Portfolio Semester Reflection

Check out my teaching portfolio here: http://issuu.com/katestieren

HOW HAVE YOUR VIEWS ABOUT ART EDUCATION CHANGED THIS SEMESTER?

            My views about art education were completely changed this semester after learning what an authentic, high-level, engaging curriculum can be applied in the art classroom. Coming into the class, the only information that I knew about art education was based on my own art education. From what I remember, I do not recall spending nearly half the amount of time studying artists and their work as we do in this class. I now believe that this is a critical component of a quality art education and can teacher students how to be visually literate. Visual literacy is a term that is new to me this semester. Understanding what it means to read and write art is important for me as a successful art educator. Students of the 21^st century need to be visually literate in order to not only process the thousands of visuals they are encountering each day, but also to be able to communicate and express themselves visually.

HOW HAVE YOUR EXPERIENCES ALTERED OR ENHANCED YOUR TEACHING THEORY AND PHILOSOPHY? (DISCUSS THE CLASS TOPICS: VIEWING AND RESPONDING TO ART, CREATING ART, TEACHING ART, AND ART CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT)

Viewing and Responding to Art: My ability to view and respond to artwork has grown leaps and bounds since the beginning of the semester. During undergrad in my art classes, I always felt like I was missing information to be able to view and critique art. I felt as though the other students had much more experience than I did in that area. I want to equip my students with the knowledge and vocabulary needed to talk about art. Even if this is on a very basic level, such as dissecting an advertisement, it is an important skill for students to have.

Creating Art: This is one component of an art education that I knew I would be teaching to students. However, I did not realize the importance of the artistic process. I did not realize that students could learn so much by working through the creative process, analyzing and making choices. I want the process to be exciting for my students, and I want them to feel proud of the final work that they create due to the amount of time and thought they put into making the best final product.

Teaching Art: When I first began the semester, I felt somewhat intimidated by the thought of jumping into the classroom, teaching the Tiger Artist lesson, and even creating my own curriculum. The intimidation faded, and was replaced with excitement. I had no idea that curriculum could be so authentic and fun for students. I also learned that the best way to learn, when it comes to teachings, is simply by gaining experience. The more time that I spend with children and in the classroom, the more I learn what does/does not work and strategies that I can apply in my future classroom.

Art Curriculum Development: After seeing the many fabulous units developed by my classmates, I realized that there are endless opportunities to create really exciting projects for my students. Creating curriculum can be a fun task when you know that the limits are endless. I am inspired by the many units I have seen this semester and all of the big ideas woven throughout. Art can be extremely meaningful and I want my students to see that and experience it firsthand.

HOW HAS YOUR IDENTITY AS AN ARTIST TEACHER DEVELOPED AND EVOLVED? WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR STRENGTHS? AREAS OF FURTHER DEVELOPMENT?

I have developed a great deal as an artist teacher over the course of the semester. I feel as if being an art teacher were always my calling, but I could not see this until just a few months ago. And now that I have discovered this, I feel truly passionate about what I am doing. I get excited about the projects we are working on and truly want to do my best work knowing that it is not only for me, but for the students I will be teaching someday in the future.

My areas of strength are developing exciting lessons/curriculum, connecting with the students on a personal level, and experience with a variety of mediums. My areas of weakness are knowledge of classroom management strategies, inspiring students who appear disconnected, and knowledge of art history. I hope that my areas for improvement can be improved over the course of the next year and a half as I gain knowledge and experience. It is important to me that I can make my class engaging for all of the students, not just the majority.

WHAT KINDS OF EVIDENCE WILL YOU ADD TO YOUR PORFOLIO IN THE COMING SEMESTERS?

In the coming semesters I hope to add more lesson and unit plans that showcase the kind of learning that I want to happen in my classroom. I also would like to add examples from a cohesive body of work that has a themed concept throughout. Currently I feel as though I have a large variety of pieces in different mediums that will be great for showing experience, but I would also like to show that I can think conceptually as an artist to create a body of work. 

Unit Plan

Here are some of the important slides from my unit: Capturing Art History through Collaboration

Journal entry: classroom management

In Ms. Stoddart's classroom the supplies are organized by table. Each table has up to four students and on the table is a carry-all container with scissors, glue, colored pencils and a few other supplies. The containers sit in the middle of the table for the students to share. Each table is labeled with a color and the color that is "today's helpers" is hung on a bulletin board in the back of the classroom. I would like to adopt this strategy for my own classroom because I think it saves time in getting started with a new class and allows every student to take part in some point with passing out supplies.

I have noticed that Ms. Stoddart manages her classroom by using positive behavior support. I often hear her say things like, "I love the way Hannah is sitting so quietly ready to listen to the directions," or "Josh did a nice job only using a few dots of glue on his paper." She also gives very clear directions at the beginning of class by showing students step-by-step what they need to do. I have seen Ms. Stoddart use the "safe seat" once or twice in her classroom management as well. If a student is not following the directions or being disruptive she may ask the student to spend some time in the safe seat before completing their project.

