Making Connections: Reading Takeaways (StopMotion)

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Martinez and Stager assert that, according to Piaget, educators should “…provide students a learning environment grounded in action.” This philosophy is advantageous to not just the students, who are able to freely explore art through the active experience of making rather than the passive experience of being told concepts and techniques without meaningful exploration, but also to the educators. As educators, it is key that our students are not only learning new information, but synthesizing it and absorbing it for use later. This prevents students hitting roadblocks again and again because they cannot retain information that they have not actively engaged with. Similar to the importance of science labs for students to actually break down and analyze scientific concepts, laws, and theories, intentional explorational art education gives students the tools for comprehension and critical thinking. Open-ended, exploratory education grants students the agency to come to conclusions on their own, boosting their confidence, and when the opportunity for dialogue is presented, strengthens their self esteem and confidence when they speak on a topic that they have personal experience with.

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What ties the two readings together for me is the notion that there are no rules in art. Through the Gasek reading, it is apparent that throughout the history of film and storytelling, which is long and complex, there has never been a correct means of telling stories. With mediums such as stop motion photography, revolutionary filmmaking techniques have been tried and revised over and over again. These techniques are shared, not just in the niche community of stop motion animation, but this information is disseminated over countless artistic communities, and the medium then transforms into something completely new and different for the nth time. 

My two takeaways from these readings emphasize that fact that experimentation and play with materials, both new and old, open a host of possibilities for all kinds of people, from children in art education settings, to professionals in the fields do film and storytelling. 

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