I feel pretty good about the outcome of this semester. I didn't enter into the B range in any of my classes. I stayed above the B line, which was way exciting. So, whatever I did worked in that regard, but I could have made things easier on myself by studying with more than two or three people. I really enjoyed studying with 6-8 girls at the psychology study review. It helped me a ton. I have learned how to change my rote memorization comfort of studying into a deeper study that allows me to apply the information so that it actually makes sense in an application scenario. I have never been able to do that before. I was way happy when I only missed one on the multiple choice of the final exam. I need to keep studying that way, really trying to get the depth of the material, so that I can have greater enduring understanding.
I need to work out more. I was extremely tired on most occasions just because of lack of exercise. I know if I can do that, I'll feel much better and be able to function at a high-order thinking level instead of the zombie mode I sometimes slip into. Eating healthier is also a huge part of feeling well mentally, emotionally, and physically, so that is something tangible I can improve on for next semester.
Another thing I can work on for the next semester of the teaching program will be to maintain regular study habits, rather than massive cram/study sessions that wipe me out.
Overall, I am burnt out, but I feel great about the semester. I made really good friends from psychology study groups that will probably remain some of my closest friends for a long time. I was able to have good experiences this semester that I believe have conditioned my belief even further that the teaching program is the program for me, the elementary education is the profession for me, and UVU is the University where I can achieve the positive future I see ahead of me.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Arts and Arts Education
Where am I heading with the Arts and Arts Education?
The direction I am heading towards with arts education includes trying to incorporate multiple standards from the core curriculum into one lesson plan. When I am given a lesson plan, I am thinking of so much more than, "Hmmm. How was I taught this?" I am thinking about children's books, process dramas, music, creating a dramatic setting in the classroom, making songs, using mnemonic devices, creating visual art to represent deeper thinking, using journals for art expressions or writing expressions, creating newspapers, using hooks to introduce a lesson, incorporating digital stories, using google websites and calendars to organize unit assignments, using backwards design, and so many more things that weren't at all apart of my vocabulary on January 1, 2010. Now, instead of thinking of art as a way to teach kids to make clay pots or color plates for Mother's Day, I am thinking of the Civil War with making a live Wax Museum. I am thinking of the Revolutionary War and the signing of the Declaration of Independence with tea candles, wigs, and an actual voting and signing of the Declaration in my classroom. I want my classroom to come to life with color from creating visual arts, movement from art theater and dance, and rhythm with music and beats. Learning has to be an experience. In order for something to be a memorable experience, it must include more than just basic necessary senses to watch a teacher and lister to him/her talk. A memorable experience will use all the senses to create a lively atmosphere where students can discover how they relate to important events in history, how they connect with music and math, and how they can bring to life their writing with rich detail. Art can bring enduring understanding to the classroom in every subject.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Spring Break.
This week is Ridgeline Elementary's Spring Break, and so that means it is my Spring Break! I'll be back on Tuesday, rested and ready for the last sprint of the semester race. Until then.... Hasta Luego!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Field Experience 3
What.
This week was my last week at Ridgeline Elementary. The students started making easter basket or plate sculptures out of the clay that can be fired to make it glossy and finished. It was done in our sixth grade class and students from the class next door would come and work on it in our class at times. I noticed how even the most disruptive students were very focused when they were sculpting and painting their little baskets. It was very quiet and each of them was figuring out through trial and error how to form their creation. One Negative Nancy student came up to me and said, "Mine is ugly." I quickly responded with something I learned with my first painting, "If it is yours, then it is your masterpiece." I explained that she had put time into it and tried to make it as best she could with what she knew about sculpting. The next time she would get better, and in time, if she became a professional easter egg basket sculptor, that she would probably be most proud of the very first one she had just called ugly. My mother used to paint beautifully, so last year, I decided to delve into my genetic skills to find the painting professional inside of me, and I painted a Willow Tree. Though it didn't turn out too awesome compared to other paintings, it was my own, and I worked a long time on that willow tree, so it was a masterpiece to me. I tried using this experience I had with trying new things with art to help this child understand hers was the first of many 'masterpieces.' She looked at me kind of funny after and said, "I still think it's ugly." It was worth a try though. Maybe someday someone will find that advice helpful.
So What.