I believe that the rules in place have been created by the school. The main rules that I see Ms. Stoddart referencing involve safely or appropriately using the supplies in the classroom. I've noticed that when the substitute teacher has been in the classroom that she prefers the room to be relatively quiet and repeatedly asks the students to keep their voices down. However, I don't believe that I have heard Ms. Stoddart scold the students for chatting with a neighbor as long as they continue to work on their project. I agree with the way Ms. Stoddart manages her classroom regarding conversation because I think that it is an opportunity for the students to talk about art and make meaning in what they are creating. The student may not recognize they are doing this at such a young age, but I hear them discussing with one another the artistic choices that they have made what they appreciate about another student's artwork. I also like the community environment that this type of classroom embraces.

I have only seen one assessment strategy implemented in my host teacher's classroom. I helped grade some tests covering the color wheel for Ms. Stoddart and it was a very basic fill-in-the-blank type test. I don't believe Ms. Stoddart gives grades for artworks that the students create, but she does choose some to go in the art show at the end of the year. Every student has at least one artwork in the show.

Response to the Beattie Assessment Text

How will you know what your students have learned?

Assessment is a tool that can be carefully crafted to analyze what it is that your students are learning. Art educators can track what their students are learning aesthetically by facilitating and listening to class discussions, debates or group dialogues. You can also gain insight about what your students have learned by paying attention to their artistic process and the way that they continuously analyze their work during the process. This way you can see what new techniques they are trying for the first time as well as how regularly they step back and think about how they are creating meaning. You can also compare students work at the beginning of the unit or semester to their work at the end and see how they have grown as an artist.

What does successful learning look like?
Successful learning in an art classroom looks like greater understanding of art across all areas: analysis, study, production, etc. A student who has grown across a variety of creative areas; explored styles, mediums and techniques; and created meaning through visual communication has learned successfully.

What kinds of evidence and feedback do you and your students need and how can you get it?
Art educators can gain evidence and feedback by:

• Discussions
• Debates
• Group dialogues
• Using a WIDE variety of assessment instruments
• Final artwork
• Craftsmanship
• Comparison of first portfolio piece to last
• Pen and paper test

Students can gain evidence and feedback by:

• Having assessment direction, introductory materials and questions provided by the teacher
• Comparing their own work to exemplars provided by the teacher
• Having a rubric to work from and know what is expected of them
• Self-analysis
• Portfolio
• Gallery-walk with peer comments
• Pen and paper test

What different assessment strategies will you utilize in your unit plan? 

In my unit plan I will base assessment on each student's growth as an individual. I will most likely use their portfolio as a testament to their learning and exploration. I will also consider their participation in discussion and analysis of artworks as a component of assessment. It is important that I provide students with a rubric so that they understand what it means to excel in the course as well.

Big Idea Book: Completed

Artist Statement:

The theory of multiple intelligences is of interest to me as both an educator and and artist. As an educator, it is imperative that I create a curriculum that not only inspires "artistic students" but students with talents across all areas. Because art has so many limitless possibilities and can be expressed through a multitude of mediums, it is an opportunity to engage students with strengths across all areas. In my "big idea" book, I have expressed the importance of supporting students in finding their unique path to success, and touched on the ways in which each type of thinker prefers to learn. 

My big idea book coincides with my children's book that teaches children that there are many types of strengths and learning and that each has its own advantage. This theme could be transitioned into a curriculum that focuses on challenging students across all of the areas: linguistic, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical and logical/mathematical.

Blog Entry # 3

Because parents are such a large influence in their students' lives, it is imperative that they are supportive of an art education curriculum. It may be equally as important to show parents why art education is a vital component of a quality education as it is to provide students with a quality art education.

A wonderful opportunity to share this information would be parents' night. I designed this presentation to be given to parents of elementary age students, but it could be tailored to apply to all ages. In the presentation I have included important messages from the NAEA website, what it means to teach "big ideas in art" and student examples, big ideas for the semester, along with some resources to help parents guide students interested in art. Although these students are young, it is important to bust the myth that students who excel in creative areas cannot be successful by making art part of their future career. 

By educating parents about art education and creative career opportunities while their students are at a young age, they can be more supportive and informed in guiding them to explore art and become visually literate in an increasingly visual world.

Check out my Prezi here!

Big idea book: guest entry for Christine Cover

Journal entry: artists that work in my big idea

Finding artists that worked directly in my big idea, multiple intelligences, was rather difficult. So, instead I decided to find artists that worked in the seven types of intelligences that I am including in my big idea.

Big Idea Book: pages 3-4

For my big idea book I chose to feature Janet Hill because I think her work speaks to "linguistic intelligence." While she does not use the traditional meaning of words within her paintings, she has mastered the art of visual storytelling. She also includes a short excerpt of the story within the description of the oil paintings.

