Generally, the classroom setup is conducive to creativity in a studio art classroom. The idea is that you are learning, working, and critiquing each other as a cohort. There are ways that this could be improved upon though.
As we have been talking about innovative learning and incorporating digital technology into our curriculums, it has occurred to me that even in inherently creative classroom setups there are certain elements that make it instructor centered. For example, in the handbuilding area of the ceramics studio there are four very large tables lined up into two rows. Usually the instructor takes half of one of the tables that is in the “front” to do demonstrations. The students then position themselves so that they are facing the instructor, often all on one side of the tables, essentially creating a typical classroom dynamic. If we separated the classroom into smaller tables where three or four students were at each table with a demo area in the center that was for the instructor demo, student demos, and critiques, I think this would create a more collaborative experience for all the students.
It is difficult in a ceramic setting to have any technology in a ready-to-use format because of the damage from clay particles. The primary focus would be in creating areas where exploration happens in a more collaborative setting. Expanding what they can experiment with in the classroom would be important. Having a designated plaster area for mold making, slip casting station, and template station would increase exploration, especially if it is visible from all areas of the room. This would facilitate students being inspired by the making processes of their peers in real time. It would be important to have all necessary information for making clearly posted in the area so that they don’t have to utilize computers in the studio, as well as all materials for making easily accessible and ready to use.
I do believe that the students making as many of their own tools and supplies as possible is an important part of the learning process in each medium. Providing information and access to the woodshop, digital lab, printing lab, and metal shop would be an integral part of my classroom design