How to prevent spreading yourself too thin...

Scenario: Instructional methods and skills, mainstreaming of students, gifted and talented, special students, ESL students, visual teaching a learning, educational games.

Main problem: Spreading yourself too thin between so many high need students.

Questions:

1. Is this situation typical in most schools? This situation is very relevant in most schools. In calgary in particular, it is a city where many new students immigrate to. This makes it very likely that each teacher will have several student's in their class to whom English is their second language. Learning disabilities as well as gifted students will be found in every single classroom. There is always a mix of students with different family backgrounds, learning styles and challenges in all classrooms.

2. How can art teachers accommodate different learning styles and needs among their students? To accommodate all learning styles and needs in students, teachers must tier and scaffold their lessons. Every activity should have skill building exercises that lead up to the final experience in order to assure that every student has the tools to excel in their final product. The projects should be flexible in their level of difficulty and understanding level. Open ended results should be available to those who will have the skills to take it there, and a more guided approach should be available to those who need more structure.

3. Is it important for teachers to develop a range of instructional skills? It is extremely important that teachers develop a range of instructional skills. If a teacher can only teach the subject matter in one way, they will have their message lost on many students. The varied learning needs of students calls for teachers to have the same variety of instructional skills in their tool box for their students.

4. How can art teachers get the most of the visual nature of their subject? Art teachers can get the most of the visual nature of their subject by also using other ways of teaching it (auditory, and kinesthetic). Art is so accessible to all types of learning and can be taught in countless ways. To make the most of the visual aspect the teacher should try and develop the "artist eyes" of their students by exposing them to many different kinds of art and ways of looking at art. Teachers should foster skills in looking at objects and learning to observe accurately. They can used other kinds of "eye" to teach their student alternate ways of looking. Examples could be photography, microscopes, binoculars, magnifying glasses, or ways of restricting the student's vision.

Assessment in Art

Why do we assess learning in art?

We asses learning in art for several reasons: to meet provincial requirements for assessment, to give students, parents and teachers a frame of reference for the student's growth as a learner and to give the teacher a snapshot of how successful they are at communicating the learning content.

How can learning to self-assess in art transfer to other subject areas? Life endeavors?

Self assessment is a very effective way of understanding a student's learning. Depending on the developmental level (more so with older learners), students can be very self reflective and critical of their progress. This kind of assessment takes into account all of the past experiences of the learner and how they progressed from that point to the end result of the lesson. If this evaluation is done to have student's also reflect on how their learning affected other parts of their life, it can provide a very positive life skill activity for them. If students learn to notice changes in themselves, the world around them and others through their learning, they will be more successful in life. Taking part in self evaluations in other subjects would give students the sense of ownership they experience through art in English, Social Studies, Science, Math and other subject areas. This sense of ownership extends to create more successes in their learning.

Art Education in Contemporary Classrooms

'We can note in the literature claims that art will increase creativity, enhance personality development, improve school attendance, enhance reading skills, and stimulate the right side of the brain". This chapter points to the importance of the aspects of art making, art criticism, reading and writing about art, art context and the questioning of art in the elementary art program. To have a program of this scope and richness it requires sufficient time, supplies, expertise by the teacher and cooperation of all aspects of the school community. This kind of program gives students the ability and outlet for higher thinking. It takes them out of memorization, recitation and regurgitation mode. This chapter urges to include aspects of art that show observation as well as imagination, symbolic representation and emotional expression, emphasis on building artistic literacy and knowledge of many forms of artistic representation, understanding how the different artists were motivated to create what they did, and understand that art encompasses many different forms and expressions. Some challenges that teachers may come across in their classroom include different levels of learners in one classroom, the skills of her teaching, and mainstreaming of students. Using techniques like the organizational efficiency of the classroom, clarity of teaching materials, having experts in the arts help in the classroom, and diversifying art projects from their stereotypical holiday crafts. It seems that sensitivity is the common thread that runs through the many problems schools encounter with art programs. Having art programs in schools as a core subject is crucial to the development and satisfaction of students in their learning.

