Teri Robinson

FACILITATION SHEET

Title: Chapter 1 Teaching Visual Culture: Theorizing Visual Culture in Education

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and

the social life of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

Visual culture is important in art education because it shapes the way people think
by allowing viewers of art to create new meaning through new experiences. (Freedman,
2003, p. 14) Visual culture allows students to receive an education of art through lived
experiences. Using lived experiences allows students to reflect on their cultural identity
inside and outside of the art classroom. This is important for students because students
can reflect on themselves and what is around them.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

Visual culture is important to teach in art because it is relevant to students lives.
Freedman (2003) said, “What was once considered an elite and isolated form of human
production is becoming increasingly realized as a part of daily life” (p.1). In the past
people believed visual culture to be separated from fine arts, but as technology increases,
so does the way of making art. If teachers teach visual culture in the classrooms and
encourage students to use their lived experience with visual culture as a learning tool,
then it could help shape students’ thinking. A way that it could help shape students’
thinking is thinking of visual culture and identity. In this chapter, Freedman talks about
how visual culture illustrates freedom of speak. Which allows people to create a wide
range of visual forms that could influence others. (p. 3) Teaching visual culture and
identity could help students use art to appropriately use their freedom of speech to
influence others or make others aware.

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

I agree with Freedman; teaching visual culture is important because if it becomes
a part of students’ lives and influences them, teachers could use that to make assignments
relevant. An example would be, a classmate of mine, Kara Walter, who is using visual
culture to teach students how to bring awareness to any social issue they choose. She uses
visual culture by showing advertisements in poster form. Students’ responsibilities are to
create a slogan and a picture that brings awareness to their issue. This assignment is
 Teri Robinson

important because they get to use a media they see in their everyday lives and bring
awareness to a social issue they feel strongly about. This will introduce students to new
ways of making art and learn how to use visual culture to bring awareness to anything.
 Teri Robinson

FACILITATION SHEET

Title: Chapter 2 Finding Meaning in Aesthetics: The Interdependence of Form, Feeling,

and Knowing

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and

the social life of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

This chapter is about how to help students bring meaning to art forms by using
aesthetics in the curriculum. This chapter also focuses on aesthetics and critiquing how
they were used in a historical and contemporary context.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

The physicality of art making is important within itself, but when teaching art, it
is important to document the learning experience of the student. We know if students
understand our objectives in the curriculum by challenging them to bring meaning to
their work. Freedman (2003) states, “The increased attention to aesthetic as an overt part
of curriculum demands an analysis of the particular conceptions of aesthetics focused
upon education and its specifically related to teaching visual culture” (p. 24). This leads
to thinking of aesthetics in a historical and contemporary context. It leaves questions like;
how did we use aesthetics in the past and how are we using it now that visual culture is
being used in the curriculum? Freedman (2003) quoted that, Modernists such as Kant
believed, “…aesthetic judgement is grounded in a necessarily universal, immediate
response of pleasure to certain objects perceived by the senses without concepts and
involving no practical interests or desires” (p.26). In a historical context, aesthetics is
seen as beauty in the art making without a concept. In a contemporary context, artist
forces viewers to think about why their art was made by allowing viewers to interpret
work by using their own lived experience.

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

I believe in both the historical and contemporary context of aesthetics. I believe

that creating art should be about the beauty and pleasure of making it, but it should also
be a reason and it should bring enlightenment to the viewer. If the art does not have
meaning it could be hard to understand why it was made. In art education it is important
 Teri Robinson

for teachers to communicate the importance of a specific art assignment. While creating
an edTPA based lesson plan for middle school clinicals, I created a big idea for students
to use abstract images to communicate a social issue and representational images to
represent a solution to overcome adversity of their social issue. Though creating abstract
art is pleasurable, it relies on the viewers to interpret the main ideas. In my classroom I
must teach students how to use elements of design to use metaphors. These metaphors
connect to their social issue, which is conceptual. The work can be beautifully made, but
it must have a meaning to be interpreted and explained.
 Teri Robinson

FACILITATION SHEET Commented [ks1]: Teri, please observe my

formatting re spacing of this document
so you can follow suit for all following
Title: Chapter 3 The Social Life of Art: The Importance of Connecting the Past with the facilitations. It’s single spaced and
Present double spaced.

