Action research looking foward

I am hoping to try out a few more apps before the end of the quarter. I am planning on looking closer at my data and analysis of my action research. I am hoping to be putting the work I have done already together for my paper. Right now I feel that I have bits and pieces, but need to tie it all together. I am thinking school will slow down a little after the holidays. I am very happy that I picked a topic that is very meaningful to me, my school and my students. I feel like a much more confident teacher when it comes to technology than I was a year ago. I feel like my classroom is much more balanced than it was a year ago when we first got the iPad. Technology is here to stay and I see the benefits more and more everyday as long as it is in moderation.

Entertaining an Elephant

The book Entertaining an elephant has been a very interesting read. I really like the janitor character. It did surprise me the amount of disrespect he had for his students. The quotes that have been left the board from the debate team, I bet are from the janitor. I have not figured out his saying "why not," whenever someone says have a nice night. I feel there needs to be deeper meaning than just that you should have a nice day. I also like that every student appears to know the janitor's name and the students are so happy to see the janitor. I am curious to see how Mr. Reaf continues to embrace change and when he figures out who the quotes are really from.

Connection from the conference

After visiting the conference I felt that I have made a connection mostly with my RB2 class. I know that I can ask them questions and that I don't need to worry that I am bothering them. I have especially grown an even stronger relationship with my Byron classmates. We help keep each other on task and keep each other at a high standard. I had a hard time this last semester and they have been incredible and very supportive. I had a new art teacher in my department who tested me in many ways making for a difficult situation most days, she did quite by the end of the quarter. We have a new person, but we had to start from scratch and she started only 3 days before school started. I am very grateful for her, the time she puts into the work and how well she works with me and the students. This last semester has asked of me more than I have had to in the past. I coached soccer, started Art Club, put work in two shows, mentored, had our Annual Art Sale and just this last week offered the opportunity to a 2016 Italy and Greece trip. This is all wonderful things, but it is hard to do it all and stay sane. So, I very much find my Byron RB2 friends incredibly good people. On a technology note I got to see one of my blog people that I follow and I feel that I can ask her questions or use her as a resource about technology. I also learned about gonoodle at the conference from someone I met for the first time. I also learned that all these communities are different as well as their teachers. After hearing how other take their class I am especially grateful that I have the teacher I do and the class ran the way it is. I feel we have a nice happy community compared to some other communities.

Epic Adventure

I am currently hosting Byron students to go on a study abroad trip to Italy and Greece. We have had a lot of interest already from students and staff. I have been to many places abroad. I would like to think of my studying abroad as my epic adventure as a whole. It is such a wonderful experience for myself and those that I have traveled with. I have traveled with family, friends and my husband. My Mom worked for the airport so we got to go many places. Some of the places I have been Argentina, Sweden, Norway, Grand Cayman Islands, Mexico, Ireland, France and Italy. I told my interested people about when I got credit for college in Speech for learning about Polynesian and Aborijinal cultures when we toured Hawaii and Australia. That trip I took with my sister and I am hoping she will join me on the Italy and Greece trip.

30 Day Shackleton update

Which strength did you choose to cultivate for 30 days? Enjoyment What do you have to report after 15 days? I am reporting abut the following 15 days of the last update. The Art Club and I have decided to Elf the school. We have taken pictures of all the teachers at the high school, made elf patterns out of construction paper and printed The Elf quotes from the movie. We are trying to lighted the school's spirit and get students pumped for our Senior Elf day (half day) on the 23rd. The kids get Senior Elves that they can buy and help carry books and they join the student's that bought them's class. We also designed a T-shirt for that day for the Senior Elves. The Art Club has made a great partnership with Student Council and it has been working really well. What have you done to be intentional about your strength? That even is things are hard it is important to spread enjoyment with everyone. Even though I was not ready to commit to being a leader to an Italy and Greece trip for 2016, I am. I knew that if I did not give this opportunity to my students or at least extend the offer they would miss out on great enjoyment opportunity. Byron will be pairing with Pine Island for a Italy and Greece trip. I am the leader, but we will see how much interest there is. I have the meeting tomorrow and I have been encouraging students to come to the meeting, even though it makes me nervous to know that this is another thing to add to my plate. At home? I try to keep my home life strictly family time. I enjoy being with my family a lot and that is always a good time. At school? Just trying to stay positive and encourage laughter and smiles. Trying to uplift the school environment during these cold winter months. Hopefully Elfing the school is a hit. How has it impacted you and those around you? I think everyone is overall in this together. We as a school have been working on giving back to the community. In January the Art Club will host a meal for Ronald McDonald and I think we plan on inviting Student Council. I like that the students are spreading their enjoyment throughout our community. They recently helped get stuff ready for our Annual Art Sale, talking to the community about putting art up and now Elfing. I am surrounded by enjoyable students and coworkers. It is nice to have so much enjoyment especially around the holidays.

Action Research update- Unplug

This week I did not have my students use technology at all. I think that it is valid to have down time from technology. This was basically a work week in my classes and they were all working on hands on projects. I do not feel that every assignment needs to have a technology piece in it. One of the things that I noticed is that they students have been conversing more without it, helping each other and not rushing through their work to use the iPad. I also noticed that on Fridays when they normally get to listen to their own music with headphones I have been getting requests to listen to music over the speakers instead. Instead of wanting to be in their own person music and zone they are choosing to share in the experience of working and listening to music as a community. As much as I love a quiet day every once and awhile I was very happy to see this switch. This was a goal and a change I wanted to see in my classroom, but it means even more to see it come from the kids. This tells me that they are enjoying their classmates while working and cultivating those social meaningful conversations that they should be having in the classroom. Students get a lot of time on their own to use their devices it is important to take them away and have them unplug. It is especially important in art when your teaching them that projects take time and the iPad can negate that at times when information and entertainment is just a click away. The iPad has so much more instant gratification than my generation ever had.

Changing Culture

Changing Culture at your school 3. How would you describe the culture where you currently work? Did any of Barth's stories ring true for you? My school is high achieving in both the students and the teachers. I sometimes feel when we meet for our face to face grad classes that the expectations at our school is higher. We have PLC meetings like everyone else, but our must take place outside of the school day and for one hour a week. I have gone to the PLC conferences and they always say to make time for your staff to have these meetings, that time is on our watch and not theirs. Other schools get to have that time to work in teams on their half or amended days. I do feel that our non-tenured staff does not have as much of a voice as the tenured staff does. This is not written anywhere, but more of a feeling or advice given by veteran teachers. We have had a big change in administration and how goals are achieved. Quoted from a friend of mine "Our goals were always teacher driven and admin supported the teachers, now the goals have changed to admin driven." At our school we are being pushed to try and do the next big things, whether that be balanced calendar, standard based grading, technology and so on. There is very rarely a moment when someone stops and says you are doing a good job and have been doing a good job. There is a constant feeling of you are never doing good enough. This is a hard feeling to have when you have innovated new opportunities for students, are part of different organizations, trying new technology, putting in long hours and doing more than you ever have as a teacher all to know that you probably will never do good enough. I believe in reflecting and tweaking to make things better, but this feeling at our school is bigger than that. 4. Can you change your school's culture? Do you have a choice? Recently the big discussion has been about balanced calendar. We as teachers have not seen the hard data that the balanced calendar is better or the specific need for our district. This has caused a lot of backlash about the calendar. There is a big concern about choice. Do we has teachers really have a choice in the change of the calendar? We are told our opinion matters, but it is not clear in the future if it does. A straw poll was given that 18 yes for the balanced calendar, 56 no and 26 undecided. I know for a fact some people did not vote...sadly because I was one of them. I did not expect the results back as fast as they came and I missed the deadline to vote and that is my own fault. I am happy to see that a staff member or organization took the initiative to take this poll. We were first told if all of HVL doesn't go to this calendar we won't do it. Now I am hearing if the big schools of HVL do it, we will do it. Depending on how admin. reacts to the teacher response, the HVL response and the community response may determine a change or continued culture. I think if there is better communication and direct research to support the change the culture will change about this topic. 5. What impact can you have on the culture in your current setting? What can you do to make it a healthy culture? I try to stay positive and look at both sides of a big decision. I also try to protect my department where nontenured staff is involved. When there are important topics that the nontenured staff have opinions on I try to relay our message so that their voice is still heard. Their opinion still matters even if it is more difficult to speak up as a nontenured staff. The other thing I can do is try to do my own research to get answers to the big decisions. I feel the more discussions we can have about big changes the better things would be. This way we would feel like we as teachers are a part of the change rather than asked to follow the change with no input.