Blog Entry # 2: View and Respond to art work and readings

The object I chose for this blog entry is Fred E. Conway's Mardi Gras Scene.

Inspiration Board

1. What big ideas does your MUMAA artwork contain?

The artwork that I chose contains the following big ideas: holiday, festival, celebration, costume, religion, and music.

2. How would you utilize the artwork in a "juicy" Tiger Artist lesson?

This artwork would be a great tool to be utilized in a Tiger Artist lesson because it is an exciting and colorful piece that shows one person's perspective of a specific holiday. Holidays are a big idea that all children can relate to because all families have their own traditions and holidays that are celebrated in special ways. This would be an opportunity for students to create a work of art that embodies what his or her favorite holiday may look like.

3. Referencing your reading in the Walker text, develop essential questions that your students could investigate.

-What is going on in this work of art?

-What do you think of when people talk about Mardi Gras?

-What colors do you see in this artwork?

-How is Mardi Gras being celebrated in this painting?

-How does your family celebrate your favorite holiday?

4. Develop key artistic concepts connected to the Big Idea contained in the work from which TA students could make meaning and build art-making knowledge.

Students can use inspiration from the shape, line, color, texture, and collage style of Mardi Gras Scene to create their own work of art representative of their favorite holiday.

BIG Idea Book: Cover, page one and two

My big idea is the different kinds of intelligences and the way they can be used in art making! For those of you who were in Steve's class with me this summer, you know that for my final project I wrote and illustrated a children's book about the different kinds of minds, so I thought this would be a great way to talk about how art education can hone in on those intelligences!

Journey Map

Art:21 Big Idea

BIG Idea: Human Rights

How can you share their story?

Before introducing Ai Weiwei to the class, I would begin by asking the students what kinds of issues are most important to them regarding human rights. Who would they stand up for? Who would they like to give a voice to? There are many people in this world who suffer silently and art is a tool that can be used to give those people a voice.

I would then introduce Ai Weiwei to the class and talk about the ways in which he has used art to talk about important social issues.

As a class we would then watch Ai Weiwei's "Change" episode on Art:21 at http://www.pbs.org/art21/watch-now/episode-change.

After viewing the video, I would give each student a piece of paper and ask them to make a list of images that come to mind when thinking of human rights. This list will be used as a beginning brainstorm for their project. 

I will assign for the students to create a work of art in the form of a sculpture (using no specific materials) that tells a human rights story. Materials could range from sheets of newspaper to gathered earth materials. In creating their work of art, I would ask that students be mindful of the materials they choose to create the sculpture as they are an important component in telling the story as well.

After the students have completed their final projects, I would ask the students critique their work by asking whether or not what they have created successfully tells a story about the human rights issue that they chose. Also, where would the student choose to place this work of art if they could display it anywhere? What location would be the most effective and why? From what audience are they seeking attention?

Blog Entry # 1 Read and Respond:

Response to Walker and Olivia Gude readings:  

  

Some say that over the past few decades, the world has changed and advanced more than ever before. As our world gets more technologically advanced and standardized, it is now critical that art educators foster creativity in today's youth, while empowering them to create in their own language.

Art Education in the 21st century focuses not only on the visual, but also the conceptual. As Walker put it in Chapter 1, "Big ideas are what can expand student artmaking concerns beyond technical skills, formal choices, and media manipulation to human issues and conceptual concerns." It is important that I teach my students that art is a form of language, an important one with the power the tell great stories and even offer solutions. Art education in the 21st century is also an opportunity to "teach skills and concepts while creating opportunities to investigate and represent one's own experiences," according to Oliva Gude. Students have the power to share their experiences and speak through the work that they create.

It is imperative to recognize in today's world that art and its definition are constantly changing. As an art teacher it will be my responsibility to be aware of and embrace these changes so that I can connect with my students and give them every opportunity to create in their own language.

Teaching Philosophy: First Draft

I believe that teaching visual art is a critical component of a well-rounded and successful education. Providing students with a creative outlet where exploration and imagination are abundant not only gives them the opportunity to express their thoughts and opinions in a new language, but also a powerful environment to learn. Along with teaching visual art comes visual literacy. It is just as important to teach students how to read and interpret the thousands of images they encounter in today's world as to create images.

In order to be an effective art teacher, I will need to produce art consistently throughout my life in a multitude of mediums so that I can understand the challenges my students will face. I will also need to remember it is equally important for me to be a learner as a teacher, so that my students can educate me on their needs and understanding.

I believe the best evidence to demonstrate my ability to teach will be the work that my students create. It is through their creative explorations that my teaching abilities will be seen. I plan to develop a curriculum that will be both challenging and inspiring, and I hope for this to be seen in my students' work.

Journal: Big Ideas