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and

the social life of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

This chapter is about the history of art and how it is starting to change. Instead of
viewing art as something that is supposed to be physically appealing and of value to those
in the higher class, it should be viewed through a social and cultural perspective. Cultural
perspectives include underrepresented communities such as African American, Native
American, and Latinos It should be viewed through this perspective because art of the Commented [ks2]: Be more specific here.
past tells a story that involves a social and cultural influences. The people in these What do you mean by this? How so? You
need to be more courageous in your
underrepresented communities make up history, so their stories should be told. writing. Freedman says we need to be
inclusive not exclusionary. Yes? You
need to claim that when you summarize.
Be bold Teri. Your voice is important!
Short Overview (including any important quotes):
This chapter talks about connoisseurship and how it shapes the past of art history.
Freedman (2003) observes, “Connoisseurs concerned themselves with finding out facts Commented [ks3]: Always precede a quote
about when a work of art was made and who made it in order to understand at what level with the author. Do not use hanging
quote.
of appreciation (both aesthetic and financial) it should be valued” (p.45). Now in new
histories of curriculum there is a method of teaching that involves what Freedman Commented [ks4]: Period comes after
parentheses. Please review APA format at
describes as “social influence and dynamics of cultural development” (p.47). This is the writing center and learn it to the
taking steps away from connoisseurship. The new curriculum takes steps away from best of your ability (which is great!).
connoisseurship by allowing people to bring in other influences of making art. Therefore, Commented [ks5]: Good we needed this
teaching visual culture in the classroom is important because it allows students to view explanation!
art history through a social and cultural lens. The past of art history is being challenged
by the present because it uses the ideas of the past and the ideas of the present to teach
students the importance of art from multiple perspectives and many cultures, not just one,
the European.
In this chapter, Freedman (2003) talks about concept and quality. In the past Commented [ks6]: You need to add the date
quality would focus on the making of the art and how good it looks (instead of the when addressing Freedman here because
you are starting a new chapter here.
concepts). Freedman talks about using concepts in quality by teaching students the good
and bad of teaching visual culture. Freedman explains that some art that is good for one
group may not be good for another and students could take in ill information because
they experience visual culture outside of school instead of learning about it in art. (p.53) Commented [ks7]: If there is no quote, no
This needs to cover the chapter from beginning to end and all its main ideas. Use at least page number is needed. In your overview,
you should also address Freedman’s
2-3 quotes to support your claims. concepts of ‘old’ and ‘new’ art history.
Important.
 Teri Robinson

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

I believe that art history should include the social and cultural influences. I
believe this because in contemporary art, there are a lot of different artists who are
influenced by the movements of the past. I can apply this to teaching by giving students a
presentation on an artist and their work. I can tell them to choose one of the artist’s works
and search for what influences this artist to make the work. I will instruct students to
think of the artist’s environment and how that plays a part. I will also tell them to
consider the year the work was made and what happened during that year because that
could also be an influence. If students do research on the work instead of just admiring
the craftsmanship, then this could lead to them figuring out how their social lives and
their culture influence their art.
 Teri Robinson

FACILITATION SHEET

Title: Chapter 4 Art and Cognition: Knowing Visual Culture

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and

the social life of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

This chapter is about the relationship of the arts to cognition and how people
generally separate emotion from thinking. Freedman (2003) talks about the importance of
making the connection between perception and meaning in the cognition of art and how
that is important to teach in visual culture. (p.xiii)

Short Overview (Including at least 2-3 important quotes):

