Alexandria tomevi
Future Art Educator
TWO LESSON PLANS
IPTS Standard 2 - Content Area and Pedagogical Knowledge - The competent teacher has in-depth understanding of content area knowledge that includes central concepts, methods of inquiry, structures of the disciplines, and content area literacy. The teachers creates meaningful learning experiences for each student based upon interactions among content area and pedagogical knowledge, and evidence-based practice.
IPTS Standard 8- Collaborative Relationships - The competent teacher builds and maintains collaborative relationships to foster cognitive, linguistic, physical, and social and emotional development. This teacher works as a team with professional colleagues, students, parents or guardians, and community members.
UNIT PLAN 1: 6TH GRADE
Description: I taught lessons from this unit plan with two other teacher candidates. We taught 6th graders our lessons plans on three Saturdays in September 2021. Our class consisted of three students from the Bloomington area. In our unit plan, students explored the idea of community through mosaics. In the first lesson, students created paper mosaics focusing on aspects that were important to them. The second lesson in the unit focused on the students creating found object mosaics from objects that they had brought in as well as sharing objects with one another. The last lesson we had the students paint a series of portraits of their classmates as well as a self portrait. Throughout the lessons we had the students share aspects of their community and how their artwork was relating back to the ideas they were discussing relating to the community.
Rationale: I worked collaboratively with two fellow teacher candidates to develop and implement our unit plan. This unit plan allows students to explore the idea of community and what it means to them as well as how they can apply these ideas to create deeper meaning within their artwork. This lesson also introduced the students to creating art with materials that they have not worked with before.
UNIT PLAN 2: KINDERGARDEN
Description: I taught lessons from this unit plan with two other teacher candidates. We taught Kindergardner's our lessons on two Saturdays in October 2021. Our class consisted of four students from the Bloomington area. In our unit plan, students explored the idea of community and teamwork through the process of creating a city. In the first lesson, we had the students create a puppet that resembled themselves. we also discussed with the students what happened in their community on halloween and what types of things that they enjoy or were excited for. Students started creating props that they wanted to include in their city. In the second lesson, we had the students create a monster or pet. We also looked at what the students had created so far and we brainstormed together on what else they wanted to add to their city. To conclude the lesson, we had the students work together to put all of their props, puppets and monsters together in a composition that they liked and hung up their city in a gallery that their parents attended.
Rationale: I worked collaboratively with two other teacher candidates to develop and implement our unit plan. This unit plan allows for the students to communicate and work together while creating artwork. This lesson introduced the students to a wide variety of materials that they had not used before. The lessons also allowed the students to implement new techniques and ask questions in order to achieve their desired artwork.
SATURDAY CLASS CLASSROOM SETUP
IPTS Standard 4 - Learning Environment - The competent teacher structures a safe and healthy learning environment that facilitates cultural and linguistic responsiveness, emotional well-being, self-efficacy, positive social interaction, mutual respect, active engagement, academic risk-taking, self-motivation, and personal goal setting. This includes a virtual environment and any learning aids used within a Google Drive.
7D: understands how to organize the instructional environment to maximize students’ learning.
Description: For Saturday classes, I had 3 6th graders and then 4 Kindergardners. Since both of my classes were small, me and the other teachers were able to work mostly one on one with the students. We set up the students so that they were as close as possible while still socially distancing and maintaining Covid protocols. We also hung aids on the walls such as posters that were relevant to our material as well as teacher artwork examples.
Rationale: We kept a safe and clean environment that followed Covid protocols including ensuring the students wear masks, maintain social distancing, sanitize/wash their hands as well as sanitizing work surfaces and materials. By hanging up aids for the students we were able to create an inviting atmosphere for the students to come into.
PROFESSIONALISM, ADVOCACY & LEADERSHIP: PAL1
IPTS Standard 9 - Professionalism, Leadership, and Advocacy - The competent teacher is an ethical and reflective practitioner who exhibits professionalism; provides leadership in the learning community; and advocates for students, parents or guardians, and the profession.
Description: I attended an artist talk this semester by photographer Rachel Bujalski. In this talk she discussed her background as an artist, her interests and inspirations, as well as sharing some of her recent work.
Rationale: This talk was really interesting for many reasons. Firstly, Rachel is an ISU graduate so she was able to speak on her time that she spent at ISU. I also really found the work that she shared very thought provoking. I liked the idea of combining photography and stories of people to create a form of documentation. Her project that she discussed in the talk "Connected Off the Grid" was really interesting because it took a dive into peoples lives that are very different from my own. I liked this idea of sharing others stories through photographs because it allows the viewer to really open their mind and see that everybody views and lives life in a very different way.
Description: This semester I also attended an artist talk by Melissa Pokorny. Pokorny is an educator, currently at the University of Illinois. She is an active artist in sculpture and has had her work exhibited at many venues across the United States. She has received many awards for her work and has participated in many residency programs. In this artist talk Pokorny talks about the sense of place that her work has and the role that it plays in memory and identity.
Rationale: This artist talk is very different than ones that I normally attend. I liked attending her talk because she has a lot of experience in creating work and it was really interesting to hear her talk about her sculptures. Sculpture is never something that I've been able to get into but hearing Pokorny talk a little bit about her process and ideas behind her work is really inspiring.
PROFESSIONALISM, ADVOCACY & LEADERSHIP: PAL2
IPTS Standard 9 - Professionalism, Leadership, and Advocacy - The competent teacher is an ethical and reflective practitioner who exhibits professionalism; provides leadership in the learning community; and advocates for students, parents or guardians, and the profession.
Description: I attended a comic class taught by Ebony Flowers. This class was intended for Educators and explored ideas and processes for making comics within the classroom.
Rationale: This class was fun and it is always really nice to to have new perspectives and ideas on art making. Ebony shared some really interesting tips such as having the students put a big X through their paper before starting a sketch or drawing so that the students feel like the paper is already "messed up" or ruined. This class was super helpful in generating ideas and tricks to use in my future classroom.
Description: I completed a personalized commission for someone who contacted me through social media. I post artwork to my social media occasionally, and will sometimes make commissions for people.
Rationale: By sharing my artwork to my social media, it allows others to see my work. By creating commissions for people, it allows them to also share my work. In the past I have had people ask me for commission just from seeing my work hanging in someone else's house!