Elementary Art - Teaching Methods that Promote Learning

I believe the best teachers use multiple methods of teaching, and adapt those to the individual classes they teach.  Not all students will respond in the same way to different forms of teaching, however, I feel that the best approach is to try to be as varied as possible from the beginning, to keep students engaged.

When I was in college for my undergraduate degree, I had to take a few World/American history courses (not Art History, those came later), and in high school and my first history classes in college, it was my least favorite subject.  Most of the classes were focused on the politics of the time, or general dates and facts of the people at the time, and all of them "taught from the book."  We had to read about these times in our text books, which were almost exactly what was reiterated to us in the lectures.  We listened, gathered the facts and then regurgitated them back to our teachers and professors by way of tests.  I was looking forward to the day I no longer had to take history classes.  That is until I took a history course with a female professor (her name unfortunately escapes me at the moment), who taught the class in a completely different way.  The course was on American history from around the 1500's until early 20th century.  We did have a book, but instead of having us read and then listen to a lecture practically verbatim, the professor would come in and just talk off the top of her head, and tell stories about the historic times we were learning.  She would interject with personal anecdotes, and I would sit and listen fascinated by her story telling abilities.  Instead of asking us to read and memorize a list of dates and facts, she had us watch movies about the topics we were learning about (the Salem Witch trials, or slavery, for example), which reinforced visually what we were learning.  She also had us take the topics we were most interested in, do research outside of our text books by reading interesting historical books that were written about the topics, and write papers that included not just regurgitated facts, but also our own opinions and thoughts about the way things were.   She employed a multimodal way of teaching that completely changed my view on history. History became one of my favorite topics and still is to this day.  Although I went on after that class to take art history classes that were similar to the ones I had taken before, I was able to start to think more critically of what I learned, and was more interested in doing further research beyond just memorizing dates and names.  Not only did my professor teach in a way that made me excited to learn, about a topic I had previously had NO interest in, she actually taught me ways to be a better teacher overall, long before I even thought about teaching.  She taught me about being a connoisseur of a topic, taking all of the elements of something and knowing them fully, so that you can combine the aspects to create a dynamic and unforgettable curriculum. 

As I am learning to be an art educator, I find myself remembering my own learning experiences and trying to teach in a way that is both engaging, memorable and will connect to the students who are not just interested in making art, but also those who think that art is a waste of time.  My undergraduate professor did that for me, with history, and even though I don't consider history a large part of my career, it is something that continues to fascinate me and interest me and informs what I do as an artist and in my life in general.  If I can get students to feel that way about art, for those making it a career and those who are not, I truly feel that future generations will be living happier, more fulfilled and well rounded lives.

Elementary Art - Classroom Management

There are two aspects to classroom management that, when handled well, can provide an effective environment for children to learn and grow.  Both are equally important, and both have many nuances to them that must be addressed uniquely, depending on the location you teach, the age you teach, the personality of the students that you have, and the number of students.  The first is classroom organization.  This can include how your room is set up, how you prepare or research for what you teach, the resources you have including equipment, supplies and technology, and the use of visual and auditory elements such as color, lighting, noise, seating, furniture and visual culture references or classroom decor.  The second aspect is managing the students themselves and student cooperation.  There must be a time and opportunity to address individual student needs, and allow each student to create and learn with some freedom.  However, within a flexible environment, there must be set rules and guidelines to follow, especially at the elementary level, so that students are provided with structure and a safe space, that teaches them to respect their environment, their tools, each other and their teacher.

For my first experience with clinical teaching, I was in charge of a 4th grade class. I had to set up a temporary space for the students to learn outside of their normal classroom.  The first day we chose to set up in the music room, and had to arrange several tables and chairs so that the students sat together in groups.  I had to keep in mind that they needed to be able to see me, hear me and still have room enough for me to move around the tables to help them on an individual basis.  We set up the room with 4 tables for 29 students.  I was not able to control any other visual or auditory aspects of the room, since it was a temporary space and I was only teaching there for the one day, however, the use of tables and chairs was similar to how their regular classroom was set up.  I did, however, have more control over student management and cooperation.  Since I had never met them before, I went around the room and asked each child to say their name and one favorite “thing”, such as a color, food, art technique, etc.  Although this took a while with such a large class, it was a great way to initialize getting to know the kids, and let them know in a subtle way that I care about their individual needs and interests.  The next thing I did was set up a few ground rules that centered around the word “respect.”  I told them during the class time I had with them, we would need to have respect for the art, the materials, the space, each other and for me and any other teachers that were helping.  I reinforced this by showing them visually on a PowerPoint presentation, and also asked them to repeat back the rules to me throughout the lesson.

Throughout the class, I was able to engage them several times by using a trick their regular teacher had taught me, by singing out “Class?” and they would say back “Yes?” to get their attention.  It was important to me to get their attention first and the next step I will take is to reinforce the rules.   I think that with proper timing, attention to their needs and more experience, I will be able to maintain a successful classroom environment.