Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
What are some effective assessment strategies that can be used in the art room?
· “Exhibitions and displays as assessment tools.”[1] In chapter five of our text it talks about different assessment strategies. I really like the idea of art exhibitions. Most teachers already display art projects around their classrooms and in the hallways; however, I like the idea of taking a bit further. We should really showcase our student’s artwork. The children can assess their own artwork as well as the artwork of their peers. The book says that we should hang the pictures low enough for the students to be able to view them. We should frame the artwork with an actual frame or glue it onto a larger black piece of cardstock so that it looks framed and the black contrasts the picture. My favorite part of this assessment strategy is how the book talks about having an actual art exhibit where the parents come to see the student’s artwork. This way the parents also get to be part of the assessment process and the children feel excited to have their art work displayed.
· “Solve the mystery.” In the reading, “Performance Assessment Strategies”, Chapter 2 there were several different assessment ideas. The one that really stuck out to me was the “Solve the mystery”[2] strategy. This assessment would actually take a little more work from the teacher to get it set up for the students but would be a lot of fun for the students. The teacher chooses a painting that she would like the class to learn about and then creates a mystery about that painting that the children have to solve. The students are given clues about the painting and the artist that they must try to decipher. The students must use a wide variety of “thinking processes and skills like: searching and locating information, interpreting the meaning of words or symbols, making connections, grouping/ordering/categorizing information, seeking evidence and counter-evidence, giving reasons, and presenting a position or argument.”[3] I also think that this type of assessment will be fun for the students and memorable. This is a good hands-on activity that will also cover psychomotor needs as well as cognitive.
· “Students present their projects to the class in a critique fashion.”[4] I read through a lot of websites about assessment and I thought that this assessment idea was simple but good. The teacher has the students show their projects to the class and tell their classmates how they did the art and explain a little about their project. The student tells the class what they like about their project and what they think they could have done differently. The teacher encourages the classmates to comment on the student’s artwork in order to get a discussion and group assessment going.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Snowflakes
Friday, February 4, 2011
How can I integrate art into my classroom?
How can I integrate art into my classroom? After reading the chapters in our text I feel like I am so full of ideas that I could just go on and on forever, so I will try to sum up my thoughts the best I can. First of all, I really enjoy this text and I am excited to use it in my classroom as a “go to” book. If a teacher wanted to, they would be able to incorporate art with every single thing that they did during the day. The book states that we need to make sure that we address all 3 domains in our lesson plans. The three domains are cognitive, affective and psychomotor or as the text also refers to them the “mind, heart and body”[1], which I thought was a helpful way to remember them. By integrating art into our classrooms we are not only getting students more involved we are also making the learning more memorable.
We need to use the cognitive domain, of course, in order to teach the students facts and information. We need to use the affective domain in order to let the students show their emotions and realize that it is ok to express their feelings. We need to use the psychomotor domain in order to get the children moving. The psychomotor domain is also important to use so that the students get a break from just sitting and learning – they need some hands on learning and movement to keep them awake and involved.
The Visual Cultural Approach needs to be integrated into our classrooms now due to the new technology that is everywhere and that children are completely surrounded by. When we think of art we need to also think of current art that will help to inform the students about the time period that they are in so that they are able to understand the art that they are seeing around them every day. The text also talked about not using “stereotyped Pilgrim hats with buckles” or any “look-a-like exercises.”[2] What student has not made the Pilgrim hat with the buckle? I think that this means we need to be a little more creative as teachers and use new styles of art instead of the norm.
In language arts there are so many ways to use art. I really liked the example that the text showed where the student did a self-portrait and then filled in the background with a story of “what I did last summer.” I also like the teacher that had the students draw pictures from a book that they are reading as a class. The students get to be the illustrator – that way not only are the students drawing they are also interpreting the book how they see it in their minds. For psychomotor you could even have the children act out the book as it was being read. The text suggests that teachers “provide opportunities for them to translate from one symbol to another, artworks to stories and vice versa.”[3]
In math we don’t really think about art, but why not. Math is used to create art projects all the time but we just don’t realize it. Math uses measuring, estimating, symmetry, perspective, and shapes, just to name a few. In my Eled 1010 class we learned how to make a very cool bookmark using patterns and shapes and we were told that it is a great math exercise but it is art. I like when the students get to weave patterns with fabric or paper in order to make their own designs using patterns. I remember writing our names in cursive with paint and then folding our papers in half and seeing the design that it created and we were able to add details and turn it into whatever we thought it resembled. This was teaching us symmetry and I still remember it almost thirty years later. The snowflakes that we just did are a great teaching tool for showing symmetry in five directions. You could then have the children act like they are falling snowflakes and show how they would fall and float around the room for psychomotor.
In science the possibilities are endless because there are so many categories that we will be teaching that will fall under science. I like the idea of taking the students on a nature walk (psychomotor), have them collect some items from nature like leaves, feathers, sticks, etc. Then have the students bring the items back to class and create a picture using the items that they found. We did this and one of the students made a drawing of a bird and glued the random feathers to the picture and then glued a stick under the bird’s feet. Building solar systems and painting them and then hanging them from the classroom ceiling – tons of stuff to do.
In performing arts you could have a lot of fun putting on plays where the children have to make costumes, singing and dancing in performances for parents. I liked the pictures in the text where the students created pictures of people dancing and then used shiny wrapping paper to embellish the pictures.
I read through some really cool websites about integrating art into the classroom. I want to share some of my favorite points that they made.
“They (the arts) can bring every subject to life and turn abstractions into concrete reality.”[4]
“Educators who integrate the arts into their classroom’s core curriculum find inspiration for new teaching methods and experience deeper learning from their students.”[5]
“Teachers observed that students who had attention problems could learn through drawing to stay on track for unbelievable lengths of time. In order to achieve realistic drawings the students automatically learned to focus, concentrate, and problem solve.”[6]
I absolutely think that integrating art into the classroom is important. Why not make learning interesting, enjoyable and most of all memorable. Using art in the classroom will help the students to be involved in the learning. Students want to touch and feel and get into the learning, they don’t want to sit in a chair and listen to a teacher tell them fact after fact. Teach them the facts but make the facts sparkle and fill their brains with questions and ideas that make them want to know more.
[1] Clements, Robert D. “Emphasis Art” 2010. Ninth edition.
[2] Clements, Robert D. “Emphasis Art” 2010. Ninth edition.
[3] Clements, Robert D. “Emphasis Art” 2010. Ninth edition.
[4] http://www.marthalakecov.org/~building/strategies/arts/front_arts.htm
[5] http://www.neohiofamily.com/articles/index.php?view=viewarticle&id=256
[6] http://www.marthalakecov.org/~building/strategies/arts/brookes.htm
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