Tips: Formats for Critiques

Formats for Critiques

Formats range from completely teacher fronted (where the teacher does all of the talking) to student-centered (where the students talk, and the teacher barely says anything). A common pattern is to move toward more student-centered critiques as the semester continues. Advanced students should be ready to conduct most of the critique themselves, but you still need to model the type of critique you are looking for.

Some ways to set up the critique:

Click on the thumbnails to enlarge		More teacher fronted More student centered
	Teacher critiques one piece at a time.
	Teacher looks for patterns and groups the artwork for critique.
	Teacher asks questions of the student who did the piece while critiquing. Teacher and student talk about equal amounts of time.
	Teacher redistributes artwork so that students critique each others' work. Students fill out a brief form, answering questions about the work. Students give a quick oral crit of the work, teacher fills in.
	Students write comments on paper or forms that are posted under artwork on the crit board.
	Panels of 4-5 students each critique work that the artist pitches to them. Several teams can work simultaneously.

Pros and Cons of Teacher Fronted Critiques:

	Useful to give an example of the type of critique you are looking for.
	Gives the teacher full control, which is often important with lower level students
	Students often only listen to the critique of their own work.
	Doesn't allow you to observe which students are internalizing the concepts

Pros and Cons of Student Centered Critiques:

	Can cover more work in less time (if several groups are working simultaneously)
	Encourages students to see each other, not only the teacher, as sources for feedback
	If teachers don't monitor, students can steer each other wrong in their feedback