Action Research Update

Action Research: How can I make more meaningful assessments in my middle school art room?

This week was 'clay week' for the middle school students, so they were busy learning various clay building techniques!  The difficulty for me during 'clay week' is definitely assessment!  I did use some formative assessments with each class - checking for students that needed more time and information about certain processes.  I always find it very difficult to get around to each student that needs help within the class time, so I spend the majority of my time working one-on-one with them during class.  One thing that I tried this week that seemed to help students (and myself) was that when a student had a question with their project, I would ask the rest of the class if anyone else had the same question.  If there was a small group with the same question(s) I had them come over to the table I was at and watch a demonstration - I then had them go back to their work and try it on their own project.  Some students still needed help, but it seemed to help the majority.  If I had a large number of students with the same or similar question, I did a demonstration at the front of the class using the iPad and iServer to project what I was doing.  I always try to get students to try the techniques on their own before calling me over to them, and showing them more demonstrations seemed to give them a bit more confidence to try things on their own.

Not all students have finished their work so they will continue to work when we go back to school on Tuesday.  I will conduct the first part of the clay assessment on Tuesday, before the clay projects go in the kiln.  I do not think I will have students conduct a self-assessment until the projects come out of the kiln, because they will be very fragile in the bone dry stage and I would like to prevent any accidents that I can!  This time, on the rubric, I will ask students questions about the clay processes that they used for their particular project.  I will be able to assess student learning through the use of these questions.  I have not done this in conjunction with the grading rubric before, however I think I will do this more often - I feel that this will get students more involved with the rubric, hopefully making it more useful and meangingful to them.

I will post examples of student work and rubric/questions next week once I assess them.

Action Research

Update on my Action Research:

My action research question is 'How can I create more meaningful assessments for my students?'.  I have implemented multiple new formative and summative assessments into my middle school classroom.  I have conducted research by looking at how other middle school art teachers are using assessment in their classroom.  I have tried assessments that I really like and can see as a valuable asset to my grading repertoire, I have also tried some assessments that did not work out so well (based on my own reactions and feelings as well as the students).  My goal in trying these new assessments is to get students to see the meaning in them - they can use rubrics to help complete their projects according to my expectations - I can use the summative assessments to gauge student understanding and know in a short amount of time who will need more instruction.

                                       

N = Need To Know (What else do you need to know or find out about concerning your action research at this time?

-I will need to research how more art teachers use assessment in their classrooms.  I will continue to implement new assessments in my classroom and keep records as to how students react as well as my own feelings and reactions.

E = Excited (What excites you about your action research so far?)

-What has excited me so far with my action research is the student feedback and reaction.  The majority of my assessment implementation has been in fifth grade classroom and I have gotten a great reaction from my students.  I am excited to try more new ideas with my classes.

S = Suggestions for Moving Forward (What is your current stance or opinion on you action research process?  How might you move forward from here?)

-Moving forward, I will need to put together the research that I have collected to show where I began, what I have tried, what worked best for me, what didn't work so well, and where I hope to go from there.

W = Worrisome (What do you find worrisome about your action research so far?)

-The most worrisome part of the action research process for me is going to be to put everything together.  Looking at the action research for the Spring Conference I was able to get a glimpse into what the final process will look like, and I need to get my action research to the point where I can start putting everything together.

Goals

Recently, I posted some of my goals for the Byron Middle School Art program and my next assignment involves me sharing my progress, what steps I have taken, what steps I need to take, what barriers I expect to run into and how (if possible) will I overcome these barriers.

To recap, the three goals that I have set for myself are:

1. Initiate a BMS student art exhibit.

2. Begin an Art Club at the middle school level.

3. Host a summer Art Camp for students at the middle school level.

1. Middle School Art Exhibit: One barrier I continue to battle with in regards to coordinating a BMS student art exhibit is that I do not see all students at once.  It has been difficult to have an all-school art show, because I do not want to hold all of the artwork from hex (or quarter) one when there will not be a show until hex 5 (or quarter 4).  

I have begun showing student work within each hex - I currently have work displayed for all of the middle school classes I teach (one fifth grade class, one sixth grade class and one seventh grade class).  I would still like to find other ways to display student work, perhaps in conjunction with other programs in the school (our elementary art teacher shows student work during music concerts, for example).  The struggle with this, again, is that not all students will have work shown, and maybe that is okay...

I think my next step with this goal is to speak with other middle school art teachers and see what they have done in their schools - find out what has worked, or not worked so well for them.  Over the summer months I would like to have a more firm plan in mind as to what I would like to do for art shows.

2. Middle School Art Club: I have been doing some research online (art blogs!) which is what lead to create this goal for BMS.  I plan to continue this research and formulate a plan of what I want our own art club to look like.  My next step(s) will be to talk to our principal, possibly take it to the school board (if necessary), and create a schedule, sign-up sheet, permission slip, projects, etc.  

