Responses

Week 2 Responses

To Erika:
Mostly 3s is really good! I'm a first year teacher and I rated myself much lower on the spectrum. Like you said, I feel that I understand most of the strategies, but it is incredibly difficult to establish everything with so little time (especially being an MU fellow...)! Keep up the good work!

I can relate to your frustrations with differentiating to the special needs students. In one of my classes, I had to create a unit where I differentiated to 3 students. It was incredibly rewarding, but very time consuming! I do not know what your students disabilities are, but I have learned that a few things I can do for my kiddos that are not too time consuming are: print out step-by-step instructions (include visuals if possible), do part of it for them (for example, if they need to draw an image to paint you could let them pick an image you have already drawn and then have them trace it),  have one of your excelling students be their buddy, and/or immediately re-instruct them after you have instructed the whole class.

To Ridlen:
It's encouraging to hear that you've let the reigns go a little and have allowed your students to experience more learner based projects. I feel that in today's time of school standards, it can be easier to teach, as you said, concretely. We all have limited budgets and limited time (especially us elementary art teachers), but it is important to let our students explore, grow, and even make mistakes. We should try to give our pupils the opportunity to love and enjoy art the way that we do! I have heard that common core will be implemented in the arts next year. I do not know much about it yet, but I am very curious to see if it will be a useful tool in promoting the arts or if it will become another obstacle.

I envy, the fact, that you high school teachers have other art educators to problem solve with. I can see how it would be very beneficial for you to have the opportunity to observe both, the Abba teacher and the more structured based teacher. I am curious to know what the students' opinions are of each educator.

Week 1 Responses

To Ginia:
Hello! I'm right there with you on the cliché wagon! There are many times when I get so frustrated with all of the politics of education that I just want to find a new career, but then my students change my thinking by brightening my day a million different ways. I teach elementary art myself. I have not had the privilege of even observing at a middle school. I am interested to know what it's like. Since I am an MU Fellow, I am looking for jobs for next year. I did not have a good experience when I student taught high school, I blame it on the fact that I look 16... but I feel like middle school might be a nice alternative if I can't find another elementary position. I'd love to hear more of your thoughts!

To Adair:
Wow! Art on a cart! I can only imagine what a challenge that would have been.. Did you feel like a pack horse? I have a niece who will be turning 5 this month. She is my little life saver. I'm sure your daughter will love having you around this summer. :)

Your lineage tree is beautiful! I too, had trouble remembering all of my teachers names. I'm terrible with names! It's a real challenge teaching elementary art, because I have to remember way too many names. I'm sure you can relate to that yourself. I agree with you, about remembering the feelings I had in class more than the lessons. I guess we should think about that in our own careers. Our students may not remember a single lesson we have taught them, but they sure will remember how we treated them and made them feel.

Week 2

R & R - Parker Palmer, Marzano 3, Teacher Scales:

·I found the Parker Palmer article to be helpful, but a bit overwhelming. He discussed typical classroom structures and the roles that teachers and students usually play. He uses the story of Abba Felix to assist his thinking.

This article reminded me of many of the classes I have had to take, where professors would usually lecture, assign readings, and give tests. These teachers did not seem enthusiastic about their subject and they made it evident that it was the student's responsibility to do the work and learn it on their own. I like how Palmer acknowledged the reasoning behind these actions, but expressed that we have the power to fight the urge to become a lazy teacher. He then discussed how student's become skittish and cynical when educators try to share the power with them. I have noticed this in my own classroom. When I give my students choice, they constantly ask me, "but what am I supposed to do?!" They are not used to making decisions and it seems to scare them. It has taken me awhile to persuade them that their thoughts and ideas are valid and should be explored. Palmer discussed another way to teach and learn. I feel that more educators should consider this approach. He mentioned that obedience means "to listen". In order to get our students to listen, we must earn their respect by also listening to them and allowing their voices to be heard. I know that I remember things better if I find the answer myself instead of having it given to me. We should encourage our students to problem solve, research, and find the answers to their own questions. Also, if we do not know the answer, we should admit that and do our own research to learn the correct response. Lastly, I really like how he said that we, as educators, need listen and follow our own truth. If we are going to persuade our students, we must be practicing what we teach.