I wished that the art project they were assigned to do was more connected with the curriculum or was done in their once a week art class because it made all the desks really messy and cluttered the room. It took up a lot of class time not to be related to anything, and no art terms or sculpting mechanisms were taught, so what the students learned was just like what they learned with play dough when they were young--it's squishy, it smells weird, it shapes when you mold it with your hands, and now its different from play dough because it gets put into a magic fire that makes it pretty and glossy."
Now What
For our Arts Integration into our last social studies lesson, we were studying the architecture of cathedrals. Charis and I taught the students about the different styles-Romanesque and Gothic- through a slideshow of pictures that I had taken of about 10-15 cathedrals when I traveled throughout Spain. We showed them some of the major inventions like flying buttresses, and we discussed the Roman and Germanic influence on cathedrals today. We split the students into 6 groups and with each group, they were assigned a story book page where they were asked to write about their cathedral characteristic or style and make an illustration of it with the tools we gave them.
Group one was given the topic of Cathedrals in the Middle ages. They were given paints and paint brushed and asked to paint an illustration that went with the words they put on their page.
The next group was given Romanesque Cathedrals. We gave them empty toilet paper rolls, construction paper, scissors, and tape and asked them to create a pop up illustration of the rounded feature in Romanesque style cathedrals.
Group three was given a cardboard box, scissors, and tape. We asked them to create a 3-d page demonstrating Gothic cathedrals, with their many spires and massive windows.
Group four was given saran-wrap, permanent markers, and a religious traceable picture. We asked them to create a stained glass window, which was a window that usually depicted a religious scene in cathedrals.
Group five was given the task of creating a mosaic style Rose window, which was a large window with a basic circular design used in most of the Gothic style cathedrals.
Group six was given some images of the architectural inventions back in the middle ages. We asked them to sketch flying buttresses on their page.
All of the groups came up with creative designs for their pages in their 'Cathedrals in the Middle Ages' class children's book. I thought it was a success, but next time, I would have them rotate with their group every five minutes to the other project pages. This would allow other ideas to come into all the designs and to allow the students who liked some forms of art better than others a better opportunity to learn and experience other styles of art illustration.
This week was my last week at Ridgeline Elementary. The students started making easter basket or plate sculptures out of the clay that can be fired to make it glossy and finished. It was done in our sixth grade class and students from the class next door would come and work on it in our class at times. I noticed how even the most disruptive students were very focused when they were sculpting and painting their little baskets. It was very quiet and each of them was figuring out through trial and error how to form their creation. One Negative Nancy student came up to me and said, "Mine is ugly." I quickly responded with something I learned with my first painting, "If it is yours, then it is your masterpiece." I explained that she had put time into it and tried to make it as best she could with what she knew about sculpting. The next time she would get better, and in time, if she became a professional easter egg basket sculptor, that she would probably be most proud of the very first one she had just called ugly. My mother used to paint beautifully, so last year, I decided to delve into my genetic skills to find the painting professional inside of me, and I painted a Willow Tree. Though it didn't turn out too awesome compared to other paintings, it was my own, and I worked a long time on that willow tree, so it was a masterpiece to me. I tried using this experience I had with trying new things with art to help this child understand hers was the first of many 'masterpieces.' She looked at me kind of funny after and said, "I still think it's ugly." It was worth a try though. Maybe someday someone will find that advice helpful.
So What.
I wished that the art project they were assigned to do was more connected with the curriculum or was done in their once a week art class because it made all the desks really messy and cluttered the room. It took up a lot of class time not to be related to anything, and no art terms or sculpting mechanisms were taught, so what the students learned was just like what they learned with play dough when they were young--it's squishy, it smells weird, it shapes when you mold it with your hands, and now its different from play dough because it gets put into a magic fire that makes it pretty and glossy."
Now What
For our Arts Integration into our last social studies lesson, we were studying the architecture of cathedrals. Charis and I taught the students about the different styles-Romanesque and Gothic- through a slideshow of pictures that I had taken of about 10-15 cathedrals when I traveled throughout Spain. We showed them some of the major inventions like flying buttresses, and we discussed the Roman and Germanic influence on cathedrals today. We split the students into 6 groups and with each group, they were assigned a story book page where they were asked to write about their cathedral characteristic or style and make an illustration of it with the tools we gave them.
Group one was given the topic of Cathedrals in the Middle ages. They were given paints and paint brushed and asked to paint an illustration that went with the words they put on their page.
The next group was given Romanesque Cathedrals. We gave them empty toilet paper rolls, construction paper, scissors, and tape and asked them to create a pop up illustration of the rounded feature in Romanesque style cathedrals.
