-92). The investigation of post-modern principles
and concepts is of importance, too. Educators may need to consider how visual culture plays a

large role in guiding students into significant, authentic connections. Freedman says, Students
continually create personal and cultural meaning from visual culture which reflects knowledge,
beliefs, and attitudes stimulated by an overlapping array of images they have seen in the past.
(Freedman, pg. 93) One mission of a curriculum in which meaning is encouraged is to help
students create and view art works, so that they not only begin to not only understand the how
behind the creative process, but they investigate the why as well.
There is a lifelessness that exists in many classrooms, today. Learning can oftentimes become
more like a spectator sport, and can lead students to feel like inactive participants that experience
isolation and detachment. As students become less passionate about learning, they begin to
separate themselves from knowledge both physically and emotionally. However, a search for
meaning can help revive teaching and learning as it is transformed through a nurturing classroom
environment. Parker Palmer says that Knowing of any sort is relational, animated by a desire to
come into deeper community with what we know. (Palmer, pg. 54). A curriculum that helps to
build community, collaboration, and cooperation in schools, could very well be the means to
creating a motivational engine that powers human existence. (Pink, pg. 208
Meaning Curriculum Goals & Content:
(in connection to Liu and Noppe-Brandons Capacities for Imaginative Learning)
A. Develop mindfulness (Creating Meaning- interpretation and synthesis)
-Construct an artwork based on memory, fantasy, or subconscious thoughts
B. Become physically interactive and expressive (Embodying- experience a work through your
senses)
- Engage in Olivia Gudes spiral workshop activities that are designed to promote play

C. Keep imagination open (Reflecting and Assessing- identify challenges and begin learning
anew)
-Re-design and improve upon a product that you find has faults
D. Investigate passions that drive discovery (Making connections-linking patterns to prior
knowledge)
-After taking inventory of your self-interests, create a self portrait that reflects these desires
E. Explore identity (Identifying patterns- finding relationships)
-Pin intriguing magazine clippings, photos/images, quotes, and textiles to a cork board until a
theme begins to develop
F. Connect in meaningful inquiry and dialogue (Questioning- Why? What if?)
-Participate in an artistic Socratic Seminar
G. Uncover the purposes behind art making (Noticing- Deeply-identifying and articulating
detail)
-Ponder and write about the ways a technique or medium may limit or expand meaning in art
H. Refine communication skills (Exhibiting Empathy- understand experiences of others)
-View and critique art, giving constructive feedback to classmates while exploring meaning
making.
I. Create harmonious relationships (Taking Action- action that expresses your learning)
-Find out more about sustainability issues in your community, and involve yourself in an art
project that will help create awareness

Meaning Curriculum Corequisites:

Design- Discover how aesthetics play a huge role in why we find certain products to be
meaningful in our lives.
Story- Discover why Pink says we have a hunger for what stories can provide---context
enriched by emotion, a deeper understanding for how we fit in and why that matters.
Symphony- Discover how to sift through our world of options to find those things that have
priority and true meaning in our lives.
Empathy- Discover how design and artwork interpretations may lead us to see, hear, or read
how an artists work is often tied to the human condition.
Play-Discover how motivation and performance can increase when investigating, exploring, and
revealing new insights through the act of play.
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Resources:
Eisner, E. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics and the social life of art.
New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Liu, E. & Noppe-Brandon, S. (2009). Imagination first: Unlocking the power of possibility.San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Palmer, P. (1998.) The courage to teach. Exploring the inner landscape of a teachers life, San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Pink, D. (2005). A whole new mind: Moving from the information age to the conceptual age.
New York: Riverhead Books.