Using art to create a story

Nothing new there. But a closer glance also reveals a dead soldier and two horses, one lying in the background.

Jennifer Crane, a UM-Dearborn student pursuing a career in teaching, would want her students to really examine the painting.

Analyze the characters based on the clothing they’re wearing. Examine the color pallets used. Describe how the colors set a mood.

“I want them to access their prior knowledge and create a story about the painting,” Crane said. “It’s so important for kids to have access to art, but not just for art’s sake. It helps them draw more meaning. When they can draw more meaning from something, then that knowledge sticks with them.”

It’s all part of Julie Taylor’s Social Studies Methods and Multicultural Education classes at UM-Dearborn. Taylor, associate professor of social studies and multicultural education, works closely with DIA to ensure her students understand the importance of art in teaching.

“Children and adults respond to art,” Taylor said.

Students in Taylor’s two classes select a painting from DIA, then create an assignment for students based on the piece.

For now, those assignments are being stored at DIA. Taylor hopes someday the assignments will be available to teachers working in area public schools so they can implement them in their own classrooms.

Taylor’s project intrigued senior Fatima Moussa on several levels. It helped Moussa understand the importance of art in teaching, while at the same time, benefiting the community in which she was raised.

“It’s a really great way to help out the community,” said Moussa, who hopes to someday teach U.S. history in high school. “It’s the least thing I could do. I would be honored if the students from my community were to use my assignments.”

Senior Chris Berg based his assignment on a painting at DIA that depicts a government official taking their oath of office. As part of Berg’s assignment, he’d ask students to analyze the artist’s intentions behind the painting.

“I wanted them to really critically think about it,” said Berg, who likes to challenge students. “What’s the painters’ viewpoint? Why he was painting this? The colors in the sky – does it pertain to anything?”

Berg based his questions on a personal teaching belief that “students should not just take everything at face value.”

“I’m a firm believer in critical thinking,” he said.