Reflection

AR - RoL - Backward Design

Reflect back on your Review of Literature, Action Research write-up, and your Curriculum Units you have been working on for your final learning requirements. 

I have learned so much through the action research and review of literature processes.  I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to conduct this research and implement new activities and processes with my middle school visual arts classes, specifically my eighth grade classes.  My data collection has shown me that my students are benefiting from the changes I have made, and I could not be happier with the knowledge I have gained.  

This process has helped me to identify the most important concepts for my students to know and understand.  I will be able to use this process as a guide to help me create more meaningful lessons for my classes.  I found it very interesting that this process is applicable to any subject and grade level; specifically that the Enduring Understandings can be used for multiple age levels.  I really like that the end result created more detailed concepts leading to the use of most state standards.  Any time I can create a strong connection to  what I am doing in my classroom with the state and/or national standards is great!

I feel that by utilizing this process, I will be able to better prepare myself for teaching each unit of study, but also that I will help to better prepare my students for what they are expected to know, understand and be able to do.  By focusing on 3-5 abstract concepts for each unit, I am able to choose what is the most important for my students to learn.  The backward design process has enhanced my instruction by making me reflect on my learner outcomes and enduring understandings which in turn will help students to better connect with the material I am teaching.  Any time my focus can be more connected to student learning is great, and I feel that this process will help me to do that with every unit I teach.

SMU Readings

This week we have been asked to read "The Flexible Teacher" by Leila Christenbury.  In this reading, Christenbury shares about a time when she changed her plans when her students were not meeting her expectations.  We were then asked to answering the following questions.  What do you do when your students are not meeting your expectations?

Have you ever found yourself in a situation like Christenbury's? This year, I began teaching 8th grade art - we hadn't had this class for about 15 years.  I found out fast that it was difficult to get students engaged at this level and I knew I needed to do something to change that!

How did you respond? Throughout my action research and review of literature writing, I learned a lot about the power of providing choice for students.  Because I was struggling a bit to motivate my eighth grade students, I decided to give them more control over what they were doing in the art classroom.  Results of this process have been great!  Students have been more interested in the work they are creating because they have more control over what they are doing.  I am still teaching what I need to teach them and they are learning the art processes that they should be at this level, however, they have more choice in the projects.  I also encourage students of all ages to experiment.  When they ask me questions about certain materials or processes, I tell them to try it.  They learn so much when they have an opportunity to try something rather than having a teacher tell them the answer.

How can educators adapt their plans to their students' needs and abilities without lowering standards? I question why it’s not okay for teachers to lower their standards, if necessary.  Every student is different and unique and, like it or not, they will not all be at the same level (or standard) all the time.  I think it is important for teachers to get to know their students and push them to the best of their individual ability, and hopefully beyond that. 

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We were also asked to read "Evaluations That Help Teachers Learn" by Charlotte Danielson. In this article Danielson describes a five-step evaluation process that promotes self-reflection and professional conversation.  We were asked to answer the following questions in response to the reading:

How does this process compare to the process in place at your school? We have recently begun using a new teacher evaluation process in our school district.  The process that we follow is very similar to the five-step process that is outlined in Danielson’s writing.  Our principal sets up a day/time to observe in the classroom, we provide information about our classroom, students and lesson or unit prior to the observation.  During the observation, our principal keeps notes while observing our teaching and talking to the students.  A post-observation conference is then set up after the principal and teacher have had time to reflect on the lesson taught.  I enjoy our current evaluation process, although learning the website has proven to be confusing at times, the process has been very beneficial.

How would a system like Danielson's work at your school? I believe it is working in our school district and I think it would work for many school districts!

What adjustments might you make to your evaluation system to foster teacher improvement? I agree that it is crucially important that everyone involved in the evaluation process must have shared understanding of the evaluation process and what it encompasses.  I believe that our district is making this a priority and it has been very helpful for the evaluation process.

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Continuous Improvement

There are two areas in my profession that I would like to improve upon.  One area I feel that I can improve upon is with student art exhibits.  I currently show artwork often, however, I create the shows (or typically have my student assistant help with this process).  I would like to involve my students in the display/show process much more than I currently do.  I would also like to create opportunities for students to show their artwork outside of the school walls.  I feel that this will give students more of a real-world connection to the work they are creating.  Another experience that I would like to offer my students at the middle school is an Art Club.  This is something I have been thinking about a lot and I think the middle school students would really enjoy this opportunity at their school.  This will be my summer project :-)

Pop Art!

POP ART!!

Eighth grade students have been flying through third quarter!  This week they started their final project...Pop Art!!  Students studied the works of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Keith Haring. I asked students to think about the popular images they see today; my example above showcases some of our art supplies.  Students are working on using thick, dark outlines and vibrant, solid colors.  I was able to sneak a few pictures today of some in-progress works!  I cannot wait to see how these all turn out....more to come next week!!!