I think my biggest barrier with this goal is going to be time!  Coordinating my time availability with students may be difficult and then just making the time for the club on a weekly basis.  I think the demand will be there, I just have to put the pieces together to make it work the best for BMS.

3. Summer Art Camp: I feel that the barriers and steps for this goal are very similar to that of my previous goal.  My next step is definitely going to be to research and begin building a proposal for this to become an option for our students.  I have not looked into this one quite as much as the others, so I will have a lot of work to do. :-)

I am excited to see what will come of these fantastic art opportunities for our middle school students!!

Assessment - Student Reaction

Recently, I posted a rubric and critique that I used with my fifth grade students and their one-point perspective drawings.  I tried this with them yesterday and it was awesome!

It took a bit of time (more than I thought) to explain the process of the self-assessment rubric and peer critique processes, however, I think I will be able to implement something like this with the class again with little review.  Students were instructed to lay out their work at their table and put their "glow and grow" critique sheet next to it.  I then had students move to the table next to theirs; they had to be sure they were not at their own work or someone's they had critiqued before.  The class I tried this with has 33 students, so we utilized a lot of space in the art room to complete this task.

The feedback students were giving each other was great!  Examples of the one-point perspective works and the "glows and grows" they received are below.  I was so proud of these kiddos!  They worked so hard on these drawings and it was really nice to see and hear them looking and talking about each others works.

3 Glows
"I like how you named every building!"
"I like how you did the boat thing"
"Love the boat - AWESOME"


3 Grows
"Maybe next time color the sidewalk. :-)"
"You forgot about the helicopter."
"Maybe next time try to outline the clouds."

3 Glows
"I like the sun."
"I like your use of color and all the things in the background."
"I LOVE your "JLDS" building and everything else! :-)

3 Grows
"Maybe more straight lines"
"Have not completely white windows"
"Just have a little colored windows"

3 Glows
"The window with the plant is AWESOME."
"I love your clouds!!"
"I love all the detail in the sports center in the window.  Everything is Amazing!"

3 Grows
"It was amazing, but more buildings and trees."
"Maybe next time have more marks on your trees."
"Maybe next time add something on the ground.  Everything else is awesome!"


After students had moved three times and written three glows and three grows on three different critique forms, I had them make their way back to their tables and review their critiques.  Before students handed in their work and rubrics/critiques, I asked them to turn the rubric over and write what they thought about the critique process; did they like/dislike it and why?  Not all students completed this part, however the comments I received were very helpful:

+ "More people could comment."                                   - "People were looking at what I was writing."
+ "It was easier as it went."                                             - "Sometimes it could hurt people's feelings."
+ "I liked seeing how I could do better next time."         - "I felt like I did something wrong."
+ "It helps me think deeper into art."                                            (referring to the 'grows' list)
+ "I like giving my friends compliments and ideas."
+ "It's fun just looking at people's artwork."

Of the sixteen students who commented on the back of their paper, 13 found that this process was enjoyable and useful, zero expressed dislike in the process and three were neutral; they liked some things and disliked others.

This process for me was amazing.  I had not had students complete self-assessments before and had only occasionally conducted peer critiques.  I think it is a very valuable process for students to go through and I will definitely do it again.  I am thankful for student feedback so I can continue to change the process and make it be the best that it can be for them.

Classroom Application: Assessment

One of my latest assignments through my SMU Master's Program is to implement something we have recently learned about assessment/grading into our classroom.

I have been very interested in learning about new ways to assess students in my art classroom and I am excited to try this new rubric/peer critique with my fifth grade visual arts students.

The following rubric is what I plan to introduce to students on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week:

One element of this rubric that I really like is that it provides students an opportunity to look at one another's art work and critique it using the "3 Glows and 3 Grows" technique (found at minimatisse.blogspot.com).  Students will have an opportunity to look at each other's work and give praise for the areas that they did well and suggestions for areas that could be improved.

I will see how this goes with students and reflect back on Wednesday.  I am hoping they enjoy the process.  They sure have been working really hard on their 1-point perspective drawings!  More to come!

Setting Goals

My Assignment: Based on your leadership style, the information you have read, and the culture you are in, develop a goal for yourself with regards to making a change. Keep in mind your leadership style and who/what you will need to help you achieve that goal.

Immediately after reading the informtaion that preceded this assignment, I began writing down a few ideas that I have had for quite some time now. So I wrote them down. Then, I found this...

Okay, so I sit here today with three goals I would like to achieve at Byron Middle School, both long and short-term:

1. Initiate a BMS student art exhibit.

2. Begin an Art Club at the middle school level.

3. Host a summer Art Camp for students at the middle school level.