December 4th

Today I was the only student observer in the classroom, which was very different for me because my partner has always been with me. In a way it was kind of nice having more presence in the classroom. I really enjoyed having more time with students individually today because it was more of a low key day than previous days have been. Today I told K. Rob that next week would be my last day, and I was taken back when she said, "Well if you ever want to come back and visit, or have any questions, need lesson plan ideas, or just want to chat feel free." I knew that throughout the semester I had really gotten to know K. Rob pretty well but I just didn't expect her to be so sincere when I left. I've worked with numerous professors, and teachers throughout my time here at UW-Stout and have built many wonderful relationships but it was just really nice getting that kind of sincerity from a seasoned educator, really taking an interest in my future as an educator.

November 30th

Today in the wonderful world of art education, I observed several different projects. The fifth graders were completing their peacock drawings, the second graders were starting their house drawings and the third graders were working on drawing animals up close. The fifth graders peacocks turned out rather extraordinary, and K. Rob and I discussed how sometimes when you take such a simple project the students can really bring it to a whole new level. The second grade house project was a little difficult for the majority of the students because they do not yet understand how 3-d boxes are formed and how lines must be placed to make volume. However they did get very creative and many of them created very detailed scenes. The third grade animal drawing proved to be quite a challenge. For many students they did not understand that when you found a picture of an animal you were to 'zoom' in on that animal, not draw the entire scene in the picture. However regardless of their composition many of them turned out really well.

November 16

This week we (my observation partner and I) each presented a lesson in K. Robs class. I demonstrated an abstract tree project for one of the second grade classes. Here is the link to the video of my lesson. This was a good experience, primarily because I've never really had an opportunity to lead a class before. Over all the class I taught was very well behaved. I thought it went fairly well K. Rob said that the main thing I need to work on is my volume. I did expect this because I do tend to be relatively soft-spoken. However I was glad that my vocal speed was fairly good. I feel that this class did very well with the project. The objective of the project was to utilize warm or cool colors in the creation of their abstract trees.

Awesome Lesson Plans

Due to the recent necessity to have numerous lesson plan ideas on hand I have stumbled upon this great site with numerous lesson plans. So I would like to share the url so that others may explore these great lesson plan ideas as well. http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/index.html

November 9, 2011

Today was a very interesting day in my life as an active observer. For the past few weeks I have noticed some concerning behavior with one of the students I have been working with. As I have been working with him outside of my weekly observation, I feel that I know this student quite well, thus this behavior has become a concern recently. This particular student, whom we shall call Sven, is what I would consider an average fifth grader. The last few weeks I have noticed increased fatigue and lack of enthusiasm for general activities. At first I just assumed it was a busy week for him and was causing some irregular sleep patterns. As the behaviors persisted in the following weeks, I began asking why he was so tired, Sven replied, "I didn't sleep last night because I was worrying about stuff". I left the conversation at that and made a side comment to my supervising teacher, who said that it was normal for him to come to class fatigued. In the next few weeks I observed Sven becoming withdrawn from his friends and opting to stay in during recess when it was not necessary for him to do so. When I asked him why he did not want to go out with his friends he replied, "I'm just really tired and don't want to be around my friends today." I persisted this time by asking, "Did you and your friends have a disagreement?". He thought about it and responded, "No, I just don't want to be around anyone today. I just want to go home and go to bed and not be around anyone." This statement really set off some alarms for me, as I recognize this as a sign of depression, and as I myself have struggled with depression since I was 10, I felt it was important to get the opinion of another teacher. After stating my concerns to K. Rob she promptly marched me down to the guidance office and said that anytime I have these kinds of concerns no matter how minor the guidance counselor needs to notified so they can assess the situation. After speaking the the counselor I felt better that someone had been notified and would be looking into the situation more intently then I would be capable of. I feel that although we are told to report any kind of abnormal behavior or concerns, we are never really taken through the process so I feel that today served as a great learning experience.

Rules of the classroom

This week we asked K. Rob what the rules of the classroom were. Kind of a difficult question. Really if you think about it, students, particularly in elementary school, are bombarded with rules. Every classroom, every teacher, every activity has different rules. To remedy this K has decided not to dictate her own rules but rather she goes by the schools general rules; the three b's- Be Responsible, Be Respectful and Be Kind. Along with general material and safety rules, these three rules dictate the classroom. 

