Using Resources in the Classroom

Throughout the semester we have been talking about a variety of resources that we could use in the classroom along with teaching students empathy. All the resources and themes that we have discussed can all be intertwined to do what works best for your students. This semester we have specifically spent time talking about journals, blogs, zines, imovie, and comics in the classroom to improve literacy in the classroom.

How can you use these resources in the art room to improve literacy? Well, that is easy what do all these resources have in common, they are all reading materials. Having students write and reflect in a journal or blog will help develop a deeper sense of meaning. Students will learn how to reflect on the projects they are working on and be able to work thoughts out by writing or blogging. While students are working on their blogs/journals they are practicing their writing and communication skills. As teachers we can talk about blog etiquette and writing styles when introducing the blog assignment. So much of today's world is on the internet it is important for students to learn how to write on a blog in a professional way, not in shorthand. Creating projects around this idea of using a blog/journal in the classroom can be beneficial for the students because it will require students to gather their thoughts. This assignment would also help students to all have an equal voice in the classroom.

Comics and zines are very prevalent in our society today. There are comics/zines about almost anything that you could like to read about. There are also graphic novels that connect reading and art together as well. Having students create their own comic and zine is a good way to incorporate literacy into the art room because students have to find a way to write and convey their message then also depict their message. Having students create projects that advocate for something they support in their lives will help the students to convey deeper meanings in their artwork. Comics and zines are a great way for students to discuss topics that interest them.

When looking at my classroom the resource that I will most likely use the most is the use of the blog. I feel that this is a great way to incorporate writing into art and also create a virtual classroom. Students will be able to all have a voice and their own opinions that will be heard. When I was in school I did not like to share during class, but if I would have had the option to blog I would have been more likely to share my thoughts and ideas. I want all my students to be heard. When looking at the resource that I will struggle with more than others it would be comics. This semester is the most time I have ever worked with comics. I need to familiarize myself with more comics so I feel more confident to introduce them in my classroom. I believe most students would appreciate learning about comics and creating their own. Students can create comics about any topic that they are interested in. Learning about new resources to use in the classroom will help engage student interest.  

I have attached a link to a good resource I found will looking at blogging in the classroom. http://www.lsa.umich.edu/UMICH/sweetland/Home/Instructors/Teaching%20Resources/UsingBlogsintheClassroom.pdf.

Chapter 24: “Art Education that is “For Something”

As future teachers it is important for us to realize that we will not get everything correct the first time and we may face obstacles in the classroom. Instead of these obstacles stopping us and wearing us down we should use these obstacles as learning experiences to help us become better teachers. As teachers we like to think that we know more than our students and that we have the best way to do every task, but in reality we do not. We need to learn from our students. create a classroom community where we are all learners, and have a classroom that allows our students to express themselves.

I consider myself lucky that I am becoming a teacher right now in the world because of all the resources that are available. There are so few limitations when it comes to integrating technology into the classroom, developing a service learning project, and using multigenerational learning in the classroom. When it comes to reflecting in the classroom we all need to promote this because it allows students to sort out their thoughts, think deeper, and to have their own opinion. But when I think of reflecting in art I automatically think about the traditional route, to journal in a notebook/sketchbook. In my last field experience I had my students journal in their sketchbooks about their project ideas and how they felt about drawing people, but it was not successful. I will be the first to admit it. The students were bored about writing it in their sketchbook and a lot of the students thought it was a joke. They knew their sketchbooks were private and that only the instructors would read them. Their responses were not sincere and were quickly written. Instead of journaling in a sketchbook I want my students to have a classroom blog. Sorta like what we have now. I want my students to have their own opinions and ideas, but have their post be seen by others in the class. This way the students will have more accountability. This way the students can interact with one another and everyone has a chance to have a voice.

For my social justice issues in the community I choose to talk about discrimination, hunger, poverty, equal education, and children rights. These are all common social justice topics that can happen in any community. I choose to do multiple topics because students are all different. Discrimination is a topic that has always interested me because when I was a student I related this term to only race not everything else that it can be about. Hunger and poverty are issues that are relevant in any community. Equal education and children rights are important because this allows all children to receive an education and also what rights students have.

