Artistic thinking as a learning outcome in the integrated course “Art”: issues of interpretation and assessment

Abstract

The article examines the interpretation of the concept of artistic thinking within the arts education domain in the context of implementing the New Ukrainian School reform. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to clarify the content of the concepts of artistic thinking, artistic-imaginative thinking, and associative thinking, which are used in contemporary educational policy documents and define the expected learning outcomes of students enrolled in the integrated course “Art”. The purpose of the article is to identify the specific features of interpreting the concept of artistic thinking in arts education, to analyze its representation in current regulatory documents, and to substantiate approaches to assessing students’ learning outcomes in the integrated course “Art”.

The study employed methods of scholarly literature analysis, examination of regulatory documents in the field of arts education, as well as generalization and systematization of pedagogical experience. The provisions of the State Standard of Basic Secondary Education, model curricula, and methodological recommendations for assessing learning outcomes in the arts education domain were analyzed. The findings indicate that these documents use different approaches to defining learning outcomes for artistic, artistic-imaginative, and associative thinking.

The study substantiates the expediency of considering artistic thinking as an integral ability of an individual to perceive, interpret, and create artistic images based on emotional and value-based experience. It has been established that artistic-imaginative and associative thinking constitute important components of artistic thinking, ensuring the understanding, interpretation, and creative rethinking of artistic phenomena.

Particular attention is paid to the assessment of the learning outcomes group “Perceiving Art and Artistic Thinking”. Examples of research-based, analytical, interpretative, and creative tasks for Grade 5 and Grade 9 students are proposed to foster artistic-imaginative and associative thinking. The article demonstrates the potential of such tasks for identifying students’ ability to analyze artistic phenomena, establish associative connections, justify their own viewpoints, and interpret works of art. It is concluded that creative and inquiry-based tasks represent an effective means of assessing students’ artistic thinking within arts education.