The start of a new semester

A new semester brings new opportunities and achievements. Although it is bitter sweet, I am excited to be finishing up my final semester here at Stout. This year will be filled with many accomplishments as I will be graduating from my graphic design degree in May and will be graduating from art education in December. Even though I have been here for five years, it does not seem like it. I have learned so much and have grown so much as a person, and it isn’t until I look back at my journey here at Stout that a realize this growth. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous to graduate, but it is a necessary step to start my career. My parents have always taught me to work hard for what you want, to follow your dreams and that nothing was impossible if you put your mind to it. I think all of the advice has finally paid off as I am looking forward to the feeling of ultimate success and satisfaction of being the first person in my family to graduate from college. Although my days are numbered, I hope I can continue to grow and mature as a designer, educator and person in this new semester.

NASCO

Today a representative from NASCO came into our classroom to talk about some products provided by NASCO and to let us experiment with some of the products. It was great to simply create and try new mediums. She had many different brands of similar products so we could tell the difference between the lower, middle and higher end products. It was a lot of fun. I believe the whole class became obsessed with felting, who would have ever known? There were plenty of products that were very new to me, as they have come a long way since I was in school. The Gel sticks, and interchangeable watercolors were extremely nice and innovative as you could really tell the difference in quality and page presence. It was great to experiment and get to know all of the great things NASCO has to offer.

Teacher Talks- Amanda Kirkman

Amanda Kirkman came into to talk to us today. This is her first year teaching and is a recent UW-Stout graduate. She was a very sweet and kind woman as she gave us plenty of tips about the edTPA and how to better prepare for it during student teaching.

Amanda handed us a sheet on the Bee’s of student teaching.  First on the list was be ahead of the game. Meet with your cooperating teaching prior to teaching and even before the school year starts. During the summer she suggested reading the Wisconsin DPI report cards of your school and become familiar with the school district. Keeping a to-do list helped her stay on track when tackling the edTPA. When it is bulleted you can lay it out easier and does not seem as overwhelming as you might think if you write it down. You also get the satisfying pleasure of crossing something off the list once you complete it. Amanda stressed the aspect of getting to know your students, know their names too! It can help build relationships faster between you and the students. It also just helps with classroom management also. Attending IEP meetings is a must as this furthers your knowledge of your students and helps you meet their individual needs. Amanda was very persistent on journaling as she felt it was very important to keep a journal as it helped you remember, reflect and rewind on situations that may have happened during the day. Keeping a journal can also help when filling out the commentary for the edTPA as thoughtfulness is very important when filling out the commentary. She mentioned that it is OK to discuss your weaknesses as it shows your thoughtfulness and understanding of the situation and lesson at hand. She mentioned that you could never over do it when filling out the commentary. They like to see deep reflections. Amanda also had a great suggestion in regards to filming. By filming often it helps the students feel more at ease when it is the real thing. By practicing it helps them get over the giggles and nervousness of a camera being in the room. On a funny note, she suggested that candy bribery works wonders when getting parent consent forms back from students.- ha. Go figure!
Amanda was very knowledgeable when talking about the edTPA and student teaching. The information she provided helped establish and further our understanding of the process. Very good information to know!

Teacher Talks- Principle Paul Weber

Today, Paul Weber from Elk Mound came to speak with our class about interviewing and what to expect in the process of applying for a job. Mr. Weber has 12 years of experience of being the principle at Elk Mound and was a very knowledgeable and informational speaker. Thus far, Principle Weber was one of the most important speakers we have had come into the classroom as he was very detailed in his speech as it helped us all understand the interview and job application process further. One point that he kept on making is that interviewing is something you need to practice at and with practice; you can become an excellent interviewer. Through his lengthy interview adventure 12 years ago, he noticed that many school districts ask the same types of questions as it became easier to interview the more he practiced and interviewed. He gave us plenty of tips to help ease the application and interview process.

Application Tips:

1.     Follow directions of the job posting

2.     Proof read multiple times

3.     Cover letter is your first impression; sell your strengths and experiences or professional achievements.

4.     The summery in your cover letter and the first paragraph on your resume are both equally as important as the other

Resume Tips:

1.     Put your certification on the top of the page

2.     Do not hesitate to put previous work experience or references from “Applebee’s” on your resume.

Deadline Tips:

1.     Do not call about status or position and talk to who is hiring

2.     If you are curious call the secretary and ask if your materials have been received and confirm that they got there OK

3.     If you are getting interviews, you WILL get a job

4.     If you are not getting interviews, you need to self-reflect on resume and cover letter

Interview Slots Tips:

1.     Lasting impression- Las slot not the first “fresh” spot when given the choice

Interview Tips:

1.     Research the school district
Go to the town

2.     Go to the school, find the parking lot

3.     Test scores are available online

4.     Do your research prior

5.     Write down questions from interview and make your answers in outline form to help you remember key words and remember your responses.

