Problem Solving

I think problem solving is so important in getting students to create original work. In the book Ordinary to Extraordinary, the author got his students to create amazing final projects by creating lessons that involved rigorous problem solving. I think the more you can get your students to take part in the process, the better their work is going to become! During student teaching, to get my students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers I added detailed criteria to the lessons that made them think about themes and ideas related to their work. Instead of just telling them to paint anything, I gave them a problem to solve. For example, for our painting project I taught the high school students about focal points and how they strengthen a composition. I then gave each student an index card with a small window cut in it and told them to use it as a "magnifying glass" to find a section of a magazine image that was interesting and involved a focal point. I then had them cut out the small magazine piece and use a copier to blow the image up so they could paint it. Making the students problem solve resulted in them creating highly abstract and interesting paintings. Another example of one way I got my students to problem solve was in elementary with our collage project. Instead of telling them to pick anything to collage, I gave them a card with a word on it and told them to find three images that related to that theme. By giving my students a "problem," no matter how small, made them think about the process and always resulted in more interesting final products.

Professional Development

As a teacher, I will make it my aim to be a continual learner. Even though I'm in the position of "teacher," I realize that my own passion for learning is what will make the students want to learn, and I also know that they will teach me some things! When it comes to professional development in terms of getting my masters or other degrees, this is anther aspect of being a continual learner. Knowledge of subject matter has been said to be one of the factors in successful classroom management. As a teacher, I want to bring a passion for art to the classroom which involves seeking ways to expand my knowledge of the subject matter. I can see how getting a masters, especially if the school I worked at funded it, would be a highly beneficial and rewarding endeavor.

The Power of Visual Media

For my extra blog I wanted to continue the discussion of the last blog concerning making an impact in the community. As I was writing I began to get really excited just thinking about the impact of art and it's role in the community and in the world we live in. Just think how powerful a single image is? The eye is the gateway to the soul; and what we look at immediately enters our minds and hearts, with our without our consent. To impact communities, we must impact the visual landscape. Many times it is the eye more than the other senses that makes all the difference. Just imagine this scenario... You are walking down the street and you smell cinnamon roles. You then hear someone calling out about them. You are hungry at the time and the smell is intoxicating. The sound of the vender selling them causes your mouth to water a little. Your thinking, I want one of those, but you are in a hurry and know you don't have time to stop. Your are thinking about all the things you have to get done today and also know you are running tight on cash. You ignore the smell and sound, until, suddenly, you come upon a huge sign right in front of your eyes of a giant cinnamon role! The image is no doubt photoshopped, the icing is way too perfect and creamy, but YOU'RE sold!! You turn into the shop and get yourself a role. This is a silly example, but it goes to show just how powerful visual media is. Anyone in advertising will agree with this. It's like shopping. If I don't have the money, I don't look, because I know that when I see something I love and can't live without, I have to buy it. I get really excited thinking about this since it is encouraging as an artist to realize that your art, and your students art, really CAN impact the world. Our television, film, media and clothing all contain art. DM News Magazine says that "each of us sees more ads alone in one year than people of 50 years ago saw in an entire lifetime." Just think how we could impact our school and communities by flooding them with beautiful art that speaks about hope and social change? If the statement "a picture is worth a thousand words" is true, we can speak volumes by being an advocate for the arts!

Art Teacher as Art Ed Advocate

Throughout my experience at Regina, I have helped Mr. Demory in a number of "art's advocacy" projects. These include assisting students in creating a mural of Christ feeding sheep at the Ash Wednesday prayer service on hunger, helping back art work for the Tipton art show, and watching Mr. Demory paint a large book for the Iowa City Community Book project. The mural was a paint by number project where students worked on it during the prayer service so everyone could see it being created. The final result was awesome! Talk about advocating for the arts because at the end everyone stood up and gave Mr. Demory, the art teacher!, a standing ovation. The art show in Tipton was also a great success in which one of our students got first place in drawing and another got third in painting. For the book project, Mr. Demory is painting scenes from Moby Dick on a large fiberglass book that will get displayed in Iowa City. Students can watch him as he is working on the book and also get to see the work downtown once it's complete.

Personally, I think the more involved someone is in their community the better. Matthew 5:13 says that "you are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its saltiness how can it be made salty again?" Salt adds flavor to food and also works to preserve things. Art can add flavor to the community by beautifying it and work to preserve the moral integrity of a community by sending critical messages of hope and social justice awareness. As an art teacher, I will make it my aim to be that salt and light that reaches out beyond the classroom into the community. I know that if we don't maintain a heart to reach out, it is all too easy to lose one's effectiveness and go into "survival mode." I know all too well from my own life how easy it is to lose this selfless heart! The whole problem with the world is selfishness. I love the quote that the students used for the hunger prayer service that stated: "what you get makes a living, but what you give makes a life." This is so true!! Having a heart to give is so important! I think there is fear that comes against those brave hearts that makes us only get a little bit involved in things. We are afraid of the cost, or of not making an impact or of rejection. But I have to ask that if we, as teachers, don't work to preserve our communities and art's role within them, who will?

The Importance of Assessment in Art Ed

Assessment in art education is a topic that holds allot of controversy. I personally have struggled with the idea of grading art work since it is so subjective compared to math or science where you there is only one right answer. Do I grade the work by ability alone or by work ethic? What if someone works really hard and shows strong improvement but is not naturally gifted as some artists are? I am really interested to know how they grade art in other countries such as Korea. I imagine that they have a more disciplined approach which hinges upon the notion that art is a skill that can be learned just like math or science if one works hard enough. I say this because I have been amazed at the skill level of the Korean students in all our classes. When discussing this one of the students I learned that they begin learning in elementary school what we in America don't learn until high school. Ideally, I would love to see that same approach and belief system implemented in America. I strongly believe that art can be learned, although it is true that it comes easier for some than others depending on the functioning of the brain, left or right brain strength. It is a difficult subject to address indeed. What I have to conclude from my own experience student teaching is that grading must be based on a number of factors, hard work and effort being the central factors. The finished work is a combination of hard work, learned skill and natural talent. A less talented student can get an A by working hard and showing some improvement. I think grades are important in motivating some students to work, who would not care otherwise.