At the end of a semester I seem to always find myself struggling to get a final grade for certain students....
I have a hard time because I grade on ability level for each student, and each students ability level is different. One persons best isn't another persons. I know that I think about it too much... but can't seem to stop!
I find myself going to their classroom teachers for guidance on a few, and it doesn't always help me decide. I end up grading on effort in the end.... I don't know if this is even acceptable. But I have a hard time giving a kid a 1 if they tried really hard and it just didn't work because they can't do it. On the other hand if they are capable and don't make an effort I have no problem giving them a 1.
Whew- any suggestions for next year???
Friday, June 3, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
End of the Year
The end is in sight. This time of year I find it nice to reflect on what went well and what didn't throughout the year. This year it was tricky for me because I had an LTS for part of the year. I have a few idea's already started for next year.
- A small project at the beginning of the year to get the year started out. This will also help with getting Artist of the Month started right away.
- Pictures near the sink, art supply area, book shelf, and art shirts of what the area should look like before leaving. Who knows if it will help.
- New behavior management system. Dan Olsen does a star chart during each class for each kid and rewards after 10 stars.... I am going to try it. It will be something positive to offer.
- Working on grading projects right at the end of the day- not waiting for an entire class to finsih, we will see how it goes, I will have to be SUPER organized!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Thoughts on Classroom Management
Last week I had the opportunity to observe one of the 5th grade teachers in his classroom. I wanted to do this because I wanted to see what 5th grade looked and sounded like on a regular basis, because when they come to art they are usually much noisier and inattentive than I would like.
I was able to observe some whole class instruction as well as work time and some transitions to new things. I was very impressed with the general atmosphere of the class. The students did not talk when the teacher was talking and they seemed to be paying attention and looking in the right direction. Occasionally the teacher reminded certain students to close their desk or look up front. I feel like in my classroom I am constantly reminding students to look at what I'm showing them or to stop whispering when I'm giving directions. I realize you always have to do that to some extent, but I feel I do it too much. When I discussed this with the teacher he said that one way he works on that is to change seats often, about once a week. And to make it clear to the whole class that if they can't work next to those people they will be moved right away. And then he is consistent about that rule. He doesn't give any more warnings, instead he moves them to a new desk, or temporarily puts them at an isolated desk. This sounds like logical stuff I already do, but I think the key is being consistent. I would like to work on this for next year, mostly being consistent about my consequences. I cannot change seats once a week when I only see them once a week. But I can move them. Perhaps to the back table, or to sit on the floor up at the front when my tables are already full. Another aspect of this is knowing your students well. This year has been better for me in that regard since it is my second year. I can more quickly see a potential problem. But I still need to work on it. I need to address the problem immediately instead of constantly asking the same 3 students to stop talking.
I also observed that when they transitioned to a new topic he gave them a few minutes to get their materials ready. But what I noticed most is that the students used that time to actually get ready, and when they were done they sat at their desk and were either quiet or quietly whispering to their neighbors. Again, I think being consistent with expectations, routines, and consequences is how he achieved this. I do feel that I am consistent with my routines and expectations. However, the effect is diminished because I see them less frequently. Perhaps I need to spend more time than I have at the beginning of the year in establishing those routines and expectations. Even with 5th grade I should "assume the students know nothing" and treat it as if they've never been to my art class before. I also wonder if maybe the chaos during transitions could be curbed if fewer students were moving around the room. I subbed in an art room where there was one helper table each week and that one table was in charge of passing out supplies to all tables, and at clean up each table organized their supplies for the helper table to pick up. That way only 4-5 kids were moving around. My current system works, but can be chaotic if there are lots of supplies to get because more and more kids are up and moving.
The last big thing I observed was work time. The students were looking up words in dictionaries. I liked how they whispered to their neighbors, but it was quiet and it was usually related to their assignment. When I asked the teacher about this he mentioned that he had to have a discussion with the class earlier in the year about what acceptable talking looked and sounded like during work time. The students really did not seem to understand what was acceptable. For his class, acceptable meant quiet whispers, it should be related to the assignment not a side conversation, and the teacher should still see your eyes on your paper and pencil writing not constantly staring into space or chatting about other stuff. I have never thought to talk with my class about this, but I think I will have to in the future, and remind them frequently what work time should look and sound like. A certain amount of talking is ok, but I should be able to hear the students next to me and I should be able to address the whole class without having to yell over them.
