Reflecting on my Student-Teaching experience in a High School Art Class.In reflecting on my student teaching experience, I feel that I grew professionally in that I was able to design lesson plans that both allowed for student choice of materials and composition, and that could connect students to a variety of other subject matter and multidisciplinary concepts. In this way I have felt more professional, and feel that my students will be more prepared for higher level courses and to better participate with the global community. My professional growth goals were to better get to know my students interests and academic needs to serve them better. I feel that I have achieved these goals by developing sets of daily drawing warm-ups that prompt students to reflect on their feelings, thoughts, and on some of the foundations of art. I would ask students to draw how they are feeling, what they enjoy, their aspirations, and some silly or fun questions, too. Some of my academic prompts were to draw using particular elements of art (line, space, shape, form, texture, value, and color). In this way I am able to gauge the students’ comprehension of the foundations of art, and design certain lessons that would help improve some of the misconceptions or areas of weakness students may have. Over time I have also got to know my students’ academic needs. Some students have documentation of an IEP, 504, or AIG status, while other students were fatigued, stressed, or held anxiety from the previous and current year of the Covid-19 Pandemic Restrictions. In observing my students I was able to better understand where some students needed more help understanding, getting organized, or being motivated. The pandemic, unfortunately, made a good amount of students less social and less motivated to get their work done in class or at home. By providing information and expectations on the current weekly activities and projects on the Canvas platform I was able to reach the whole class. I also printed out instructional materials for small groups of students who may want to write notes as I introduced the focus topic of the week. I also sat with individual students who were struggling academically, who were not technology proficient, or who had organizational issues to help them get started and to help them catch up when they fell behind on assignments. I feel that my professional growth goals have contributed to my overall growth. Since my previous student-teaching internships through PSY-3010 and SPE-3300, I feel my professional growth has changed significantly. I had my SPE-3300 course during the start of the pandemic, and we watched and analyzed videos of teachers, rather than interacting with live classes. Analyzing videos was okay, but it’s hard to gauge your own growth with limited public interaction. I had my PSY-3010 course before the pandemic, and I helped with a group of K-5 students after school. It was nice working with small groups and one-on-one to help students get their homework done, play together, and meet together. It was also nice to collaborate with other student-teachers and share ideas, especially since we were all in different majors. I feel that I was getting my toes wet in the PSY-3010 internship, but that I fully dived in, so to speak, during this CI-4900 internship. Instead of learning about psychology or special education, I am putting into practice all of the knowledge I have gathered from every course I have taken, and that I have the freedom to experiment and plan, and just enjoy the internship and learn by doing. I feel that we can learn academically in any class by researching and writing papers, but we actually learn and process better when we have experiences and practice. While every course has value, internships that allow for self exploration and risks are the most meaningful. I can put my whole self into it. That is how I feel I have grown the most. Every class was leading up to this moment. I have communicated with various stakeholders during student teaching for the purpose of advocating for student success. Some examples of this include communicating with students and parents via email to provide academic information and options of support, keeping notes on when students complete assignments verbally or by showing their work in person, and by explaining to the class how I give students several opportunities and options to submit their work to ensure they understand that they can be academically successful. I have attended IEP meetings, but instead of participating I observed and offered information that would help my Clinical Educator. By communicating in all these ways I have practiced and enhanced many professional skills such as thinking critically, problem solving, and being supportive to the parents and students. I have also learned to take time to respond to difficult communications, such as irritated parents, struggling students, and students who need more resources to better handle unexpected difficulties, such as added anxiety and stress from the previous and current year of having Covid-19 Pandemic Restrictions. I have learned to be more resourceful in finding solutions, to collaborate with students and other professionals, and to find multiple ways to relay information so that all students will have equal access and opportunities to learn effectively. I have developed more empathy and understanding as I consider the feelings and thoughts expressed from parents and students. Such understandings resulted in the modification and planning of particular lessons and assignments to dig deeper into those thoughts and feelings, to help the students better express themselves through artmaking, analyzing art, and presenting art. For students who are not very comfortable with presenting in front of their peers, I offered for them to evaluate their own works by writing or by recording themselves speaking in the comfort and privacy of their home for credit. I have also offered to sit and speak with underachieving or overwhelmed students about their artwork and assignments for credit, rather than limiting them to writing about their work and submitting it to the online assignment. A quick 5-minute conversation at the comfort of their desk could easily earn full credit if they answer a few questions and express their thoughts regarding the assignment’s prompts. In these ways I have helped even the most uncaring and underachieving students to catch up and receive a more passing grade. Through these means and through conversations I have helped those students to understand that they can succeed, even if it’s in a different way. With their success, I have truly found my own. Some Documentation through the journey: AppState Assignments.
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Instructional PresentationStudents will use their deeper understanding of the principles and elements of art and design, along with new understanding of symbolism and color theory applied to psychology (watercolor composition), to create a more complex unified composition, as compared to their first Unified Composition project. StandardsNC Essential State Standards (High School Beginning Visual Arts): B.V.1 Use the language of visual arts to communicate effectively. B.V.1.1 Use art vocabulary when discussing art and artistic styles. B.V.1.2 Apply the Elements of Art and Principles of Design to create art. B.V.1.4 Recognize how Elements of Art and Principles of Design are used in art. TransferStudents will be able to independently use their learning to apply their understanding of the elements of art and principles of design to arrange unified and expressive compositions. ObjectiveStudents will learn to create, present, and respond to the visual art of digital photography by incorporating the language function Explain. Students will explain how and why their compositions were arranged and prepared to achieve unity. Essential QuestionsHow can artists design unified or cohesive works of art? What ties art together? Students will Understand that...Successfully unified artworks implement several elements of art and principles of design. Students will be Skilled at...