Action Research Results

My Action Research is iPads in the art classroom: Helpful or Harmful? An investigation of the iPad as an educational tool to enriching previous practices. My research has shown that the iPad is a beneficial educational tool. I have compared assignments with and without the iPad. What I have found is that the more choice in the matter in using the iPad or not is most beneficial. The iPad creates differentiated learning, but students still want face to face time with their teacher. When trying to fit all needs of students the iPad offers another option of differentiated instruction. The iPad is best utilized as a tool in conjunction with a developed website for the class. The website houses the resources, rubrics and lessons, but the iPad is the convenient tool to access them. In my district there is a small percentage of students who do not have internet at home. There are many benefits I have noticed in the classroom. The benefits I have noticed are when using the iPad for looking at pictures you can enlarge the picture with details right at their desk. I have been able to do formative assessment with the students using surveys. Have them do interactive reviews using the drawing pad on their iPad. The iPad makes class time more efficient. I do believe that students should have the choice if they want to use the iPad for certain projects. Such projects are writing papers, taking notes, sketchbook assignment and so on. I have collected data on these topics and have found that students are all different and learn in different ways. In a sense the iPad is just another medium and tool for them to access. I enjoy that students have the right to choose how to create their work. After changing my classroom management and syllabus regarding the iPad I have had limited issues of misuse with the iPad. Having a one to one iPad initiative has been a blessing for the art classroom. The other interesting part is that every teacher uses the iPad differently. Once the teacher and the students get past the initial ground work of figuring out the iPad and multiple apps it does bring a new tool for learning. There also needs to be a detailed discipline plan for misuse of the iPad as a school policy. I do feel that the pros do out way the cons of the iPad as an educational tool. I will continue to research different aspects and apps, but I am so glad I chose this topic for my action research. Specific Questions: What are specific relationships and patterns emerging in your data analysis and reflection telling you about how the change you made is impacting desired changes you are seeking? The iPad has created more options for differentiated instruction, more efficiency, more detailed resource for images, array of different apps to be used, convenience of a learning device in your classroom and one to one iPad for each student, more email communication, development of an effective google site to support the use of the iPad, limited use as listening device to create more conversations and community. What are your results telling you about the concepts you are studying, and the relationships among concepts, how the strategies address the problem you are trying to understand? What strengths and limitations to these ideas did you discover through the implementation? The limitation is for some students the fact that the iPad can serve the purpose of a distracting tool. I have found that the distraction is much smaller than what I have seen last year. The benefits of the iPad for out weigh the downfalls as an educational tool. I have also found there needs to be a choice between using the iPad as a tool or other options. The iPad is not the ultimate learning tool. Part of investigating the iPad as an educational tool I have learned there are other tools that work best for certain assignments. I have also learned their are multiple tools that can be used for one project and students get the choice in using which tool fits best with each students personal learning styles. How will your learning change your practices of instruction, assessment, environment, and understanding of content knowledge in your discipline (I.D.E.A.)? The changes have already taken place. The iPad is being used frequently in my classroom as a resource for images, research, typing, picture taking, apps for drawing and a communicator (email and surveys). After doing this research it give me a better handle on what projects I like to use it for or give choices to my students if they would like to use the iPad or another device. At this point I can't imagine teaching without the iPad as effectively as I am now. What implications for future practice are you drawing from the results of your inquiry, including how results are leading to new questions and future directions for research? (This may be the springboard to your next area of inquiry.) My future practices will be fine tuning which apps work well for certain projects. I have already determined I will keep the iPad as a learning tool for certain projects and giving a choice of multiple learning tools for other projects. I would also keep the surveys that I give students to know how they learn best. The iPad is not always the top option for students to learn, for this reason I feel it is most beneficial to offer it as a choice among other devices depending on the project.

30 Day Shackleton Strength

My 30 day Shackleton Strength is Enjoyment. Which strength did you choose to cultivate for 30 days? Enjoyment. What do you have to report after 15 days? These last 15 days I have changed my review to a group/game review with a prize of cookies for the winners. After giving the winners their cookies I did show the rest of the class that I did bring cookies for everyone. I try to check in with all my students, encourage their work. We play music and talk and laugh. I like art class to be an enjoyable experience. What have you done to be intentional about your strength? Bringing in candy and treats is something I don't usually do. I may even be breaking a new rule that occurred this year? I think the rule is that you can't sell candy...I hope. Either way for the time being the kids really enjoy getting a little something extra. That extra enjoyment maybe candy, free time on their iPads, a choice in decision making, etc. At home? I have really been trying to not bring work home so that my time at home is sacred. This may have been the most challenging since we have our art sale coming up Dec. 1st. When I am at home I try to focus only on family, laugh, love, and do some fun stuff. I am very excited to have a break and to celebrate with family for Thanksgiving. At school? I have a new coworker that I am very positive around and she is very positive. It is amazing what a good attitude vs a bad attitude can do to those that work around you. I am now in a much better fit working with this new art teacher and really a much better fit for our school and students. The collaboration has been outstanding and I feel that even though it is hard to find someone that is happy with a .42 position, I feel that we have found that person. To make things more enjoyable for her and I, I have offered to teach a class maybe not as enjoyable so that she can teach one that is more enjoyable. Everyone at school has been very have in the art department, me, staff, my students, art club and my SA's. How has it impacted you and those around you? I am doing more than I have every needed to do this year. The expectations have been challenging. With Masters right now, soccer coaching just ending, starting a new hire and then quitting after 1st qt, now a new 2nd quarter to the end of the year art teacher and having art club for the first time it has all been a lot for me to balance and juggle. I just remember to be positive and these are all good things for my spirit and the students. It has been a wonderful year so far.

Leadership Interview

I interviewed Jen Green who is both an English teacher and a Math teacher at Byron High School. o Who did you choose and why? I chose Jen because she has many years of experience, a family, a double license and is extremely helpful personally and professionally. o What surprised you? The credit that she gave her spouse. Her spouse is very flexible and appreciates the hard work she put in at school. Juggling school, kids, social and spouse can be hard. She is very grateful to have someone who understands the demands that school can put on a person. She also works very had to have her weekends be all about family. This surprised me that I struggle with the same balancing act. She has two children and they are older, whereas my son is almost three. Even though her children are older and she has been teaching longer I was surprised that we were kind of in the same boat. Life is busy and it will continue to be busy. o What did you connect with? I really connected with the three qualities that a good teacher possesses. Her three characteristics that she believes in are that the teacher is passionate, they love their job and are always bettering themselves and reflecting on their work. I wholeheartedly agree with these characteristics. At Byron I feel that we as staff and students have teachers that emulate these qualities. o What components of Leadership were evident (12 Virtues, Spiritual Dimensions, Growth Mindset, AGAPE) Jen definitely has the growth mindeset and the twelve virtues. What one quote from the interview stands out to you? Before I left for class my quote was "A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do," Walter Gagehot. This quote made perfect sense to me, especially when I asked her what she was most proud of. Jen was part of the math team that was awarded the Intell Award. They completely changed the way they taught math. Partially due to a low budget they had to create their own curriculum and change the way they were teaching math. The improvements were magnificent. o Any additional thoughts or reflections you had on the process- I learned that Jen has been in five different districts that give her a different perspective about many things. I myself have only been in one district, but I can see how being in different districts is beneficial. I also learned that she has been teaching for 19 years. It was nice to get to know her opinions and her little bit better than I already do. I really enjoyed this project and Ms. Green taking the time to let me interview her. * Disclaimer: I am an art teacher so in case Ms. Green reads this please don't get mad at me for any grammar or English mistakes!

iPads in the classroom vs Computers for writing papers, notes and power points.

