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.
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