Chapter 14

(14.1) Think of a lesson plan from your licensure area (feel free to use the same topic you used for Chapter 6, 9 & 10). Knowing that assessment is an integral part of teaching, explain at least four informal and formal assessments that you will use in your lesson plan to provide you with feedback and involve the students in assessing their own learning.

 

 

I could do a project on color theory with my students.  We would be working with complimentary tertiary colors to create a landscape painting. I would introduce the topic and teach them about how we can find tertiary colors and demonstrate how we can make tertiary colors.  While I am presenting I will informally check for understanding by asking for student volunteers to create a tertiary color. If they still seem confused about the process of making tertiary colors I would explain it again maybe in a different way.  Before they can get the paper to begin the final projects I would ask them to mix 4 tertiary colors on newsprint for me as another informal check for understanding. After they finish their tertiary color landscape I would ask them to complete a reflection work sheet in which they tell me which tertiary colors they used and how they were made. Then as formal I would use a rubric to assess the final products as well as their reflection  of the final product with emphasis on whether or not the tertiary colors were used. 

(14.2) Consider norm referenced assessment and criterion referenced assessment. Are there advantages to both? Are their disadvantages?

 

Norm referenced assessment cannot measure the population as a whole. It can only measure where the individual lies within the whole.  It can be used to rank the achievement of students.  Criterion referenced determines whether students have achieved a skill or concept. Norm referenced is easier to grade but you get worse information, but you can get a huge amount of information with it.  Criterion testing gives better information, but it is more difficult to analyze.

 

Pep Talk

Some days we all  need a pep talk. "What will be your Space Jam?" "What will you create to make the world more awesome?"

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by school work that I forget why I want to become a teacher.  I have to remember that as a teacher I will have the opportunity to motivate students to make the world a better place. What an amazing idea!

Hopefully this can inspire you to do something to make your life, someone else's life, or the world at large a more awesome place.... or maybe it will just inspire you to finish your homework.  That's important too.

Chapter 13

1.      Based on ourreadings and class discussion, how will you create a learning environment thatis conducive to learning? 

  This chapter has made me think not only about the physical environment that I would like to create in my classroom but also an environment that involves a mutual respect between students and teacher.  As for the physical environment, I would like for my classroom to be personalized but not overwhelming. I feel that in the art classroom the wall space is SO important as a place for students to derive inspiration from.  I would like the walls to have examples of student work, posters of work by great artists, and things that I find aesthetically pleasing in general.  Although this may sound like a lot of "stuff" to be on the walls, hopefully it can be organized in a way that does not make a students brains want to explode.  You can group student work by project or by color.  Posters could be framed and hung in a gallery like style...  ect.

   It would also be beneficial to have a poster in the front of the classroom to display a reminder of a short list of expectations for the class.  I want to keep the rules or expectations simple and to not phrase them in statements like DO NOT TALK. That will only create a negative environment and one that is not conducive as a creative space. 


   I found a post on one of my favorite art education websites the other day that referred to the Love and Logic approach that we talked about in class on Thursday. The approach that this teacher is suggesting is a sort of spin on Love and Logic by giving the student a choice. She gives an example of a student using a paint brush incorrectly and getting paint all over a fellow students project. She suggests giving the student a choice of 1. using the paintbrush correctly like we talked about in class or 2. switching to crayons so that he doesn't get paint on his friends painting. Who would want to switch from crayons to paint?! NO ONE.  I think this is a great approach that revolves around building mutual respect between teacher and student.


http://www.theartofed.com/2012/08/15/how-choice-can-improve-student-behavior/

Now consideryour CSEL case study.  Develop a fullcontinuum of responses for dealing with the misbehavior of your case.

My case study that I chose involves a student that is not working well in a group. She is unhappy if she does not get the job she wants, interrupts her group, and does not contribute to the projects.  In this situation I would speak to her outside of the classroom and ask her why she is unhappy working in a group. If there is anything that can be altered to make her feel more comfortable in the group, like rearranging the groups, I would try to alter it. I would remind her how she can be respectful to her group members by not interrupting them and by contributing to projects. I would remind her that if she cannot work respectfully with her group members that there would be consequences. (Maybe no recess or letter home to parents) If in class she still does not work respectfully with her group I would start by cueing. I would keep checking in on that group and use proximity to try to solve the problem. If that does not work, I would rearrange the group and speak with Lisa's parents about the issue. 

Chapter 11

1. Consider the theories of motivation that we discussed in class. which theories of motivation are most helpful and instructive for you? How can they enhance motivation and affect your student

A theory to develop motivation that we discussed in class that I connected to the most was that area the suggestion to give students choices. I remember when I was in elementary school we would have choices of projects to complete rather than writing a straight forward book report. Some projects would be geared more towards those who learn more visually, some more mathematical, and some geared more towards those who prefer to do a written assignment. I would always choose to do some sort of diorama if it was an option. I LOVED dioramas for some reason. Those were the projects that were the most memorable for me through out school. I'm sure the book reports were important for some occasions but I felt very excited and motivated to get to work on something if I was able to choose what i wanted to do.


(Awesome diorama that I would have loved to make circa 1998)

In the art classroom, I imagine that choice could break the ice and get students who may be intimidated by art more excited. For example, I know that some little boys may not be as excited about creating a cubist collage but would really get excited about making a collage of their favorite baseball player. Some kids may hate to paint but really love to use colored pencils. I will try to write lesson plans that are flexible enough to allow for choice of theme or material, but still making sure that they address the principles of art and design or history that I want to teach in that lesson. Hopefully this will engage students that are less than thrilled to be in my classroom.

First day of class

On the first day in class in Ed Psych we got know each other a little better. We were asked four questions.
1. Do you feel like we have a strong theory of teaching and learning
2 Are you professional?
3. Do you generally understand the actions of others?
4. What concerns you the most about your first day of teaching?

These questions are much more specific and introspective the usual first day of class questions. Typically the first day of class students would be asked to share something more generic, like share one interesting fact about yourself. This exercise opened the course up to be more of a discussion course rather than a class where there are strict right and wrong answers. In this course, I hope to have a more firm grasp on why students do the things they do. I would also like to learn how to make art accessible to all students regardless of their background.