ch. 1. Big ideas and artmaking --
Developing big ideas --
From big ideas to artmaking --
Jennifer Bartlett : use of a big idea --
A unit of study --
Same big idea; different subject matter --
Instructional consequences of misreading an artist's big ideas : teaching Goldsworthy --
ch. 2. Personal connections --
Personalizing big ideas --
Donald Lipski : a fascination with objects --
Sandy Skoglund : exploring personal history --
Andy Goldsworthy : connecting with nature --
Fred Wilson : questioning museum practices --
ch. 3. Building a knowledge base for artmaking --
Artists and research --
Building a knowledge base in the artroom --
Robert Motherwell : an extensive knowledge base --
ch. 4. Problem solving --
Artmaking problems --
Artmaking problems as tools for probing big ideas --
Artmaking problems from professional artists --
ch. 5. Setting boundaries --
Setting boundaries for classroom artmaking --
Sean Scully : difficult relationships --
From Scully to a high school artroom --
From Scully to a middle school artroom --
George Segal : boundaries in representational artworks --
From Segal to artroom installations --
ch. 6. Designing studio instruction --
A unit format --
Guidelines for teachers : conducting unit research --
A model artmaking unit on changed meanings --
ch. 7. Ways of working : artist's practices --
A preview of three artists' practices --
Skoglund's artmaking practices --
Artmaking practices à la Skoglund --
Oldenburg's artmaking practices --
Similarities in Oldenburg's and Skoglund's artmaking practices --
Haring's artmaking practices --
Seeking meaning --
Cultivating an attitude of play.