Using the Reflective Assessment (c) Model in the Visual Arts Classroom. This formative assessment canon guides students through the art-making process in a reflective, purposeful and practical way while helping teachers assess their understanding and development through the creation of an artwork. Copyright (c) 2013 Raven Bishop and Erika Oldershaw. All Rights Reserved. www.ravendbishop.com

1. Using the
Reflective Assessment©
Model in the Visual Arts
Classroom
Erika Oldershaw and
Raven Bishop
Severn River Middle
School; Anne Arundel
County Public Schools
Prepared for the Maryland Art Education Association Conference
October 18, 2013

2. Are these all the
same thing?

3. What is the role of assessment?
 To the student?
 To the teacher?
 To the department?
 To the school?
 To the school system?

4. What are you assessing?
 What students know?
 What students know how to do?
 How the artwork looks?
 How the artwork compares to other student
work?
 How well the students follow instructions?
 Behavior?
 Being prepared for class?
 Ability to imitate a style of art?
 Creativity?
 Ability to use tools a certain way?

6. Core Belief: The most
important thing is not just
that students learn to
make artworks, but that
they learn how to respond
to and reflect upon the
process of creating them.

7.  Behavior should be separate from student work
assessment.
 Assessment isn’t a reward or punishment, but
feedback to help students grow.
 Criteria for assessment should come from the
student (with guidance from the teacher when
needed).
 Assessment should help students acknowledge
both strengths and area of need—from
themselves and from the teacher.
 Assessing the product is different from assessing
the art-making process. Students need both to
become reflective and self-reliant.

8.  Keeping behavior separate gives you very
important data that helps you be diagnostic
about behavior
 Doing so helps students change behaviors so
negative behaviors stop
 “Lets give ‘em something to talk about”—
keeping behavior separate supports parent
contact
 Gives you perspective

9. Each assessment piece follows a canon of questions
that teaches students a process for reflection.
1. What did you do and why?
2. What do you know/need to know and how are you
using it?
3. How are you growing as an
artist/student/individual?
4. How are you persevering through challenges? Are
you acknowledging your successes? What would you
do differently? What's next?
These questions form the basis for well-written artist
statements.

11. This worksheet is used in the beginning of a
project. It gives students a chance to both
sketch and reflect upon what they will
create.
The students are asked how they will design
the artwork (what they will include and
why), what they know and need to know to
create the artwork, how they hope to grow
through the artwork and what problems
they expect to encounter along with ways
to work through potential problems.
This process helps the students self-assess
(we use the word "reflect" with students)
and it helps the teacher to gauge what our
students need to proceed forward.

13. This worksheet is used at the mid-point of a
project. It gives students a chance to evaluate
what they've done so far and what they need to
do to be successful as they move forward.
The students are asked what they have done so
far and if they view this as successful, how they
are using what they have learned and what do
they still need to learn.
There is also a social component of this
reflection to conference with a peer to
gain/give feedback as they move forward.
The page also includes space for students to
plan the next steps of the artwork. This process
helps the students to self-assess and taps into
their social nature to gain feedback. It helps
us gauge what our students need to proceed
forward.
The top component of the worksheet (where
students check off if they are "good to go",
"need some help" or "totally confused" help us
pinpoint who we need to see right away and who
needs guidance and who needs to just work (we
keep an eye on them too!). In large classes of 40
or more students this helps us to "triage" those
who need help most.

14. This worksheet develops throughout an entire
project. Students generate the criteria that they are
responsible for in the project.
Most classes end with the teacher asking students
"Can we add something to our rubric today?" or
"What can we add under 'technique' from today's
lesson? How should reductive charcoal look?". The
teacher keeps track of student responses and prints
out the rubric for the class towards the end of the
project once the class decides it is complete.
The Flexible Rubric makes students invested in the
assessment process because it gives students
ownership over assessment (while the teacher can
guide the process towards her objectives for the
lesson).
Because the rubric is made by the class, it
can accommodate things that come up in class--for
instance if a class discussion brings up things that
become part of the project that class might include
them in the rubric whereas a class that did not have
that same discussion would not.
The Flexible Rubric allows students space for self-
assessment as well. It serves both as formative and
summative assessment. When it is being added to in
class it is formative because it helps the
teacher assess whether the students know what they
are learning and it is formative from the student
perspective as it helps them see how what they are
learning fits into what they are creating.

15.  For assessing the product.
 Categories: Problem Solving, Technique,
Content, Quality
 Not all criteria need to be used, but try to use
every category
 Space for self-assessment and teacher
assessment
 Criteria needs to be visible—you will assess
experience with another page
 “Creativity”—what does that look like?
 “Neat”—what does that look like?
 “Understands Van-Gogh”—what does that look
like?