Being a teacher makes us role models to all our students. I want my students to know how to advocate or show support for a cause they believe in. I do not believe that students necessarily have to be interested in the same social justices as I do, but my students should know how to advocate for what they believe in. In my classroom we will talk and learn about social justices. Students need to know how be involved in something that they are interested in. Students need to know that they can be the change in their community and that one simple step in the right direction may be all it takes. Students should learn how to create projects that have a meaning and how to use those projects to advocate for their social justice. Students will learn through projects, reflecting, and engaging in topics that they are interested in how to be the change in their community.

Chapter 14 Catching Time: Documentary Photography and Social Reflection

Empathy is something that we have talked about almost every week related to every lesson. Creating empathy is an important concept that helps children relate to one another and make art work with deeper meanings. So how can we use photography in the classroom as a tool to help students relate and reflect with one another? When thinking of a lesson to incorporate this idea I think of a lesson that allows students to learn about photography first. Have students learn why photos have an impact. I mean we have all heard the saying a picture is worth a thousand words. After teaching the students techniques and how to take photos have them go out and take a series of photos that tells a story about themselves. These photos can be ambiguous or more straight forward. But this allows students to express themselves in a story told by pictures. Once mounted and displayed for a critique I would have students individually go around and write their own reactions and thoughts about each piece then come together as a whole and talk about each person's work. This allows students to develop empathy and learn about one another through a series of pictures and then learn more when the piece is discussed as a whole. 

Literacy Through Photography (LPT) "is a teaching philosophy and methodology that encourages children to explore their world as they photograph scenes through their own lives an to use their images as catalysts fro verbal and written expression." This is a great way to integrate other disciplinary subjects into the curriculum. Art is not always just about making, but also the process, displaying, connecting, and reflecting about a piece. When looking at the National Core Art Standards Connecting is one of the Anchor Standards. Specifically, look at Anchor Standard #10 that states, "Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to create art." This is important because students want to create art that is about them and has a connection to them. This makes reflecting back at the work have meaning to the student. In Wendy Ewald's LPT project the students are taking photos of themselves, their communities, and their families and then the students can write and express themselves on the photos. The students are reflecting on their photos when taking them, writing on them, and then also reflecting when they are finished. 

Zana Briski and "Born into Brothels" is a very powerful documentary! The stories that are told through photos is unreal. As I talked about before in the first paragraph of this post I would have students create a series about their own life. Students could take photos from their phones or cameras using unique lighting or perspectives (the options are endless). Each student would create a series about who they are or how they became who they are. Through these photographs the student must tell a story. Once the photos are taken the students will have a chance to write or express themselves on the photos themselves just like Literacy Through Photographs did. Students will then display their photographs to be seen so their classmates will have a chance to observe and reflect on one another's work. Through this the students will be able to develop empathy, improve their communication skills, and learn about photography.

Arts Advocacy

Why is math important? Why is science important? Why is art important? These are questions that teachers have to answer on a daily basis if students, parents, principals, and the list goes on and on ask you. But unlike science and math the answer of why art is important may not be as direct or as easy to see. But I am here to tell you why art is important and how it impacts students.

While I was researching why art is important in schools I came across an article "Does Experience in the arts boost academic achievement?"  In this article it discussed  several articles that studied the effects the arts had on other subjects in school and also what students learn from art. I found it very interesting because most of the articles came to the same conclusion that the arts did have an impact. The hardest value to come up with is how much the arts can raise scores on tests because every art teacher is different and every students arrives at answers in a different way especially in art because there is no right way to do something. But what the article did say was that arts made a definite impact in: Creative thinking, development of cognitive skills, effective, and psychomotor skills, learning styles, communication skills, cultural literacy, individual-choice making, group decision making, and an increase in self-esteem and self-worth. These are all skills that any teacher is working towards in their classroom everyday and art just encapsulates  them all.

Why art education? Why is it important? Art is an important subject for all students because it allows all students to create something that interests them at the same time teaching them life long skills. What other subject in day in one class period can teach about culture, self expression, self esteem, problem solving, and promote communication along with skills? Employers are always looking for creative people who can work together and solve problems and art is the place where it all starts. Try and name something where art isn't involved in the world.

