Artist-Teacher

I was surfing the web and came across an interesting titled book: Artist-Teacher: A Philosophy of Creating and Teaching.. The title made me think..

The term artist-teacher, teaching artist, and artist-educator have been used in recent years to qualify a commitment to each of these roles (art and education). Emphasizing the word artist in one's title clarifies the importance of creating art. This term is more than just a descriptor but an actual concept for bringing art making philosophies into the classroom. It may be that the best teachers are not pedagogy experts but those who actively embrace their studio thinking processes in the classroom. Every art teacher should teach relevant curriculum that they are excited about! Re-inventing what it means to be an art teacher involves being an artist and applying this passion in the classroom. By viewing the classroom through the discipline of art, this space becomes a canvas in which the artist-teacher manipulates the students and curricula like the elements and principles of design. As a philosophy of teaching, artist-teacher is not considered a dual role but it involves the integration of artistic experiences in the classroom. I feel these two activities - teaching and making art - actually supporting one-another, despite being difficult to balance.

After reading the SYNOPSIS, I was even more intrigued.. I think I will add it to my holiday wish list! Fingers crossed!

"I can't draw."

I have heard many students in my fieldwork say "I can't draw!" I usually respond with a number of responses.. "you might surprise yourself.. rome wasn't built in a day.. don't compare yourself to anyone except for yourself!" Here is a piece of art history I found that is truly inspirational.

Henri Matisse was born on December 31, 1869 in France. He became a famous artist by the year 1900. By the age of 78, he became a cripple and had to remain in a wheel chair. He could barely move his fingers due to arthritis. That didn't stop him. As you see in the picture, Matisse began to cut out shapes from colored construction paper and had others glue them down for him to make a collage. He did this all from his wheelchair. Soon he became so lame that he was stuck in a bed. That didn't stop him either. When he painted one of his last paintings, he was rolled on his bed in the church.

"I consider it my best piece of work. I hope that the future will justify this opinion by a growing interest," Matisse said before he died in 1954 at the age of 84. Even though he was old and crippled, he decided that nothing was going to stop him. Will anything stop you?

The Word: "Standards"

I appreciate the evolution of education, of couse I do, but it just seems as if everything has become so "standardized." CHILDREN ARE NOT STANDARD. Neither are our budgets, our locations, our communities and everything else that goes along with teaching our future. Instead of trying to have our children reach the same test scores, goals and achievements, wouldn't it make more sense to look at each child as an individual and teach to their strengths? 

 Standard 1: Creating, Performing and Participating in the Arts

Students will actively engage in the processes that constitute creation and performance in the arts

(dance, music, theatre, and visual arts) and participate in various roles in the arts.

Standard 2: Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources

Students will be knowledgeable about and make use of the materials and resources available for

participation in the arts in various roles.

Standard 3: Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art

Students will respond critically to a variety of works in the arts, connecting the individual work to

other works and to other aspects of human endeavor and thought.

Standard 4: Understanding the Cultural Dimensions and Contributions of the Arts

Students will develop an understanding of the personal and cultural forces that shape artistic

communication and how the arts in turn shape the diverse cultures of past and present society.

Self Reflections

I think that self reflections can be used as a valuable assessment. If you structure the questions around your learning objectives students will be able to work on a number of skills. They will work on their writing skills while having the learning objectives of the lesson be reinforced. HERE is an article about the benefits of self reflections and assessment strategies.

Reflection on Today's Class: Collaboration

Today the following question was brought up: How do you teach collaboration effectively?

This made me reflect upon my experiences working in groups/collaborating.. because you can't expect people to learn how to work positively in groups simply by putting them in groups. Plenty of people who have engaged in group work possibly still do not know how to work well in groups. Learning requires instructions, guidelines, and feedback. Every member should have a chance to "share the stage" and provide for the group. It should be the job of the teacher to explain the project, possibly even do a demonstration of collaboration, break down tasks for each member of the group, and let the collaboration begin from there. A teacher cannot simply expect for collaboration to be effectively learned if thrust upon students without guidelines. At the end of the project, students should reflect upon why the task at hand was necessary to preform as a group and why their job was necessary to meet that specific group goal.

just some thoughts!