I surveyed three mixed classes of 9-12 graders about if they prefer iPads, computers or paper for taking notes, writing papers or making power points. The three classes I surveyed were Design, Clay and Beyond 2 and Crafts class. I had thought about surveying Graphic Arts and Clay and Beyond 1, but I think I will save another survey for them for another time. Below I will post the results and then discuss the findings. https://docs.google.com/a/byron.k12.mn.us/forms/d/178skW7pHBXxFYArftDicESZwBit87yLoJm1FgPP9U8w/viewanalytics When note taking which do you prefer? I found this question to be very relevant when I would observe students during lecturing. I was subbing in another room and the students were taking notes off of a power point. One of the things I have surprised to see was that half the class was typing on their iPads and the other half was using pencil and paper. When you think of actually writing out notes it should help you retain the information. I believe the same could be true with typing. I bring this up because in some classes I have seen kids just take a picture of the slide on the screen that forces me to question if the students are retaining the information if the only process they use is snapping a picture? When I was in this classroom taking notes I talked with one of the students and he mentioned that our English department had external keyboards that could be plugged into the iPads. Having the keyboard sounded like it would be very useful and helpful. To go over question number one, When note taking which do you prefer, I was surprised to see the results of 67% prefer taking notes with paper and pencil. I had made an educated guess of 50% paper and pencil with the other 50% being the iPad. Taking a photo was 10%, which I am glad to see as a small percent. I think that taking a photo has it's educational tool in the sense of taking pictures of rubrics, lists, process, announcements, etc., but not for retaining information. I have also seen students take a photo and use that as their notes while working on another computer to create their work. The students are actually looking at two physical screens instead of need to flip from site to site. This works particularly well in Graphic Design when they maybe reading about instructions or tutorial for the assignment, but then have the computer to create the work. For these instances I am in full support of using the photo option. I was surprised to see such a low percent for using an external keyboard to type on the iPad with. External keyboards are not required at our school. I would need to investigate further the low percent of the external keyboard if it was due to it not being provided, less training in using it or if there are flaws to it's use. Typing on their iPad was at 17% which I expected it to be a little higher, but his is a sore subject for most students if the assignment is at any great length. I had asked about using the computer lab for note taking and I am not surprised to see 2%, because at our school that would probably be more of an inconvenience unless your class was in a computer lab. As an added note I have heard about apps that let you record audio for notes, which can be helpful for special needs students. When typing a paper which would you prefer? A whopping 86% preferred to write their paper in the computer lab. I think that typing on a computer is easiest for students. It may also have to do with how much bigger the screen is for reading and writing. I would also think that maybe the keyboard keys itself would be easier to type on. Typing in the iPad only got 9% of preference and the external keyboard at 5%. These two having such low percents makes me question the position of the computer, bigger keys, and bigger screen. Switching to making Power Points students responded with 43% like using keynote. Keynote has been around for a little longer than Google Slides. Keynote does not have the capability to have two people working on a project at the same time like Google Slide, but does allow for pictures and background design choices that Google Slide does not allow for. For Art I prefer to have my students use Keynote. For other classes that need less visual appeal Google Slide would work well. Students who chose Google Slide was 19%. Students who preferred making power point on the computer was at 38%. Lab space is limited at my school so I am glad that students feel just as comfortable or more comfortable using keynote than power point. Some of the comments listed about Power point vs Keynote is that on power point more than one person can work on it at a time. Some felt keynote was easier. From the comments I read I felt that the app worked well and does the job, but the students still liked the educational tool of a computer over the iPad. With the percents as close as they are together I will proceed by letting the students choose which fits their learning style best. Some of the students prefer the keynote layout to the power point layout. When typing a Paper which do you prefer? Pages on the iPad was at a low 3%. I have heard many complaints about trying to type on an iPad for an extended amount of time. Google documents on the computer 57% and I feel this is a higher percent because our school is very google based. The students have been trained on sharing documents with the teachers making it easier to keep track of both as the student and teacher of the students' work. Word rounded out at 33% and then the google doc. app was low at 7%. In efforts to try something new I did ask the question on the survey Would you prefer to do a video on your iPad than a power point? 50% would rather make a video and 40% would do the power point. I am finding that this information gives more options on differentiated instructions and giving my students more choice. The more choice I give my students the more buy in they will have for my assignments that they are given. I am so glad I did this survey. I feel that this will open my eyes to what my students want to get out of my teaching and their learning experience.

Leadership Goal

My leadership goal is to get google sites for all of my art classes this year and overall the art department classes 13 classes in total. We have some classes that rotate every other year and some that are offered every year. With new staff coming in and out of the high school I find it more important than every to have my sites up today or created and have rubrics for all my assignments. I reality I would be happy to have 80% of my assignments have a grid rubric to go with it. Our PLC's is working very hard on getting grid rubric assessments done at the high school level. I have been making grid rubrics for 2 years now. They come in very handy and takes a lot of the questions out of grading visual arts. It takes a lot of the subjective stereotypes in grading visual art out of the equation. I make my grids fairly assignment specific. With new staff in my department I have created a google site for her classes along with mine. I will be nice once they are all done because then we just need to update them, but it is also a great place to house assignments, description, picture examples, videos, reading, worksheet and so on. So, if a student is sick they can look at the site to see what we are working on. Here is a screen shot of the website and opened to a rubric pate.

So my plan is to have one for all of my classes which includes: 1. Crafts 1 2. Crafts 2 3. Clay and Beyond 1 4. Clay and Beyond 2 5. Drawing and Painting 1 6. Drawing and Painting 2 7. Design 8. Graphic Design 9. Floral Design 1 10.Floral Design 2 11.Studio 1 12.Studio 2 13. Empowerment Through Art I would say I have half of them started and just need updating with rubrics. I am excited to have the new staff at the high school helping make these rubrics and class curriculum on the sites. It is a lot to take on, but will be well worth it in the future years. Thus far I have creating and have in progress Crafts 1, Clay and Beyond 1, Drawing and Painting 1, Design, Graphic Design and Studio 1 at 80% finished or more. My next step is to update the above ones with missing rubrics and/or assignments and then also start on creating Clay and Beyond 2. By Quarter 3 I would like to work on sites for Floral Design 1 and Floral Design 2. Leaving just a few courses left before next year.

