Page 9 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: The Arts, 2010

Arts teachers provide students with frequent opportunities to practise and apply new learning and, through regular and varied assessment, give them the specific feedback they need in order to further develop and refine their skills. By assigning tasks that promote the development of higher-order thinking skills, teachers enable students to become thoughtful and effective communicators. In addition, teachers encourage students to think aloud about their own artistic choices, and support them in developing the language and techniques they need to assess their own learning. Opportunities to relate knowledge of and skills in the arts to broader contexts will motivate students to learn in meaningful ways and to become lifelong learners.
Principals
The principal works in partnership with teachers and parents to ensure that each student has access to the best possible educational experience. To support student learning, principals ensure that the Ontario curriculum is being properly implemented in all classrooms using a variety of instructional approaches. They also ensure that appropriate resources are made available for teachers and students. To enhance teaching and learning in all subjects, including the arts, principals promote learning teams and work with teach- ers to facilitate their participation in professional development activities. Principals are also responsible for ensuring that every student who has an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is receiving the modifications and/or accommodations described in his or her
plan – in other words, for ensuring that the IEP is properly developed, implemented, and monitored.
Community Partnerships
Community partners can be an important resource for schools and students. They can
be models of how the knowledge and skills acquired through the study of the curriculum relate to life beyond school. As mentors, they can enrich not only the educational experience of students but also the life of the community.
Schools and school boards can play a role by coordinating efforts with community partners. They can, for example, set up visits to art galleries, theatres, museums, and concert venues (where available), which provide rich environments for field trips and for exploration of the local community and its resources. Alternatively, local artists, musicians, actors, or dancers may be invited into the school. An increasing number of partnership programs – such as the Ontario Arts Council’s Artists in Education program – can assist teachers
in more fully integrating arts and cultural programming into the classroom. In locales where there are few artists, technology can be used to provide a wealth of opportunities for students to hear and see performances and art works and to contact artists.
ATTITUDES IN THE ARTS
The attitudes of everyone involved with students have a significant effect on how students approach the arts. Parents can demonstrate a positive attitude towards the arts at home and in the community, and teachers should project a positive attitude towards the arts in their instruction. Teachers should encourage students to use their imagination and their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills in planning, producing, and assessing works of art. They should also help students understand that even the most accomplished artists continue to put a great deal of time and effort into their work.
INTRODUCTION
7