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.