Art Education Daily

Monday, October 10, 2011

make your art program visible

Ceramic cupcake display.

Making art programs visible is necessary for the growth and appreciation of the fine arts in American public schools. I’ve included a listing here of many methods I have either observed or participated in during my student teaching experience, art internship, observation hours, volunteer services, and also as a paid professional.

Publish a monthly or annual newsletter.
Develop online resources for yourself and others.
Request excellent books and magazine publications for the library.
Keep literary publications about art in a three-ring binder at the library for students to access while doing research or homework assignments.
Make sure exhibits are hung during other major school events that do not normally involve art curriculum.
Take art students on field trips.
Start and maintain an art club.
Participate in annual art competitions.
Participate in your school district exhibitions.
Notify parents when their children’s artworks are included in art exhibits.
Invite resident artists to your classroom to talk with students about their interests.
Keep a rotating exhibit in your building at all times.
Offer student artwork for office spaces within your building or school district office buildings.
Provide to students opportunities to work in both small and large groups.
Assign lessons that include current events.
Include individual work and or students in published art magazines or newsletters.
Conduct fund-raisers to support the needs of your art department.
Allow older, responsible, art students to teach or mentor younger art students.
Attend and get involved in art conferences.
Create and participate in interdisciplinary lessons with your fellow teachers.
Keep informed about new techniques used in contemporary art classrooms.
Encourage art students to actively participate in school spirit week.
Involve art students in the building and decorating of school drama and musical sets, costume design, makeup, tech crews and props.
Assign to senior art students the brochures and posters used to publicize school events.
Encourage art students to get involved with excellent charitable organizations in your area or nationally.
Develop annual publications for students in house that may be used in their own portfolios for college applications.
Include current computer technology relevant to the research and/or application of lessons/artworks.
Develop in art students an understanding and appreciation for their artistic heritage.
Encourage art students to pursue art careers in practical ways by attainable means.
Be well informed concerning college entrance requirements and teach your advanced students to keep goals that include these requirements should they consider these seriously in their future.
Encourage parents to support their talented children realistically within the limits of their cultural values or budgets.
Research and implement about those standards required of your fellow educators and administrators so that you might help them through your own artistic interests.
Keep your own interests formal but lively in the public forums and on the internet.

My CT stands by one of her many student, garden
displays at Rockwood Elementary School. These
paving stones and mural are installed at the front
of her school building. She has many displays
of her students’ artwork in the halls and even
outdoors at her school.

classroom bulletin boards

Above is a picture of my mother in her former 3rd/4th grade combined classroom.

A bright and cheerful classroom makes an exciting place for children to learn in. Every summer my mother would ponder over her resources and ideas for bulletin boards. She loved to decorate her classroom with the art projects her students created. Incorporating subjects such as book reports, history, scientific principles, and literature were always popular themes in her classroom, as well as the holidays. She frequently purchased books on the subject of decorating bulletin boards or checked them out from the local library. She believed that displaying children's work helped to build self-esteem and provided for them a stimulating environment for further education.

I will be posting a few snapshots here that were taken of her classroom bulletin boards. She retired five years ago but we imagine that some of the resources she used are still circulating.

Photographs of bulletin boards from my mother's former elementary classroom:

Photographs of my mother's former kindergarten Sunday School bulletin boards:

Links to other website owners who cover the topic of school bulletin boards:

Links to other website owners that cover the topic of Sunday School bulletin boards:

Bible Crafts and Activities for Sunday School

Christian Themes from Lessons4SundaySchool

Bulletin Boards from Garden of Praise

Giant collection of bulletin boards with Christian themes

Christian library displays

Interview by A Local Press

Here I am with just a few of the rag dolls
that I used to instruct course work with at the
Burlingame Parks and Recreation Center, California

A long, long time ago, in a time that seems like ancient history, I was interviewed by Sherry Posnack-Goodwin for the San Mateo County Times newspaper. The article appeared as a large spread in the local paper and it really helped the community parks and recreation center at Burlingame sell the course I was scheduled to teach there. Part of the difficulty administrators have in promoting classes is that there is often little time or money to actually advertise the class. In this case, the administrator believed that the class would be an excellent human interest story because of its’ cross-curriculum flavor. During this class, I introduced historic doll methods with a combination of storytelling and early American history. Young students in the class enrolled with a family “partner,” meaning a mother or grandmother, who would cooperate with the child and sew a topsy-turvy doll together. Each partner was to make one half of a doll and then connect the two ends together in order to create one completed version of the historical character. The class was a giant hit! I taught over forty people for this brief class that lasted four or six weeks, I can’t really recall exactly how long it lasted.

