TAB at Irving

In Ms. Tague's art class, we do TAB-Choice Art. TAB stands for Teaching for Artistic Behaviors.

In a TAB-Choice studio students are regarded as artists. Students are expected to do the work of artists, directing their own learning. They practice coming up with their own art problems to solve, asking questions and seeing possibilities in the world around them. Students learn to persevere through difficulties as well as to trust themselves and their own judgment while simultaneously learning to be self-directed, organized, and to manage their time.

In a TAB-Choice studio students choose what to work on. Students learn best and work harder when they are excited by what they are working on. And when they design their own work, they understand why they are doing what they are doing and engage much more deeply with their learning.

Teaching with choice creates a nurturing community of artists. When everyone is working on different things, there is less of a tendency to compare oneself to others. Students not only feel safe to find their own ways of expressing ideas and investigating art problems but also celebrate each other’s achievements.  Students coach each other, discuss artwork, share materials, and often choose to work with friends and classmates on particular projects.

Developmentally appropriate work and differentiation occur regularly. TAB-Choice classrooms are highly structured environments. Students scaffold their own learning, sometimes going deeply into specific subjects or media. They work at their own pace, following their own lines of inquiry, and develop skills as they need them. Because everyone is involved in their own self-directed work the teacher is available to work individually or in small groups to differentiate for the diverse needs of students.

teachingforartisticbehavior.org