As I reflect on my graduate school experience and student teaching practicum, I have resolved that there are three main reasons why I want to become an art teacher. The first reason is to help students build community. As an art teacher, my passion is to design opportunities for students to play a meaningful in creating an artistic culture that promotes inclusive thinking and practice. The second reason is to cultivate creative student voices. Promoting a culture in the classroom where students can experience a freedom to express their individual perceptions without judgement through artistic processes is at the heart of my personal vision for the classroom. The third is to help students realize their full potential. Helping students grow in their abilities, understandings, and appreciation of artistic practices is crucial in helping students discover their potential for growth and success.
Throughout my student teaching experience, I have come to realize the benefits of perhaps the most significant aspect of effective pedagogy. Differentiation is a crucial skill that all outstanding teachers must maintain. Every class presents a unique variety of languages, cultures, abilities, genders, personal interests, and learning styles. By considering these varied learning needs, I have learned that teachers can develop student-centered and personalized instruction ensuring every child in the classroom thrives in their learning experience. No two students will perform at exactly the same level. Students learn at different speeds and in different ways. Differentiating the instruction is an important approach to reach students of all abilities. Individual accommodations such as extra time to complete assignments or modifications such as alternative assessments can also be an asset to students who may be struggling to keep up or who are accelerating through objectives quickly.
With this in mind it is important to embrace that each student brings their own cultural perceptions to the classroom and filters their learning experiences through those perceptions. I anticipate that I will continue to view my students through a lens of multi-cultural awareness and sensitivity in hopes of fostering a classroom culture of equity and inclusion. It is paramount as educators that we neither disregard the learner’s preferences nor discourage them from questioning or evaluating their own decisions. Recognizing the enculturation of students, that is their concepts of reality and the recognition of their roles within their own culture and creating a vibrant subculture within the art classroom is imperative. If we choose not to do this, we are choking the unique and even exceptional voices of our students. On the other hand, if we are tolerant and non-judgmental in our assessments, students with various cultural perceptions will be able to find success in art. Tangibly, that success is a creative voice or language.
One of the most significant areas of growth that I encountered during my practicum, is to design lessons that appropriately scaffold the learning in a way that all students can achieve a high level of success. The most crucial means to effectively prepare students for learning, and myself for planning is to begin each new learning segment with a pre-assessment that demonstrates an acquisition of knowledge and technical skill. This way, I can assess each student's individual skill set and prior-academic knowledge. Secondly, I found that introducing a Visual Thinking Strategies presentation is effective in evaluating how students respond to new works of art through discourse. This provides an opportunity for me to assess students and their ability to recall academic language as well as any concepts they might already be familiar with regarding the upcoming unit. When it comes to scaffolding on a grander scale, I will need to consider Vertical Curriculum Alignment. This will require collaboration with not just other educators in the building but potentially within a district. Working with other educators to determine not only how students will work within grade levels but also across grade levels to determine what content will be taught, how it will be taught, and how student learning will be evaluated.
I have also discovered the importance of a reflective practice, one which I plan to fully maintain as I begin professional teaching endeavors. When a student, or class, fails to demonstrate proficiency or understanding of content, I have learned I must look first at myself, not the student for errors in achievement. I re-evaluate how I scaffolded and differentiated the learning and or made modifications to accommodate for example, a student with an IEP. In such an instance, I should also communicate with the student's homeroom teacher to determine if there are common areas of success or failure as well as any insights the teacher might have to improve the students learning experience in my own classroom. Finally, I will consider my self-evaluation as well as the home room teacher's recommendations and implement during future instruction.
At the end of each day, I want my students to leave my classroom feeling that they have a voice and that their voice matters. I want them to leave my classroom not being afraid to take creative risks. I want them to feel connected to their community. The first teaching strategy I use to achieve this result is through modeling and encouraging active listening. The second strategy is designing meaningful group work that allows each student to express their ideas and abilities. These strategies encourage students to become active participants rather than just passive consumers.
Throughout my student teaching experience, I have come to realize the benefits of perhaps the most significant aspect of effective pedagogy. Differentiation is a crucial skill that all outstanding teachers must maintain. Every class presents a unique variety of languages, cultures, abilities, genders, personal interests, and learning styles. By considering these varied learning needs, I have learned that teachers can develop student-centered and personalized instruction ensuring every child in the classroom thrives in their learning experience. No two students will perform at exactly the same level. Students learn at different speeds and in different ways. Differentiating the instruction is an important approach to reach students of all abilities. Individual accommodations such as extra time to complete assignments or modifications such as alternative assessments can also be an asset to students who may be struggling to keep up or who are accelerating through objectives quickly.
With this in mind it is important to embrace that each student brings their own cultural perceptions to the classroom and filters their learning experiences through those perceptions. I anticipate that I will continue to view my students through a lens of multi-cultural awareness and sensitivity in hopes of fostering a classroom culture of equity and inclusion. It is paramount as educators that we neither disregard the learner’s preferences nor discourage them from questioning or evaluating their own decisions. Recognizing the enculturation of students, that is their concepts of reality and the recognition of their roles within their own culture and creating a vibrant subculture within the art classroom is imperative. If we choose not to do this, we are choking the unique and even exceptional voices of our students. On the other hand, if we are tolerant and non-judgmental in our assessments, students with various cultural perceptions will be able to find success in art. Tangibly, that success is a creative voice or language.
One of the most significant areas of growth that I encountered during my practicum, is to design lessons that appropriately scaffold the learning in a way that all students can achieve a high level of success. The most crucial means to effectively prepare students for learning, and myself for planning is to begin each new learning segment with a pre-assessment that demonstrates an acquisition of knowledge and technical skill. This way, I can assess each student's individual skill set and prior-academic knowledge. Secondly, I found that introducing a Visual Thinking Strategies presentation is effective in evaluating how students respond to new works of art through discourse. This provides an opportunity for me to assess students and their ability to recall academic language as well as any concepts they might already be familiar with regarding the upcoming unit. When it comes to scaffolding on a grander scale, I will need to consider Vertical Curriculum Alignment. This will require collaboration with not just other educators in the building but potentially within a district. Working with other educators to determine not only how students will work within grade levels but also across grade levels to determine what content will be taught, how it will be taught, and how student learning will be evaluated.
I have also discovered the importance of a reflective practice, one which I plan to fully maintain as I begin professional teaching endeavors. When a student, or class, fails to demonstrate proficiency or understanding of content, I have learned I must look first at myself, not the student for errors in achievement. I re-evaluate how I scaffolded and differentiated the learning and or made modifications to accommodate for example, a student with an IEP. In such an instance, I should also communicate with the student's homeroom teacher to determine if there are common areas of success or failure as well as any insights the teacher might have to improve the students learning experience in my own classroom. Finally, I will consider my self-evaluation as well as the home room teacher's recommendations and implement during future instruction.
At the end of each day, I want my students to leave my classroom feeling that they have a voice and that their voice matters. I want them to leave my classroom not being afraid to take creative risks. I want them to feel connected to their community. The first teaching strategy I use to achieve this result is through modeling and encouraging active listening. The second strategy is designing meaningful group work that allows each student to express their ideas and abilities. These strategies encourage students to become active participants rather than just passive consumers.