Above is just one of the many sample topsy-turvy
dolls that I spoke about. This one is a historical
prototype based on a drawing of an original
found on a old southern plantation

Communication Skills

The quote above the door of the classroom where
I taught for nine weeks reads, "The goal of
learning is not just to acquire knowledge, but to use
that knowledge in a variety of settings."

According to Adler and Rodman, "subjects spent an average of 61 percent of their waking hours engaged in some form of communication." I believe art teachers can and should model effectively verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques to students in the classrooms, parents and custodians in the home, teachers and administrators in the workplace, and to the larger community that supports the education of young people. Such activities help foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in all groups of people for the unified support of the arts. There are basically five types of communication. Although, all five of these share common attributes, the following types each occur in a different context inside to the art classroom.

More student work from Ritenour High School.

Intrapersonal communication is by definition about "self talk" or the internal conversations that people have with themselves. I sometimes include directions on the board for students to refer back to during a studio activity. By these means students can retrace their steps and ask themselves if they have followed the directions correctly. This is a introductory way to teach self-assessment to a very young student. I often include self-assessments along with a rubric. Students must fill out a brief questionnaire in which they retrace their activities in order to check on the inclusion of all the required processes or elements in a studio project. I use this intrapersonal communication technique with older students who are encouraged to develop discipline/focus in order to make higher grades. I also promote internal conversations through the practice of journaling in many of my classrooms.

Dyadic/interpersonal communication is the most common form of communication in my art classroom. Dyad, meaning “two” occurs when two individuals have a conversation. I spend approximately seventy-five percent of my time communicating one-on-one with each of my students. As they work, I circulate around the room to answer questions, give personal presentations and make positive observations about their work. Dyadic communication is often referred to as interpersonal communication. The difference between these two forms of communication is a simple number. Interpersonal communication usually involves three or more people speaking to each other face to face. When students are seated by twos or threes at individual tables in an art classroom, interpersonal communication is also occurs naturally inside of most art classrooms.

Another mural size painting from Ritenour High School.

In small group communication the dynamic changes dramatically. A small group has a well-defined majority or minority depending upon the members of the group. In many cases the majority will determine how that small group functions. Small groups can also change in function according to who is most dominant inside of its makeup. If a classroom of young students is led by an older teacher, the majority of members do not rule but decide that the oldest single member should be obeyed for reasons such as: experience, strength, inheritance or knowledge. Peer pressure can also change the way people behave inside of group. Sometimes all members of a group may be equal, however, one member may have superior skills. In the cases of sporting events, one member who is exceptionally talented may be elected the head of that small groups' agenda. Families, classrooms and athletic teams are all different types of small groups. I frequently assign small groups inside of my classroom in order to ad new interest to the method of conducting class. I do not generally assign the prospect of earning important grades to small groups because students have a tendency to become dependant on only one or a two of its' members to carry most of the workload. I assigned discussions/observations to small groups in order to promote social interaction. Students need to learn how to engage each other actively in academic conversation, polite conduct and appropriate discussion long enough to understand what is socially acceptable. The art classroom is as good a place to begin this part of their education.

In the display case above are paintings
by students at Ritenour High School.

Public Communication happens when small groups get so large that not all of their membership has time to participate equally in all circumstances and discussions. At this point, one or two individuals are usually appointed to communicate ideas and opinions to the larger group. The audience is then given opportunities to express themselves at the end of a discussion, through written comments or body language. When I lecture to a large group of students, I do so in brief fifteen to twenty minute intervals at the beginning of a larger assignment. Aside from lecture, I frequently communicate with the public on the behalf of my students. I've listed below the most common occasions in which I anticipate art teachers to participate in a public forum.

Student art exhibits on school grounds or in community centers such as: libraries, conventions, malls, or other public buildings are traditionally hung by art teachers. These kinds of public exhibitions promote student self-esteem and also share the progress of art students with their friends, teachers, and parents.
Art teachers sometimes give interviews to the local press in order to promote educational programs.
Art teachers help homeroom teachers communicate through art everyday by sharing ideas for classroom bulletin boards and displays.
Art teachers also contribute to cross-curricular agendas established by administrators and their fellow educators. I've included many samples of this type of work on my education blog.
Art teachers are often asked to contribute to local community events in order to promote the education of the public as well.
Art teachers can improve the visibility of their programs by actively communicating with the community.

