Week of November 9, 2015

This week we were challenged to create an art room supply budget for an entire academic year, with the choice of either a K-5 classroom or a 9-12 classroom.  The K-5 class was given a budget of $2,500 and the 9-12 class was given a budget of $5,000.  I decided to have a K-5 classroom, and taking into factor the amount of students I would have, about 450, as well as the limited budget amount, it was challenging to say the least.  This activity provoked me to think about ways I could possibly stretch out an art budget to the best of my abilities.

1) Use recyclable materials:  This one I actually learned from my cooperating teacher during my Practicum experience!  For example, the students at my Practicum placement recently completed a unit where they created African masks by using microwave meal trays.  My cooperating teacher acquired this uncommon material from her neighbors, which then leads to my next idea for stretching a budget...

2) MAKE CONNECTIONS!:  By making connections with art education colleagues, coworkers, and with the community, it can give you opportunities to acquire materials at a reduced price or even for free.

3) Garage Sales:  Many of the materials that my cooperating teacher has accumulated throughout the years have come garage and/or yard sales

4) Apply for grants:  Applying for grants can help stretch your budget by earning "free money," for lack of a better term, in order to acquire much needed supplies of even equipment so you have more variety of mediums present in your classroom

5) Shop during sales: While online shopping for the supplies needed for my classroom, I took advantage of Cyber Monday deals and it cut off a huge portion of the cost of materials I ordered (granted, it depends on which vendor you shop from)

6) Purchase materials from several vendors:  Don't just choose one vendor when purchasing materials.  One vendor my have a better deal than the next vendor!

7) Shop in the Clearance Rack:  This is pretty self-explanatory, and while you might run the risk of purchasing a product that will soon be discontinued, it can temporarily help you out if you are under a tight budget by purchasing items 70% off or even better

8) Look for Alternatives when Creating Art:  Its okay to look for alternative mediums to achieve a similar looking finished product.  For example, if your budget doesn't allow for a kiln or clay, use air dry clay or paper mache 

Week of October 26, 2015

This week we had a guest speaker, Ramona Carrier, speak to my ARTED 308 class about working with students with special needs, as well as learning how to use a SMARTboard and how to implement them into the classroom.  Overall, I found this experience to be very beneficial, especially in regards to the vast degree of disabilities that I may encounter through my educational career.  

One of the concerns I have had as a future educator is how to work with and include students with disabilities into the classroom, especially because the diversity of disabilities is so vast and broad.  The most essential factor that I found to be beneficial in how to learn how to include students with disabilities into the class is to simply ask about them; talk with your students, talk with the paraprofessionals, talk with the guidance counselors.  It is ALWAYS okay to ask questions!  

Week of October 19, 2015

One way that I see myself including academic language and literacy into the art room is by including reading, writing, and opportunities to include discussion about artwork.  

I have made attempts at including literacy and including academic language into the lesson that I will be teaching to my Practicum students by first introducing the unit with a book that introduces the students to Australia.  This semester, the students' curricula encompasses the continents of Africa and Australia, and the unit that I will be teaching will be the first unit that is based out of Australia.  By reading the book "Australia ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Australia," the students will be further exposed to the country besides what they currently know.  I plan on implementing this type of instruction into my teaching style at various times throughout the school year. 

By including writing into the classroom, students will 1)improve on their writing skills, 2) practice writing and using the academic language appropriate for the unit, and 3)improve the students' literacy.  Students would have opportunities to write during such activities as think-pair-shares, writing self assessments, vocabulary quizzes/tests, etc.  

By giving students opportunities to have discussions about artists' works, their own works, etc., students will have the chance to verbally demonstrate academic language and refine their understanding of those terms.   

Week of October 12, 2015

This week we had a practicing Elementary art teacher visit my ARTED 308 classroom, Jennifer Dahl, who also happens to be my cooperating teacher for my Practicum experience.  I felt that it was very beneficial for us to have her come into our class and give us tips and advice for when we finally become art educators! 

This meeting was especially beneficial to me because I was able to get to know about her as a teacher and information about her school and her students.  I was very humbled by hearing how committed she is to achieving success for her students, so much so that she drives over an hour every day to teach at Black River Falls, and is divided between three elementary schools!  During my ARTED 208 Practicum, there we several times where I was questioning whether or not I belonged in Art Education.  After listening to Mrs. Dahl's advice and working with her and her students during Practicum, I have realized that this career field is truly where I am meant to be.  

Week of October 5th, 2015

My ARTED 308 professor challenged us to think about why we as individuals chose to pursue art education, as well as asking us to think about what our best characteristic is. 

I did not come to choose art education initially when I began my college career at UW Stout.  Originally I was a Studio Art major, and after taking classes for little over a year, I kept thinking, "Is this what I'm really meant to do?" I still loved art, but I didn't think I could be competitive enough as a commercial artist as well as financially support myself after school.  I decided to speak with the program director of Art Education and she recommended attending a few Children's Art Club meetings, a weekly event where local children, both attending public school and home-school, learn about art from art education students.  As I began attending meetings, I met new people and worked with children, and I became a happier person.  Every time I came home to visit, my parents told me that I looked happier and I was more excited to talk about art education than I was as a studio art major, and at that point, I knew I belonged in Art Education.  Ever since changing majors, I have not regretted it for one single day.

As a child, I was very shy, and many times art was the only way I could express my thoughts, feelings, and ideas.  Art does things that many other things can't, and if I can help one child discover how art helped them come out of their shell like it did for me, then it would mean the world for me.

Because of my shyness as a child, I feel that my strongest characteristic is my ability to listen.  My grandma was always one for listening to others before she expressed her opinion, and I believe that characteristic was passed down to me.  I believe that this personal trait is especially beneficial to a teacher because teachers need to be able to listen to their students in order to be respected.  I believe that respect is a two-way street and in order to get respect, you need to give respect, and I believe that begins with listening.

Week of September 28th, 2015

Another week has gone by of classes, and I continue to learn about new things every day, and in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "Live as if you were to die tomorrow.  Learn as if you were to live forever."

In ARTED 308 last week we were given the opportunity to listen and ask questions of former classmate and current student teacher, Ms. Carr.  I felt her advice to be especially helpful because it gave me an idea of what to expect from student teaching when I will be going through the process.  I feel more at ease of the idea of student teaching in the fall semester instead of the spring semester because in a way, you are learning along with the students in regards to classroom procedures and even each others' names.  I feel that this would be an easier transition to make for a student teacher than for a student teacher in the spring semester because in the spring semester the students are comfortable now and are familiar with classroom procedures, and then a student teacher comes in and their world has changed over the course of 8 weeks.  One piece of advice that I especially appreciated is to observe how your cooperating teacher manages a classroom.  Currently, I am taking a classroom management course, and we have yet to discuss techniques and strategies on how to manage a classroom.  I may be a bit ahead of what the course schedule entails, but I feel that this is the most important thing to take from the class. 

Another piece of advice that was helpful to me was how to engage and connect with my students.  I believe that it helped hearing that information from a peer currently going through student teaching rather than a current teacher or professor because sometimes the information is more relatable coming from someone on the same level as me.  

Overall, the best piece of advice I learned from Ms. Carr is just to be calm.  If you can't be calm, you cannot be flexible, prepared, healthy, or even be yourself! 

 

Week of September 21, 2015

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.