The INterview
Advice on the student interview
Students are not expected to make a prepared speech when talking about their externally assessed work:
• HLA/SLA students should be encouraged to talk about the technical aspects of their studio work and their
aims or intentions, focusing on their experience making the studio works exhibited and how they relate to
the investigation work undertaken.
Although termed an interview, it is not expected that the teacher will work through a scripted list of questions to draw out information, but will support the student in talking appropriately about their work.
Schools often ask what contribution the interview makes to the assessment process. It is true that the interview, like the candidate statement, is not allocated specific marks. The additional information provided in each by the student about their work, provides the examiner with a greater understanding and may allow access to a higher markband, and so a higher mark. For example, if the selected studio works and/or investigation workbook pages did not reveal evidence of an ongoing process of review, modification and refinement, then the student could be encouraged to talk about how they undertook that process in the development of a final piece of studio work.
The student’s interview:
• is not expected to follow any particular format
• may be either audio or video as relevant to the school’s context and circumstances
• can be in front of the student’s exhibition, or individual works as appropriate, and is not restricted to
being recorded on one individual day
• should provide evidence to address the requirements of the markband descriptors in line with page 3
(studio work) or page 6 (investigation workbook) of the Visual arts assessment clarification
• can usefully build upon formative assessment processes
• should be as relaxed and unthreatening as possible to put students at ease, enable them to feel
comfortable and confident, and to talk as easily as possible about their work
• should use open-ended prompts or questions (many examples of which occur on the following pages)
• should not rely on closed prompts or questions (for example, “Did you use oil paint?”)
• should not use questions designed to draw out specific knowledge (for example, “What year was Pablo
Picasso born?” or, “If I wanted a warm black which colours would I mix together?”)
• should encourage students to focus on the externally assessed component (studio work for HLA/SLA)
and guide them back if they lose focus
• should end when appropriate, up to the maximum time; if the student has delivered all the information
they wish to, then it is not necessary to keep talking
• should not include the teacher’s opinion on the work
• does not need to be edited, but schools may remove nervous false starts or superfluous information if
they wish.
Focus of the interview
Students should talk about the work they have selected to submit for external assessment. They should be
reminded that if they are registered for HLA or SLA, their focus will be their studio work.
When facilitating the interview, teachers should avoid the temptation to lead students or to provide information or opinion about the artworks. It is important that students carefully mention by name the artwork or the investigation workbook page number that they are referring to and refer to techniques or media by name, rather than by words such as “it”, “this” or “they”.
Length of the interview recording
The maximum time for an HL examination is 40 minutes, and for an SL examination 30 minutes. In order that the examiner has time to properly consider the photographs of the studio works, schools are advised that the recording of the interview should be a maximum of 30 minutes for an HL student and a maximum of 20
minutes for an SL student.
For the Mock Exam the time will be less than this.
IB Interview Questions
LUCKY 13 QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER FOR YOUR INTERVIEW
1. What is your theme and why is it important to you?
2. What artistic processes (skills/techniques) did you explore and why?
3. What inspired you (in general)?
4. Explain each piece in an order than presents your flow of thought. Be sure to discuss:
a. What was your original idea/intention/inspiration? What artists did you look at and why? What is the personal/artistic philosophy of your chosen artists? Do you agree or not? What did you take from each artist and how does it manifest in your work?
b. What is the personal relevance of your work?
c. What is the cultural/societal relevance of your work?
d. Is there historical and/or contemporary issues discussed in your work?
e. Explain your processes (especially for the challenging/more unique) works
f. Successes and challenges of each work; what would make it better, what you really like….
5. If you had more time to work on your art, what would you change/add/redo?
6. Are there any projects you would like to specifically highlight (weak, challenging/powerful)?
7. How did you research/come to know the information/artists you used in your projects?
8. Which project do you think is your best and why?
9. Was your workbook important/useful to you in creating your projects?
10. Which medium do you like to work with most and why?
11. Did you enjoy doing your projects?
12. What questions have you tried to answer with your works? What questions have been posed by your works that are still unanswered?
13. Moving forward, what will you take from your works and what will you continue to explore?
Students are not expected to make a prepared speech when talking about their externally assessed work:
• HLA/SLA students should be encouraged to talk about the technical aspects of their studio work and their
aims or intentions, focusing on their experience making the studio works exhibited and how they relate to
the investigation work undertaken.
Although termed an interview, it is not expected that the teacher will work through a scripted list of questions to draw out information, but will support the student in talking appropriately about their work.
Schools often ask what contribution the interview makes to the assessment process. It is true that the interview, like the candidate statement, is not allocated specific marks. The additional information provided in each by the student about their work, provides the examiner with a greater understanding and may allow access to a higher markband, and so a higher mark. For example, if the selected studio works and/or investigation workbook pages did not reveal evidence of an ongoing process of review, modification and refinement, then the student could be encouraged to talk about how they undertook that process in the development of a final piece of studio work.
The student’s interview:
• is not expected to follow any particular format
• may be either audio or video as relevant to the school’s context and circumstances
• can be in front of the student’s exhibition, or individual works as appropriate, and is not restricted to
being recorded on one individual day
• should provide evidence to address the requirements of the markband descriptors in line with page 3
(studio work) or page 6 (investigation workbook) of the Visual arts assessment clarification
• can usefully build upon formative assessment processes
• should be as relaxed and unthreatening as possible to put students at ease, enable them to feel
comfortable and confident, and to talk as easily as possible about their work
• should use open-ended prompts or questions (many examples of which occur on the following pages)
• should not rely on closed prompts or questions (for example, “Did you use oil paint?”)