·The Marzano reading outlined forty-one elements teachers should establish. It gave us a way to rate and reflect our own classroom, by answering questions and using scales. This chapter also, provided us with Marzano's website www.marzanoresearch.com/classroom strategies. At this website, you are able: to fill out your personal profile of the forty-one elements, create a progress chart, and find age appropriate surveys for your students to evaluate you. My personal profile was a real eye opener for me! I did not feel that I was properly innovating in any area and I said I was applying in only eleven elements. That left me with sixteen for developing, eleven beginning, and two not using at all. (I did not rate homework, because I do not give homework at the elementary art level.) Sure there are things I know I am not implementing yet, because I do not have the time, but this profile made me aware of even more aspects I should consider developing in my classroom. I know this chapter says to only focus one 2 or 3 a year, but I feel like I should be doing more than that! One BIG factor I need to focus on is more group discussion and reflection. I tried to use some Kagan at the beginning of the year, but I found it to be very difficult to facilitate. My students' would get very loud and out of control or they would become off topic. Does anyone have any advice for how I can effectively use more group time in my classroom? A few other things I am going to start working on immediately are: celebrating success, pausing videos to discuss key points, taking better action to re-engage, having students fill out response cards, and providing more physical movement. I often use brain breaks for my kindergarten and first grade classes, but I feel the older grades could use this too, especially since they've been inside for recess a lot lately. I've been having my 4th & 5th graders pose for gesture drawings. They absolutely love it; however, they become very excited and goofy. Does anyone have advice as to how I can keep them moving in a way relevant to my lessons? How do I manage movement without letting it get out of control?

·When comparing the Marzano elements to the 12 qualities great teachers share, I noticed that many of the skills assessed are based on the students. How are we engaging them? How willing are we to reflect and change for their benefit? How can we differentiate for them? Also, both of these evaluations are asking us to reflect on ourselves. They do not ask what the students should change; but instead, what can we, as teachers, change to improve learning? It sounds like reflection, reflection, reflection is the key to growing!

Objectivism:

What is objectivism? The ability to think impartially. It is based off of facts and reality; not preconceptions or emotion. On page 35, Parker & Palmer said, "The aim of objectivism is to eliminate all elements of subjectivity, all biases and preconceptions so that knowledge can become purely empirical. For the sake of objectivity, our inner realities are factored out of the knowledge equation." We should try to look at our classrooms from the perspective of an outsider. If we were to walk into our classroom with no prior knowledge or expectations, what would we see? What would we think? How would we evaluate the situation?

I find it incredibly beneficial to ask outsiders for their thoughts and suggestions. They are able to see things in a way I cannot, because I am too involved. I feed off of others constructive criticism. Hearing thoughts, queries, and suggestions from my fellow teachers is truly helping me become a more objective educator.

The readings from this week have persuaded me to ask my students for more of their input. How do they view the classroom? What are their likes and dislikes? I want to ask them, but I am afraid they will tell me what they think I want to hear. How can I persuade them to be honest and up front?

I am very passionate about teaching my students to think for themselves! I want art to be a means of self expressions and reflection. What is getting in my way? TIME, class size, and misbehavior. I spend so much time: helping every student, dealing with misbehavior/disruptions, and trying to differentiate that I never have enough time to assist every student to problem solve. It takes a great deal less time to give them the answer than it does to ask thought provoking questions and ensure understanding. I only see my students every three days for forty-five minutes. I know it will get easier after I have more classroom management experience, but right now I am very frustrated.

Who have I encountered that is an Abba Felix? The two that stick out the most in my mind, are my husband and wife professors from college. They both taught design and painting. They would never tell me what to do, but instead they made me think for myself. They were always willing to take the time to promote self reflection. I envy them for teaching at a University. They had students who loved the subject and were willing to take the time to truly learn. I allow my older students to come in during lunch recess to catch up or use the time to add the extras they want; but very few take advantage of the opportunity.

Teacher Lineage

TEACHER LINEAGE

 

My lineage begins and ends with my mom. She has always been a huge support for me. She has encouraged me to follow my dreams in art and is always ready to help me out in any way. 

Next, was a teacher that taught me how NOT to be. She was my elementary school teacher and she was feared by most of her students. She has taught me to always be on my feet and walking around my classroom. I remember her yelling, "It's not purple, it's VIOLET!". To this day, I still dislike the color violet, because it reminds me of her. 

Then, I went to a special art class that was located in Mrs. Nemo's shed. She is the reason I was persuaded to become an art teacher. She taught the fundamentals and then let us choose how we would blossom as artists. She gave me the opportunity to teach and encouraged me to pursue a career in art education. I remember that she was incredibly generous and taught for the love of teaching not for profit. 

In college, I had a large number of teachers that inspired me. Some taught me how I should be and some taught me what not to do. Although, all of these teachers had varying methods, they all had one thing in common: Their love of art and/or teaching. They help me remember that it is about the students and the love of the subject. Here's a breakdown of each:

Louder couple: they both loved art & encouraged me and others to find our own style. They never told me what to do, but helped me think for myself.

Luehrman: helped to teach me that it's about the students. He was so knowledgeable and wise.

Weed: was not only an exceptional teacher, but genuinely cared. She was always accessible for any need we had, even ones not pertaining to school. 

