During our ARTED 308 class this week, we presented either a PowerPoint or Prezi presentation to our peers as if we were introducing ourselves to our students on the first day of school. We were also asked to include topics in the presentation such as teacher expectations, procedures regarding bathroom/hall passes, how to properly enter the classroom, and homework policies.
Overall, I felt that my Prezi presentation was successful, but I know that it would not hurt to make some adjustments to make my presentation a little more engaging with my students. One way I tried to make it more engaging was to include more pictures than words, especially if I am going to be presenting this presentation at the K-5 level. It felt a little awkward placing homework/late work policies into the presentation when I was originally planning this presentation for a K-5 age group. I specifically chose to make a Prezi presentation over a PowerPoint because I feel the way the slides transition in Prezi are more dynamic and engaging than PowerPoint. I have seen how children react to Prezis during my times volunteering at Children's Art Club here at UW Stout, and they seem to be more engaged and focused on the task at hand than with a PowerPoint presentation.
One thing I would like to include into my presentation would be a reward system for good behavior, where the students would earn points as a class. When the class would earn enough points, they would be rewarded an activity, such as watching a movie related to what they are currently studying, a popcorn party, or an extra day to work on their projects. I believe this type of reward system would help students be consistently engaged in their classroom, as well as teaching them responsibility for their behavior.
During the presentation, I felt a little nervous presenting because a few of my peers presented before me and I felt that how they presented certain topics was more successful than how I presented them, but I told myself, "If you presented something differently, it doesn't mean that it is bad." Students learn differently from one another, and that includes learning about the classroom on the first day of school. Initially when I presented in front of my peers, I felt that I appeared frazzled and anxious, but I soon began to relax and by the end of the presentation I felt confident about the information I was presenting.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Week of September 14th, 2015
About one week of classes have gone by, and I already feel that I am growing more as an art educator. In ARTED 308, we discussed the purpose and importance of academic language, especially in regards to edTPA.
I have struggled to find an effective way to introduce academic language to students in a way that is engaging, especially at the high school level. I especially liked the activity where we read the brief paragraph from Mary Abbe's review of "Claes Oldenburg's 1960's Work at Walker Art Center" in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and then highlighted sections of the text where the words highlighted in yellow were words that would be considered academic language in the subject of art, and the words highlighted in blue represented words that would be considered overall academic language. I could use this activity for all school levels by determining what words my students know and what words they do not know, otherwise known as an informal formative assessment. Another activity that I believe I can easily incorporate into my classroom at any grade level is to include a word wall for every unit I teach.
When I first switched my major into Art Education, I was excited to learn how I could teach children about my passion for art, but I never considered having my students write on a regular basis. I never wrote in any of my art classes as a child, so why would you need to write in an art class now? It wasn't until I began college that I started to write about art, my processes, and my ideas, which was a great challenge for me. One question that was brought to my attention during class one day helped me understand exactly why we need to know academic language in art; "Why teach academic language?" By teaching academic language, we are helping students learn and grow, it helps students learn how to articulate better in the given discipline which increases their cognition and thinking skills, and it increases rigor in the students when they understand what is being discussed in the class. By having a word wall, I believe that it can encourage students to use academic language in the art room for such activities as writing artist statements, critiques, and open discussions about art.
As I introduce a unit with terms that I want students to know, I would post each term on the board and would have 2 columns under each word, one column being "know", and the other column being "need to know". I would pass out a certain amount of pieces of paper, depending on how many terms there are, and ask students to write their initials on the paper and tape it in the column they feel is appropriate. I would use this activity to determine what words I know my students know and what words I would need to touch base on.
After an activity such as this, I would define the words in a way that is age appropriate for my students, then I would have my students attempt to use the word in a sentence. As we progressed through the unit, I would use the words as a form of an exit ticket for students to leave the classroom at the end of the day. I would give a student a word from the unit and they would have to use it in a sentence. Before a formal assessment, such as a formal critique or written test, I would make a Jeopardy game with the terms and the students would be in small teams. I believe that having some form of peer interaction would also help students remember and retain the academic language that they need to know for the class.
Discussing how we can teach academic language in the art room has helped me come up with many engaging and productive activities that I hope will help my students improve their understanding of academic language in art.
