SUPPORT SYSTEM...

It really does make me nervous to think about having a classroom all to my own sometime in the future. I feel comfortable in the classroom setting and with the students but organizing and creating that warm feeling in your own classroom. While at my current placement I have noticed that my teacher has collected so much over her last 17 years of teaching, it is fantastic. Her closets are full of materials that could cater to different types of projects and ideas galore. This is the part I feel I will need the most support with. I know that you don't start with it all your first year but it would help to have some backbone, I will most likely turn to my mother who is an elementary art teacher getting ready to retire. She is going to have a plethora of lesson plans, materials, ideas, and organization ideas that I can use.

It is also important to keep your cooperating teachers close for ideas and your school because sometimes they offer a specific budget for each teacher to use at the beginning of the year and maybe even throughout. Never throw something away you are questioning, "This may be useful for a project in the future?" This is how my cooperating teacher has all the neat things she does now, some may call these things junk but I believe they are the foundation of a great art project idea.

I BELIEVE A SUCCESSFUL TEACHER IS PRIMARILY A MATTER OF...

one that is engaged with each student to the point that they can work to provide the individual instruction to help each one succeed.  Learning to differentiate instruction is a big element in making this plausible.  The notion of a teacher successfully bringing each student to their highest potential takes a sixth sense, time spent learning to understand the student and letting them know that you are there for them.  Praise and positive reinforcement are also elements of teaching that I believe are necessary to achieve success in the classroom.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT...

Professional development has already been a huge part of my student teaching experience. I have witnessed what my cooperating teachers do for professional development and it is important to stay up to date on what is new in the district and in the classroom. It is important to stay on top of the new resources and groups that are part of the teaching community. My cooperating teaching just took an IPAD class to improve her skills and learn how to implement IPAD use in the classroom. Keeping up with the new means you are most likely up to date with the kids, which makes you the teacher more relatable.

There is always something new that teachers are having to learn or adapt to, it is pertinent that you try to find out what is available through school. At both schools I have been student teaching at, they offer certain classes for teachers and they also implement new information and curricula through professional development days.

CRITICAL THINKING...

Problem solving is a huge part of art, and students have to think critically on a daily basis. When you are working on an art project or even presenting it to the kids you have to make sure the students know there are many ways to go about a project. I always teach my students that it is ok to make mistakes, because most of the time your mistakes can be fixed with a little problem solving.

We are starting a clay unit within the next week and I believe clay is a great lesson for students to learn about problem solving because clay can be more easily fixed than most mediums. The students will need to problem solve most likely when it comes to building their slab constructions. They are going to create templates to help them create their piece, but these templates are not always 100% accurate. This is where it calls for a little problem solving, walk step by step with a student, laying out the options and also allowing them to think critically about the different solutions.

Critical thinking is very important when it comes to having students write an artist statement. It isn't just here is my art and this is the title. When a student is asked to create an artist statement they are starting to think critically about why they took the steps they did, why they decided to add a certain design compared to another they thought of, or maybe why they did title it the way they did. I think it is important for young artists to look at their art and others critically, really digging deep to find the true meaning. 

TECHNOLOGY...

Technology now days is all around us and children are inthralled with having access to the up and coming tools. Technology is a huge part of this new generation and they will do anything to get their hands on it, whether it be video games, computers, ipads, cell phones, you name it. I know ipads were the biggest thing in my previous classroom. Every class had a small set of 4 and could use them however they pleased in the class to do activities, assess, and learn. The kids loved them and thought it was neat to use something like that in the classroom. In my art classroom my CT has 4 also that she uses for the students to reflect on there work. They write up a short reflection or artisit statement and then email it to her. She is working on using them for more individual exploration but was recently given the set.

Some classes now have smart boards, doc cams, and 4 to 5 computers in the classroom. These computers can be used for differentiation or projects you might have going on in the class. Graphic design, flash animation, and technology based classes are big for high schoolers at the moment so any exposure to these types of lessons or classes would be great to familiarize them with the programs.

ART ADVOCACY...

Art advocacy has always been something I have been passionate about. We talked a lot about it in my Secondary Art Methods class and I participated in two different projects while at the University of Iowa. I think it is very important to stay recognized in your school and community as an art advocate. It is also key that your students see your passion in staying involved as well. A good way is staying in touch with the nearest art center or art event leaders, keeping your school involved in art shows. Kids need to see that art is all around them and that they can make a difference with their art, and if you think about it through a child's eye... having their artwork in a real museum is a BIG deal!!

 I haven't started my secondary art placement yet but I know my cooperating teacher does have the students participate in a school community project every year. Each class of 8th graders does a legacy project that they leave behind for the school. They have done murals, wall hangings, mosaics, sculptural installations. These are all done with her help and guidance, the students come up with the idea and create the piece. This is visible for parents and community members to see when they visit the school, this individuals can view what an impact the art program can have on the school and really just how involved they are.

ASSESSMENT...

Assessment has become a very important part of teaching, whether it be summative or formative. In my classroom I use assessment quite frequently. The nice thing about some of my resources for curricula is they have built in assessment. For instance, in my student's math journals there are certain problems I can look at to make sure they are understanding what is being taught. I just go around and check off on my chart if they have grasped the concept, if they haven't I take the time to sit down with them and go over what they might not understand.

I have also done exit slips at the end of many of my lessons. These are great ways to check up on if they have understood what you talked about that day during class. I used a half sheet of paper with three different types of maps and had them identify each and turn it in before they could leave at the end of the day. Of course pretests and tests are also essential forms of assessment but it is nice to switch it up every once in a while to test their minds in different ways. I assess throughout the day through observation as well, making notes as I go about certain students. It is so important to have this information on file so that if a parent or administration were to come in you would have proof of "Johnny's" grade.