In this chapter, Freedman (2003) says, “The historical separation of knowledge
from feeling as a foundation of Western philosophy has devalued the importance of
emotion to cognition and resulted in a lack of serious consideration in education of the
realm of life called the arts (Eisner, 1998)” (p.63). The history of art also revolves around
science and how children’s artistic abilities develop as they grow older in relation to
behavior, but now people are starting to think of the arts in the relations to cognition.
Visual culture is a part of children’s lives they see it everywhere; seeing and experiencing
visual culture is one part of the process. The chapter says, “But the cognition processing
that takes place when we encounter visual culture is a combination of both
psychobiological and sociocultural effects.” (p.64)
Freedman (2003) talks about psychobiological concepts of artistic development
and sociocultural perspectives of artistic development. Within the psychobiological
concepts there is stage-by-age development and this allows people to understand child
development through their artistic abilities at a specific age level. Freedman says,
“…children’s drawings can be easily analyzed as behaviors…they were considered
important to developmental research” (p.70). Within sociocultural perspectives, Brent
Wilson and Marjorie Wilson did not agree with Lowenfeld, they believed that
“…drawing behaviors reflected social learning” (p.75) This means that children’s art
reflects the environment they are placed in. When students start school, their art will
reflect their peers and what they experience in school versus what they learn at home.
Lastly, in the chapter Freedman (2003) talks about the conceptions and
misconceptions of art. Students may have misconceptions of art because of their
sociocultural influences. Freedman says, “These conditions have led cognitive scientist
Lauren Resnick (1994) to argue that educators need to take at least two different
approaches to learning” (p.84) The two ways of teaching is biological structure and
cultural. Biological structure allows students to perceive art authentically versus cultural
 Teri Robinson

which allows students to take in art through their cultural experiences.

Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational

experiences/or teaching experience
I appreciate Freedman and how she explains the relation to art and cognition. I
feel it is very important as an art educator to use visual culture as a tool to study how
their students perceive art in a biological and cultural aspect. I teach 6th grade at St
Mary’s Catholic School and I have a student who thinks that abstract art can be done by
three-year old’s and I believe that is a biological response because he may not
understand the meaning behind the artist’s work. This is a misconception of art because
that is how he perceives it. There could be another student who believes that abstract art
is beauty and complex. They can believe this because their cultural experiences could
have allowed them to understand art through abstraction. Therefore, art and cognition
are important because we need to understand how and why students perceive art and the
way that they perceive it.
 Teri Robinson

FACILITATION SHEET

Title: Chapter 5 Interpreting Visual Culture: Constructing Concepts for Curriculum

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003) Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and

the social life of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences:

This chapter is about the interpretation and representation of art inside and outside
of the classroom. Curriculum needs to include context, suggestiveness, and a reflection
component when students are interpreting artwork.

Short Overview (Including at least 2-3 important quotes):

In this chapter Freedman (2003) discusses how visual culture influences students
at any level (p.86). She talks about interpretation in the higher level which involves three
skills: “unpacking underlying assumptions, forming multiple, possible associations; and
performing self-conscious, critical reflection” (p.88). With unpacking underlying
assumptions, you must look at the context of the piece to understand visual culture.
Students must look at their environment and what evokes their emotions, opinions, and
beliefs to make their art possible (p.88). When forming associations teachers must
understand suggestiveness and how to use it to promote extended and constructed
knowledge in students. Critical reflection in the classroom could be done by students
using meaningful interpretation.
Freedman (2003) also discuss postmodern concepts in this chapter; visual culture
introduces new way to promote values. People used mass media to promote messages and
it could be done through text and imagery. Both are representations that depend on
metaphors and symbolism (pp. 95-96). Images are more effective than text because they
promote objects in a memorable way. Visual culture is important because it shows people
how art is all around us for example, in the media they use images in an interesting way
to display their messages. To conclude Freedman says, “Art education should help
students reflect on the seductive power of visual culture so that they become aware of the
continual learning that is part of their daily contact with it” (p.105). It is important for
teachers to teach students the connection between image and meaning.

Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational

experiences/or teaching experience
 Teri Robinson

I honestly believe that visual culture should be taught in the classroom and
students should learn how to use their assumptions and context of images to make
interpretation. Freedman (2003) states, “…approaches to the way in which images are
received and understood that focus on either artist or audience are implausible because
they do not consider the complex social conditions of the process (Morley,1992). The
process is more likely a highly interactive relationship between imagery and audience
that is both similar and different and groups…” (p.100). I think this is important in
student’s growth revolving critical reflection. Critical reflection is important in this sense
because it allows students to think beyond themselves and what they know. I can use
examples of posters and video clips of advertisements to allow students to critically
reflect how the creator communicated and promoted their product or their issue. I will
encourage students to use suggestiveness and context to explain their interpretation of the
image. I would also discuss with students the difference between using images and text to
communicate to viewers and why images are more effective than text.
 Teri Robinson

