Fostering the Development of Artistic and Creative Identity - camp administration

Camping Magazine, May, 2000 by Gwynn M. Powell

* "Tell me about what you are making."

* "I can see you are working hard on this project."

* "I've never seen that combination before; how did you come up with that unique idea?"

Exploration of ideas and materials

Exploring is more than a demonstration of proficiency in using materials as the instructor explained or demonstrated; it is a time for discovery in ways that may or may not resemble the intended project.

Do you allow time to experiment with the materials and medium before a finished product is expected? By exploring the properties and uses of the medium, children are testing their own ideas about how to create with given materials.

Are there times when a finished product is not the goal? If you set a tone of rightness or wrongness during the creative process, you may limit those children with emerging identities as artists and with those who feel incapable even before the process begins. A tone of exploration could lead to new steps of self-identity and encourage opportunities for art to emerge as a means of individual expression.

Planning and assessing for outcomes

The observational tool used in the study can serve as a springboard for the creation of a template specific to different activities at camp. The act of creating a checklist promotes discussion among staff members about ways to teach different activities and communicate with campers. Staff members can take turns observing each other lead activities and then give specific, tangible feedback. By knowing what types of behavior encourage creativity, you will most likely be able to instinctively produce those behaviors while working with children.

If you walk into a room of first-graders and ask, "How many of you can draw?" hands will shoot up. If you go into a high school classroom and ask the same question, the number of hands will greatly diminish. The skills may or may not have changed, but the perceptions of competence and self-evaluation certainly will have changed. One of your goals as a staff member can be to keep the windows of possibilities open as long as possible for each individual camper.

Gwynn Powell is a doctoral student in park, recreation, and tourism management at Clemson University in South Carolina. She has fourteen years of professional experience in camping.

References

Furman, A. (1998) Teacher and pupil characteristics in the perception of the creativity of classroom climate. Journal of Creative Behavior, 32 (4), 258-277.

Rostan, S.M. (1998) A study of the development of young artists: the emergence of an artistic and creative identity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 32 (4), 278-301.