Group three was given a cardboard box, scissors, and tape. We asked them to create a 3-d page demonstrating Gothic cathedrals, with their many spires and massive windows.
Group four was given saran-wrap, permanent markers, and a religious traceable picture. We asked them to create a stained glass window, which was a window that usually depicted a religious scene in cathedrals.
Group five was given the task of creating a mosaic style Rose window, which was a large window with a basic circular design used in most of the Gothic style cathedrals.
Group six was given some images of the architectural inventions back in the middle ages. We asked them to sketch flying buttresses on their page.
All of the groups came up with creative designs for their pages in their 'Cathedrals in the Middle Ages' class children's book. I thought it was a success, but next time, I would have them rotate with their group every five minutes to the other project pages. This would allow other ideas to come into all the designs and to allow the students who liked some forms of art better than others a better opportunity to learn and experience other styles of art illustration.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Field Work 2
What?
This was our second week in Mr. Wimmer's 6th grade class. My partner and I went to their art class, which they have once a week taught by a specialty art teacher. They learned how to make geometric tessellation shapes and designs. Mr. Wimmer is still having them work on their pottery easter baskets. He also always gives them the option to draw pictures instead of writing in their journal. I think that is a good option to allow the students to express themselves in whatever manner best fits their interests.
So What?
Because of this semester, my question with all art projects done in the classroom has become, 'how does this tie back to the curriculum?' Our teacher loves worksheets and seems to give them worksheets without any connection back to the curriculum. The activities are fun and the kids enjoy doing them, but the enduring understanding doesn't seem present. For example, I asked my 4th grader cousin, Ethan, what he knew about Rome. He said, "Oh, I learned so much about Rome. That was one of my favorite things I learned about in school." I said, "Well, what did you learn?" He said, "I don't really remember, but I do remember that we built these awesome roads with mud and rock and sand!" The connection was almost made between world history, creating a road, and Rome's great invention of the everlasting roads, but the tie between the art and the importance to world history wasn't quite clear enough. It needed to be explained just a little deeper the significance of the art project in connection to Ancient Rome.
I believe using art, in the 6th grade especially, is most effective and productive when it is used to meet curriculum objectives in other main content areas and when that connection is made known to the students very clearly.
Now What?
When I begin teaching in the future, I want to make sure that my lesson plans include productive art that allows them to really understand and remember the content in another subject really well. The more things you can teach at once, effectively, the more time you will have to cover all the subjects in the core curriculum. This will allow the students to have a greater advantage in all the grades to follow. Art is a great way to create opportunities for enduring understanding, when it is used in a thoughtful, prepared, and organized manner that ties in well to the subject being taught.
This was our second week in Mr. Wimmer's 6th grade class. My partner and I went to their art class, which they have once a week taught by a specialty art teacher. They learned how to make geometric tessellation shapes and designs. Mr. Wimmer is still having them work on their pottery easter baskets. He also always gives them the option to draw pictures instead of writing in their journal. I think that is a good option to allow the students to express themselves in whatever manner best fits their interests.
So What?
Because of this semester, my question with all art projects done in the classroom has become, 'how does this tie back to the curriculum?' Our teacher loves worksheets and seems to give them worksheets without any connection back to the curriculum. The activities are fun and the kids enjoy doing them, but the enduring understanding doesn't seem present. For example, I asked my 4th grader cousin, Ethan, what he knew about Rome. He said, "Oh, I learned so much about Rome. That was one of my favorite things I learned about in school." I said, "Well, what did you learn?" He said, "I don't really remember, but I do remember that we built these awesome roads with mud and rock and sand!" The connection was almost made between world history, creating a road, and Rome's great invention of the everlasting roads, but the tie between the art and the importance to world history wasn't quite clear enough. It needed to be explained just a little deeper the significance of the art project in connection to Ancient Rome.
I believe using art, in the 6th grade especially, is most effective and productive when it is used to meet curriculum objectives in other main content areas and when that connection is made known to the students very clearly.
Now What?
When I begin teaching in the future, I want to make sure that my lesson plans include productive art that allows them to really understand and remember the content in another subject really well. The more things you can teach at once, effectively, the more time you will have to cover all the subjects in the core curriculum. This will allow the students to have a greater advantage in all the grades to follow. Art is a great way to create opportunities for enduring understanding, when it is used in a thoughtful, prepared, and organized manner that ties in well to the subject being taught.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Field Work 1
What?
