Interacting with materials

This thesis focuses on the choices the teachers made concerning their role and their chosen materials in the arts education project ateliers in school and its influence on the learning effects of arts education. It is built on the social-constructive view of learning as a process between teachers, students and the materials (Lenz Taguchi et al, 2010; Frederiksen, 2011) and the theory of Harland et all (2000) which categorizes the learning effects of arts education. Inspired by these views the following research question was proposed: How do the role of the teacher and the chosen materials influence the learning effects of the arts education project ateliers in school? The literature explores the theories of social-constructivism and experience while focusing on early childhood arts education and, specifically, the Reggio Emilia approach. The role of materials in the learning process is discussed and these are declared as essential for children’s learning. Lastly, the theory of learning as a process between teachers, students and materials is explored and the learning effects of the arts will be discussed. Throughout the analysis several patterns concerning the aims of the atelier, the role of the teacher and the choice in materials for both the ateliers were discovered. Each pattern had its own effect on the atelier and corresponded to the discussed theories. Through several observed examples in both the ateliers it became clear that the learning effects were influenced by the different patterns that were discovered. Several learning effects, which corresponded to the theory of Harland et all (2000), were observed in the atelier of Punt 5. The most visible were enjoyment, gaining knowledge about the fine arts and the development of technical skills, experimentation and associating with their own experiences. In the case of the atelier of the Wilgenstam this were joy, experimentation, associating with their own experiences and collaborations. Consequently, the last three learning effects were the result of several patterns of the role of the teacher and choice in materials that were influenced by the role of the teacher, the choice of materials and the experiences of the children as theorized by Frederiksen (2011; 2012).