Narrative Theme Based Lesson!

Today I presented the class with my theme-based lesson on narratives in art. Before the class began I had the supplies, powerpoint, extra cameras, handouts and whiteboard ready to go. I decided to begin the class with a littler refresher on Cindy Sherman and her photographs and some vocabulary. The vocabulary allowed the students to use and apply those words throughout the entire lesson. They also applied them to the photographs by Cindy Sherman and Gregory Crewdson in the introduction powerpoint. I definitely should have used scaffolding a little better by allowing them to take in details then asking questions about their judgments. I also think I could have took a little more time during the discussion on the contemporary photography.

            The handouts overall were effective. I was really happy with how the Cindy Sherman handout turned out. There was a great variety regarding genres in the student’s sketches. Students had sketched scenes based on the Cindy Sherman photograph that could be categorized under science fiction, drama, and comedy. I did touch upon camera angles that came up in the teacher examples and the contemporary photography examples, but I think that next time if I had at least one example of each hanging up throughout class that would be even more helpful. Also, when I introduced the teacher examples I should have asked questions regarding their camera angles and genres, instead of explaining myself.

            Before allowing the students to begin the art making process I gave a quick demo on how one of the teacher examples were done, and showed the evaluation criteria. I think next time another demo could have been done on how to make certain props they might need. I think I did a good job asking if students had questions, and going around to each group at least once to discuss their ideas and push them further. There should have been designated time set aside to solely sketch their self-portrait, and then photograph their idea. I also should have stated certain rules regarding leaving the classroom/moving around the classroom. I could tell that during the art making process they were having fun making props and deciding upon a camera angle and genre.

            I think the reflection questions were effective. They were based off of the learning objectives. I did plan a printout of them to hand to the class, but in the end I e-mailed the class the questions. It reinforced what they had learned about narratives, camera angles, and genres. It had the students share their results and experience working as the director of their photo shoot and a photographer for their partner’s photo shoot. I also appreciated the feedback. Every teacher needs that outside opinion or else they can get stuck in their own head. I feel that the class thought of a lot of great directions that this lesson can go. I can confidently say I had fun teaching the class this theme-based lesson, and really enjoyed the results of the project.

Smartboards!

We all know that as a teacher, it can be a challenge to capture the attention of students. Students today are increasingly distracted by cell phones, laptops and other devices of the modern age. Engaging students can become a challenge. I think that active participation in the classroom help students learn more effectively. But how can this be done?
SMARTBOARDS!

After using the smartboard I myself was more engaged. The smartboards are visually pleasing to students and have qualities similar to the modern devices students own today. It is touch responsive and have "markers" that can be used to draw on the board, both are qualities that can be used to actively engage students in a lesson. Im really excited to explore the smartboard and learn more of what it has to offer.

Unit Plans: Long term learning goals!

 A unit plan allows art teachers to connect many ideas into one single theme. I think they can really allow students and teachers to explore a single theme. Unit planning provides you with a sense of direction and organization that again helps you and the class to achieve significant academic gains.

For me, I plan to have my unit being based off the theme of narratives in art. Students today are constantly being surrounded by narratives. Moves, TV, Advertisements, photographs. They may be unaware of it but they are creating their own narratives when they post photos using their phones or cameras, and post you tube videos!

Bloom's Taxonomy

I found an interesting reading about the range of question types from Davis (1993) I think they all can be related back to Bloom's Taxonomy of learning objectives because they show increasing levels of cognitive complexity as students move from simple to more complex tasks.

They are:

• Exploratory questions:

 probe facts and basic knowledge

• Challenge questions:

 interrogate assumptions, conclusions or interpretations

• Relational questions:

 ask for comparisons of themes, ideas, or issues

• Diagnostic questions:

 probe motives or causes

• Action questions:

 call for a conclusion or action

• Cause-and-effect questions:

 ask for causal relationships between ideas, actions, or events

• Extension questions:

 expand the discussion

• Hypothetical questions:

 pose a change in the facts or issues

• Priority questions:

 seek to identify the most important issue(s)

• Summary questions:

 elicit synthesis

More on Learning Objectives..