Assessment in art I am sure will be a little different but I think it will still be similar in the fact that you can walk around the room and talk to students individually about there work and make notes to look back on later for grading or checking for completion. Assessing projects comes down to a rubric. I believe it is important for students to see what is expected of them so they are not surprised when it comes time to turn in the project. They should be given a student friendly rubric at the beginning of a project and then be asked to self evaluate their piece and explain what they were thinking while creating the piece through some sort of artist statement.

WHERE TO TURN...

It is extremely important to know what you are talking about when you are teaching any age and subject. I believe it is ok as a teacher to learn as you go because you are never going to know everything, but it is important to keep up to date in your learning. There are so many different places to find information now days and I think it is fun to explore every once and a while.

The internet is a great resource, I find new blogs almost everyday that provides great lessons or new ideas. Pinterest is the new go to for me, there is not one thing on there I haven't liked that had to do with teaching. They provide the idea and it usually takes you right to the site where you can find out how to replicate the idea or task. The internet is most likely up to date on its information, you just have to make sure it is a reliable source and the content is correct.

My mother is an art teacher and I have many other friends that are in the teaching field. I find it very useful to go to them for help, lessons, and ideas. It is fun to take old ideas and tweak them to fit your style and new techniques. My mom usually has materials I can look at as well to get inspiration. It also doesn't hurt to pick up a book. We may have the internet, but books are always a great resource.

ESSENTIAL CLASS RULES

It is essential to establish a set of class rules that emphasizes a sense of community in the classroom. You need to hold everyone accountable, if the students agree on and sign a set of rules they can hold each other accountable as well. It is important to establish respect, students need to know that you will give them respect as long as they also respect you as the teacher. The same goes with fellow classmates. Rules need to be enforced right off the bat, if not students may think they can get away with things and it is key to running a classroom efficiently and most effectively.

I believe that setting up a community of learners is very important and I hope to do this in my classroom. I want my students to feel comfortable coming to me with any problems. For example, last week we had our pretest for spelling on Monday. Students that get one or less wrong on the pretest get and enrichment list. We were having some problems with students changing one or two letters so they could reach the enrichment requirements. We addressed the issue by sitting down as a class and talking about being honest with yourself, one another, and me as the teacher. After the lesson for writing was over and the students had returned to their desks student B came to me and said Miss Roberts I need the regular list for spelling this week, I don't deserve the enrichment list because I changed two of my words. It felt so good to know that he felt comfortable coming to me knowing I wasn't going to reprimand or make him feel bad. I actually commended him for his honesty and told him he could put a pebble in our positive reward jar for his willingness to come forward and be so honest with me.

We have built a very trusting and honest class through a community setting and I hope to one day carry this on in my classroom.

DIVERSE LEARNERS

I am lucky to have many opportunities to work with diverse learners in my class. Differentiation is a key part in teaching today and I have had the chance to cater to each child's individual need so far this school year. I have a child in my class with Autism, a child that struggles with motivation, and many different abilities in reading. It is important to keep in mind how you can differentiate for your diverse learners but still keep your other students engaged. My student that has Autism gets really excited about dinosaurs and dragons, I have tried to bring resources into the class that relate to the lesson at hand but keep him interested. This seems to be the only way to get him to stay engaged and focused on the task at hand. He also loves to draw so I try to include drawing in as many lessons as possible without turning my class into the art room.

My student that struggles with motivation has problems getting on task and completing anything at the same pace as most of the students. We have given him a silent clock to help him gage his time and also have worked with his mother to create a binder with pictures that help him when it comes to brainstorming for writing. This is something that really keeps him motivated, and we try to always hold him accountable and give constant praise. It is important to learn about your diverse learners and really figure out what makes them tick. Usually it just takes a little digging to figure out what might help them in a different way than other students.

SETTING EXPECTATIONS

I believe that expectations in a class are the basis for success. If past teachers of mine hadn't set any expectations how would I have known what to strive for or what was expected of me. In most of my classes in the past the expectations have been set right at the beginning of the semester or the start of the class. The classroom I am in for the first half of my student teaching placement has been so great. When I first entered the class I could tell just by looking around the room that it was going to be a great learning experience.

The classroom setting and what is around the room can also influence expectations and how students behave. In the elementary setting when there is a schedule and goals (What will I learn today?) set at the beginning of the day it helps the students know what is expected of them throughout the day. We also set expectations at the beginning of the year by holding the students accountable for their actions. The whole class signed an agreement to follow the rules agreed on and those are the expectations for the whole class for the rest of the year. I hope to follow these examples that have been set by my cooperating teaching in future teaching experiences.

STUDENT TEACHING... THE BEGINNING

I was actually really nervous coming into my student teaching assignment but I am now almost half way through my first placement and feeling way more confident than I ever thought I would. I graduated from Iowa State in 2009 so I am not to worried about graduating a second time. The most daunting part is all of the things that need to be done before graduation and the search for a job after graduation, I am really excited for the actual graduating part because it finally means I can settle down and start looking for a job.

My mother is an elementary art teacher and has been for the last 22 years. There has always been a slight longing to be a teacher but it didn't really occur to me that it was really what I was passionate about until I graduated with my first degree. I spent a year looking for graphic design jobs and working a part time job after graduation with no luck and no real motivation to continue with graphic design. It was here that I finally realized I didn't want that clientele relationship because I was having no real impact on their lives the way I wanted. I started to focus on how amazing it would be to explore the impact I would have on a child when working as a teacher. So here I am now almost ready to graduate with an Elementary and Art Education degree two years later.

The wardrobe change is a professional one when talking about student teaching attire. When you enter a school as a student teacher you are pretty much on a interview each and everyday so it is important to lead with your best foot forward and in the most professional manner at all times.