To Teach the Journey, in Comics

When you are a teacher there will always be challenges and opportunities to face, as Bill had to in the book. While reading this graphic novel there were many concepts that I could relate to what I have learned at UNI or while being in the classroom. There is no one right way to overcome these challenges you will face but as a teacher you will have to be creative and find solutions that work best for your students.

The first challenge in the book that I could relate to was on page 2 when Bill stated, "Before I knew it, I was struggling just to keep my head above water." I think as instructors we have all been there before. It was my first time being a program supervisor at an after school program and I thought I was prepared...but little did I know. I was really excited to start and then all of a sudden I had a ton of questions and I was sinking. Like Bill I had to discover what kind of instructor I wanted to be and how I was going to go about things. I learned so much from relationship building, classroom management, creating a community , and gaining mutual respect from students, parents, and school staff.

Another challenge that Bill brought up in the book was when the administration came into his classroom and was telling him how he should be doing things and then leading into standardized testing. The first time administration came into his classroom they were offering support to all new teachers through "research based support and coaching in areas of planning, technique, and assessment," page 15. This carries throughout the book where the administration comes in and reorganizes his reading groups because of standardized testing scores and they also give him a way to rearrange his classroom desks. Bill takes a standardized test and sees the problem that students are encountering. Bill worked around these ideas by combining his ways to what the administration wanted. He took into consideration about the reading groups and then renamed them. He told the students, "You're going to explore many ways to show off what you've learned here; Lots of ways to be successful and satisfied, to find your own voices and make your own choices," page 90 and also "I want you to explore and stretch and investigate and wonder and work and have a good time and read and write and solve problems," page 92. I believe that is such an important idea to share with your students. I believe students should know what we want them to do and that they know we know they all learn in different ways. As an art teacher what Bill said to his students is exactly what I want my future students to know. Students should have the freedom to make choices and have decisions in what they want to learn and that is how they become engrossed in what they are learning.

An opportunity that stood out to me while reading was on page 105, "Parents are critical to the form and function of this place. More than "valuable" or "respected" they're critical." "The relationship between the school and neighborhoods is nourished and valued." All I kept thinking about while reading this was multigenerational learning and how beneficial it is for students. We learned about multigenerational learning in the art education room and then also in human relations and how important it is for students to be learning alongside and with people of different ages. Seeing that Lawndale Little Village High School places a high value on relationships with the community is a major part of the students' education. As a future educator I want to be able to bring people of all ages into my classroom to learn and discover together.

A big part of being an educator is being an advocate. Being an advocate it not always the easiest job in the world since there are always different opinions. We need to be actively promoting what we want to be seen done in classrooms to benefit our students' learning.
             

Intergenerational Learning

When building and designing a curriculum it is important to take some time and see what resources are in the community. There are many opportunities available that could be used to enrich your curriculum: Library,nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, nature center, and many many more. Any of these locations would help make curriculum more engaging and meaningful. When I was in elementary school my art teacher teamed with the fire department. The fire department came in and discussed what they did, why it was important, and what we should do if we were ever in a dangerous situation. After they left we had to create the next fire poster that would be hung around the community with what we learned and took away from the firefighter talk. We were told to think about what was an important take away, what others need to know, and to make it look appealing so people would look at it. That is one example from my childhood that really made it meaningful to me. When I think about how I am going to incorporate areas in the community into my curriculum I think about visiting the nursing homes. Visiting nursing homes builds relationships and allows students to work on their communication skills. I would have the students brainstorm and write questions to ask their person when we go visit. When we are there the students would interview their person and take notes. Get to know them. The students would then create a memory box that is about the individual they interviewed. The box would be about the person and what the student learned. When everyone is finished we would return to the nursing home and the students would present the memory box to the individual they interviewed. When we got back to the classroom we would write a final reflection.

When bringing in volunteers to the classroom we need to teach our students to have appropriate and effective conversations. We need to do this by making sure our students know that these are guests coming into our classroom that they have taken time out of their day to come visit so we have to be respectful. Students need to know that they are volunteers. I would have the students brainstorm topics and ideas that they want to talk about with the volunteers. So the class period before we could make a brainstorming net so that we know our conversations are beneficial to our learning. I would also have the students collaborate in groups and come up with specific questions to ask. Normally, guests do not have time to answer everyone's questions so if we split into groups and think of questions together then more could be answered. I would also ask the students if they know what is and not appropriate to talk about. There are consequences if students ask inappropriate and negative questions. My teachers always  reminded us that if we were disrespectful and inappropriate that we would not have visitors again nor would any volunteers want to come back. Students are always eager to have guests, but we have to make sure that it does not get out of control.

