Aesthetic Encounters: Contributions to Generalist Teacher Education

This article describes the learning experiences of three pre-service teachers within a university-level course entitled “Aesthetics and Art Criticism for the Classroom. ” Discussion is focused on the nature of the meaning-making that emerges from aesthetic encounters and its educational value. Specifically, what can pre-service generalist teachers learn from aesthetic encounters that they may ultimately apply in their own classrooms? For evidence of emergent meaning-making I rely on examination of what I call aesthetigrams. These are essentially maps of one’s encounter with an artwork. They provide a basis for reflection on the encounter, for the student and for myself as the instructor, as well as insights into the nature of aesthetic learning