Interconnectedness with other communities

Blog Assignment: As a teacher leader post a reflection on your interconnectedness with a member of another “community.” (school, RB2, PRB1, discipline, conference, other) Who was this collaboration with? For this assignment I am going to give a shout out to Technology in the Classroom (http://thompson19.blogspot.com/) blogged by Monica Thompson. I found that there has been many comments back and forth from my community Rochester Blended 2 and her Pelican Rapids Community. What was most powerful for you? Taking the conversations deeper than the blog itself. I found I was having conversations about eportfolios and different sites that can be used to create eportfolios, which is a small part of my action research. It is fun to share what your school has done and tried and getting to learn the same from others. I feel we can ask questions of each other and come up with some great answers together. What was most difficult? I have been very busy with obstacles at work and have not had my post in on time for other to view and comment. I feel this can occur on both sides and is best to just remember to check in and comment when available. I follow 3 blogs and I understand that life is happening outside of these blogs. I also, sometimes needs for data and research before I can add to my blog. What are some of the benefits to this relationship? This is one more person I can bounce ideas off of. It was fun to see her in person at the last conference. It is nice to put faces to these blogs. Yes, there are pictures on the blogs, but it is so much nicer to meet them in person. When you do meet them for the first time, it is like your catching up with a friend or an acquaintance. What role does your attitude have on the outcome? If I am not dedicated to posting my blogs and commenting on others it will not work. Both sides will loose interest in each other.

Packaging tape people time lapse video, but Deija Watson (student) (Not quite finished, but this is what she has so far!)

http://youtu.be/TE7qoPeZNj4

More and more technology

It has been a long time since I posted, so I am sorry for that. Some of the things I have been noticing and plan on getting data on are: 1. The use of iPads for typing papers/ notes 2. iPhone for time lapse video 3. iPad for snapshots of rubrics 1. The use of iPads for typing papers/ notes. I have found that 50% of the class preferred to go to the library and work on a computer, rather than using their iPads. iPads do need computers to print, so if there are projects that you would like in paper form you will want to keep some computers around. As I talk to other districts more and more computer labs are going away. We have 5 computer labs in our school, which is very helpful because there are certain things you can do better or certain programs that are only available on a computer. I mention this because of the new program Creative Suites 6 we got this year to help develop our Graphic Design (illustrator/Photoshop), Technology (dreamweaver), yearbook (photoshop) and other programs in the package that can help all classes. When trying to get students ready for college programs like the above will help prepare students more than an app on their iPad. Sorry, I got off topic, back to papers and notes. I stopped into a neighboring class that was taking notes and 50% of the students were taking notes on their iPads and the others paper and pencil. I have seen some kids just take a picture of notes before and it makes me wonder if the student is really retaining that information with just a snapshot. I can understand taking a snapshot of a rubric and using it as a reference that we have already discussed together in class. I talked to some of the kids and told me that the English department has a class pack of keyboards that can be used with the iPads and the kids can check them out. I plan on sending a survey to both the English teachers and students regarding if they prefer the iPad alone for typing papers, keyboard or the computers in the library. I would also like to know their input about the app Pages. This I will try to send out next week, but may not be answered by the teachers until the following week because we have finals next week. 2. In my clay and beyond class we are making packaging tape sculptures. The groups needs to wrap each other with syran wrap and then packaging tape, cut the tape off (with a nurses scissors, so no one gets cut) and then tape it back up. I also give them the option of stuffing the package with the paper to add color. One of my students really likes technology and told me she was making a time lapse video of the entire project!! I was so excited to see her doing this technology on her own. Not only is she going to show me the video she is going to let me post it on here when it is done. Should be done by early next week because she is adding music and words to it explaining everything, how amazing. I fee like it is Christmas, what a gift:) She is also going to show me how she did it. Maybe I will have her make a video of how to use the app, so that I can incorporate that as part of the project. I will post it as soon as I get it, I am pretty excited! I love when I see the students doing their own creating both in art and technology. They think of think of things I do not always think of. 3. iPads for snapshots of rubrics has saved me a lot of paper and it doesn't get lost. The rubric is right there on their camera role. They can sue the rubric to do self checks to make sure they are doing everything they need to do. I will have more hard data next week and hopefully a time lapse video of our last clay and beyond project.

What the students are seeing, saying and/or feeling about my classroom;

I thought I would make a little survey for my kids to help me collect some data. This data is from my Drawing and Painting 1 class. We do a large grid portrait and this year I had them use their iPads along with their smaller paper grid. Students print the pictures, draw the grids and do the math to enlarge their picture on bigger paper. The iPad was used to look at detail and contrast along with their smaller grid picture as a resource. Sometimes larger pictures can get blurry. Here are my results. https://docs.google.com/a/byron.k12.mn.us/forms/d/1EjfXGSqGteBqHACQ1-HQ0-CTIqUnEXup5pHfGULMKKA/viewanalytics

Ipads in Art: What I am see- UPDATE :)

This week I took time to observe Monday- Thursday on non-iPad days what was happening at the student's tables. The goal was to limit the iPad usage so that students would have conversations about everyday life and each others artwork. The goal was also to have the students work more efficiently and more focused. What I have observed: Students are less distracted when the iPad is not being used as a personal music device. Even if you ask students to listen to Pandora or a playlist, there are still instant messages that pop up, distracting them from their learning. The more messages the more times that students stops what they are doing to checkout what urgent message has been sent to them. According to Marilee Sprenger who wrote Focusing the Digital Brain, "Students multitasking the digital world with many personal learning devices being used at once. For example instant messaging, texting, and homework at the same time. Causes Continuous Partial Attention. Can cause stress. Too many things going at once is ok for short term memory, but bad for long term memory causing stress, weakening the immune system and could cause depression. To many social media or digital devices used in excess can be a disadvantage to students. Make boundaries for digital use." In a world where instant gratification is a constant with technology it is important to pull the students back and have them focus with out technology as part of the presence. We will listen to music over the speakers in the classroom or use the radio. The students still get to get into their flow of work, while still getting the opportunity to converse with the other students at their table. We will take turns on what channel will be played which days. I read a fascinating article that reinforces the use of music in the classroom called The following article is reprinted from the book Music and Learning by Chris Brewer, 1995. (Music and Learning: Integrating Music in the Classroom by Chris Boyd Brewer http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/strategies/topics/Arts%20in%20Education/brewer.htm) BRINGING EDUCATION TO LIFE WITH MUSIC How is it that for most people music is a powerful part of their personal life and yet when we go to work or school we turn it off? The intentional use of music in the classroom will set the scene and learning atmosphere to enhance our teaching and learning activities. Plus, using music for learning makes the process much more fun and interesting! Music, one of the joys of life, can be one of the joys of learning as well. The following pages give you suggestions for when and how to use music during your teaching or training. With these techniques, you, the teacher, can orchestrate a classroom environment that is rich and resonant-- and provide learners with a symphony of learning opportunities and a sound education! Music helps us learn because it will-- establish a positive learning state create a desired atmosphere build a sense of anticipation energize learning activities change brain wave states focus concentration increase attention improve memory facilitate a multisensory learning experience release tension enhance imagination align groups develop rapport provide inspiration and motivation add an element of fun accentuate theme-oriented units PERSONAL EXPRESSION Music is the doorway to the inner realms and the use of music during creative and reflective times facilitates personal expression in writing, art, movement, and a multitude of projects. Creation of musical compositions offers a pathway to expressing personal feelings and beliefs in the language of musical sound. Here are two ways music can help us express ourselves: Creativity and Reflection Background music is used to stimulate internal processing, to facilitate creativity, and encourage personal reflection. Playing reflective music, such as solo piano in either classical or contemporary styles, as students are writing or journalling holds attention for longer periods of time than without the music. In one study, students wrote twice as much with music than without! Anytime you can use multiple intellegences is a win for the students. I plan to continue listening to their conversations and comparing their work to last year's when personal music was allowed during every workday. I can say already that there are less distractions and better behavior. It is still early in the year so we will see what happens. I especially would like to add the data I find tomorrow when they are working with the personal learning devices. I will have more hard data that I will submit regarding distractions, conversations, efficiency and mood of the room. I am still working on the hard data because as you float around the room it is hard to not converse with the kids and be taking notes, especially when the notes are about research and not their work. I don't want them to feel insecure about what I am doing.

