An individual learning plan, or ILP, is a personalised and flexible route where a learner may achieve a given goal. An ILP may need to be drawn up if an art student has a particular issue with drawing, painting or other special need that impacts upon the learning experience. The ILP makes the art lesson inclusive for all the learners. Creating such flexibility is known as “differentiation” and will help increase student motivation in class.
An ILP for Art
An initial assessment may highlight any such areas that may need special attention. Examples of situations where an ILP might be needed might be:
- If a student has a particular difficulty with grasping perspectives or shading technique.
- If a student has a lengthy journey to the lesson, or domestic commitments, that impact upon the time spent painting.
- If a special need impacts upon the learning experience, such as poor hearing or poor hand coordination. In some cases, a learning mentor might be required.
A Personal Learning Plan for Art
The ILP must be agreed between the teacher and the student so that the student fully understands what is expected. A copy may be provided for future reference.
The ILP must contain clear, precise and measurable objectives that can easily be assessed. These are known as SMART objectives. The mnemonic stands for: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. The goals must be small and progressive. If the student finds a particular objective difficult, it can be subdivided again until such time the objective has been achieved.
Specialised Art Activities
An example of an ILP for a student who has poor understanding of perspectives, for example, might be:
- to copy an idealized cube from a given resource
- to draw a cuboid object from life, using simple lines
- to map the vanishing point for the cube
- to draw a cuboid object from life including the vanishing point
- to draw a series of objects consisting of perpendicular sides, such as cereal boxes, die or biscuit tins using simple lines
- to draw a chosen cuboid object from various angles, including head-on, from the side and from above
Each objective may be tackled during extra time in class, varying between ten minutes and half an hour. Extra attention may be given for the student and assessed where necessary.
An ILP for a student who has a different kind of need, such as a lengthy car journey causing lateness, might be allocated extra time to catch up at home. Assistance with study skills may also be provided if a written project on art has been assigned.
Mentoring Art
Students who have special needs may require a learning mentor, although one is not compulsory. In context of the art lesson, the learning mentor may assist the student with various tasks, such as comprehension (if the student has learning needs) or with mixing colours (if the student has poor motor skills.) The learning mentor must be involved with deciding the ILP.
Writing Objectives for an ILP for Painting and Drawing
An art student that has a particular learning barrier in art may require an individual learning plan. The requirement might be physical, domestic or in drawing ability. The ILP makes the art lesson more inclusive in that it sets out small manageable goals for the student in order to keep up with the others in class. Such flexibility creates differentiation in the art lesson.
Rachel Shirley - I have written and illustrated several art instruction books entitled Oil Paintings from your Garden and Oil Paintings from the Landscape ...