I have struggled to find an effective way to introduce academic language to students in a way that is engaging, especially at the high school level. I especially liked the activity where we read the brief paragraph from Mary Abbe's review of "Claes Oldenburg's 1960's Work at Walker Art Center" in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and then highlighted sections of the text where the words highlighted in yellow were words that would be considered academic language in the subject of art, and the words highlighted in blue represented words that would be considered overall academic language. I could use this activity for all school levels by determining what words my students know and what words they do not know, otherwise known as an informal formative assessment. Another activity that I believe I can easily incorporate into my classroom at any grade level is to include a word wall for every unit I teach.
When I first switched my major into Art Education, I was excited to learn how I could teach children about my passion for art, but I never considered having my students write on a regular basis. I never wrote in any of my art classes as a child, so why would you need to write in an art class now? It wasn't until I began college that I started to write about art, my processes, and my ideas, which was a great challenge for me. One question that was brought to my attention during class one day helped me understand exactly why we need to know academic language in art; "Why teach academic language?" By teaching academic language, we are helping students learn and grow, it helps students learn how to articulate better in the given discipline which increases their cognition and thinking skills, and it increases rigor in the students when they understand what is being discussed in the class. By having a word wall, I believe that it can encourage students to use academic language in the art room for such activities as writing artist statements, critiques, and open discussions about art.
As I introduce a unit with terms that I want students to know, I would post each term on the board and would have 2 columns under each word, one column being "know", and the other column being "need to know". I would pass out a certain amount of pieces of paper, depending on how many terms there are, and ask students to write their initials on the paper and tape it in the column they feel is appropriate. I would use this activity to determine what words I know my students know and what words I would need to touch base on.
After an activity such as this, I would define the words in a way that is age appropriate for my students, then I would have my students attempt to use the word in a sentence. As we progressed through the unit, I would use the words as a form of an exit ticket for students to leave the classroom at the end of the day. I would give a student a word from the unit and they would have to use it in a sentence. Before a formal assessment, such as a formal critique or written test, I would make a Jeopardy game with the terms and the students would be in small teams. I believe that having some form of peer interaction would also help students remember and retain the academic language that they need to know for the class.
Discussing how we can teach academic language in the art room has helped me come up with many engaging and productive activities that I hope will help my students improve their understanding of academic language in art.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Continuing My Development as an Art Teacher
Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Summer and are looking forward to what's to come in the next coming months!
My summer was pretty hectic between working almost 40 hours as a manager at my wonderful summer job back home in the Northwoods, volunteering to be the head art teacher at my church's Vacation Bible School, and many other things.
It is with a heavy heart to say that my beloved dog, Dutchess, who I have had for eleven years, passed away over the weekend after a short battle with high-grade Lymphoma. As many of you know, I have had a passion for dogs ever since I was a little girl, and dogs have taught me many things in life that I know I can apply to my future career as an art teacher. I hope to bring compassion, responsibility, and respect into my classroom so that students know how to be productive members of society as well as keep their sense of creativity after they leave my classroom.
I am looking forward to learning more about art education in the coming semester and hoping that it will help further confirm that I am in the right place in my life. I am not afraid to admit that I am a little nervous about the unavoidable Benchmark II, but I am hoping the things I learn throughout the semester in ARTED 308 will help me put my mind at ease.
My summer was pretty hectic between working almost 40 hours as a manager at my wonderful summer job back home in the Northwoods, volunteering to be the head art teacher at my church's Vacation Bible School, and many other things.
It is with a heavy heart to say that my beloved dog, Dutchess, who I have had for eleven years, passed away over the weekend after a short battle with high-grade Lymphoma. As many of you know, I have had a passion for dogs ever since I was a little girl, and dogs have taught me many things in life that I know I can apply to my future career as an art teacher. I hope to bring compassion, responsibility, and respect into my classroom so that students know how to be productive members of society as well as keep their sense of creativity after they leave my classroom.
I am looking forward to learning more about art education in the coming semester and hoping that it will help further confirm that I am in the right place in my life. I am not afraid to admit that I am a little nervous about the unavoidable Benchmark II, but I am hoping the things I learn throughout the semester in ARTED 308 will help me put my mind at ease.
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