Ipads in Art Education- What I am seeing

What you have started: I have changed my classroom management to stricter guidelines regarding the iPad. Over the summer I made these guidelines: 1. No iPad for music during work time. (I felt that kids were getting distracted by them, messaging, finding music, watching shows and that they were not as efficient as they should be.) This was already negotiated on the first day. We decided Monday- Thursday was a no iPad day and that I would play music over the speakers by request. Fridays would be free music day and they can bring their headphones to listen to music. What I have observed thus far is that it is working well so far. The kids follow the rule and I am going to continue to take data on the chatter and art conversations that occur when the radio is on in comparison to the silence of Fridays when they are working with their headphones. Both types of days have shown productive work process. I am now going to listen closer to the conversations they have with each other. Not just about art, but to keep that social aspect of school. I explained to them that not everything needs to be messaging and that having out loud conversations are still important. I will continue to observe and get some hard data for next time.

Praxis Folio

Question 1: Why is teaching my content or area of focus important to what I believe about teaching? How do I see these beliefs aligning with my teaching practices? I teach art and with teaching art there are certain processes that need to happen. I believe in the full experience of art. From the beginning of art history, observing to researching, creating, critiquing and then artist statement. I believe there can be an appreciation for every single to step and every step needs to be taken to get the full experience. I try to have this process in place as much as possible when giving my students an artistic experience. Question 2: How is my understanding of content concepts guiding me in making needed changes in my teaching practices in the area of my content or area of focus? I needed to reflect on my current practices and look at what I felt needed more attention. I am going to focus more on art history, critiquing, reflection/artist statement and technology. I have also looked at what classes should be added to our department to better our kids towards college and career readiness. Question 3: How am I coming to connect the depth of understanding and application needed in the learning process of each student? How am I changing my content or area of focus delivery to account for the cognitive processes of my students, engaging them in solving real life problems for building knowledge? I am encouraging my students to make mistakes and try something new. I know it can be scary, but when they find that they can do more than they thought it is very rewarding for them and I. I love see them think outside of the box and use their creativity. With critiquing it requires the students to do the analysis and critical thinking that they can use in any situation. I take the students learning process step by step with them. I give them rubrics so they know their expectation up front and can use that rubric as a check off list and self assessment sheet. This is all training them to be self reliant and sufficient. Question 4: How can the gifts, backgrounds, and interests of each person in the classroom community be used to help one another learn and make my content or area of focus understandable and meaningful in their lives In art I give the students partial choice in their subject matter of their work. This way they can tailor it to their specific interests. Students then converse about each others work and interests creating deeper knowledge and thinking.

Believing in Students

Believing in students. I had an experience that was monumental in my coaching career this year. I was getting out of my car to go to practice and one of my players and his Dad were waiting for me in the parking lot. His Dad said, " He has something to tell you." There was a long pause and lack of eye contact until he finally said " I did something stupid." Long story short he had a scary experience with drinking with another boy. This young man was an eighth grader, but playing on my C squad team. It was very hard for him to talk about it and obviously still scary. An ambulance had to come for his friend during the day and luckily in the end everyone was ok. He would miss two weeks of the sport that only lasts 8 weeks. I was very impressed by the Dad being there and having his son tell me rather than finding out another way. What happened next was so surprising. About a week later and a missed phone call his Mom stopped by to talk to me after practice. I got a heart felt thank you from his Mom. I had missed the call from her so I was a little confused what for. She was very thankful that I had handled the situation with such grace. I had spoke with her son about everyone being ok was a blessing. The key words that I said to him was, "You know you are a good kid. You told me yourself that you have a very high GPA. Even good kids make mistakes and that does not change that you are a good kid. Now you just need to learn from your mistake so it doesn't happen again. " Apparently, her son really needed to know he was still a good kid. She said, "He has been more open than ever with his feelings and that he has a lot of respect for me." This whole conversation reminded me of how important our jobs are as teachers and coaches. Everything we say can make an impression on our students. I needed to be reminded of this because I had not thought much of what I said or how it might impact him. Usually you say things to kids, but you never hear feedback about your efforts. This was a big moment for him and a big moment for me to remember that you are teaching more than just what the subject might be. 

Reflection of Experiments

My adventure from the spring until August was selling two houses and building a new one on the NW side of town so that my son could go to the same school that I teach at. Now that we are in our house and both old houses have sold I feel I can finally give a sigh of relief. It was a choice to sell our houses that was long over due. We had the conversation many times and I can't believe how well it turned out. We love our new and location. We could not have done everything we did this summer if it wasn't for our family. It was a wonderful experience for both myself, my husband and most importantly my son. The strong bond between my in laws and my son just got even stronger. Surprisingly it was a wonderful experience for us as well. We learned a lot more from taking on our adventure then we ever could have imagined. I do understand more how scary it can be to try new things, so when I ask my students to try something new I will encourage and support them.

Summer Adventure

My summer adventure was taking the leap to putting our rental house on the market to sell. We have had it rented since 2008 with no gaps, so we definitely were in a comfort zone. There were so many things to worry about, double mortgage, what if it sells after school starts, etc. We finally decided to sell it and we had to wait for our tenants to move out on the last day of June. We got it market ready from July 1-16, listed July 17 and an offer July 21. We got everything we wanted out of it, no contingency, no closing cost that we would need to pay and shockingly he wanted to close Aug. 1st!! He wanted things to move so fast and have it off the market he waved the inspection contingency! So, on August 1st we will have sold our 2nd house of the year (within the last 4 months) and be closing on our new house. August 1st just so happens to be our 5 year anniversary as well. So, glad we bit the bullet and sold our previous houses! Looking forward to less stress and moving day:)

A post to myself

This article is very interesting and I might even share it with my students. This post is more for myself to be able to read than for anyone else. Unless you know me, you wouldn't know why it is so important and close to my heart. http://www.artandantiquesmag.com/2012/08/picasso-ceramics/

Resources and blogs

Website http://www.ipadartroom.com/apps-lessons/ http://theteachingpalette.com/ This website actually lists all of the art education blogs that are listed below and more. Most I tried to keep to the high school level and technology oriented. Very exciting to find all of these blogs in one place. Blogs http://www.theartofed.com/?utm_campaign=Listly&utm_medium=list&utm_source=listly http://drydenart.weebly.com/fugleblog http://www.ipadartroom.com/?utm_campaign=Listly&utm_medium=list&utm_source=listly http://theteachingpalette.com/?utm_campaign=Listly&utm_medium=list&utm_source=listly http://minimatisse.blogspot.com/?utm_campaign=Listly&utm_medium=list&utm_source=listly http://www.artofapex.com/?utm_campaign=Listly&utm_medium=list&utm_source=listly http://www.davisart.com/Portal/SchoolArts/SAdefault.aspx?utm_campaign=Listly&utm_medium=list&utm_source=listly http://arted20.ning.com/?utm_campaign=Listly&utm_medium=list&utm_source=listly http://digitalartsed.ning.com/?utm_campaign=Listly&utm_medium=list&utm_source=listly http://artroomonline.com/?utm_campaign=Listly&utm_medium=list&utm_source=listly http://www.studentartguide.com/homepage?utm_campaign=Listly&utm_medium=list&utm_source=listly http://www.colringbookpress.com/?utm_campaign=Listly&utm_medium=list&utm_source=listly http://www.data-di.us/?utm_campaign=Listly&utm_medium=list&utm_source=listly

