A teacher's role in the classroom for any subject is very important, especially in Art. It is the teacher's responsibility to make the classroom a comfortable and safe environment in which children can learn and expand their knowledge. Children need to be encouraged and motivated to learn and develop their skills.
Learning is an active experience in which the child is an active participant and the teacher is the facilitator. The child must react to what is around them. They must absorb information and adjust their behaviour. They must want to explore, find out about or turn these experiences into a meaningful context so that learning can take place. The teacher must provide a motivational and psychological atmosphere, which makes this happen.
A teacher could be either
a positive or negative influence on a child's creative
process. By making positive comments about a child's drawing
the child's self esteem is boosted and they will be
encouraged to develop their skills further. Teachers need to
take notice of what children are doing and encourage them.
They need to talk to children while they are engaged in
art.
If a child is uncertain about how to use a particular instrument or how to draw something it is sometimes better not to intervene, but to let the child explore and find things out for themselves. Often the more instruction a child receives the less the child is involved and interested in the task at hand.
Teacher's are extremely important for younger children as younger children cannot do a lot of the things that older children can do. They need encouragement to enable them to develop new skills. For example, in the junior primary classroom the teacher is not there to direct drawing or give instructions, but to act as an encourager and someone who is interested in their work. A junior primary art teacher determines the activities, gives suppoort for action, hands out praise and decides the length of time needed to spend on whatever may be planned.
Teachers need to be sensitive to the needs of children. They need to be aware that children have fears, hopes and joys that are the basis of their art expression.
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