Mass communication happens when I send out information via the e-mail, through newsletters, or over the internet through a blog. I also will use whatever software programs school districts have acquired for these communication purposes. I have worked on the internet for eight years now in publishing and I do not find these technologies intimidating. It is important, however, to conduct oneself formally as a responsible participant on the web because it is a public forum where many eyes can view/read about your conduct for many years after the fact. Teachers should be selective about the resources they use over the internet. I discuss these resources in detail under MoStep1.2.11: Instructional Technologies.

Artworks by students at Union Elementary. The principle
at this elementary school chooses one painting a
year from all of the art classes to frame and install in the
hallway permanently.

Artworks by students at Union Elementary.
These permanent choices are hung directly on the
concrete wall above. The temporary student
artwork is pinned to the cork strip below and removed
throughout the school year as new creations are produced.

This display is among several student art
installations at Ellisville Elementary School.

My cooperating teacher was in charge of enlisting many
of her own students to decorate the public spaces in her elementary school.
This fountain's tiles were painting by her students.

A student textile mural from Ellisville Elementary.

Above and below are photos of the "trees" with ceramic
leaves decorating a hallway at Ellisville. The leaves
were sculpted in my cooperating teachers art class
by dozens of her young students.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

sculpt peruvian peasant and llama ornaments

Mexican folk art created by hand-shaped salt clay are shown
above. These brilliant colors were made with gel food
coloring.

Description: I discovered these charming little Mexican, folk ornaments in a flee market. These salt clay ornaments are hand-shaped. Unlike the molded variety, it is important to use the recipe that requires vegetable oil when crafting them.

Supply List:

table salt
flour (white unsifted)
gel food coloring (many colors)
vegetable oil
water
plastic wrap
glass mixing bowl
clean, even counter top
rolling pin
acrylic varnish
small tools to shape clay with
Lama and peasant templates
scissors
garlic press

Ingredients for a Stiffer Salt Clay:

4 cups of all purpose flour
2 cups table salt
3/4 - 1 cup water
1 tablespoon glycerine or plain vegetable oil

Directions:

Mix together the dry ingredients thoroughly by hand in a glass mixing bowl.
Add in the water and oil and stir till the dough is stiff.
Knead the dough on top of a flowered surface vigorously for approximately ten to fifteen minutes.
Let the dough sit covered with a towel in the glass bowl for 30 to 40 minutes.
You may wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it over night at this point or continue to shape and work with it.
You may also tint parts of the dough with gel food coloring. Remember the color will dry darker.
The Mexican examples of clay dough ornaments shown above are tinted with gel food coloring but, you may choose to paint your ornaments instead.
Download and print out the templates for the lama and peasant examples above.
Roll out some of the natural colored clay and place the templates on top. Cut along the outside edges with a small knife in order to duplicate the llama and peasant pictured above.
Roll, cut and prick similar decorative additions as shown above.
Always moisten the clay joints with a small amount of water as you work to form a "bond."
Use the garlic press to squeeze out the thinnest, decorative, clay trims.
Prick the thicker parts of your ornaments for better drying results. Do this on the back side of the ornaments!
You may either "air dry" your ornaments for several days, this varies according to the humidity in the air, or bake them at 250 degrees for about three hours.
Varnish the ornaments in order to preserve them for many years to come.

Additional Suggestions: Always store this type of finished salt clay ornament in air tight containers, preferably tin containers. Mice will destroy these if given the opportunity.

Use a garlic press to create the
delicate clay filigree shown above.

Peruvian peasant and llama template.

This template may be downloaded and sized in a
word document. Read the Terms of Use before
using it folks.

