First Philosophy (revised)

Looking back at my first draft of my first philosophy at the beginning of this blog, I can see that a lot has changed.  Professor Meadows suggested that the 5th year graduate students would probably have some significant changes in their thoughts on teaching, and I have certainly fallen into that category.  I have come to understand just how important technology is in the classroom.  I see that it's not just important to have because it is available, but it literally shapes and drives learning for the upcoming generations.  Kids are constantly learning, and using technology daily and naturally that was not as common when I was a child.  The internet has created a world of inquiry based learning.  We cannot expect children to come to school and want to pay attention to lecture after lecture and take notes the way we did when we were in school.  (Honestly, I don't think many kids wanted to do that when I was in school either!)  We must understand and react to the fact that kids learn differently today than they did 5 years ago.  They have phones that can connect to the internet, they have computers at home, they have laptops, they are "plugged in."  That knowledge of and desire to use technology must be incorporated into the classroom and kids will be excited to learn.

Going along with that realization, I have also come to better understand differentiated learning, and how technology and differentiated learning often go hand in hand.  If a student is quick to finish assignments, there should be perhaps some supplemental activities planned out on the internet using inquiry-based learning techniques.  Differentiated learning takes into account different learning styles and not only does a child with a particular learning style get to thrive and succeed, he is exposed to other learning styles, making him more of a full-brained thinker and a better critical thinker.  We as teachers should provide options for our students and give them the opportunity to learn in the best environment possible, which means we should not expect all students to learn the same way or have the same needs.

I know my philosophy is not completely matured, but I do feel like I have come a long way since the beginning of the semester.  I look forward to my continued experiences and observations and how they will contribute to my philosophy of teaching.

Practicum Final Reflection

Over the past semester, I have been visiting and observing at a local suburban middle school.  As a future Art teacher, I was paired with the one Art teacher at this middle school.  My fellow Art Ed students had to organize our time with her so that we did not overwhelm her.  Other students in our class had their own teacher because there are more than one English teacher, History teacher, etc.  It's difficult to expect more than one Art teacher anywhere you go, so as the Art teacher at any particular school, you must meet the needs of all the students and make yourself available to all the other teachers.

One of my best experiences observing at this middle school was the day that the Art teacher and a couple of her advanced students visited a Language Arts class.  This English class had been working on writing haiku and we were there to show them how to paint in a traditional Japanese style, using bamboo brushes and India ink.  The Art teacher provided a "scroll" which was essentially a long segment of thick butcher paper, and the English students wrote their poems on the scroll with sharpie and used the bamboo brushes and India ink to paint tree limbs and cheery blossoms and bamboo.

It was great to see a cross-curriculum activity in action and to see the success of it.  As I mentioned before, the Art teacher must be able to make herself available to other teachers.  This helps remind the administration that Art is an important subject and it does help kids develop certain thinking skills and ways to express themselves and grow as learners.

Lesson Plan Final Reflection

This was not my first experience writing lesson plans.  Last semester I took "Methods in Teaching Art" and we wrote lesson plans all semester long.  This was, however, the first time I have been shown the Secondary Ed. Lesson Plan official format.  We were given a basic outline of what we should include, but it was not this precise.  I do enjoy writing lesson plans.  Some areas I labor over more than others.  For instance, writing a planned beginning and a planned ending is sometimes difficult.  I'm sure the more I learn about Education, the more naturally these ideas will come.  I suppose I am also used to teachers simply saying "All right class, take out your book and turn to page 132" or something like that.

I have a feeling that that sort of beginning to a class might carry similar weight to a strictly lecture class.  Kids need more connections to themselves and their lives when learning material.  They need their imaginations to be tapped into and their interests captured.  This is not to say that past generations have not needed that kind of relationship to their learning, but the internet and smart phones provide interest at a click of a button.  We as teachers have to keep those things in mind when teaching.  The old ways are just not going to cut it any more.

4Mat Final Reflection

Now that I've learned about the ins and outs of 4Mat, and had experience brainstorming ideas for concepts, contexts, activities, and simply the way the 4Mat wheel should be organized, I find that I like the ideas I have come up with.  I like that 4Mat includes all the different learning styles and differentiates instruction naturally.  Not only do all the learning types get covered by the 4Mat system, but everyone is experiencing and exposed to all the different learning types, which I believe will make children better at critical thinking skills and becoming "full-brained."

One of my biggest complaints about school when I was in high school was that my teachers primarily lectured.  I am a 4 learning type, so lecture is something that I do not always respond well to.  I am a more hands on learner.  I like to be given a task and try out different methods of problem solving before I settle on a solution.  I learn by doing.  The 4Mat system opens up a lot of options for alternatives to lecture, which I think is great.  The more and more kids are exposed to and comfortable with technology at home and at school, the less they will be able to pay attention to lecture.  The 4Mat system is a great way to start that transition.

Left Brained/Right Brained and Learning Styles

I had never thought much about the way that I learn best, because I've always tried to adapt to the ways in which I'm being taught.  I tend to read and re-read something until I feel like I've achieved an understanding or at least a repeatable knowledge of the subject.  I never considered that this was perhaps not the best personal method for learning.

I have recently discovered after taking two different online tests (one for learning styles and one for left-brain/right-brain) that I am a type 4 learner and I am moderately right-brained.  This means that I am very in touch with my creative side, I enjoy using my imagination with everything I do, and I do not like too much structure in the way I approach a problem.  I am intuitive and like to express my feelings.  As I have learned in class, this learning type is least addressed in a traditional classroom.  It entails lack of structure and freedom of choice, which is often has difficult and messy outcomes.  Or at least that is how it is perceived.

