The Agony of Critique

I’ll admit, one of my least favorite jobs as an instructor is the group critique. I’m guessing it’s one of my students’ least favorite parts of class, too. I’ve struggled to get students engaged; I'm met with blank faces and silence even though participation is part of their grade. After seeking counsel from art teacher friends, I recently saw some improvement by having students write about a classmate’s project before the oral critique. Focusing on a specific work and answering a series of questions about it on paper beforehand seemed to help them not feel “on the spot” or afraid to speak up. They may have still found it agonizing (from the looks of it, some did), but at least it was a more productive way to generate feedback.