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‘ I want to know what ’ s going on in their heads ’ The Role of Speaking in Critical Thinking in Art Education and its Relevance to EAP: A Work in Progress Gary Riley-Jones, Goldsmiths University of London BALEAP PIM, INTO Newcastle, 9 June 2018.
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‘I want to know what’s going on in their heads’The Role of Speaking in Critical Thinking in Art Education and its Relevance to EAP: A Work in ProgressGary Riley-Jones, Goldsmiths University of LondonBALEAP PIM, INTO Newcastle, 9 June 2018
What does Critical Thinking mean? Critical Thinking as a Generic Skill draws on…Cognitive psychology where Critical Thinking is ‘purposeful, reasoned and goal directed’ (Halpern, 1997: 4)and the informal logic movement which involves generalised skills and abilities for the ‘correct assessing of statements’. (Ennis, 1962: 83)
Critical Thinking as a Generic Skill also involves…Appropriate affective dispositions (Halpern, 1997; McBride et al. 2002) or ‘requisite tendencies’ (Ennis in Siegel, 1988: 6);While pedagogically, teaching involves ‘imparting to students the requisite skills, abilities or proficiencies’ (Siegel, 1988: 6).
However, Critical Thinking as a Generic Skill also assumes that…Knowledge tends to be understood as ‘constant’ and ‘unambiguous, noncontroversial, and conceptually simple’ (McPeck, 1990: 27)..Thus, unlike Dewey’s original conception, there is an assumption that knowledge is neutral.
‘English is a neutral language;Language in general is neutral;science and technology are neutral rather than cultural and social; academic institutions are neutral places rather than sites of struggle between competing interests… [where] its goals and activities are presented as inevitable and natural’[my emphasis] (Benesch, 2001: 257)
Critical Pedagogy – OriginsFrankfurt School – Critical Theory (Habermas) Education and Moral Regulation (Foucault)The Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire) Education and Hegemony (Gramsci)
Conclusions to IFS 1. Art Education engages with both Critical Thinking and Critical Pedagogy;2. However, emphasis is given to Critical Theory and postmodern Critical Theory;3. Art Education emphasises speaking over the other language skills; and4. EAP must engage with the subject epistemologies.
The Importance of Disciplinary EpistemologyJackson Pollock, One: Number 31 (1950)
The Importance of Disciplinary Epistemology Cont.Michael Craig-Martin, An Oak Tree (1973)
The Crit (Critical Review)The Crit has been around a very long time and ‘is one of the most widespread methods used by art and design educators in the post-Coldstream period’(Souleles, 2013: 249)
The Crit in Art EducationStudio-based disciplines such as Art pursue programmes of staged development (scaffolding) and gradually progress towards independent and personally-focused learning.To support this progression, students are supported by formative (oral) feedback in tutorials and through group critiques complemented by contextual (theoretical) studies to encourage Critical Thinking and professional practice.
Difficulties with the CritSouleles (2013: 251) argues, however, that ‘both staff and students often had difficulty articulating the theories that underpin their practice.’However, a failure to articulate an underlying learning theory does not necessarily undermine a successful pedagogy.And how successful an art student is will be reflected in the artefacts they produce as a tangible outcome of their engagement with Critical Thinking.
Preparing Students for the CritHow can EAP courses – in this case the Goldsmiths Pre-Sessional – prepare students for the ‘shock’ of their degree programmes?
ResponsesOn the Goldsmiths Pre-Sessional students are introduced to Critical Theory through such content lectures as Postmodernities, Art History and Film Studies. Representations is a dedicated EAP speaking module, the purpose of which is ‘to introduce some of the theoretical tools or theories that might be used to interpret the images that surround us in our daily lives’.
Representations Syllabus1. Introduction to Semiology. Why is it relevant? An Introduction to Roland Barthes’Mythologies (1957);2. Introducing Foucault. Social constructivism, binary opposition and the Other as it relates to images;3. Introducing Said. Orientalism and the Foreign Other; and4. The Male Gaze. The portrayal of women in advertisements and in art practice.
True Portrait of Commodore Perry, Envoy of the Republic of North America, from the Black Ship Scroll, Anon, 1854
Conclusions1. As EAP Tutors, we need to engage with the subject disciplines at an epistemological level if we wish to truly engage with Criticality;2. Perhaps it is also not just a question of being aware of the disciplinary epistemologies, but also the pedagogy of those subject areas which, in the case of Art Education, puts great emphasis on Speaking.
Selected BibliographyBenesch, S. 2001. Critical English for Academic Purposes: Theory, Politics and Practice. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.Cottrell, S. 2011. Critical Thinking Skills: Developing Effective Analysis and Argument. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Ennis, R.H. 1962. ‘A Concept of Critical Thinking’. Harvard Educational Review, 32, 81–111.Halpern, D.F. 1997. Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum: A Brief Edition of Thought and Knowledge. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.McBride, R.E., Xiang, P., and Wittenburg, D. 2002. ‘Dispositions Towards Critical Thinking: The Preservice Teacher’s Perspective’. Teacher and Teaching Theory: Theory and Practice, 8, 29–40.McPeck, J.E. 1990. Teaching Critical Thinking. Dialogue and Dialectic. London: Routledge.Siegel, H. 1988. Educating Reason. London: Routledge.Souleles, N. 2013. ‘The Evolution of Art and Design Pedagogies in England: Influences of the Past, Challenges for the Future’. Special Issue: Design Education: International Perspectives and Debates, 32 (2), 243–255.
