Student Teaching Blog #9

Problem solving and critical thinking are taught in many ways through art. Translating ideas into two and three dimensional pieces of work challenge students to improvise and adapt new techniques to illustrate their thoughts and perspectives. Lots of problem solving skills are called upon with the wide range of media that art making requires. The process that art making is carried out is developed through problem solving. Certain steps are executed before others for key reasons. I have tried to influence students to use critical thinking by connecting art to out contemporary culture and asking them to question things in their surroundings.

Student Teaching Blog #8

I think my professional development will evolve throughout my career as an art educator. My focus currently resides on the foundation that I am building for myself. At the moment, I am trying to really tune into my interactions with students. I continue to be reflective and often as my cooperating teacher if I was clear about my expectations for a project and if I presented ideas in a fluid and understandable manner. Daily, I experience new situations that require attention in new ways and from different angles and approaches than the ones which I am more familiar. I think my professional development as an art educator is vital to my ability to be consistent in my teaching. It will also enhance my ability to be more resourceful and quick to solutions when solving problems.

Student Teaching Blog #7

The roles of teaching art and art education advocacy overlap in MANY ways. I think that in order to be a successful art educator you must be an art advocate. Support from parents and the community are instrumental in empowering the continuation of art programs in the education system. From what I have experienced through observation and my student teaching experience, the relationships with parents/guardians, the school community, and the larger community are incredibly important. Being involved and representing art in the PTA helps provide additional funds for art materials, field trips, and visiting artists to the classroom. Supportive parents who voice their positive opinions about the arts to administrators and higher parties are very powerful messages about the school. I ultimately believe it influences and strengthens programs. Volunteer parents/guardians were SO much help during Fine Arts Night. We would have never been so successful at exhibiting over 1800 works of art without them. This event was put on as a celebration of students expression and accomplishments. Sharing it with the school community and larger community is a reward for all involved. My cooperating teacher always informs a reporter at our local newspaper. Just in todays paper a parent wrote a WONDERFUL letter to the editor about our Fine Arts Night. The involvement of all these other parties are what the big picture is all about. Students art is such a reflection of their experiences, their community, and their life. Sharing it and involving others makes it all the more meaningful. Last Sunday, we had ceremonies for the students who are exhibiting at the Figge Art Museum. This was a great even and so many families were present. It was a definite plus for all involved with the schools as well as the Figge.

4th Grade Masks

Were are just about finished with the paper mache portion of the project. Several students have moved on to painting their entire mask a single color. They can then move on to design and pattern after they have finished their solid color and no newspaper shows through.

Student Teaching Blog #6

Assessment is very important in art, just like any other subject, however, I think it really goes overlooked and that could be one of the little reasons that art lacks credibility in the world of education. A valid technique to assess students work on a regular basis can begin by simply handing out artwork to your students. A few art teachers (including my cooperating teacher) handout artwork to students one-by-one. They call their name and that student will come up to get their artwork. This gives the teacher another opportunity to review where the student is in their art project and make the needed comments of encouragement or observation. I feel that this is beneficial in several ways. One, it helps us connect artwork with student. Two, we catch mistakes or misunderstandings before a student continues with the work or completes it. And it gives us a moment of one-on-one interaction right before the student begins working, so hopefully they will keep your words in mind. Three, we can see how students interpreted our instruction, and quickly make changes in our lesson plan if needed so we can be better teachers. I really like this way of passing out artwork to students and beginning work time. It also helps me learn students' names.

During our professional development time we are also beginning to conduct data analysis. I am doing this in third grade with my cooperating teacher. We gave every third grade class a pre-test regarding our next still life unit. This was a five question test. Next, we recorded all of the scores for each question in a spreadsheet format. I found this hard to read visually, so I graphed all of this information to charts. Now we can easily recognize which class needs to review tints, shade, intermediate colors, etc. My cooperating teacher also liked the charts.

I have also started to conduct my own data analysis with a unit on weaving that I am introducing with a second grade class. I have already given them a pre-test before I introduced the weaving unit. I will give them a mid-test assessment before I leave my elementary placement. I will then do a comparative analysis and graph this information. If all goes well, I will have evidence of achievement with my teaching. It will also be a good experience to share with future employers during job interviews.