Creativity

This is a fascinating interview with Sir Ken about teaching, assessing and importance of creativity. This article is not for just art folks, but all content areas. Very interesting and it all seems to make sense to me. Here is the link: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept09/vol67/num01/Why-Creativity-Now%C2%A2-A-Conversation-with-Sir-Ken-Robinson.aspx

Teacher Practitioner Reflection

Purpose: To share a classroom application with members of your professional learning community. Wow, there are so many to choose from. I think my favorite was claytionary as a way of formative assessment. It was so much fun for the kids and I. The students were so excited and having a great time. The kids were hooting and hollering which was really fun to see. Luckily, there was not class around us so I didn't need to shoosh them. It also got kids who normally did not interact with each other, interacting with each other. That was one of my favorite things. I would like to implement more of these type of social learning opportunities. With 1 to 1 Ipads it is important to keep the kids social, rather than in their own individual worlds. Step 1: Reflect back over this last school year as a lot has happen for you and your students. We incorporated Ipads 9-12 as a 1 to 1. It is still a learning process as to which programs work best and when the Ipad should be used. I used more formative assessment approaches and I used a more holistic rubric for my summative assessment on one assignment. I had to kids try new things with me such as inside/outside circle, When someone claps twice, walk and talks, critiques with post its, backwards design units that continues to be reflected upon and updated my website. I made videos that would be used for flipped classroom. I have done a lot of reflecting constantly on my teaching and the relationships I have with my students. I can also say that the project art club was successful. We will be having an art club for 2014/2015!! The kids and I are very excited. I also was able to have many beneficial conversations with my RB2 community, my critical friend and my SAGA group. 5 Changes you made with regards to your practice. I worked together with my students to concur our technology challenges. I tried new ways of formative and summative assessment and I found myself reflecting a lot about my teaching and my students. 4 Different ways your students learned this year. They learned through real life experiences with the Raku Workshop (used all 5 senses except taste), hands on projects, using technology as a new medium, used brain based learning and multiple intelligence and created more of a community in the classroom. 3 Great things your colleagues would say about you and/or your classroom this year. I think they would say that the students liked the extra opportunities to display their work in shows and contests. Staff appreciates the mini murals that went up around our bare school walls. They were happy to see new technology being integrated into the classroom. Congratulated me on getting the art club started at the high school for next year. Worked as a team to get the proposal set for the Adobe Creative Suite Design and Web premium for next year. 2 Changes you would like to make for next year based on what happen this year. I would like to incorporate more of the Ipad assignments into my curriculum. I will also be incorporating (hopefully) Adobe Creative Suite Design and Web premium. 1 The most important thing yours students will take away from being in your classroom. Understanding processes of art techniques, appreciating art history, proper vocabulary, a comfortable and safe environment within their art community and will be able to critique their own work and others.

Action Research Reflection

I incorporated the Ipad into my classroom and collected data to measure if it was helpful or harmful in the art classroom. I assigned the students to draw one of their sketchbook assignments on the Ipad using Adobe Ideas app. I had them first download the app and then we went over a quick tutorial using Air Server. This made it so that the kids could see what was on my Ipad or even other students Ipad on the Smartboard. I actually had a student that was familiar with the app give the lesson. I was asking many of the students do something they are not comfortable with. The students have Ipads access in all of their classes and they were pretty reasonable about the assignment. When it was due the following week about the same amount of kids turned theirs in as usual. There were a couple that had "technical difficulties" and that can be hard to make judgements about what is fact and what is fiction. I gave the kids a participation grade since it was new to all of them. There are some conflicts, because the students can use layers to draw over another pictures which means it would fall under copying or tracing. Some of the students were very surprised at how long it took to draw a quality picture. Some mentioned about 5 hours and the class requirement was 1.5 hours. I think with more practice this will become just one more medium the kids are familiar with. I was very happy with the results of this project and I will be putting it into my curriculum for next year. My question for my action research is if the Ipad is helpful or harmful in the art classroom? I am looking at changing assignments to incorporate the Ipad, but I am weighing if past methods are better or new technology ones. Which projects will be the post enriching for my curriculum? I collected my data by having the students fill out a google survey. I had them answer if they had used Adobe Ideas before or something similar? If they liked the assignment? How important it was to them? If they would prefer to do a hand drawn sketchbook rather than an Ipad one? I needed to know what experience they had with drawing apps and if it was important to them. I had mixed reviews. This the responses I got: https://docs.google.com/a/byron.k12.mn.us/forms/d/1MIwUBKPXkewhQY05qc87TAmNrjh_liMfSs43NIPR3iI/viewanalytics With looking at the responses I got I think that doing the sketchbook assignment at least 3-4 times a quarter will build their confidence and familiarity. The next step will be to add the Ipad sketchbooks into the curriculum for next year. My goal would be to have half of the sketchbooks assigned to be designed on the Ipad. My next step if we get the software, Adobe Creative Design and Web I a proposal in then they will transfer their Ipad sketch to the PC computer to add layers and fonts. I have decided what the pc part of the project will be yet, but there will be many more manipulation possibilities with this software. This would give the sketchbook more meaning and permanence. This would also further my technology goal.

Brain Based Learning

The methods used in the art classroom for brain based learning are as follows: Drawing and Art: Spatial (Multiple intelligence) and Tactile Kinesthetic (Learning Style)- We use this everyday and most of the kids really enjoy doing hands on work. Brainstorming- Verbal linguistic (MI) and Auditory (MI). We do this before every project. It gets the ideas flowing and the students can bounce ideas off of each other. Games- Interpersonal (MI) and Tactile Kinesthetic (LS). Kids really enjoyed playing games. We played claytionary and they were in groupd of 4. Each person had to take a turn using the clay. kids were racing to find out the word that they would need to show. Kids also got points earlier in the hour showing their answers in their groups on clipboards with dry erase markers. They had a great day and I was able to formatively assess them. The kids also worked with students they wouldn't normally work or interact with in class. Music- Musical rhythm (MI) and Auditory (LS) Students find this very motivating. Gets them in their flow. Technology- Spatial (MI) and Visual Tactile (LS)- We use Ipads in the art classroom. My students are questionable about how much they like to use them and if they are the most efficient tool. Visual - Spatial (MI) and Visual (LS)- Lots of visual examples and references for students. Along with demonstrations for them to learn from. Field Trips- Naturalist (MI) and Tactile Kinesthetics (LS)- Students get real world experience when they do the raku clay workshop. This trip actually comes to us and appeals to all of the senses. This is a great and well liked experience.

What changes did you make following the conference? I was very motivated after seeing so many different technology presentations. First off I should mention the different sessions I went to and what I am going to take away from them. 1. Risk taking- This one showed me that this presenter struggled with journals as her data, so I will try to do something different probably. 2. Flipped Classroom- I have been thinking about this one for quite sometime. When I was on maternity leave I made numerous youtube videos that I saved for the sub to use. Of course I moved into a different grade level and no longer need the videos, but I would like to do the same at the HS level and link them to my google site and use them as flipped demonstration videos when I want. I need to decide how much of my class to be taken on the flipped side. 3. Standard Based Learning- This was very interesting, but more so reinforced the hybrid style rubric that I use that lists learning targets, but is not limited to just learning targets and a point scale that has both whole numbers and halves. 4. Websites- I learned about both weebly.com and schoology and I need to compare data limitation because I plan on having lots of pictures and videos. My goal is to have a one stop shop of information including: calendar, class assignments, demo videos, rubrics, worksheets, online survey/tests, link to the gradebook and possibly my blog. 5. Reluctant Learner was not as goal oriented towards my action research so I will be taking away less and 6. Discover more apps. Lots to think about, but tons of great information. I will be incorporating an Ipad sketchbook assignment today to replace our standard weekly fine art sketchbook. What what goals have you set for yourself? I am going to work on a survey to see what students already use or know about the ipad and it's apps dependent upon their grade levels. That is just the start. I will be incorporating the ipad, researching and taking data about the results I get. Who can you connect with to help you grow? (maybe invite that person to make comments to your blog) I actually have a great support staff at school or also known as the digital learning community that is going to come help me...actually in a few minutes to help me prepare for next hour and our new app and air server. I will probably give and get support from my SAGA and CF. If you shared your blog at the conference, what type of feedback did you receive? I did not share my blog...not sure when this would've happened it was very busy sessions for me. What is on your mind? As you can probably tell from above my mind is racing with all the ideas. I know I probably need to narrow down my thoughts, but for now I am just trying new things, collecting data and trying to organize how everything will fit. As well as prioritize.