This week was my first week in Mr. Wimmer's 6th grade class at Ridgeline Elementary for my field work. My partner and I have been looking for ways art is incorporated in the classroom. They made some clay baskets for easter, but I didn't think it was relevant at all to anything else in the curriculum. I have realized that art is much more effective and meaningful when it also has another purpose than just learning how to be an artist.
So What?
In planning my social studies lessons for next week, I realized how confident I feel when I have an art process planned as part of the lesson. We will be doing a "Who's got the motion" warm up exercise the day we talk about the leaders of Rome's government. I love it when the kids appreciate you for coming up with an activity they really enjoy. It really gets me comfortable as the teacher. Arts are something that improve my teacher presence. I feel much more prepared and like I am being a good educator when I allow a positive environment for learning that involves moving around, talking, acting, running, and anything bodily kinesthetic. Most kids in the 6th grade have a favorite subject of recess. Why not involve the things they love about recess into classroom subjects?
Now What?
I would like to incorporate one arts process in each of the 5 social studies lessons because that is one part I can feel confident planning and comfortable conducting. We all have our strong points and weak points. My partners strong parts are the organizational and procedural parts. I like media, art, and other tools that allow me to create things to show or teach the students to help them learn. I think 6th grade students are getting nervous about going into the 7th grade where there will be no recess and too many lockers. It is important to allow them to learn love classroom subjects and not rely on recess for their salvation. This can be done by incorporating creative learning processes through art in all the daily classroom subjects.
This week was my first week in Mr. Wimmer's 6th grade class at Ridgeline Elementary for my field work. My partner and I have been looking for ways art is incorporated in the classroom. They made some clay baskets for easter, but I didn't think it was relevant at all to anything else in the curriculum. I have realized that art is much more effective and meaningful when it also has another purpose than just learning how to be an artist.
So What?
In planning my social studies lessons for next week, I realized how confident I feel when I have an art process planned as part of the lesson. We will be doing a "Who's got the motion" warm up exercise the day we talk about the leaders of Rome's government. I love it when the kids appreciate you for coming up with an activity they really enjoy. It really gets me comfortable as the teacher. Arts are something that improve my teacher presence. I feel much more prepared and like I am being a good educator when I allow a positive environment for learning that involves moving around, talking, acting, running, and anything bodily kinesthetic. Most kids in the 6th grade have a favorite subject of recess. Why not involve the things they love about recess into classroom subjects?
Now What?
I would like to incorporate one arts process in each of the 5 social studies lessons because that is one part I can feel confident planning and comfortable conducting. We all have our strong points and weak points. My partners strong parts are the organizational and procedural parts. I like media, art, and other tools that allow me to create things to show or teach the students to help them learn. I think 6th grade students are getting nervous about going into the 7th grade where there will be no recess and too many lockers. It is important to allow them to learn love classroom subjects and not rely on recess for their salvation. This can be done by incorporating creative learning processes through art in all the daily classroom subjects.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Music Week 2 (Reflection 9)
Reflection #9
What did you learn from the process you engaged in to create this music lesson?
What did you learn from the process you engaged in to create this music lesson?
From creating the music lesson, I learned that you need to pick an easy tune that can be repeated. We chose a whole new world from the Disney movie, Aladdin, which forced you to have pitch, tone, and know the melody well. Our group was trying to be a little too creative I guess, and I realized it's better to be simple. Like, the rain rain go away song, was perfect because that could be memorized much easier and has a range of octaves that could have been used to sing the song.
While we were coming up with the lyrics, we found ourselves trying to make each line rhyme rather than get across the things we were teaching in our objective.
What did you learn from the actual presentation experience?
From presenting, I learned that it's embarrassing to sing a tune with an advanced melody, and it would have been much easier to have helped the students learn a song we were more comfortable with, like row row row your boat, or something with a basic sound.
I also learned that it's important to have very detailed instructions and to know how everything can work, and then even if the class doesn't require that much instruction, you know whatever you need to improvise or modify the instruction and/or lesson.
So What is important for you to remember and learn?
It is important for me to remember not to squeeze music into my curriculum if it won't help the students learn the objectives. I like music, and I think it is a fun way to learn, but if I think it's going to bomb, I need to not be afraid to totally revamp and reorganize a new method to teach the students.
Now What are your next steps?
My next steps are to add some more musical props to my art methods teaching collection and to use songs as review or help for the test, rather than to teaching a totally new material, like fractions.
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