Why did you decide to become an art educator? Revisited

Last week I asked K. Rob why she had decided to become an art teacher, this question I found to be very interesting and has since been nagging me. I want to know more, and in an attempt to remedy this I began asking my own art teachers.

T. Pag

First is T Pag. T has been teaching at My High School for five years, since graduating from Concordia University (of Minnesota). T began teaching my senior year and we became well acquainted, as I was a senior and one of the more advanced students working in metals. When I asked T why she had decided to go into art she, like K, said that she was inspired by a former teacher and had a love of art that she could not see going through life without. I have noticed that over the years T's teaching techniques and perspectives have changed slightly. When she began teaching she was very timid and was more of an active observer rather than a teacher, obviously she had to deal out assignments and introduce new methods but over all she took that year to learn about the school and the students, both personally and on an academic level. Today T has very much come into her own as a teacher and I feel she has made tremendous strides in making the classrooms her own.

T Berg

Second is T Berg. T has also been teaching at Marshfield High School for five years, since graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Coincidentally T is also a former student of K Rob. T Berg, like T Pag began teaching my senior year, but unlike T Pag I did not spend a lot of time in his class. Actually I did not spend any time in his classes, because I focused solely on metals. However we did converse frequently about different techniques in metal and the importance of art history. When I asked T why he decided to become a teacher, I was taken back by his answer, "I want to be a good person." This answer perplexed me as I think T is awesome. He went on to tell me that he wants to be an artist but he feels that being solely an artist can sometimes be very selfish and he wants to atone for that by sharing his knowledge and skills with young people (who he thinks are awesome). From his first year T has had an unobtainable energy, that I have never seen in any other teacher, and has a powerful and positive presence in the classroom. As I sat in on his AP Art History course, I noticed this energy and presence is even stronger today than it was five years ago. When I asked T what his secret was to being a great teacher he said that he's not only a teacher but an artist. He continues to make time to create and grow as an artist and that time allows him to reflect on his practices as a teacher, and connect to what the kids need and what they want. I really enjoy T as both a teacher and a person because of his ability to be honest especially when you need it.


These interviews have really helped me not only to really find out why I decided to go into art education but also to reflect on what kind of teacher I want to be.

Why did you decide to become an art educator

Sample work from previous students.

Today (October 5th) I asked K why she decided to become an art teacher. Her answer, I feel is very common amongst teachers, she was inspired by a former teacher. I am very intrigued by the number of people who also claim this reason, as do I. I find it interesting that one person, or in some cases several, can have such a profound impact on you as to influence your decision to go into a certain career. Perhaps in the future I will investigate this phenomenon further, while also including the question "Were they all good teachers/experiences?" which I feel is not always addressed, or that the experiences may be rose tinted.
K Rob interview

Meeting K Rob

Last week, my fellow active observer and I, first met our cooperating teacher K. K is a very charismatic lady, with a wealth of knowledge she is more than happy to share so much so she gave use each several examples of her projects that she does with students each year, along with tips on how to present the lessons and things that may go wrong.

Pictured above are the numerous examples, lesson plans and rubrics K was so nice to share with us.

September 28th,

Today was our first day interacting with the students at Greenlawn. On a typical Wednesday our cooperating teacher, K Rob, teaches three classes in the two hour frame we are at Greenlawn. Today one of her fifth grade classes was continuing work with oil pastels, the second grade class (shown here) were beginning a painting, and the fourth grade class was continuing with a city-scape they had previously worked on. As it was our first day observing the dynamic of K's classroom I thought it would be helpful to record her teaching style and reflect upon it in this blog. Before reading my thoughts please view the following video.

Day 1 demo with 2nd grade

I really enjoy K's teaching style because she encompasses many different aspects of the project in its relation to other context without overwhelming students. As you can see she has introduced the project through referencing a former project. She then incorporates some art history and references several artists. She then finishes with a simple yet informative demo, that allows students to understand their task without pushing them to mimic hers.