Bala's CASW session

Dealing with questions that touched upon the curriculum and the syllabus, bringing in the pedagogical issues of the real meaning of 'time' and 'space' and the logistics of handling them, Bala held forth in today's session a brilliant conundrum for the paticipants of how to deal with key questions that are highly relevant but totally out of the box in that they deal with student assessment rather than assessment of student work.
Art and Design coursework for AICE A level was the frame he set for us to discuss.
The key questions were:
1. How to schedule and plan sessions (practical work) when the locations are outside the school (eg; Lala Bhag Botanical Gardens or a view of the Hebbal lake) or outside the City ( eg; Mahabalipuram or Hampi )
2. how to facilitate learning in such a situation?
3. how to ensure completion of the painting as per the schedule, even when it is unmonitored.
Vijaya Rajeshwari facilitated the entire session ably.
The whole team had a lively session in which all felt comfortable and many good strategies were thrown up.
My responses to the key questions included the suggestions that the schedule should be made ready early and contact time making use of technology should be insisted on in the case of field trips ouside schoool where the students cannot be monitored by the teacher. Though I suggested self-assessment and peer-assesment as ways to keep them on target this idea - Bala rightly pointed out - is difficult to implement in the absence of the facilitator. About making sure they complete the work and don't drop out or produce shoddy work, the only solution I could think of was raising their level of motivation and interest and making them aware of the responsibilty they have towards art and life.
Strategies towards this end would include - meeting artists, discipline gained through earlier briefer field trips, showing films and works of art to them to raise their level of understanding of the intrinsic value of art and the consequent ethics and responsibilty expected of them in terms of integrity towards their work as artists which would include things like keeping deadlines etc...
In short i wanted them to think highly of their choice and calling so that it would automatically bring about in them a heightened awareness whereby they would turn in their best work.
The ideal time for field trips would be Christmas holidays, according to me.
Bala pointed out that while best work can be done only if they do go, if necessary, to far off places there were practical difficulties connected with that.....
The session ended with a serious appraisal of how Bala could handle coursework better next year - the best idea being by the "persistent" Vijaya Rajeshwari- a meticulous year plan- and debriefing where it was suggested that all of us should refresh our memory each time about the structure of the CASW meetings because at times we did forget and interrupted each other in sessions where we should have kept silent...
I feel that one thing that got forgooten was discussion on our take away from this enriching session. Mine was thoughts on how to mix school time and space constraints with the notion of how the world itself is a school and all time is meant for learning.....
Thanks to Bala for a thought provoking and tangentially illuminating session, typical of his aesthetic sensibility which always moves in a curve that is unexpected...
And to Rags and the others for harmonious participation. We missed the gregariousness of Anu who wasn't well.
The tea helped us in the fag end of the day to stay fresh.....
And to cap it all Tara's and Shuchi's feedback on my essay made a wonderful ending to a very pleasant day....