Eubanks: she absolutely loved teaching and she taught in a way that made the students learn. She made class fun & interesting. It was almost impossible to not learn from her.

Chris: taught me that you need to let students express themselves in their own way. They should become their own artists, not replicas of you.

Kopecky: he taught college biology. He was not required to have any background knowledge of education, but he took the time to learn about how to be a good teacher. I would not have done well in biology if he had not been able to effectively persuade us to learn.

Dr. Brown: taught me the dos and don'ts or dealing with behavior issues. He cared enough to invite us to contact him in the future if we ever needed advice.

No name: Even though I don't remember her name, my art history teacher taught me how to make history fun & interesting.

When I student taught, my host teachers both taught me a lot. One allowed me to learn from my mistakes and helped me learn to evaluate myself and the other taught me what not to do. She tried to make me teach just like she did, but everyone has their own style and rhythm that they need to learn. She was very hard on her students and drove away some exceptional artists, because of their behavior. She taught me that we need to use art to help the struggling students, not discourage them more.

Now, I am a first year teacher. I see so many exceptional teachers that I aspire to be like, but I also see a lot of teachers that are burnt out and fed up. I hope that I always remember why I am in the teaching field, and that the day I am ready to quit, I realize it before I become a resentful educator. 

INTRODUCTION
My name is Katie. I am currently an MU Fellow. I teach elementary Art at Mark Twain Elementary in Hannibal, MO. This is my first year teaching and I am very excited that I will have my masters at the end of it, even though this fellows program is prohibiting me from having a life this year. I am hoping to find a job closer to home (Lee's Summit) next year, but we'll see what happens. :)


12 QUALITY REFLECTION

I would definitely agree that teacher's need all 12 qualities of an effective teacher. A few qualities I would add are:

13) The ability to differentiate. In order to be the best teacher you can be, it is essential to teach to every student's needs. You must be able to present information in a variety of ways and ensure that every student understands. Teachers need to be willing to take the time to create alternative introductions and assessments. We should try to present every lesson in a way that is visual, verbal, and hands on.

14) The ability to be creative. We have to be able to think on our toes in creative ways. Many times things do not go the way we planned. This means we need to be able to formulate quick easy solutions.

15) The ability to see through kids eyes. Children think much differently than we do. They are more apt to be enthusiastic over a new eraser and less likely to politely pay attention if they are bored. When planning lessons we need to think about how the kids will feel. How can we make it fun for them? How can we explain it in a way they will understand? How much information will be overload?

16) Know how to motivate independent learning. Teachers need to understand that their voice should not be heard the majority of the time. We have to keep our students engaged by: allowing them to talk about the content, asking open ended questions, allowing time for reflection and conversation, and inspiring them to answer their own questions. It's our job to teach kids how to think not what to think.

How am I doing?
Since I'm only a first year teacher, I know that I have not mastered all of these skills yet. I am amazed by how much I've learned and changed in this last year. I am really looking forward to growing even more over the years. Here's my self evaluation.

Self inventory on the qualities 1- Excelling, in place  2- Good, developing strategies 3- Fair, about half the time 4- Need support
1) Passion for teaching.	1 - I'd hope I haven't lost my passion already.
2) Love of kids.	2 - I love most of them. I'm still working on loving the ones who really try me.
3) Love of their subject.	1 - I love art and I truly love seeing the kids work and their enthusiasm.
4) Understanding of the role of a school in a child’s life.	2 - This year has really been an eye opener.
5) A willingness to change.	1 - Since I'm still learning, I am constantly changing my methods.
6) A work ethic that doesn’t quit.	2 - Some days I feel overwhelmed and I sure want to quit, maybe not quit teaching but quit fellows.
7) A willingness to reflect.	2 - I reflect a lot but I need to write in my response journal more.
8) Organization.	3 - This is the hardest part! I need to plan my lessons so that I don't have all my grades doing messy projects at once.
9) Understanding that being a “great teacher” is a constant struggle to always improve.	1 - I'm always trying to improve, and ask veteran teachers for advice.
10) Enough ego to survive the hard days.	3 - I'm way too hard on myself at times.
11) Enough humility to remember it’s not about you.	2 - Some days that's a struggle, especially on full moons :p
12) A willingness to work collaboratively.	2 - I don't have another art teacher to collaborate with, but I am usually willing to collaborate if possible.
13) The ability to differentiate.	2 - It's very time consuming, but I'm working on it.
14) The ability to be creative.	1 - I have to be a creative problem solver, because I often misjudge what will happen.
15) The ability to see through kids eyes.	2 - They constantly surprise me.
16) Know how to motivate independent learning.	2 - I try my hardest, but sometimes I just don't have enough time with them.