Through professional reading on the theory of Multiple Intelligences (Gardner & Hatch, 1989), I understand that students are diverse and learn in a variety of ways. In the Visual Art classroom, all types of intelligences must be considered – but visual / spatial needs to be given significant weight and nurtured. Research conducted by Romanelli et al. (2009) suggested that a strong classroom approach involves a teaching paradigm which accommodates different facets of learning styles that build self efficacy. For a Visual Art classroom, I believe that the resources used in the room must be visual while explaining and scaffold the artistic processes.

On my practicum, I noticed that there were many students across year levels opting to extend themselves and use oil paint instead of using the advised, easier option of acrylic paint. However, after observing and communicating with these young artists, I noticed that all of these students lacked a foundational knowledge of how oil paints work. As a result, the paintings being produced had varying levels of success. I found this unusual – every one of these students were successful in other mediums in Visual Art. Two students in my Year 10 class epitomised this. I discussed my concern with my mentor – could these students be disenchanted with oil painting if they were unsuccessful in their first attempts? He informed me that none of the art teachers at this school were confident in their painting abilities, and students who chose to paint with oil were expected to be autonomous learners.

I decided to create a series of resources that illustrate the anatomy of a painting to serve as both a resource for teachers and students. I began to list all of the advice I gave to students most frequently. As I majored in oil painting in my undergraduate degree, I felt confident that I had a strong skill base for the task. Regardless, I spoke with my curriculum supervisor at university and my pre-service peers for their input and additional considerations. I also researched into classical Dutch Renaissance oil techniques to create a base of knowledge that I could adapt for students. The resource had two parts – a series of paintings that showed each step visually - Figure 6, and posters that explained each step in words - Figure 5 and 7. A video would have served a similar purpose, but the still images provided the option to look at each step whenever necessary – as opposed to having to find a timestamp in a video.

After creating the resources, I used them to demonstrate how to correctly construct an oil painting to the two Year 10 students. The step-by-step paintings were useful towards all year levels – not just the intended Year 10s. My mentor noted that he perceived these two students had increased self-efficacy in their oil painting skills; the students asked less questions, worked faster, and seemed more sure of themselves. The resources are now a permanent fixture on the walls of that art classroom. Creating this resource helped me realise the value of high quality resources, and the importance of creating tailor made content to help with niche situations.