Inquiring Critically into Art : Pre-service Art Teachers' Perceptions about Art Appreciation Activities

Abstract

This article is about pre-service art teachers' viewpoints about art appreciation activities and instructional strategies for teaching how to inquire critically into art. I conducted a qualitative study in the Art Education Department at Indiana University, and eight pre-service art teachers in the Department volunteered to participate in the study. In order to understand their perceptions, I observed their behavior and remarks in an art appreciation course, collected their written documents, and conducted semi-structured interviews with them in the period of 1998 to 1999. Based on the data analysis, I discussed how they constructed their perspectives for teaching art appreciation activities; their perceptions were deeply grounded in the past experiences in schools. Also, I discussed what instructional strategies would be more effective in developing critical thinking in art appreciation activities. These strategies were questioning strategies, the form of learning as a gialogue, the selection of art themes, and the adequate length of the learning period.