There should be no tricks when it comes to learning objectives. It is important to clearly outline what you expect the students to learn and how they are going to show evidence that they have accomplished the objectives. This can be done by a variety of methods. Communicating your objectives to your students, moreover, helps to focus their thinking and motivate participation.

For the photography lesson I am planning I intend for students to explore and create a self portrait. I want students to sketch their ideas before jumping into art making, then take their photographs. I would also like for students to understand Cindy Sherman's style of art making and decipher a narrative for themselves. Finally, self reflections are important for artist to reevaluate their choices and hear about their fellow students experiences. By the end of the lesson students should have a director's sketch sheet, final photograph, Cindy Sherman worksheet, and a self reflection.

Learning Objectives!

For discussions to accomplish something valuable, they must have a purpose. While preparing my powerpoint for my fieldwork class, I asked my self: What are my goals for this discussion? How do the ideas and information to be discussed fit into the course as a whole? What skills, knowledge, perspectives, or sensibilities do I want students to walk away from the discussion with? 

My discussion was based around the theme of narratives, and how contemporary photographers are creating their own open ended narratives in their works. I planned a powerpoint presentation that would set them up to analyze contemporary photographer's work. It began with building their vocabulary and ended with a discussion.. more to follow on how it went!

Engaging Criticality & Facilitating Meaningful Discussions

Discussions can be an excellent strategy for enhancing student motivation, fostering intellectual agility, and encouraging democratic habits. They create opportunities for students to practice and sharpen a number of skills, including the ability to articulate and defend positions, consider different points of view, and enlist and evaluate evidence. 

I understand that careful planning can help teachers ensure that discussions are lively without being chaotic and exploratory without losing focus. When planning a discussion, it is helpful to consider not only cognitive, but also social/emotional, and physical factors that can either foster or inhibit the productive exchange of ideas. Also it is important to keep in mind what you want to accomplish by the end of the discussion, and keep your eye on the prize!

Critiques- Barrett

I find critiques informative and very helpful when it comes to analyzing artwork and improving your own artwork.

Visual literacy adds depth to the art curriculum. Critiques provide real classroom perspective on dealing with meaning, gender issues, influences, and more. This discovery-oriented approach gets students talking, thinking, and writing about many genres of art, and hooks even reluctant students. I have seen this first hand in my field work placement. It is incredible how engaged students can become in a lesson once you ask them the right questions. 

Grow-A-Game!

This activity made me think of Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

In the theory of cognitive development, Piaget proposes that intelligence is the founding mechanism of promoting equilibrium in the relationship between the environment and the person. This is attained through actions of the developing individual on the world. In development at any specific time, the surrounding is assimilated in the action schemes which are readily available and then they are accommodated or assimilated to the habits of the environment’s objects in the cases where they are not fully relevant. Therefore, the development of intelligence is process of accommodations and assimilations that is continuous and it results in the expansion of the application field of schemes, increasing abstraction, interiorization and coordination. 
It is clear from Piaget’s theory of cognitive development that play is very crucial and particularly in the preoperational stage of development. Play is very important in cognitive development, it enables children to choose the information that is useful, and it facilitates the development of cognitive abilities and has even proved to improve intelligence. Activities and games also facilitate the enhancement of abstract behavioral codes.

Technology and Media in Education

I found an interesting article regarding our discussions on technology and media. It breaks down some main components of today's media such as mobile computing, social networking, and E-learning. In it, they discuss the many positives (and some negatives) that technology brings to the classroom such as sharing information from teachers to students more effectively, and creating online education sites that parents can use with their children outside of schools. The article can be found HERE.

Sir Ken Robinson!

My New Hobby: Crocheting

I first learned how to crochet in the fifth grade for a community service project. I recently picked it up again, and learned some new stitches from my friends and YouTube! Crocheting is a great way to unwind and do something productive! As I got more comfortable with my skills, I decided to make hats for my friends as Christmas gifts! Below is a hat I made for my friend Wendy, and a picture of her looking FAB as always. Wendy's super stylish fashion blog can be found here.