BIG IDEA: IDENTITY 1

Big Idea: Identity- Synthesis and Adaptation

Carrie Ann Duffek Castanon

When I think of the word identity and what it means to me, I feel that identity is what

makes me who I am. Parsons (1998) explains that identity is how we understand ourselves. This

goes beyond who we are by our race, or how we look, but also pertains to who we are on the

inside. All of these things, and so much more, make up what we know to be our identity. In

regards to 21st Century approaches in teaching about the big idea of identity, this topic is very

common in the art classroom. According to Parsons (1998) it is frequently used in different art

projects such as self-portraits, collages, boxes, journals, etc., where students are asked to reflect

on themselves and do a project pertaining to who they are, whether it is about them solely, their

family, things they like to do, or places theyve been. All of these topics contribute to ones

identity. As an instructor teaching about identity, you would need to make sure you have a good

understanding of what you are teaching, because you would never want there to be any wrong

information given like there was in the student teaching of the Goldsworthy artwork. Even

though that student teacher taught the subject well, he had a misunderstanding of the artists big

idea, and gave wrong information to the students he was teaching. (Walker, 2001)

In a classroom with younger students, I can understand how discovering your own

identity could be overwhelming for them. When teaching this topic, I would explain it in a way

that they would understand, so that they dont lose interest in the topic. The suggested projects

mentioned in the above paragraph, were geared towards middle school students. In elementary

school, we could still work on the self-portrait, and even the collage, but I would make it simpler

for them, where we would focus on the concept, or big idea of the work, and not the technique

or quality of the work.

BIG IDEA: IDENTITY 2

References

Walker, S. R. (2001). Teaching meaning in artmaking. Worcester, MAU: Davis Publications.

Parsons, M. (1998). Art and Integrated Curriculum.