Amanda - Final Visit

     My last visit (11/15) was more observation and monitoring of the Op Art project.  Honestly, I was ready to see something different.  This was the first time they were given a definitive deadline though.  The students were to be finished by the next class and those who were finished went back and completed their practice Op Art designs.  It was a nice, quiet work day and most of the students worked really well to finish up. 

     I didn’t have as many questions to answer, so I got caught in some middle school conversations at the tables.  That’s something I need to figure out how to deal with.  I’m not sure yet when I can joke with them and when I should ignore their immature comments and when I should take the opportunity to train them in morals and appropriateness.  I don’t want to be so focused on art that I miss chances to impact student’s lives in other ways, but I also don’t want to be the teacher that goes off on too many tangents and wastes the students’ learning time.  Definitely something I need to think about and something that will be interesting to learn as I get to know these students better next semester.

     I just really want to be a great art teacher, and after this semester of pre-clinical I’m excited about getting more practice because I’m learning that experience is the best teacher.  Student teaching, here we come!

Amanda - Week 10

     This week (11/8,9) I mainly observed, but also helped monitor in Mr. Powell’s 4^th period class as they continued work on their Op Art projects.

     Mr. Powell reviewed a classroom procedure with the students because they had gotten sloppy with how they were handling artwork, and some assignments were getting wrinkled.  He explained why he has students put away artwork in a certain way and then had them practice the procedure.  It took time away from their open studio, but it was effective.  In the next class I attended, the students performed the procedure correctly and the drawer with their in-progress work was clean and organized.  We’ve been talking about teaching procedures in my classroom management class, so it was good to see it in action, even in the middle school setting.  Procedures are important in the art classroom for keeping work and materials in good condition.  Not only do I need to think through procedures in my classroom, but also how to teach them and stay consistent with enforcement so students do not get lazy.  

Amanda - Week 9

     This week (10/29, 30, 11/1) Mr. Powell’s class continued to work on the Op Art project and I saw him resolve some class conflict.

     Mr. Powell gave a step-by-step demo to try to help the students understand how to create illusions and clear up some of the confusion.  I learned a lot about how to explain seemingly complex ideas in simple terms.  He also asked students to check each other at their tables to make sure everyone stayed on the same page. 

     After class one day, Mr. Powell asked two of the girls to stay so he could talk to them.  Near the end of class one of the girls was talking a lot and the other told her to “Shut up!” so she threatened to slap her in response. Mr. Powell talked through the situation with the girls and was very calm but firm with how he handled them.  He didn’t let them interrupt him with their “but she…”s and guided them in a mature conversation about what happened.  He mentioned which expectations were broken by each of the girls and why they needed to be kept.  He also talked through a better way to ask someone to be quiet by giving a reason like “ I can’t focus on my work.”  Then he talked through a better response to “Shut up!” and had them apologize to each other and agree to let this issue be over between them.  I learned a lot from how he handled it and thought it was especially important that he talked about the issue being over and not to be brought up again.  I need to remember this and think through how I’ll handle these types of conflicts with middle schoolers.

Amanda - Week 8

     This week (10/23, 25) the students were working on a continuation of my Op Art lesson with a project that Mr. Powell assigned.  Essentially, my lesson was a practice with technique and composition for a larger, more creative piece. 

     I helped manage the classroom with a substitute while Mr. Powell was in another part of the school doing a SAFE-T evaluation.  There were lots of questions to answer, and so many students seemed confused about the directions.  A lot of confusion was caused by poor craftsmanship, and students messed up because they weren’t careful.  It made me wonder if this project is too difficult for them.  It seems simple to me, but maybe I don’t remember where I was in 7^th grade.  It’s hard to figure out how to challenge them without making it too hard.

     There is also one student who easily takes all of my attention because she’s not afraid to ask questions.  I need to be careful with this so that I can spend time with other students who need help and feedback.  I also need to make sure that I don’t give too much help, but let students be creative and figure things out for themselves so they can learn the problem solving skills that art can teach.  I guess this is why we practice planning and teaching.  This is probably also different with each class, so that’s why it’s so important to get to know your students.