The Nutty Crafter shows you how to make salt dough.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

tips for managing behavior in the art classroom

The following tips for classroom management are collected from many expert teachers:

Enforce the classroom rules promptly and with consistency.
Teach art lessons with many demonstrations. It is human nature to learn through visual observation as well as spoken instruction.
Be both sincere and accurate with compliments.
Collect and create "procedural drawings" for your assignments so that these may be projected onto a white board or drawn by hand onto a chalk board. I often include these with my lesson plans here on my blog. This will eliminate constant repetitive requests for the information while you are helping individual students with immediate concerns. Young students especially need this kind of help!
Start every day with a fresh attitude. Forget the confrontations of yesterday.
Except the fact that not all students will "like" you.
Include music in the classroom that is representative of the culture or ideas taught through the artworks. Music, if properly selected, can definitely add a peaceful dimension to an art classroom environment. If the music is improperly selected, it can work in the reverse.
Positive reinforcement drives student enthusiasm for work.
Teach age appropriate lessons in order to eliminate confusion and frustration.
See your students as a collective body of individuals. Consider their unique interests and problems and this will enable the teacher to manage their behaviors productively.
Establish your authority for several weeks prior to developing a more congenial relationship with students.
Remember that you are your student's teacher, not their friend. Be a friendly teacher but not a teacher who is more consumed with friendship than those responsibilities you are paid to do.
Give your students something to do as soon as they step into your classroom.
Be flexible with lesson plans.
Reinforce and praise positive student behaviors.
Try to remain quiet and wait patiently for students to focus on you.
If you have a mentor assigned to you, ask him or her for help with classroom management. These mentors have a wealth of experience in classroom management.
Don't create classroom agendas that you cannot realistically comply with.
Enlist students to help create practical rules for your classroom.
Students should be involved with problem solving when rules have been broken.
Constructively criticize students apart from their peers so that only they can hear your words if this criticism is only for a particular student. Otherwise, generalize the criticism to include every student who might break codes of conduct in the future.
Students who behave poorly are often looking for attention. Locate these students towards the back of your classroom. You want to be able to see them clearly without letting other students observe and copy the poor behavior.
Choose your battles carefully.
More group participation than lecture.
Some outdoor activities that promote objectives in the curriculum really improve behaviors.
Give your students choices.
Students will have confidence in you, when you have confidence in your own authority.
Maintain a steady sense of humor and mutual respect for all of your students.
Plan ahead when arranging your classroom. Develop practical access to frequently used areas of the classroom.
Many discipline problems will disappear if you are enthusiastic about what and how you teach.

Classroom Management Strategies:

LLC- Discipline, Motivation and Classroom Management Seminars

http://www.tlc-sems.com/

Tackling Classroom Fears

http://www.nea.org/tools/48480.htm

Eleven Techniques for Better Classroom Discipline

http://www.honorlevel.com/x47.xml

Classroom Management: New-Teacher Toolbox

http://www.pacificnet.net/~mandel/ClassroomManagement.html

Classroom Management Topics from the NEA (National Education Association)

http://www.nea.org/home/20570.htm?s=classroom+management&t=Works4Me

The Stages of Discipline

http://www.honorlevel.com/x45.xml

Dr. Mac’s Behavior Management Site

http://www.behavioradvisor.com/11583.html

Four Steps for Better Classroom Discipline

http://www.honorlevel.com/x116.xml

Discipline Techniques that Backfire

http://www.honorlevel.com/x46.xml

Discipline for Promoting Responsibility and Learning

http://www.marvinmarshall.com/

Fred Jones: Tools for Teaching

http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/jones/jones.shtml

Resources for Handling 124 Behaviors at School and at Home

http://www.disciplinehelp.com/

Classroom Tips from Teachers Like Your

http://www.nea.org/tools/Works4Me.html

Strategies for improving low-performing schools

http://educationnorthwest.org/news/1707

Proactive Discipline

http://www.honorlevel.com/x41.xml

Lesson Plans That Promote Discipline:

Stepping Out

http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/285.html

Discussion Board for Classroom Management:

teachers.net

http://teachers.net/mentors/classroom_management/

Saturday, October 1, 2011

decoupage a valentine post box

Above is a traditional, Valentine mailbox made
from a shoebox. (Note. The heavenly, halo effect around the
Valentine mailbox is necessary for proper interpretation.)

Brief Description: During my own childhood, Valentine's Day was celebrated in school with ambitious dedication. Every child took great care to design a shoe box that would reflect one's superior crafting skill and every teacher would complain about the wasted time given them during school. Annually homeroom teachers would beg the art teacher or parents to take over the craft, but to no avail. Kiddom would not allow the Valentine custom to die out; the making of the mail boxes was almost equal to the "sanctity" of Santa Claus, but not quite.