• Element a: Teachers demonstrate knowledge about the ways in which learning takes place, including the levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students.

     I see learning happening at every step of the projects in the art room. They learn about artists, history, techniques, and terms when I am introducing the projects and continue to build on those things during the making process. Students also do some sort of reflection after their project at both the high school and elementary level which is another important step where they learn from what they have accomplished and are able to express how they feel or what they have learned during their studio time. At the high school level I taught a lengthy art history lesson for some students taking an AP Art Appreciation class through Front Range Community College. After the lesson I had the class write a reflection about one thing they liked during the lesson, one thing they learned during the lesson, and one question or comment they had abut the lesson. I have also noticed how happy students are to help one another weather it’s helping a student who was gone get caught up or help a student struggling with a certain aspect of their work. I always encourage them to help each other out because that is a great social and emotional learning opportunity for all students involved.

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• Element b: Teachers use formal and informal methods to assess student learning, provide feedback, and use results to inform planning and instruction.

     Assessment, feedback, planning, and instruction look very different at the highschool and elementary level but also have a lot of similarities. In both levels I walk around during the class and talk with individual students about their work and process. Both Olander and Timnath did their grading on a four point scale based on rubrics which is something that was not done in my K-12 schooling but I really enjoy. I believe grading on a four point scale makes grading more clear and removes a lot of teacher opinion from grading. Grading in an equitable way is something that is very important to me as a teacher and students best work will always look different from each other. Olander Elementary had a “backslip” which was the same for every project, they would self grade and then write an artist statement and glue that slip to the back of their work. The high school rubrics were more focused on the objectives of the project while elementary was more focused on positive behavior and effort. I had the opportunity to use synergy and input grades at the high school level and grade using the backslips at the elementary level. I also provided daily verbal feedback and assistance during class time at both levels.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Element c: Teachers integrate and utilize appropriate available technology to engage students in authentic learning experiences.

     As an art teacher, I often need to do demos for students and show them how a new technique is done of how a new medium works. For this, the document camera has been very helpful. I used this to demonstrate things for students at both the high school and elementary level. This is also nice because students don't have to crowd around one table and watch. We can do things together where all the students are working at their seat if the students need step by step directions. The Olander art department also uses a website called Artsonia where students can submit pictures of their work with the class iPads to create their own elementary student portfolio of everything they make during their time at Olander. Students families have access to their artwork and can even order things like mugs with their kids artwork on them. Some of the money from that goes back into the art room funding and is a great way to raise money for new art room materials and future student projects. I absolutely loved the idea of such young students building a portfolio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Element d: Teachers establish and communicate high expectations and use processes to support the development of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.

      While at Timnath Middle High School I created a lesson on social justice and had the students make posters on an aspect of social justice they they were passionate about. The rubric I made has a section for the students to reflect and think critically about their work. The second section asks students to talk about what went well and what they would have done differently with their project if they did it again. This prompt has students problem solve ways to improve their project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Element e: Teachers provide students with opportunities to work in teams and develop leadership.

     I created two collaborate lessons relating to Van Gogh at my  elementary placement. I had several classes across different elementary grade levels work on collaborative paintings of Van Gogh's Starry Night. Students were put into groups and had to work with each other to divide up who was going to work on what part of the painting. I provided an opportunity for leadership by saying every group needed a team leader that would be in charge of getting water, brushes, and fresh paint if they needed it. The group leader was also in charge of making sure everybody in their group helped with the clean up process. Students also had to collaborate with different classes and grades since multiple classes were working on the same large piece of butcher paper. I was nervous that students could be upset seeing that their painting was changed by a different class but they all did a great job of working together. The second and thirds graders learned about Van Gogh's Sunflowers painting. We listed to a story about his sunflower painting and Van Gogh as an artist. Students were their own leaders by coloring and creating their own 3D flower. I later put all of the flowers up on a bulletin board by the lunch room so the classes could see that each of their individual flowers work together to make a bouquet that resembles Van Gogh's sunflower painting. These two lessons gave students opportunities to work as a team directly and collaborate on one art piece  as well as creating their own work that comes together when displayed.
 

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• Element f: Teachers model and promote effective communication.

     Communication is such an important skill in and out of school that students will use in various ways for the rest of their life. I believe modeling effective communication is just as important as teaching it. I modeled this at the elementary level by giving clear directions on projects. First, I would talk about the project and show examples to the class and then I would put the steps or an example on the board for students to refer back to as they were working. I consistently reminded students that if they had any questions they could communicate that to me by asking me and I would be there to answer them and provide any needed help. I also encouraged communication between the students about their art and personal feelings. I did a turn and talk in a lesson about drawing in one point perspective. Students talked with their neighbor about the meaning of horizon line and vanishing point as well as what happened to objects as they got closer to the vanishing point and why. In the elementary school, students often come to me with big feelings that they are having difficult managing. I would talk to the student try to calm them down and have them use their words to communicate the problem and how they were feeling about it. I always validate how a student is feeling because I want them to feel understood and heard, not ignored. If it was related to their artwork we would talk together about possible solutions. Sometimes, the big feelings were about something that happened with another student in class. I would encourage students to apologize to each other and think of ways they could avoid having those issues in the future.