All in all, I loved observing the 5th graders. I wish I could observe every grade. It gives me a better understanding of what is expected of them in other settings, which helps me shape my own expectations. If I could have a little computer chip in my brain that reminded me what a certain teacher expects of his class and what techniques he uses to encourage good behavior it would be so helpful. Because when I can be consistent with the general classroom teacher then hopefully students would learn more quickly that they are expected to act the same in art as they do in their classroom. But 20+ teachers is a lot to remember, a building-wide behavior/discipline plan would help a lot in this area. Especially for specialists, who see most of the students in the building.
Thoughts on any of this? Do you have a building-wide plan and does it help?
I was able to observe some whole class instruction as well as work time and some transitions to new things. I was very impressed with the general atmosphere of the class. The students did not talk when the teacher was talking and they seemed to be paying attention and looking in the right direction. Occasionally the teacher reminded certain students to close their desk or look up front. I feel like in my classroom I am constantly reminding students to look at what I'm showing them or to stop whispering when I'm giving directions. I realize you always have to do that to some extent, but I feel I do it too much. When I discussed this with the teacher he said that one way he works on that is to change seats often, about once a week. And to make it clear to the whole class that if they can't work next to those people they will be moved right away. And then he is consistent about that rule. He doesn't give any more warnings, instead he moves them to a new desk, or temporarily puts them at an isolated desk. This sounds like logical stuff I already do, but I think the key is being consistent. I would like to work on this for next year, mostly being consistent about my consequences. I cannot change seats once a week when I only see them once a week. But I can move them. Perhaps to the back table, or to sit on the floor up at the front when my tables are already full. Another aspect of this is knowing your students well. This year has been better for me in that regard since it is my second year. I can more quickly see a potential problem. But I still need to work on it. I need to address the problem immediately instead of constantly asking the same 3 students to stop talking.
I also observed that when they transitioned to a new topic he gave them a few minutes to get their materials ready. But what I noticed most is that the students used that time to actually get ready, and when they were done they sat at their desk and were either quiet or quietly whispering to their neighbors. Again, I think being consistent with expectations, routines, and consequences is how he achieved this. I do feel that I am consistent with my routines and expectations. However, the effect is diminished because I see them less frequently. Perhaps I need to spend more time than I have at the beginning of the year in establishing those routines and expectations. Even with 5th grade I should "assume the students know nothing" and treat it as if they've never been to my art class before. I also wonder if maybe the chaos during transitions could be curbed if fewer students were moving around the room. I subbed in an art room where there was one helper table each week and that one table was in charge of passing out supplies to all tables, and at clean up each table organized their supplies for the helper table to pick up. That way only 4-5 kids were moving around. My current system works, but can be chaotic if there are lots of supplies to get because more and more kids are up and moving.
The last big thing I observed was work time. The students were looking up words in dictionaries. I liked how they whispered to their neighbors, but it was quiet and it was usually related to their assignment. When I asked the teacher about this he mentioned that he had to have a discussion with the class earlier in the year about what acceptable talking looked and sounded like during work time. The students really did not seem to understand what was acceptable. For his class, acceptable meant quiet whispers, it should be related to the assignment not a side conversation, and the teacher should still see your eyes on your paper and pencil writing not constantly staring into space or chatting about other stuff. I have never thought to talk with my class about this, but I think I will have to in the future, and remind them frequently what work time should look and sound like. A certain amount of talking is ok, but I should be able to hear the students next to me and I should be able to address the whole class without having to yell over them.
All in all, I loved observing the 5th graders. I wish I could observe every grade. It gives me a better understanding of what is expected of them in other settings, which helps me shape my own expectations. If I could have a little computer chip in my brain that reminded me what a certain teacher expects of his class and what techniques he uses to encourage good behavior it would be so helpful. Because when I can be consistent with the general classroom teacher then hopefully students would learn more quickly that they are expected to act the same in art as they do in their classroom. But 20+ teachers is a lot to remember, a building-wide behavior/discipline plan would help a lot in this area. Especially for specialists, who see most of the students in the building.
Thoughts on any of this? Do you have a building-wide plan and does it help?