6.     It is OK to ask if you can have a minute to reflect on a difficult question.

7.     Artwork and portfolio typically occurs on second interview. Have I prepared digitally prior or have quick access to it

8.     Bring to first interview just to be prepared anyways if they ask to see it.

9.     When they ask if you have any questions. ASK something! What is the art budget? Ask questions related to the school district.

Overall Principle Weber gave us some awesome tips and guidelines to obey by when going through the job hiring, applying and interviewing process. It was a very beneficial talk.

He also suggested two books, that are a MUST read: Enhancing Professional Practice and Learning by Doing

Classroom Talk- Kelly House

Today, Kelly House from the Montessori Charter School in Chippewa Valley came in to talk to our class about her experiences and teaching strategies. The Chippewa Valley Montessori Charter School is unique because there is not a designated grade in one classroom as multiple levels of students are mixed to help promote leadership, growth and relationships between the younger and older students.  Her classroom is set up in stations as the students get to choose what kind of material and station they will be completing an assignment or project in. This classroom management style is also called a TAB, teaching for artistic behaviors, classroom. This teaching style can also be called choice based learning, as the students can choose what ever medium they wish. She believes that when students are given more choice in their learning, they tend to “own” their work and take pride in their success. Quality over quantity is something she lives by in her classroom.

In the short two years of being at Chippewa Valley Montessori Charter School, Kelly has experimented with various teaching techniques within this classroom structure and had found that teaching step-by-step did not work as the students did much better w hen they learned on their own through the process of their artwork. In the beginning of the year she starts off with more skills-based projects so the students can become familiar with the materials and gradually works towards a unit in the middle of the year. She has developed “have to” projects that are required and meet the standards of what the students need to know. Recently Kelly has started to implement critiques into her lessons as she found out from previous students, they struggled and felt behind when discussing art and partaking in art criticism discussions.  Since a uniformed rubric is very hard to do in this type of classroom, she bases her grades off of behavioral aspects.
Overall hearing Kelly talk about choice based or TAB art education was very interesting, as this technique is not frequently implemented into schools.

Describe a disciplinary issue that you have encountered with a student. How did you handle it?

1.     Describe a disciplinary issue that you have encountered with a student. How did you handle it?

Once while I was helping a student on their work, I had a three students decide that it was a good idea to make a marker limbo stick in the middle of work time. Once the students noticed I saw what they were doing, the quickly tried to disconnect all of the markers. I simply asked the students if they thought it was a good idea to be making a limbo stick when they had work to do. I solved the problem by making them split up and work in silence the rest of the class period since they could not handle sitting together at one table as they influenced each other into making a marker limbo stick.

2.     What is your classroom management style?
At firs this question gave me some difficulties, as I did not know how to express it in words. Upon discussion with a few of my classmates I adapted the policy of firm, fair, and fun. I think it fits, as it is simple, short and sweet. I obviously like to have the students be on task during work time but allow them to talk quietly and choose their seats. If the noise level gets to loud in the classroom, I start separating students and become a stickler on the chatting. I am a three-strike person as I try to remind the students and allow them to redeem themselves a few times before I take a firm action. I am very fair in all aspects of my teaching, as I truly believe there are two sides to every story and various ways of solving a problem. I try to see multiple sides and be open to alternative methods of creating. I am not one to tolerate misbehavior and dangerous practices in the classroom as putting others in risk, is something I have zero-tolerance policy for. Although I may be strict on a few things in the classroom, I do strive to have a collaborative, fun and open classroom environment where the students can feel comfortable when creating.  

Classroom Talk- Ann Brand

On Thursday Ann Brand came into class to talk to us about “mindful” teaching. This presentation was very interesting as Ann talked about how to be mindful in the classroom as well as how to manage our stress through mindfulness. Mindfulness is paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. It is a particular way of paying attention, as it requires the “whole experience” through thoughts, feelings, body sensations and senses.

She talked a lot about taking time for ourselves and how this can benefit our students also, “When caring about yourself, you care for your students.” To have mindful attention is to be self aware and aware of others. I believe this can help with classroom management. By being mindful we can increase our overall positivity in the classroom and increase our health. This stress reducing practice would also help with managing difficult situations, stresses while modeling good behavior. For students who have difficulties managing their own stress, mindfulness could help them cope and deal with issues when they are stressed themselves. Leading by example mindfulness could be implemented into your classroom within a short time.

Ann gave some good practice tips on how we could implement mindfulness in our classroom:

1.     5 minutes of mindful breathing

2.     Take a breath before answer phone or email

3.     Stretch for one minute before grading

4.     Noticing jaw or shoulder tension or tightening

5.     Count breaths at stoplight on your way home

6.     Mindfully eating your lunch.

Some benefits of mindfulness in education

1.     Enhances classroom climate

2.     Enhances academic performances

3.     Enhances attention and working memory

4.     Enhances social-emotional skills.

Within a matter of time these practices could be implemented in our daily routine. It was a great and mindful presentation as I learned a lot. Some of these techniques we already implement, but do not understand why, as Ann clarified some of that up for us. It was good!