A mentor to me is someone who has had a positive impact on your life and someone who you look up to. It is easy for me to pick my mentor because it will forever be my grandma. My grandma is someone who will do anything to help someone. She cares about me and has shown me how to be a person that I can be proud of. When I asked my grandma why did you care so much and raise me the way you did she stated, "Because I had to. No one else was raising you in a way that would make you proud of yourself." She wanted me to succeed and to be the best I could. My grandma has always helped achieve my dreams no matter if it was culinary school or becoming an art educator. I have learned so much from my grandma. I think talking to someone from another generation can greatly affect our perception. Learning how someone else grew up, the different time periods, and just talking can be a huge impact. This can effect my classroom because I think children can learn a lot of respect from someone from a different generation. In my first paragraph I talked about partnering with the nursing home to do a project and this can have a huge influence in the classroom. Students can learn many skills by interviewing, talking, and creating a project about someone.

Service Learning

There are many projects in the classroom that can be linked to the basic necessities of life:Food, water, and shelter. When thinking about a lesson plan that would work in the classroom linking to the idea of shelter the first project that popped into my mind was the project we completed in Secondary Methods. This project was to create a shelter that showed your fear, encapsulated your fear, or was a safe place from your fear. I feel that if I were to assign this project in my classroom I would have the students create a shelter that encapsulated their fears. When we are scared,lonely, or even need a piece of mind we always go to a place that we consider to be our shelter whether that is an actual building or a location. Everyone needs to have a place they consider to be their shelter. For students I think that this is important for them to think about. Even deeper it is important for students to realize how many  children and families do not have a shelter. After this primarily project  I would continue on with this idea and have the students collaborate and think of materials that could be found naturally or outside that could be used to create a shelter.  After brainstorming and researching materials I would then have the students create their own shelter using materials that they can find and are natural. At the end of the project I have students compare and contrast their two shelters that they had created. When looking at an artist that creates shelters one person specifically came to mind. He is an artist that I have started to follow and look at his work. Gregory Kloehn is an artist that goes through what most people consider to be garbage to create homes for homeless people. Below is a link to some of the houses that he has made and also a link to his artist website. http://www.viralnova.com/used-garbage-homeless-shelters/ http://www.gregorykloehn.com/

When planning  projects in the classroom that students can relate to and be interested in completing I think that service learning projects is a great direction to head into. Service learning projects are a way that students can create meaningful connections in their community which will increase their knowledge and learning experiences. When I was in school we never did any art projects that related to service learning and I wish that we had. I feel that I would have been very interested in creating a project that could potentially have an impact. A level of Maslow's Hierarchy that could be met during a service learning project in art would be safety needs. Safety needs can be safety from the weather, protection, stability, laws, and feeling safe from our fears. When students feel safe then self-actualization needs can be met. Students will know their self potential, being satisfied with themselves, pushing themselves to do better, and grow as an individual. All these ideas can come from a service learning project being completed in the classroom.

When adding a service learning project to my classroom I want the students to be inspired and understand what a service learning project is and what it can do. The Empty Bowls project is a great project to be implemented into a classroom because most schools do a can food drive for their local food bank and adding homemade ceramic bowls could make the two projects combine. Using the K-12 service learning standards this would make a great project to get students to be involved. By making bowls and combining with other organizations at the school and the local food bank their is meaningful services being completed. Linking this to the curriculum in skills, collaboration, reflection, and transferring knowledge is what we strive all students to do. Students will be able to learn about the diversity in their community and how important the food bank is and why the Empty Bowls project is so widespread. This is allowing students to have a voice in their projects and learn how to partner with an organization or group. By completing this project students will be able to monitor themselves and also monitor their progress as a whole by collaborating with another student organization who is putting on the food drive. This project will also allow students to work together for an extended amount of time and research what the community needs. Students who complete meaningful service learning projects will learn a lot about a certain issue, learn how to research, make an impact, and reflect on their projects. Service learning projects in the classroom is a great way for students to gain interest and create meaningful work.