17. This worksheet is used at the end of a
project. We believe that art is an ongoing
process, so though this individual project
may be over the process of growing as an
artist/student/individual proceeds.
Students are expected to be able to write
artist statements in high school (and
beyond), so we use the Reflective
Response as a framework to get students to
be able to write artist statements.
In grade 8 we gradually wean students off of
the worksheets and replace them with
writing artist statements in the narrative
format they will use in years beyond middle
school. This assessment series as a whole
helps us know when students are ready to
start moving on to writing in the narrative
format.

18. “This project made me think
about weight and balance. ..I
figured out how to make my
project a good weight and have
some design. This project will
help me with future weight and
balance problems.”
7th Grade

19. Students become used to this
process and become very
articulate about the different
experiences they have in art-
making.

20.  “I would not change this project at all,
mostly because after multiple periods of
hopelessness it turned out to be the big
break I was looking for. I am still shocked
on the quality of the piece and the story.”
8th Grade

21. STUDENT OR PROFESSIONAL?
My love for art started with graffiti. I use to watch the trains go by
in Baltimore where i grew up and see the wonderful graffiti art. I
wanted to learn how they did it and that's what i did. year's later I
discovered street art by the likes of banksy and Blek le rat and a
few others. And decided I have to learn how they did it as well. The
only difference is i have created some of my own techniques to my
designs. And the fact that i mainly paint on canvas and not the
street's. Maybe i will one day again. For now I try and make the art
that i would like to own. I want it to pop. I want it to jump at your
soul. I use any and all mediums when making a piece of art. A new
goal of mine is to make a mark on a wall or the ground so big that it
can be seen from space!!*
*This is an artist statement from a "professional artist".

22.  “When we were doing the final parts of this artwork
we were reminded of finger painting from when we
were little. The smudge tool reminded us of this
because we were practically finger painting and
swirling the paints around. I could blend colors and
shades together to give a more realistic look to
something rough. It added more tones to places in
need of variety.
The quilt part of this artwork was the most
successful in my opinion. The shapes matched up and
looked really unique…We gained many useful art
skills from this artwork like learning how to identify
different values of everyday colors in objects.
Overall, this artwork was a great learning
experience and was also a great success.”

23.  “This project has been very educational and enjoyable. We
decided to design the project the way it is because it
demonstrates both abstract and photo-realism. These
concepts make an artwork that is appealing. For example,
the individual squares on the grid don’t make much sense
on their own, but together they form a picture that can be
understood by the viewer…
This project has made us think in a new way by
showing us how everyone’s work is needed in a group
project to create the final project. Also, we now think
about how abstract and photo-realism can be combined.
Before, it just seemed like they were completely different
aspects of art. Now, we know they can be unified to create
an interesting work of art.
Considering this is the first time we have combined
these two types of art (digital and traditional), I think the
project was successful. We used teamwork to make sure
the final image can be seen.”

24.  Have students answer questions 1&2
one day, 3&4 the next
 Physically cut apart the worksheet
and give selected parts to different
students (* especially for group
work!)
 Add in one question per project
until the students are used to the
whole page.
 Use photography in place of
sketches for the In-Process and
Reflective Response component.

25. W4 CCR Anchor Standard
 Produce clear and coherent writing in which
the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
SL1 CCR Anchor Standard
 Prepare for and participate effectively in a
range of conversations and collaborations
with diverse partners, building on others’
ideas and expressing their own clearly and
persuasively.

26.  “I wasn’t completely enamored with the idea of
having to write a few sentences on what I
wanted to do. But, after sitting down and
actually answering the questions, it helped me
narrow down my ideas to one thing. I found it
helpful when I actually did it.”
--Ron, Grade 8
 “This process allows us, as students, to organize
and decide what you want to do. It’s not like
you are given a blank paper and told ‘Draw!’.
You are given a starting point in your work. I
would recommend this in any art class.”
--Lacey, Grade 8

27.  “The Reflective Response is helpful because
it helps us to revisit and reflect…it helps us
think about how we have improved
artistically and what we need to improve on
in the future.”
--Liz and Grace, Grade 8

28. SL6 CCR Anchor Standard
 Acquire and use accurately a range of general
academic and domain-specific words and phrases
sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening
at the college and career readiness level;
demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary
knowledge when considering an unknown term
important to comprehension or expression.
SL4 CCR Anchor Standard
 Present information, findings, and supporting
evidence such that listeners can follow the line of
reasoning and the organization, development, and
style that are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience.

29. Questions, concerns, thoughts,
ideas, worries, “but at my
school…”

30. Percentage vs.
Total Points