Puzzle Documentation

As we began our puzzle for the first time as a group I noticed that many of the group members took initiative in different aspects of the puzzle making right away. We all seemed to gravitate to certain tasks which were comfortable to us. I was comfortable starting by sorting out all of the edge pieces and the pieces in the box which had remained stuck together. Vince went to work on starting to construct the outer edges and Keeley dabbled in a few tasks. The activity began to relax me, and on that Monday morning it allowed me to slip into school mode in a way that was not too alarming. In the beginning stages of our puzzle building I notice my group has not became too frustrated yet and are seeming to enjoy the experience. So far what I can take from this experience to teaching is the idea that learners will tend to gravitate toward their skill sets right away and that as teachers we should monitor this carefully. If we know our student's skills we can also know where they can improve and where they will thrive.

Monday Feb. 8

I haven't blogged in a while about the puzzle experience but some milestones and roadblocks have come along. My group feels very behind and we are not completing the puzzle very quickly. Some of us are excited about it, but we quickly loose our motivation easily and become frustrated. I think Vince is the most positive motivator in our groups as he always has a positive outlook in the mornings. I am not sure if it is the puzzle itself which is so difficult or the lack of motivation by our group. I am not sure what it will take to get over the bump we have encountered but we have no choice but to keep working hard at it and know we still have a lot of time to complete it.

March 20, 2010

Our puzzle is coming a little quicker now but that is because of all the help we are getting. I find myself getting frustrated only after a short period of time. If I take small breaks during looking for where pieces go I am more productive. I hope we finish before the end of the year and that I start to understand what I am supposed to be learning from this experience.

April 2010

The final pieces of our puzzle were placed so kindly by Chennelle who took the time to finish it for our group! I was so pleased to see it was finished because it was really stressing me out that it wasn't moving along. Some final reflections on the puzzle experience include my realization that asking for help, accepting help and having a lot of input from others is crucial. Our group really had a hard time with our puzzle, but the rest of the class was very generous with helping us out. We could have not done it without them. This is true in school environments as well. As teachers we will have to learn to accept help from others, collaborate with other classrooms and even sometimes we (as in Chennelle) will just have to sit down and get it done for the betterment of the group. I also learned that I am just not a puzzle person.

Understanding the Learner

Understanding our students as a holistic learner means knowing how they develop cognitively, emotionally, morally, socially, physically, and aesthetically. Being able to create a complete portrait of each learner on these levels is impossible, but as a future educator I should strive to understand as many aspects of my students as possible. Not all developmental patterns will be true for all students as their unique circumstances will affect how their artistic imagery evolves. Each of the different aspects of a learner are expressed in unique ways and at different times, but are basically expressed around the same age patterns. It is important to know that the developmental stages are based on science and consistent studies. I can apply my knowledge as a teacher of older age groups (10-12) by understanding that in this stage the students are know as being in the emerging expertise level. This level is characterized by a longing and strive for realism. They begin to understand three dimensional space and atmospheric perspective. Their reasoning is becoming more adult like, their sense of right and wrong is solidified, they are greatly influenced by their peers, language skills are strong, their aesthetic senses are strong and there is a lull in physical growth. This stage is critical in the continuing of the student in art or their lack of interest in the subject in future. If students are not exposed to art making where they see ability to produce realistic work, or they do not experience "adult" art making that they can excel in which is not realistic, they will not continue in art. This is important to know so that experiences can be created for the students where they are shown that adult art can be a range of different styles and mediums, and does not have to include realism. They should be shown 3D projects first to build confidence, and slowly begin to be shown drawing skills which will give them the tools to draw realistically. All of these considerations will validate the learners so that they feel confident to continue in art.