Checkin' the Kiln!

As you may already know...I love opening up the kiln. Especially after a glaze fire!! My fifth and seventh grade students have been working very hard on their clay sculptures. Check them out below!! Fifth grade students have been working on building clay houses and seventh grade students have been working on building clay mugs. I love how different each sculpture is!! Such great and creative kids!

Behaviors in the Classroom

This week we have been asked to review the "How often do you choose to behave intelligently?" survey that we conducted last week. Upon completion of this survey, we were asked to reflect on and provide examples of how we have shown any of the behaviors in our classrooms.

The following examples are ways that I have shown some of these behaviors both in and outside of my classroom with my students, co-workers, family and friends:

-I take pride in practicing good listening skills - if I cannot fully listen I am sure to tell the person so we can discuss a better time that might work - More often than not, I do whatever I can to make the time right then and there.  I think it is important to actively listen with empathy and understanding; I look for this when I speak with people, so I find it very important to practice myself.

-Having quality of the work I create is very important to me and I always try to teach that to students in my classroom.  We may not like or truly enjoy everything we have to do, but that shouldn’t change the quality of work we complete.  I have always taken great pride in the quality of work I do, and I like to share that lesson with my students.

-I absolutely love the outdoors!  I love to go camping, hiking, canoeing, fishing, four-wheeling, pretty much anything outside!  I also really love to travel and see new places and learn about the world around me.  I really love my hometown and state, but it intrigues me to travel!

-I laugh and joke a lot!  I love sharing those “laughing moments” with my students, co-workers, family and friends! 

-I love to learn!  I will never claim to be an expert at what I’m learning, however, I really do enjoy the process - I try to teach this lesson to my students also, because it is something that they will always continue to do, whether they realize it or not :-)

Servant Leadership

“Commitment to the Growth of People: Servant leaders are committed to the personal and professional development of everyone on their teams.  To develop your people, make sure that you use Training Needs Assessments   to understand their developmental needs   and give them the skills they need to learn effectively. Also, find out what their personal goals are, and see if you can give them responsibilities that will help them achieve these.”

I have chosen “Commitment to the Growth of People” for the characteristic of Servant Leadership to focus my work on.  I feel that, as teachers, we do this automatically - it’s the reason we’re in this profession!  I want to focus my work on this characteristic because I never want to forget my reason for teaching - I want my students to grow and learn because of what I can teach them!  Not only can I teach this lesson to my students, but to my co-workers as well.  We have been struggling in our building to create stronger connections between staff and it has been really challenging.  My goal is to get more people participating in the activities we provide this Spring.  I know there is only so much I can do, however lately I feel that I have been bogged down by the poor attitudes of others and I do not want them to dictate what I can do in the workplace.  I am going to continue to commit my time to my students and co-workers and guide them to grow and learn right along with me - whether it is in the classroom or out!

One way I plan to get my co-workers growing and learning is by giving them a voice!  I plan to create a form for staff to fill out that will ask them questions about what they would like to see happening at BMS for staff!  I plan to take the results of this survey to our Sunshine Committee to plan our upcoming Spring activities.  I am hopeful to receive information from each staff member so that we can create a fun-loving, growth-mindset work environment.

16 Habits of Mind

After reading through the 16 Habits of Mind, I saw a direct connection to our BMS Staff Norms as well as to our BEARS language used throughout the school among students and staff.  Our Staff Norms at BMS are:

We will maintain a safe and trustworthy environment for all.

We will be timely, be actively engaged and listen for understanding.

We will be respectful of other people, their ideas and differing opinions.

We will maintain a positive, kind environment by refusing to complain, gossip or slander.

BEARS Language is an initiative that started this year at our middle school.  Each letter of the word "BEARS" stands for what we believe our students encompass at BMS.  The characteristics that we have learned about this year are:

B - Belonging
E - Educated
A - Active Learning
R - Respectful
S - Selflessness

I am excited to continue this learning process with our students and staff at BMS!

This week we have been asked to develop an action plan to implement activities involving the 16 Habits of Mind.  My co-worker and classmate Gretchen and I plan to share and discuss the 16 Habits of Mind with our Social and Sunshine Committee at the middle school.  Our goal is to generate with this group some ideas that we can use to incorporate the Habits of Mind with our staff activities throughout the year.  The three habits we would like to focus our attention on for the beginning of the 2015-16 school year are: Finding Humor, Thinking Flexibly, and Creating, Imagining and Innovating within our school.  We will also be sharing this information with one member of our Site Team as well as our Advisory committee, in hopes that they will in turn begin to develop communication between other committees in the building in order to share a common goal among staff and begin implementing activities that continue to outline the 16 Habits of Mind.