Materials to Download: (Instructional Materials have embedded videos)
Introduction to the Unit: The Art of Telling StoriesThe Central Focus I have chosen for this unit is Art can be used as a tool to drive a narrative and tell a story. This five lesson unit designed for Beginning Visual Arts in North Carolina (essential state standards) will explore many interdisciplinary concepts such as color theory applied to psychology and expression, symbolism and iconography applied to cultural and personal context, the the psychological debate of nature versus nurture applied to how characters/people affect the environment, and the environment plays a role in molding people, and how visual arts uses covert and overt information to form a deeper meaning and more elaborate story for the viewer. The five lessons will each review knowledge and concepts obtained in previous classroom discussions, guided practices, project activities, and through material demonstrations. Each lesson will include valuable overarching information that carries throughout the unit in a variety of ways. Differentiation of instruction and student choice are key factors in the planning and organization of this unit plan. Each student must consider their independent ideas, values, and culture and develop meaningful artworks in a way that bring unity from the first lesson to the last lesson in a cohesive way. Unit Standards (NC Essential State Standards: High School Beginning Visual Art):B.V.2 Apply creative and critical thinking skills to artistic expression. B.V.2.1 Understand the role of planning in solving artistic problems. B.V.2.2 Understand the relationships between sensory awareness and artistic expression. B.V.2.3 Create personal, symbolic expression as a means of communication (original, visual language). A 5-Lesson Unit Plan: Instructional MaterialsedTPA Task 1: Planning Documents
Layers of Meaning PresentationEstablished Goals (NC Essential Standards)B.V.2 Apply creative and critical thinking skills to artistic expression.
Transfer / Central FocusStudents will be able to independently use their learning to… Explore how artists use symbolism to express deeper emotions, thoughts, and ideas. MeaningsUNDERSTANDINGS Students will understand that…
Acquisition Students will know…
Students will be skilled at…
Instructional Materials
Photo Scavenger HuntESTABLISHED GOALS I.CX.2 Understand the interdisciplinary connections and life applications of the visual arts.
Analyze their surroundings to recognize that the use and influence of the principles and elements are applied everywhere, even in nature. UNDERSTANDINGS (Meaning) Students will understand that…
Lesson Plan and Instructional Materials to Download:
Instructional PresentationESTABLISHED GOALS B.V.3 Create art using a variety of tools, media, and processes, safely and appropriately.
Students will be able to independently use their learning to… Explore how artists create art using a variety of mediums to express emotions, thoughts, and ideas. UNDERSTANDINGS (Meaning) Students will understand that… Artmaking can be used as a tool to promote calm, reduce stress, and achieve focus. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS (Meaning) How can we use art elements to express emotions? How does material/medium choice affect artistic expression? How is art used as a tool? Students will know… (Acquisition) Aspects of color theory: - blending colors - how color affects mood/emotion Students will be skilled at… (Acquisition) Basic Watercolor techniques. Application of color pencil, ink, and marker in addition to watercolor. Creating digital presentations. Creating a decorative greeting card. Instructional Materials and Lesson Plans to Download:
Lesson on Unified CompositionEssential State Standards: B.V.1 Use the language of visual arts to communicate effectively.
Essential Questions:
Students will know…
It's 4:08 AM on a Sunday. I spent most of my Saturday checking Canvas (online teaching platform) to make sure all class pages were updated for each class. I updated content and copied it over from last week. I started each class with a project that would last 2-3 weeks to give myself a bit of a buffer. I knew there'd be a lot to do. The Art 1 classes have daily warm-up sketches, while the photography classes don't. Every class needs at least one thing to grade each week, so I made a sort of comprehension forum for the online art 1 class, which was super productive! The answers from some students regarding the importance of the elements of art in compositions was so impressive.
This past week I set up all classes to have to submit at least one assignment online to Canvas before midnight on Friday. While there were plenty of zeros due to students not submitting anything, for those who did submit assignments I found myself rather giddy and appreciative. There is so much thoughtfulness and talent from these high school students. I tend to leave my assignments broad so student choice can reflect a vast variety, and so I can subtly gather information about the students. What are their interests? How much energy do they have? Who's putting a lot of effort into my tasks? Who might need more direction? Feedback is an important kindness. For each student that submitted an assignment I took time to reflect on their work and give feedback of praise, encouragement, and suggestions. Because most of these students are slow to speak up (if they do at all) I feel that I should let them know that I appreciate their efforts, and that I care about their participation and growth. I think if I keep planting seeds of kindness and encouragement I will see growth in their confidence, personalities, and creativity. They say most teachers burn out between their 1st and 3rd year. Though I am tired and have done a bunch of work this week, I feel deep in my heart that I am happy in this noble work. Lesson on Exploring the Elements of Art (a mini-unit plan)Essential State Standards: B.V.1 Use the language of visual arts to communicate effectively.
Essential Questions:
Digital Art & Photography Lesson on Photo CompositionEssential State Standards: *There are no essential state standards for photography. Essential state standards for Intermediate Visual Art will be applied. I.V.2 Apply creative and critical thinking skills to artistic expression.
Essential Questions:
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AboutThis blog will house high school lesson plans and experiences I have during my final internship of student teaching before graduating with a BFA in K-12 Art Education. Archives
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