Starting with...Chapter 2

Sylvia Kind raised some interesting information about children and their journey through art that I didn't know before. It talks about how art making activities early on are often kinesthetic and sensory based as opposed to story telling driven as it becomes later on in development. This will guide me to keep in mind that encouraging experimentation in art with our whole bodies and trying different movements early on will be successful and encouraging children in later years to explain their story telling. I have always known that for children art is a sensory experience and what feels good to children will often be what they pursue the most. This will guide my practice by making sure I proved many different materials for art making that evoke different sensory experiences. I also know that children create what they know. What they know is formed by their social and cultural experiences. As a teacher, we need to be sensitive to these different backgrounds and not homogenize our classrooms only according to developmental level. This chapter also talks about the fact that there are several different ways to learn any given task. I also believe this is true. Just as there are many different learners, there are also many ways of learning. As a future educator, I can keep this in mind by creating lessons that will be meaningful to the learner in the way that they learn best.

James and the Giant Peach

Some of the misconceptions I had before beginning to work with children included the view that they were simple minded and innocent. As I began to work with children these misconceptions were immediately erased. It is easy to see when children are given the right environment to thrive that they are very complex and capable of complex activities and that their experiences in life are often more complicated and diverse than we may imagine. In the context of art education and the role of the teacher it means that we need to consider that our students may be capable of more than we give them credit for. There must be careful consideration of the student's developmental skills before planning any project. This will make sure that the projects will be meaningful and enriching to the child's experience in art education.

The movie "James and the Giant Peach" shows insight into the child's mind and the limits of their imagination. Through this movie I learned that children often twist events into stories that they can comprehend, as in the case with James and the passing of his parents. I also learned that when children come into the class room they are often entering an environment in which they are not the center of attention any more. This is important to consider when teaching younger children, as they will be adapting to these new circumstances. Another important message in the movie was that friendship is central to a child's sense of confidence and self image. Establishing community within the class room is a key to allowing children to thrive. Another key idea in the film was that children should never be underestimated and they should be given individual opportunities to be independent, thrive and find their own triumphs. Finally, the message about how important family is in a child's learning was evident in the film. James' peach family was drastically different from his biological family. His biological family, his aunts, were portrayed as narcissistic and did not give James opportunities to be a child. His peach family allowed him to be a child, make friends and accomplish goals on his own. The peach family was his support and his aunts were just his relation. This shows us how vital the role of family is in our class room. Team work and encouragement are the tools that will support a positive learning experience. Family should encourage the child's talents and engage with them to create confidence in the learner.

Looking Back

Journal Entry #1

I was asked on my first class to reflect on what my most positive experience was in art as a child, and what my most negative experience was. It was much easier for me to think of examples of positive experiences in my past. I don't remember many negative experiences. It may be this lack of negative experiences that lead me to love art and continue in it for these many years. Some of my most positive experiences include experimenting with materials at a very young age. Finger painting, squishing play dough into "food" shapes, and drawing with crayons are all fond memories in my childhood. These basic art processes have stuck with me and every time I smell crayons a wave of nostalgia comes over me and I have the urge to draw. Many of us loose the free flow of creative expression that we had when we were young. When we are in kindergarden we are allowed to express ourselves through experimenting with materials and the outcome was not important. Often as we get older we are discouraged if our art does not look like the rest of the class and trying new techniques is only dictated by the teacher.

My first experience where I felt that I had been validated as an artist and found talent within myself was in grade six. My class was asked to paint a still life of some fall fruit. My painting turned out to look just like the model and I was very happy with the outcome. It came to me with relative ease and it was the beginning of my experience in "looking". I learned that to be a good artist it starts with looking closely and recording what you see. I can not pin point any overwhelming negative experience in my childhood related to art, however there have been instances in which I was not pleased with my art experience. My discouragement often came from projects with little creative freedom or room for self expression. The "cookie cutter" craft projects were the first to be thrown in the garbage and left me with a cold feeling. I think it is important to reflect on these memories as art educators so that we can create learning environments that support positive learning through art. The window into our childhood could be our key to become great teachers.