FACILITATION SHEET

Title: Chapter 6 Curriculum as Process: Visual Culture and Democratic Education

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003) Teaching Visual Culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and

the social life of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

This chapter is about cultural representation in art and how the democratic
curriculum in connection to postmodern curriculum. Visual culture helps bring a better Commented [ks8]: Freedman connects
perspective of cultural awareness and social responsibilities. democratic curriculum with postmodern.
Not contrasts, rather connects it.
Please rewrite and reread for
understanding.
Short Overview (Including at least 2-3 important quotes):
In the beginning of this chapter Freedman (2003) views curriculum as “…a form
of social action” (p.106). Freedman talks about curriculum in a way that focus on what
students learn inside and outside of school. Teachers can take what students learn outside
of school and give them a different perspective and shape their understanding. Freedman
also talks about curriculum as an autobiography; using one’s own experience and culture
as a teaching tool in the classroom.
Freedman (2003) thinks of curriculum as process as she introduces five conditions
of curriculum process. The first is curriculum is a form of representation. Thinking of
curriculum as a representation involves forming knowledge “in relation to value, beliefs,
and social structure” (p.109). Curriculum is like a collage. This means that curriculum
has multiple contributions from multiple sources that help construct ideas. Curriculum is
a creative production, which means it involves the medium used to construct the lessons.
Curriculum suggest stories instead of objectified and disembodied truth; students should
be able to understand the curriculum and it should include a combination of sources and
designed so students can make interpretations through their lived experiences. Lastly,
curriculum should be more transparent. Students should be included in the making of
their work. They should be able to include their experiences as students and as people
outside of the classroom, so curriculum should be based on creating meaning in their
lives. Nice summary above reviewing conditions of curriculum.
Freedman (2003) talks about sequential curriculum which involves linear and
spiral programs. “Spiral program builds on knowledge not only by advancing information
to an increasing and more sophisticated level, but by revisiting the same concepts and
skills to promote rehearsal” (p.113). “Linear form of curriculum might be helpful when
merely adding to students’ repertoire of painting technique” (p.113). Spiral is more
prominent when teaching visual culture because it is complex and increase and add to
knowledge as it continues to reinforce ideas. APA used well above. Good.
 Teri Robinson

To conclude students can use their experiences to learn so teachers should create a
curriculum that involves creating meaning connected to students’ experiences.
Curriculum should also indicate a multicultural point of view as a foundation for art
education.

Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational

experiences/or teaching experience
I agree with Freedman, I believe that curriculum should include an autobiography.
As an African American artist who wants to teach in Chicago public schools, the majority
students of color, I should be able to share my experiences with my students and bring in
other cultures’ experiences into my classroom. This is where multiculturalism being the
foundation of art education comes in because like Freedman (2003) has said,
“Curriculum is like a collage” (p.110). This means that it should involve different aspects
of multiculturalism including the truth and history of cultures told specifically by
themselves. This should help students reconstruct their beliefs as a part of learning.
 Teri Robinson

FACILITATION SHEET

Title: Chapter 7 Art.edu: Technological Images Artifacts, and Communities

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and

the social life of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

Chapter 7 is about teaching technology. Technology is a huge part of visual
culture and this chapter touches on the forms of technology that can be taught or the
technology that students are introduced to inside or outside of school.