• should not use questions designed to draw out specific knowledge (for example, “What year was Pablo
Picasso born?” or, “If I wanted a warm black which colours would I mix together?”)
• should encourage students to focus on the externally assessed component (studio work for HLA/SLA)
and guide them back if they lose focus
• should end when appropriate, up to the maximum time; if the student has delivered all the information
they wish to, then it is not necessary to keep talking
• should not include the teacher’s opinion on the work
• does not need to be edited, but schools may remove nervous false starts or superfluous information if
they wish.
Focus of the interview
Students should talk about the work they have selected to submit for external assessment. They should be
reminded that if they are registered for HLA or SLA, their focus will be their studio work.
When facilitating the interview, teachers should avoid the temptation to lead students or to provide information or opinion about the artworks. It is important that students carefully mention by name the artwork or the investigation workbook page number that they are referring to and refer to techniques or media by name, rather than by words such as “it”, “this” or “they”.
Length of the interview recording
The maximum time for an HL examination is 40 minutes, and for an SL examination 30 minutes. In order that the examiner has time to properly consider the photographs of the studio works, schools are advised that the recording of the interview should be a maximum of 30 minutes for an HL student and a maximum of 20
minutes for an SL student.
For the Mock Exam the time will be less than this.
IB Interview Questions
LUCKY 13 QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER FOR YOUR INTERVIEW
1. What is your theme and why is it important to you?
2. What artistic processes (skills/techniques) did you explore and why?
3. What inspired you (in general)?
4. Explain each piece in an order than presents your flow of thought. Be sure to discuss:
a. What was your original idea/intention/inspiration? What artists did you look at and why? What is the personal/artistic philosophy of your chosen artists? Do you agree or not? What did you take from each artist and how does it manifest in your work?
b. What is the personal relevance of your work?
c. What is the cultural/societal relevance of your work?
d. Is there historical and/or contemporary issues discussed in your work?
e. Explain your processes (especially for the challenging/more unique) works
f. Successes and challenges of each work; what would make it better, what you really like….
5. If you had more time to work on your art, what would you change/add/redo?
6. Are there any projects you would like to specifically highlight (weak, challenging/powerful)?
7. How did you research/come to know the information/artists you used in your projects?
8. Which project do you think is your best and why?
9. Was your workbook important/useful to you in creating your projects?
10. Which medium do you like to work with most and why?
11. Did you enjoy doing your projects?
12. What questions have you tried to answer with your works? What questions have been posed by your works that are still unanswered?
13. Moving forward, what will you take from your works and what will you continue to explore?
Writing your artist statement is like making a stew
writing_your_artists_statement.pptx | |
File Size: | 84 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
The instructions say...Write below a short critical analysis of your visual arts work in option A or option B. Consider some or all of the following key words to help you with your statement. Of course not every one of these key terms can be discussed and it is best to focus on the ones that are particularly relevant to the students’ work.
Concerns
Skills
Purpose
Source
Techniques
Process
Influences
Media
Achievements
Context
Scale
Focus
Tips for Writing the Candidate StatementReflect on individual strengths and weaknesses both in handling of media and concepts. What are you really good at? What do you struggle with?
Who are the real influences? The interviewer may want to talk about this so only write what you are prepared to discuss.Influences needn’t be only artists, they can also be cultural, political, social, environmental etc.
Be honest, you are not trying to impress anyone! The examiner is looking for a statement that supports and clarifies the work. Avoid rambling on and making aggrandized statements about how much art has changed your life. If this is true the work will speak for itself.
Make sure you write about the right course, Visual Arts, not Psychology or CAS or your summer holidays!
Proofread! The statement is more formal than the writing in the IW so please spell artists names correctly and avoid errors in terminology. Students who are not mother tongue English speakers will need extra guidance.
Take care with this piece of writing, it says a lot about your work. Often it appears that these statements are hurriedly written at the last minute. Use the full 300 words and make every word count.
You could encourage students to hang a copy of the statement with the final exhibition for everyone who visits the show to read. This adds a nice touch to the student's presentation.
Everyone make several drafts and revise these with your teacher's guidance.
Concerns
Skills
Purpose
Source
Techniques
Process
Influences
Media
Achievements
Context
Scale
Focus
Tips for Writing the Candidate StatementReflect on individual strengths and weaknesses both in handling of media and concepts. What are you really good at? What do you struggle with?
Who are the real influences? The interviewer may want to talk about this so only write what you are prepared to discuss.Influences needn’t be only artists, they can also be cultural, political, social, environmental etc.
Be honest, you are not trying to impress anyone! The examiner is looking for a statement that supports and clarifies the work. Avoid rambling on and making aggrandized statements about how much art has changed your life. If this is true the work will speak for itself.
Make sure you write about the right course, Visual Arts, not Psychology or CAS or your summer holidays!
Proofread! The statement is more formal than the writing in the IW so please spell artists names correctly and avoid errors in terminology. Students who are not mother tongue English speakers will need extra guidance.
Take care with this piece of writing, it says a lot about your work. Often it appears that these statements are hurriedly written at the last minute. Use the full 300 words and make every word count.
You could encourage students to hang a copy of the statement with the final exhibition for everyone who visits the show to read. This adds a nice touch to the student's presentation.
Everyone make several drafts and revise these with your teacher's guidance.
Standard level - Level 7 Example
Higher level - Level 7 Example