The scores for your other five intelligences: Spatial Language Self Musical Math 4.29 4 4 3.43 1.71 Just because these five are not in your top three doesn’t mean you’re not strong in them. If your average score for any intelligence is above three, you’re probably using that intelligence quite often to help you learn. Take a look at the Practice section to see how to engage all your intelligences. Just wanted to post this for future reference.

Action Research update

This process has been very slow for me. Part of that was that I had started out wanting to look closer at formative and summative assessments. So, I started my research on that and then I switched to how beneficial is the Ipad in the art classroom? As I am overwhelmed with apps for the Ipad I feel very behind. I have not been able to get the research on apps studied and how well they work in the classroom as fast as I would have liked to. I feel I would be much further I had I not switched my idea about halfway through. With class being canceled it was even harder for me to figure out what path I wanted to take for my research. I have found the abstracts very helpful when it comes to understanding a goal, the research and choices in data. I feel I now have more confidence in continuing the research for the Ipads. The other struggle I have had is that it has been hard to implement the Ipad when I have recently had the end of the quarter and the beginning of the quarter. Even things that I thought worked well, I may not have the same class again until next year or even in a year and half. I am going to do immediate data after we implement something new. I was able to use the Ipad to have the students watch a video on youtube about 2 point perspective, I then asked the class if they felt good about starting their project of drawing a city using 2 point perspective. There was a few nods yes, but not much of a response. I asked if they would like to look up other videos? Some looked up pictures to get ideas, because it was hard for them to understand how the angles would look. This is where it gets difficult for me if they are helpful or harmful. I want them to get ideas, but I don't want them to copy off of the internet. Some clearly used their own imagination, whereas others followed different buildings they found on the internet. This is the frustrating part, where do you draw the line? It can be hard to tell if they the student is playing on their device or actually looking up resources. I do need to say that most of them do use their class time wisely the last couple days that I have observed. I just want their work to be authentic. So, not only am I looking at data for different implementations, but also so tips on what doesn't work. I feel that I am still wading through determining a sharper and clearer goal. The Ipad can be so broad. I am going to keep this my main goal, continue to implement and research and get data down STAT! I only have 1 quarter left to get some hands on data going, but I have 3 classes a day that I can do it in. Luckily this quarter I have 2 sections of crafts 1 so I can use them as a trial A and a trial B if I want to mix things up. I will post shortly about the research I have found data and further implementation.

One Step Closer to Project Art Club!

Today I was thinking of my barriers to getting art club up and running. One of the barriers is that I don't see these kids in may classes anymore. One of their complaints is that they want an opportunity to do art year round, hence the need and want for art club. As I was thinking about how I would get a hold of the two students that want to lead the group, I got an amazing email. It was my student wanting to meet during seminar (study hall) to put together a proposal for Art Club. I responded yes, yes we need to meet! We discussed what we will do in art club, how long and when we should meet, having a paid advisor and many other things. She agreed that her and her friend would make the power point for the principal and the school board. I was in charge of putting a survey form together to have the students to fill out to see who and how many would want to join Art Club. This is the notes we have thus far:

Action Research- Implementation

This week was very difficult for implementing new things to projects, since it is the end of our quarter and everyone is trying to wrap up projects. I did try a new class project of packaging tape sculptures. In the past I have had one or two kids do this project, but not a whole class. I had both my classes do the project, which equals 65 kids, which equals 1-2 sculptures per 2-3 kids. So, needless to say we had about 15 sculptures popping up around school. The kids had a blast taping each other, bears, a baby and a car (group of 5. It gave them an idea about installation art and who needs to approve their work. What we learned from the project was to put the projects up high or else students were messing with some of the sculptures. Since this was the case I had the kids take their picture next to their project somewhere in the school. They then had to email the picture to me from their Ipad. They could use the Ipad for the picture and to email. This helped a lot making it easier for me to grade in a timely manner and to know who's was who's. In the future I can have them make a video with their packaging tape person discussing their process, problem solving, intentions, method, placement and creativity. I will be able to do this project again next year and will be able to collect more data on this specific assignment. For your viewing pleasure.....

Action Research

As I continue to do my action research I am finding that there needs to be more and more quality Ipad assignments, when using the Ipad. This week I was paired with another teacher to talk to the 11th and 12th grade students to survey them about what might be their stressors. Amongst other things one of things that came up in the discussion was the use of the Ipads. They found that they used it chat and Facebook than for academic use. They had some valid points on PC vs Ipad software. Somethings are easier on a PC. We also discussed if it is the best choice towards college, considering most will offer a laptop. Lastly, I asked them if they found the Ipad to be more helpful or harmful. This was a real eye opener to hear them mention they felt like the teachers were not teaching as much as before. If students needed help they would get a response of "look at the power point" or "check my notes." This brought of a lot of different directions I could go with my action research. Excited: I am excited to find more thorough assignments using the Ipad and evaluating the teaching value of the Ipad lesson vs past lessons. Worried: I am just not sure how successful the Ipad will be in trying to stay true to my students and not get reliant on the internet, which sounds like it is starting to happen a little at our school. I am also worried about having good research when I teach different classes different quarters of the year and teach 9-12 graders. Moving forward: I need to really listen to what the kids have said already to help tailor my classroom research. I will take into account what other classes are doing and what apps are being used. I will also try flipped classroom on certain assignments.

Mission Statement

Mission statement Personal Values- I believe in honesty, being human and working hard with a positive attitude. I think it is important to be honest and to be expressive. I have always been taught to treat others the way you would want to be treated. I also believe a part of being human is to understand each person acts differently. There is not one way to respond to certain situations and on top of that you don’t know what is going on behind the scenes. Sometimes you need give yourself and others a break. No one is perfect. I also believe that if you go through life with a positive attitude you and the people around you will be happier. It is so much easier to be positive than to be negative. You need to have a reason to look ahead when troubles arise. If you are negative it will be harder to get to the light at the end of the tunnel. I also think that being positive helps those that are struggling with negativity in their life. Personal Vision I am currently working at Byron High School as the head Visual Art teacher. I have the most seniority so I don’t need to worry as much about job cuts. Visual Arts remains as one of the two choices for fine arts that is required to be taken at our school for one full credit. The state still requires arts to be a requirement in high school education. I feel safe at my current job and cared for by administration. I am in progress to have my Masters in Teaching and Learning. I compete in MSHLS art contests and shows with my students. I keep current with my personal artistic skills. I am considering continuing my education in a Masters in Fine Arts. If this is the path I choose I would then consider teaching at the college level. My dream as an art teacher has been to be in a safe environment where I feel job security. In 2012 I came back from maternity leave and my mentors had both retired for family reasons. I then became the head of the art department for Byron Public Schools. I then interviewed for the High School position and got the job. I am now in my second year of Byron High School Art Teacher, whereas before I was the travelling middle and high school teacher. Since my coworkers had retired it gives me the most seniority of about 5 years to my new peers in the art field. I am happy at Byron and building a home so that my son can be part of the district. I am currently taking classes through Saint Mary’s State University Master in Education of Teaching and Learning and will graduate with the class of 2015. After finishing this Masters I will look at what point my life is in before I would pursue another Masters. As much as I value my career I do believe in family first. My future plans will be determined by what stage I am at with my family.

