The Power of Critique
Research on how students learn most effectively has repeatedly pointed to feedback as one of the best and most powerful tools used in education. Whether it is through peer reviews in class, or simply a written comment explaining a wrong answer, students greatly benefit from direct contact from their Professors and the positive feedback they provide. Research has also shown that feedback appears to be more effective when there are seemingly low levels of threat to student self-esteem. It is precisely this type of low-threat and low-stakes feedback that is effective in a Visual Arts classroom critique. The practice of critique is a long-standing and widely used way of providing feedback to art students by creating a group critical dialogue about a work of art or a collection of pieces. Students learn in a secure low-stakes environment because they are assessed on the assignments, objects or concepts they present, not on their performance or level of participation in critique. The art critique is also an effective way to deliver feedback due to the frequency with which it is given. Visual Arts students become so accustomed to not only receiving and giving feedback, but thinking critically, which becomes a habitual practice, both in and outside of the classroom. In 2014, my research then titled, The Power of Critique for Student Feedback received a Presidential Academic Innovation Award. The goal of this project then and now is to reveal the critique process in Visual Arts courses for the high-impact practice that it is, educate others on the nuances of critique and how to effectively use it, and to promote it in other academic disciplines that value the benefits of immediate feedback for any type of performance or understanding for their students.