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
End of the year summary
We are finally reaching the end of the year and I couldn't be more busy. I am continuing to finalize my statistics and data regarding my Action Research Project on homework completion rates among students in World History classes. Although I did not receive the results that I was expecting, I do plan on continuing the use of these new strategies as a number of students indicated that they were helpful reminders to them. As for my classes, I am running into the same problems that I have encountered over the past several years. I have so much material to cover in such little time that I am forced to cut some material and move faster through other material. I figure that the only way I will be able to solve this problem is to set out a map at the beginning of the year that keeps me on pace so that I can avoid this stressful part of the year. I do however, find that difficult to achieve given the fact that the material covered at the beginning of the year and the middle part of the school year is very informative and important. Besides, students tend to enjoy some of the those subjects and we tend to have very good discussions based on those subjects. With Economics and Politics we can end up talking for more than a half of a class period on current events (which is not part of the curriculum, but I feel is beneficial for all students to learn about and discuss). One thing that is nice about this year is that I am not coaching any spring sports like I have for the past 6 years. This has enabled me to use more of my time for classroom work and for my family. Living 40 minutes from school has been a challenge and I love to be able to get home to my family as soon as possible. I am looking forward to the end of the year and possibly time to relax or maybe pick up some extra cash at a second job!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Sun Path Academic Celebration!!
Last week was the 2nd Annual Sun Path Academic Celebration! Basically each class does some kind of a project or showcases some work that they have been doing, also I have an art project up for EACH student that I teach, and students can work on something at home that they want to present (an art project, science experiment, paper, music performance, etc.), and there is a band concert.
It is a really great way for parents to see what we work on in the art room- for each class I put a little sign with the artwork explaining what they learned and the artist they studied.
It is a lot of work to get a project from every student (and have it finished) at the same time. My plan for this year was to have projects done before the end of April so that I had some breathing room in between to ensure that everyone had a completed project. I thought that was going to happen but I must not have said it right to my LTS. It all worked out but I was working to the last day to get projects completed.
My plan for next year:
1. Be finished with the project AT LEAST 2 weeks before SPAC.
2. Not allow students to take work home- some 5th graders asked and then they didn't bring it back so they didn't have anything up.....
3. Shorter projects- so if we need to finish in a day- it is more likely to be possible for them to finish on their own????
Mainly I just want to be done earlier..... because parent volunteers hang the artwork and it would be nice to have them finished so they can hang all of it in a day or two versus four. :)
It is a really great way for parents to see what we work on in the art room- for each class I put a little sign with the artwork explaining what they learned and the artist they studied.
It is a lot of work to get a project from every student (and have it finished) at the same time. My plan for this year was to have projects done before the end of April so that I had some breathing room in between to ensure that everyone had a completed project. I thought that was going to happen but I must not have said it right to my LTS. It all worked out but I was working to the last day to get projects completed.
My plan for next year:
1. Be finished with the project AT LEAST 2 weeks before SPAC.
2. Not allow students to take work home- some 5th graders asked and then they didn't bring it back so they didn't have anything up.....
3. Shorter projects- so if we need to finish in a day- it is more likely to be possible for them to finish on their own????
Mainly I just want to be done earlier..... because parent volunteers hang the artwork and it would be nice to have them finished so they can hang all of it in a day or two versus four. :)
Friday, May 6, 2011
Creating an AP class
Wow, creating a new class is a lot of work! Have any of you done that?
Well, I am in the process of creating an AP Studio Art Class, for the art enthusiast students. A couple of goals for this are:
1. Offer a high level art course
2. Meet the needs of high potential students
3. Offer the opportunity for college level art class, and college credit
4. Create a class around developing a portfolio
Here are some of the steps that have been taken:
1. Meet with Judi Tomczik (high potential coordinator), to discuss the possibility and need of a course like this.
2. Create student surveys to collect data (what is the interest level? what the class might look like? other feedback.)
3. Present the idea to administration
4. Sign up for AP training class at Augsburg in June
5 Apply for MDE grant to pay for the class
Basically, that is where we are at in the process. This class will not be offered until the 2012-2013 school year, because it is board required that I be an AP certified teacher before I can teach the class. I will be taking this training for a week in June (which I am so excited for). What I envision for this class is that it is a small class (15-20 students), who are all working on their own portfolios (meeting the AP requirements), but also offering the class to students who are choosing not to receive the college credit. Each student would be responsible for designing their portfolio, reporting to me their plans and materials that need to be ordered. Every student will be working on something different, whether photography, 3D or 2D or all of the above.