Short Overview (Including at least 2-3 important quotes):

This chapter explores teaching through technology. Freedman (2003) says,
“Technological imagery blurs the boundaries between truth and fiction by acting as both.
This imagery has become an important aspect of students’ lived experience and as such is
part of their reality” (p.129). Technology is a huge part of visual culture and it is
important to know how to respond to students’ interpretation of technological imagery
inside and outside of the classroom. Freedman states, “However, students not only
respond to visual culture; they take part in the creation of it, including through their
influence on culture industries” (p.135). This is where people in the industry target
children by making advertisement specifically for them. They do this by observing
children, understanding what appeals to children, and how children can influence their
peers.
According to Freedman (2003), “…the role of teachers and students as active
viewers will change as we increasingly interact with technologies and other popular
visual culture, students need increased critical guidance that teachers can provide”
(p.139). This means that teachers should be constantly aware of what influences students
outside of the classroom and not to control it in a way that is manipulating, but to expand
students’ knowledge on information they take in outside of the school setting. Freedman
says, “The good news is that students are now beginning to become sophisticated enough
to understand the impact of television on their choices, value, and identities” (p.145). To
conclude, with access to technology students can receive a lot of false information and it
should be in teacher’s best interest to make sure the bad influences of the internet does
not shape the students’ choices, values, and identities.

Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational

 Teri Robinson

experiences/or teaching experience

Going into the field of art education I had the idea of art all wrong. I thought it
was merely painting, drawing, and sculpture. I had the idea of art wrong because from K-
10 I did not have the proper art education and I believe I was very suggestive about what
art is. I believe art was a recognizable piece made from paint. I had no idea the wide
range of materials, styles, and movements included in art. I have learned that it is all
those subjects plus those that make up visual culture, which includes technology. I took a
K-12 technology course at NIU and I have learned so much about technology and how to
include it into the classroom. I plan to use technology in my classroom to change
students’ perspective of what is learning and what is play. Technology meaning play
could give students false concepts and principles and I feel like it is my job as an
educator to help students decipher false concepts and principles from what is real. I create
a video game through coding in the technology course at NIU and it was very
enlightening. I know there will be a lot of students in my class who play video games and
would love to learn how to create one. If I can teach students how to code and create their
own video game, they are connecting what they have learned outside of school to what
they are learning inside of school, which is a part visual culture.
 Teri Robinson

FACILITATION SHEET

Title: Chapter 8 Contributing to Visual Culture: Student Artistic Production and

Assessment

Author(s): Kelly Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and

the social life of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

Chapter 8 is about the importance of critical reflection as an assessment for
student work. The arts allow students to be expressive, communicative, and construct
their identities based on social interaction.

Short Overview (Including at least 2-3 important quotes):

Critical reflect is a group process. Freedman (2003) says, “… a broad range of
experience with visual culture, including its production, will help people to shift from a
“personal” like or dislike of art images or objects to understanding” (p.150). Students will
be able to get to this point by guidance from educators who know that students learn from
social and cultural experiences. Instructors should be a model to students in a way that
students could learn about assessing art in an impersonal way such as, their experiences.
Freedman says, “Because students are becoming increasingly aware of local and global
social conditions, and are immersed in the culture of their peers, they should be
encouraged to develop a critical awareness, including making critical statements through
their own art” (p.154). Students should be encouraged to work on projects that
communicates social and global issues because it increases their knowledge on social and
global events happening around them, instead of understanding through an opposer’s
lens.
In this chapter there are example of group critique methods, one is role play.
Freedman (20033) says, “Students study or research comments made by art professionals
(historians, anthropologists, critics, etc.) or laypeople on artist’s style, historical trends, or
cultural traditions” (p,157). This activity could “help students understand processes of
production and appreciation of the arts” (p.157). This is important because when students
learn about different ways to create art and different processes of art they learn to accept
and appreciate all categories of art. They let go of their stereotypes of what is art and
understand other peoples’ lived experiences through their work. To conclude, visual
culture allows students to make art based on their learned experiences.

Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational

experiences/or teaching experience
When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to participate in group critique. I
 Teri Robinson

was given the opportunity to learn though other students’ point of view. I learned a lot
about myself because it helped me talk about my process in ways I didn’t think of before.
Learned that I enjoy getting positive feedback from peers that I felt had exceptional work.
It made me have confidence in myself in it reflected in the work I produced. Through
critiques I learned I enjoy critiques and it reflects in my teaching as well. On the last day
of teaching 6th grade at St Mary’s School, it was the best day for me. Everyone was
positive and they learned through each other using their own lived experiences and their
peers’ experiences. I believe they were able to react the way they did because I, as the
teacher modelled how to positively reflect by writing academic language on the board
that students could use during while speaking and continuously using positive language.