As a teacher, I must keep in mind the various learning types and what is the best environment for them all.  I will strive to include an area of each of my units that is geared to the learning styles of each quadrant, while hopefully exposing other learning styles to my students.

Artistic "Freedoms" (Academic Environment)

My views of what makes a good teacher are closely tied to my thoughts on mutual respect.  The freedom and flexibility that will be allowed in my classroom will be based on whether or not my students exhibit respect for me, each other, the classroom equipment/materials, and the assignments given.  The more respect exhibited, the more freedom of choice my students will have.  This will not be difficult to do!  I am a fun and easy-going person, as well as patient and understanding.  I plan to strike a balance between seriousness and humor -- producing and discussing art should be pleasurable and informative.

My standards will be high, and I will expect my students to work hard to reach the goals I set.  As I have said before, my class will build on skills and information necessary to complete assignments.  Another way of putting this, and something that is probably obvious, is that the assignments at the end of the year will be considerably more challenging than the ones at the beginning.  This should not be intimidating.  Everything I expect of my students will be covered and understanding of the material will be achieved.

I guarantee that the students leaving my class at the end of the year will have a greater understanding of Art and Art History, a more highly defined technical skill, and the ability to analyze and critically discuss what they see.

Pointillism and Collage (Technology accessibility)

I believe that in order to have a successful lesson, a teacher should have a well thought-out lesson plan. I also believe that these lesson plans should be made available for parents, students, and colleagues to read and respond to if necessary. Here is one of my favorite lesson plans.

Pointillism and Collage

Teacher Juliet Pruitt

Grade Level 6th (Art 1)

Time Allocated -- 4 class periods (4 Hours)

Objectives

The students will participate in a discussion of pointillism and divisionism. The students will create a landscape collage consisting of round hole-punched paper, creating the image without any white negative space between dots. The students will employ elements of pointillism that they will learn. The students will be able to define the vocabulary.

Motivation

The students will view images of George Seraut's "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte," "Bathers at Asineres," and "View of Fort Samson." These images will first be hanging up at the front of the room, and then passed around so that the students are able to see how the image looks up close verses far away. We will discuss the elements of pointillism and it's relationship to impressionism. We will discuss primary and secondary colors and their effects on each other.

Materials

art board to work outside with for initial drawing

hole-punch

assorted paper (craft paper, magazine, newspaper, etc.)

glue sticks

11X14 sheet of white paper

pencils

Vocab

collage

pointillism

divisionism

dots

color mixing

primary color

secondary color

light diffraction

Procedure

The teacher will -- Show the students examples of pointillism first from far away and then up close. Discuss with the students the elements of pointillism and how it relates to impressionism. Discuss how contrasting colors effect one another. Supply the students with the materials they will need and give them the freedom to choose from the paper selection. Lead the students outside to draw a landscape from real life to take inside and work from for the collage.

The students will -- Participate in motivational discussion. Go outside and pick a view to draw from and draw a landscape sketch. Take the sketch inside to begin their collage using hole-punched paper dots. Once the collages are complete, they will be peer critiqued.

Assessment--Once the collage is complete and dry, the students will display their image on the wall and critique each other's work. I expect the students to all participate and to incorporate the vocabulary and the ideas learned in the lesson into their critique. Images will be graded on the use of contrasting colors and the density of the dots. I do not expect to see any negative space between the dots.



I plan to make my lesson plans available in hard-copy form in my classroom as well as in posts on this blog.  My blog will be updated regularly, allowing the parents of my students to have a sense of what their children are doing in my class.  Here they will receive lesson plans, photos of students' completed work, photos of students in the process of completing assignments, etc.  The blog is also a place for students to go and remind themselves of what great work they are doing and what they will be working on next.
For individual assessment I will, of course, be available for parent/teacher meetings, email, and phone calls.  I want to foster a relationship with the parents of my students early on in the year.  I believe that communication with parents is key to understanding a child and helping that child succeed.
Students will be expected to use the internet as a reference and, in some cases, inspiration throughout the year.  I will also have certain assignments that will give students the option to incorporate various forms of technology.  They will, for instance, be given the opportunity to make a short film.  Digital print-making is another option in which students will be able to learn and operate Photoshop.
As I hope you all will learn first-hand, my classroom is open to myriad possibilities that I anticipate students will really embrace.

Hello World! (Why teach Art?)

Greetings and salutations! From one creative mind to another, let me just say that I am excitedly anticipating a wonderful future in the art classroom. Art is fun and relaxing, as we all know. You should also know that art is so very important in developing our critical thinking skills, our motor skills, and the way we see and respond to the world every day.

You may be thinking "I have no talent for art. It'll be too hard and I won't get any better anyway." I'm here to tell you that that's just not true! My class will begin with the basics and build on skills as we learn them. Of course I wouldn't expect an Art I student to paint a self-portrait before learning about line, color, composition, and proportion. I am here to help -- help make art fun and feasible, as well as to help your concept of what art is expand as we progress through the year.

I was fortunate to attend Tuscaloosa Academy, a college preparatory school, in Tuscaloosa.  Tuscaloosa Academy is a Montessori through 12th grade school, and I had the opportunity to take Art every year I was there.  I had the same teacher, Mrs. Fitts, for the majority of my time at T.A., which was a great benefit to me and my fellow Art classmates.  She knew us as more than just students -- she knew us as individuals with different backgrounds, strengths, and passions.  Mrs. Fitts is a huge inspiration for me in the area of Art Education, and I think back to her lessons and her teaching style all the time when brainstorming about lesson plans or effectiveness in the classroom.