Teaching Artistically Able Students with Exceptionalities (continued)

• Make assignments open-ended so that students have opportunities to use higher level thinking skills. For example, when assigning a personally expressive self-portrait, allow students to choose the media they use to complete the assignment. 
• Offer options, if not for materials, then for subject matter or style, such as allowing students to choose a topic for a critique about a specific style of art. For example, if a student chooses to critique abstract art, he or she can do so orally, in writing, or by creating artwork that demonstrates individual reactions to abstract art. 

Methods of Teaching Students With Specific Disabilities

Below are a few additional suggestions for teaching artistically able students with specific disabilities: 
 Students with emotional disabilities may respond best to creating artwork that is self-expressive, such as expressionistic or surrealistic images. Teachers should focus on positive experiences, reassure students, and provide them with firm, consistent guidelines and opportunities for interaction with other students. 

Students with learning disabilities may need information explained in several ways. Depending on the nature of the specific disability, the student may benefit from oral instruction, written instruction, or demonstration. Students should reiterate art lesson expectations to the teachers to be sure communication is clear. 

Students with physical disabilities should be provided materials that allow for maximum independence. The physical environment of the classroom or materials may need to be adapted for their individual needs. Teachers should help students verbalize difficulties they are encountering in order to help them solve art room problems. 

Students with hearing impairments should be positioned in the classroom so they can get the teacher's attention and read classmates' facial expressions. Directions should be provided in writing and through demonstration. These students should be involved in group activities such as collaborative art making, critiques, and historical studies of art. 

Students with visual impairments require more assistance in visual arts than many of their peers. In providing an art curriculum for these students, consider using the other senses, providing three-dimensional models, focusing on tactile materials, and involving students in art critiques and discussions. Teachers should show students where materials are located and inform students if the room has been rearranged (Rodriguez 1984). 

In conclusion, in every case the goal should be student success. Focusing on students' abilities and minimizing their disabilities enhances their own learning as well as the creative atmosphere of the entire art classroom. 

References and Resources

The following list of resources includes references used to prepare this Digest. The items followed by an ED number are available in microfiche, paper, or electronic full text from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). For information about prices, contact EDRS, 7420 Fullerton Road, Suite 110, Springfield, Virginia 22152-2852; World Wide Web <edrs.com>; telephone numbers are (703) 440-1400 and (800) 443-3742. Entries followed by an EJ number, annotated monthly in CURRENT INDEX TO JOURNALS IN EDUCATION (CIJE), are not available through EDRS. However, they can be located in the journal section of larger libraries by using the bibliographic information provided, requested through Interlibrary Loan, or ordered from commercial reprint services. 
 Beckley, Dawn. GIFTED AND LEARNING DISABLED: TWICE EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS. Storrs, CT: University of Connecticut National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, 1998. ED 424 711. 

Clark, Gilbert A., and Enid Zimmerman. TRANSLATIONS: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 2: 1-6. Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.