Goal Update

1. Start a BHS Art Club A. Needs to be approved by the Principal- Yes this goal has been approved by the Principal B. Student representatives- 2 Students have come forward to represent and create BHS Art Club The students and I have set up a timeline to go over our proposal for the school board. We plan on meeting in about 2 weeks during their seminar time. Currently they have finals, so we will need to wait until after that. C. Adviser- Me :) D. Presented to school board to be approved- Next meeting Tuesday April 22nd E. Plan- what will we do with our art club- This can be determined with the students while we are writing the proposal. F. Talk to other art educators of National art society vs art club

Goal Setting

My goal of change is: 1. Start a BHS Art Club A. Needs to be approved by the Principal B. Student representatives C. Adviser- Me :) D. Presented to school board to be approved E. Plan- what will we do with our art club F. Talk to other art educators of National art society vs art club This is both a short and long term goal. In the short sense I would like to have A- D finished by the end of school year 2014. Why, because some students and I have already started this process. While we have some of which already approved I would like to have this go through before a new Principal arrives and we then need to start the process all over again. This started because kids wanted to be able to do art all year round and not just as a class. I should go now and get a hold of those kids that wanted to be the leaders of this group. ASAP! Ready, set , I'll start tomorrow:)

Holistic Assessment

Today in class I tried the holistic rubric rather than my usual analytical rubric. I thought the holistic approach would go faster for my grading. I had the students do a self assessment and then they brought their clay house and rubric to me and I hi-lited what my grading was. I had 3 sections of excellent, good and poor. I preferred that they don't circle one main group. I explained they they may get excellent in one section and good in another. This probably defeats the purpose of the holistic grading, but I felt their glazing job was not black nor white, but lots of gray in between. They were graded on 2 coats of glaze, Fully covered or no missed spots of glaze, glaze with the lines- not messy and no glaze on the bottom. They found the all, most and not many to be easy to understand. I asked them when we were finished how they liked doing the self assessment and a few liked it. Not a very exciting bunch. I liked that I felt like my grading went much quicker working with the kids. I also like that there was not points on it so the kids couldn't figure out what their grade would be. They could guess, but it wasn't right there for them to figure out. I would make a key for how many marks in each section correlated to a certain grade point or point system. I would also give them a copy from the beginning of glazing as a check off. I usually do that. The points that were on the rubric were already discussed previously with the class, so it was not a surprise of what they were being graded on.

Assessment: Teacher-centered or Learner-centered?

After taking the test I got Learner Centered. After going through the test it sounds like it is a good fit. I did have a few points for the Teacher centered, but I had all but one for the learner centered. I agree with the evaluating of students of the different things they are good at. That is why I try to break my rubrics up into different categories so students can focus ahead of time on what they might need to work on. I also believe that we are learning together. Students think of new problem solving solutions all the time and that there isn't one right answer in the art classroom. I facilitate our goal for the class, but the students come up with the creative ideas and then I can help guide them. This is one of my favorite parts of being an art teacher, that everyone will do the same project, but they will all look different...it is FANTASTIC! The other part that is so nice is that the kids help each other and teacher each other skills. We all push each other to do our best and to do deeper creative thinking. It is also my job to help keep everyone positive and confident in their work. Sometimes they use need a little encouragement for them to realize what they are truly capable of.

Assessment Pre/post tests and Data in Art

I decided to read an out of one of my favorite websites "The Art of Education." The article was called "Using Pre & Post Tests to Measure Student Growth in Art: Part 1." In the article she defines what her objects of are and has the kids do a pretest so she knows what to focus on. Some of the objectives were proportion and perspective. She asked the students to define these terms and to draw a small sketch of what this would look like. I like that there was both a written response and a visual response to the questions. She then used data by checking off if they mastered the objectives. She used a roster and listed the objects so that the data would be easy to keep track of. She did this for 2 fourth grade classes. Even thought it is 4th grade it will still be easy and helpful for me to be able to incorporate this into my HS classroom. Source used: http://www.theartofed.com/2013/01/29/using-pre-post-tests-to-measure-student-growth-in-art/

Creating Interdependence

This week went by vary fast and there was a lot to get done. I had not intended on see interdependence, since it is an assignment that we do every year, but it was happening without even expecting it to. In my clay class we have been making clay houses. They are all very different and unfortunately there was a choir event in the middle of the week. This sent the students scrambling to finish. The clay can be very tricky with drying times and a 3 day weekend coming up. The kids were right to feel panicked. I have 65 kids taking clay class right now in two sections. What I observed was students helping and teaching each other tricks of the trade or just helping if their friend was behind in class. They weren't doing each others work, but actually sharing and teaching others their skills. It is a fascinating thing to see in the art classroom. I told the kids that were done that they could do homework or free time, but they chose to help each other. I am very proud of them to be confident in their peers. I have very large classes for clay so that might be forcing them to depend on each other besides the teacher.

Formative and Summative Assessment

This week we just started our new quarter. The students are working on their assignments in class. I observe a lot of them working. Some of the formative assessment questions I am asking myself is 1. Are they staying on task? 2. Do they understand the project and are they progressing well? 3. Do they have questions? 4. Are they using problem solving skills? 5. Are they using their imaginations? This is just observations that I am taking in when talking with the students and walking around the classroom. Another question would be who needs extra time? I have not written down any research yet, but I could make a grid of these questions and compare to how many kids I have in the class. Midway through the project we will do some critiquing to get a better handle on how they are progressing and where they can improve. Critiquing we will do as a class and a formative assessment. I will have the kids use post its I think, because last time I tried that they enjoyed it. Once this project gets further along I will have more to report:)

Reflection on independent student management

I had a wonderful time with my Studio 2 kids this last quarter. We refocused the class to work on being more like a professional artist. Needing to show your work in a public setting, creating commissioned work for a teacher/client, challenging themselves, artist statements and reflections. It was 75% successful. Most kids were very open to challenge and motivated. We all set goals to get their work into shows and contests, but I had a couple that did not challenge themselves as much or as motivated. It was hard to grade things at times. I would have them do sets of groups of work. We would also have a tentative deadline for due dates. It worked well, but needs more structure. We did have a nice process of discuss work, create work, critique, artist statement and reflection. I did try to push them to the next level and make items that are solely theirs and not internet resources. This was very difficult for some. Lots to think about.

Steam Video

This would be amazing if we could incorporate this into students everyday life. Art helps with the design portion and being able to take your creative and imaginative ideas an be able to put them on paper. Wouldn't be amazing if you classes all worked together? I love when the student says I was having so much fun I didn't know I was learning. That is one of my favorite things about teaching. It can be fun to learn. This is also great for the middle school level because they can get the opportunity to try new things and understand how all these classes work together. If you didn't require the students to try them all they would never understand how they work together.

Welcome!

Welcome!

I am an art teacher at Byron High School in Byron, MN.  I am currently getting my Masters at Saint Mary's University in Rochester, MN.  It has been a great experience so far.  There are 3 art teachers in the group and the class ranges from teachers K-12 in a variety of different subjects.  This creates a nice community to work with face to face once a month and the rest of the work we do online.  Almost like a flipped classroom.  I have a 2 year old son at home so this is the best fit for me to be able to further my education.  I am also lucky that my coworker is doing the program with me along with another Byron district teacher.  Oh the college days of study groups and homework.  I have enjoyed every bit of it so far:)