Several questions and concerns I have:
1. How will the students be monitored if they are in different places?
2. How will space work - available classrooms?
3. Will the board accept our request for adding the class out of cycle and the smaller class size?
4. Will we get enough students to register for the class?
My question for you (especially art folk), did you ever take an AP art course in high school? If so, what did it look like? If not, what do you envision the class like? What questions & concerns would you have? I am open to lots of feeback on this topic as I have no idea what to expect.
Well, I am in the process of creating an AP Studio Art Class, for the art enthusiast students. A couple of goals for this are:
1. Offer a high level art course
2. Meet the needs of high potential students
3. Offer the opportunity for college level art class, and college credit
4. Create a class around developing a portfolio
Here are some of the steps that have been taken:
1. Meet with Judi Tomczik (high potential coordinator), to discuss the possibility and need of a course like this.
2. Create student surveys to collect data (what is the interest level? what the class might look like? other feedback.)
3. Present the idea to administration
4. Sign up for AP training class at Augsburg in June
5 Apply for MDE grant to pay for the class
Basically, that is where we are at in the process. This class will not be offered until the 2012-2013 school year, because it is board required that I be an AP certified teacher before I can teach the class. I will be taking this training for a week in June (which I am so excited for). What I envision for this class is that it is a small class (15-20 students), who are all working on their own portfolios (meeting the AP requirements), but also offering the class to students who are choosing not to receive the college credit. Each student would be responsible for designing their portfolio, reporting to me their plans and materials that need to be ordered. Every student will be working on something different, whether photography, 3D or 2D or all of the above.
Several questions and concerns I have:
1. How will the students be monitored if they are in different places?
2. How will space work - available classrooms?
3. Will the board accept our request for adding the class out of cycle and the smaller class size?
4. Will we get enough students to register for the class?
My question for you (especially art folk), did you ever take an AP art course in high school? If so, what did it look like? If not, what do you envision the class like? What questions & concerns would you have? I am open to lots of feeback on this topic as I have no idea what to expect.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Rewarding Good Behavior
I know that it is beneficial to reward students for good behavior, it's a good incentive for them. My current system rewards the entire class if they've done well. I've done this because it seemed overwhelming to try and have a system to reward individual students when I have over 500 of them.
I've been looking for something new though because right now I reward the class with a sticker for a good class period and 5 stickers gets them some free art time at the end of class. The problem here is that I am giving up class time so they can have free time. It messes up lesson plans, puts some classes behind, I forget about it, etc.
I recently learned about another art teacher's reward system. He gives stars to individual students with good behavior, and he only gives out 4 stars at the end of each class. Once a student has accumulated enough stars they can come to his room at the end of the day to pick a small prize.
I think I will try this next year. There are several things I like about it. It doesn't affect class time, the students are responsible for remembering to come to the art room for a prize (not me trying to remember), the entire class is not punished for the actions of a few, and it recognizes good students. I sometimes feel that I pay more attention to the students who misbehave or are having problems and I barely notice the quite well behaved ones. This kind of a system would challenge me to keep my eyes open for those students who go above and beyond; the helpers, those who clean up quickly, who listen well, etc. And it won't take any more time to put down 4 stars at the end of class than it does now to pick a student to put a sticker on the chart.
Do you have a system for encouraging students to follow rules and have good behavior? What works and doesn't work for you?
I've been looking for something new though because right now I reward the class with a sticker for a good class period and 5 stickers gets them some free art time at the end of class. The problem here is that I am giving up class time so they can have free time. It messes up lesson plans, puts some classes behind, I forget about it, etc.
I recently learned about another art teacher's reward system. He gives stars to individual students with good behavior, and he only gives out 4 stars at the end of each class. Once a student has accumulated enough stars they can come to his room at the end of the day to pick a small prize.
I think I will try this next year. There are several things I like about it. It doesn't affect class time, the students are responsible for remembering to come to the art room for a prize (not me trying to remember), the entire class is not punished for the actions of a few, and it recognizes good students. I sometimes feel that I pay more attention to the students who misbehave or are having problems and I barely notice the quite well behaved ones. This kind of a system would challenge me to keep my eyes open for those students who go above and beyond; the helpers, those who clean up quickly, who listen well, etc. And it won't take any more time to put down 4 stars at the end of class than it does now to pick a student to put a sticker on the chart.
Do you have a system for encouraging students to follow rules and have good behavior? What works and doesn't work for you?
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