From my first placement in a high school to a K-5, I must say that there is only one major difference--the younger students are eager to get started in making art. That being said, it was very present that creating examples of the projects would be a huge boon in order to better explain things, which I did not do a lot of in the high school classroom. In my mind, I thought that it was something just for the younger groups of students because they are more interested in the visual examples than the older students. As it were, being able to point out specific spots in the art where things struggled and share in the experience would have probably helped them figure things out as well.
As often as I can in the K-5 level I utilize the document camera in order to show the students the processes I use to create the projects that they, in turn, are working on. In my example art work, I demonstrated how to set up a very basic popsicle based mandala. Had I just explained it verbally and waited for them to get it, the lesson would have ended in a train wreck. Being able to show them step by step how to assemble a simple set-up was a huge boon in helping them move forward. In some cases, the students developed their own shapes to make mandalas from, which was fine, but for those that wanted to do the same shape easily completed it without any issue save from not waiting for the glue to dry. Visuals in art are essential because it is a visual language. I didn't realize it as much in high school because I had that mentality that the high schoolers didn't need more than images in a presentation. I, also, ran into the mindset of "I don't have time to make visual examples" when the days would roll in one after the other for the same class. I was more worried about getting through the first placement than providing everything that I could for them. It hurt both them and myself in that aspect. This really helped cement the idea that I needed to do as much as I could for my students in demonstrations, verbal descriptions, and instructional periods.
0 Comments
In relation to the importance of professional development in becoming an art educator, there is a fine line. You don't want to be overly professional where everything is strictly by the rules, but you also don't want to just let everything become loose and willy-nilly.
The fine line is being able to remain profession in behavior, appearance, and handling situations while still being able to relax and joke around when appropriate. The latter is not difficult to do whereas finding a balance in being professional imposes that challenge. It is hard to recall specifics that I've read, having not read much in a good while, but there have been the occasional reality checks that really plug into professionalism. One being that it's required to remain flexible when wrenches are being thrown at you day after day. Just this past week, we've been adjusting the schedule and pushing things further back than anticipated. Meetings to explain fundraisers, free choice days, and other things that have been coming up. All very real life lessons and all very important. Plus, when it adds to stress of calendars and important dates, it's important to remain cool. Some times, this doesn't always work out, but usually it's when you're blindsided by things that people don't leave explanations for. One example is being notified of something changing, but not knowing the reason why until inquired about later, which didn't help with first week adapting and planning. When things like this come up, it's important to communicate in a proper manner to figure out what is going on with changes or things going on. Had nothing been said, then it likely would have turned a bit harsh. Professional development involves remaining on top of communications and interacting with people in a proper manner. This is where my metaphor comes into play because it is mix of downtime being used to unwind and how professionals need to maintain an image in entertainment. In the same way professional development reflects how we interact with people is to hold an image of our professional personas. Even though there's this persona, the professional can still relax and let go a little. I would say the best way to describe efficient time management is when you don't feel a sense of stress and that you are finishing with just a little bit of time left. In some cases, it is better to just get done early and not worry about things, but in most cases that means you rushed through and could have done a better job. By discovering the best way to manage time (both for work and break periods), it'll help with the flow of classes and projects. With the younger ages, it'll help them not to be overwhelmed with the project, and with the older ages it will help them stay focused and use time wisely.
I like to think I balance my time, but I find that is not such the case when looking back on how I have been treating my free time. Where I've written in my planner that I should be working on things for classes and getting things ready, I just laze about doing little to nothing. Then I remember what my high school mentor teacher told me--"Once you leave the school, you don't need to be thinking about it.". I need to remember to take time for myself, but not spend every hour of downtime being a potato, which I often am. I'd say that the best tip I have in relation to any time management is a metaphor I heard from my orchestra teacher in high school: "If you're on a train with a million dollars, and a dollar bill flies out the window, then you don't jump off the train or stop it for that dollar. You stay on with the rest of the money and keep going.". By this, he meant that when we're going along that we shouldn't stop for every little thing along the way or if we forget something. Prioritize what's important and then keep going and don't little minor or trivial things slow you down. If you let yourself get stopped by the little things, then you're not going to progress and will get buried by the workload. There are times when things need to be let go or dragged behind a little bit until you can pull them in again. Otherwise, you will keep struggling and get nowhere. Outside of that, one tool that has been useful is creating a spreadsheet for the students to plan out how they're going to spend their time. That includes day by day, color coded planning, and daily viewings to make sure the students are on track. This helped me to see where they should be at, where the general class is supposedly at, and how I can help them when they're ready. Of course, these are not always 100% accurate, but they do a good job of putting things into perspective for the students. Transitioning from being a student to a student teacher hasn't been that apparent. When I look back, however, I get hit with waves of nostalgia growing up as a student. I recognize moments where the instructions and expectations I determine were once instructions and expectations that my teachers gave me. These moments allow me to re-center myself on what I am experiencing and expecting of my students. In some cases, they are the same expectations that made it hard to get things done to which I can then back peddle a little and revise things. Other times, it's just simply an echo from a time before.
In terms of switching between teaching and learning, I feel that it is more instantaneous, back and forth throughout the day. One thing that I have noticed is that my brain jumps back and forth with each exchange be it small or large. It probably isn't good for the health to be constantly going back and forth as the stress isn't going to help too much, but it is just how things are being processed. Maybe it's because I feel that I will forget what I was thinking about during the day and won't be able to learn from it later. As for presence, I do feel that it has been somewhat lacking. I'm definitely on the quieter side in a group of people I don't know very well. In a high school setting, many of them are close to my age with a minimum of 4 years, so that made it a little difficult to project a teacher persona. In an elementary setting, however, I feel that I will have an easier time due to being older and taller. It won't be as difficult to establish a place of teacherness there. However, I do try to make sure I wear a button up shirt or polo for class, so that I do stand apart. Along with keeping an ID badge for Rocky helps, but usually the presence comes from how comfortable I feel with the class and the way I dress. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2019
Categories |