| Art Education Papers |
[The Classroom] was
written in the Fall of 2001,
as part of my teaching
credential program.
Disclaimer: This work is
entirely my own. I bare all
responsibility for the
contents of this paper. All
opinion are my original work
and any quotes or ideas of
other authors are footnoted.
written in the Fall of 2001,
as part of my teaching
credential program.
Disclaimer: This work is
entirely my own. I bare all
responsibility for the
contents of this paper. All
opinion are my original work
and any quotes or ideas of
other authors are footnoted.
The Classroom
As one walks into Mrs. C’ classroom, one parallels walking into their own living room.
Each student has a place to sit and a place to put his stuff. Each student knows what is
expected of him – what he is supposed to do and how he should act. Students also know
what to expect from their teacher – she is very organized and has provided consistency
and stability for them.
As the students enter the room their teacher greets them. Each student is assigned to a
specific chair and table. The first student from each table to arrive in class knows that he
should get portfolios for his peers from the student cabinet and someone else will return
them at the end of the period. The students settle in to their chairs as the bells rings to
mark the beginning of class. Students know they should be prepared to start working
right after the bell.
Each ninety-minute class begins with a warm up and then a simple drawing project. The
students have a portfolio (a folder) that holds these drawings. Students can use the cover
of this folder to begin to warm up their hands and prepare for the first drawing of their day.
This also gives Mrs. Cs’ an opportunity to take roll, set up a drawing project and put up the
daily schedule. At Sierra High School each teacher gives the students a weekly guideline,
which they are expected to follow and can refer to if they miss a class.
Ten minutes into class, Mrs. Cs’ gives the first assignment of the day. She assigns a
simple drawing based on something the students have been studying: contour, value,
tone, etc. The students spend the next fifteen to twenty-five minutes drawing the still life
in front of them. Students work quietly and are allowed to talk as long as the noise level
stays relatively low. Mrs. Cs’ walks around her classroom and assists and coaches her
students.
After this first drawing exercise, the class moves on to a more complicated assignment.
One such project was a papier-mâché mask, which the students designed, constructed
and painted. This project took several weeks and had to be completed in stages. First the
students watched a video on masks and mask making. Next, Mrs. Cs’ demonstrated papier-
mâché and plaster techniques for the students. The students were allowed to work at
their own pace and were shown the next step in the project, as they were ready to begin
that step. Mrs. Cs’ did most of her demonstrations with small groups (3 or 4) of students,
repeating difficult topics – such as how to plaster – as often as necessary.
Mrs. Cs’ makes herself available to her students; they seem very comfortable approaching
her with questions or concerns. She appears compassionate and genuinely concerned
about how her students do, both in her class and outside her class. She has worked at this
school for six years and is currently the department chair. She is continuously looking
for new projects to do with her students and has two very large file cabinets full to draw
from.
The curriculum Mrs. Cs’ uses draws on eight years of teaching experience and focuses on
basic art skills and the major points of art history. She works to incorporate art skills into
learning about art movements. For example, students learn basic drawing skills as they
study cave paintings or they learn about perspective while studying the renaissance. She
has also developed a sketchbook to help the students stay organized. The sketchbook is
made up of several handouts, which used to be given to the students separately, but are
now bound together. This method has helped the students to be more organized and cut
down on the amount of lost work, as well as providing the students with something to
work on when they are done with their other work.
Mrs. Cs’ classroom is very well organized. There are cabinets full of supplies for the art
room, some of which are available to the students whenever they wish to access them and
other materials available upon request. Another cabinet houses the students’ portfolios. At
the front of the room are eight computers each with drawing and painting programs
available to the advanced students. Through out the room, there are six student tables,
each with a place for six students. Mrs. Cs’ desk sits across from the doors. Next to her
desk is an overhead projector, which she uses to support her lectures. In one corner
flanking a door to another classroom, stand two file cabinets, and a very large paper
cutter. Her neighbor, Mrs. V teaches ceramics next door and the two teachers share some
supplies. Two sinks, in the opposite corner, provide a place for students to clean up.
The clean-up bell rings seven minutes before class is over and the students have plenty of
time to clean up whatever materials they have used. Each day two students are
responsible for cleaning up the sink area and all students take a turn with this chore.
Students return the materials they have used to their proper place and put away whatever
project they were working on.
Mrs. Cs’ classroom and teaching style is very similar to my ideals, which is in part why I
choose to work with her as my master teacher. However, there are some ways in which my
classroom will be different. When I imagine what my future classroom will be like I expect
I will place a greater emphasis on getting the students to care more about art history and
teaching the students to be more self-motivated. I know that this will not work with all
students but it will be a big part of my focus. Ideally, my preference would be to teach an
advanced group of students, who would, in theory, already be more interested in art.
Given the chance, I would teach printmaking and allow the students a lot of flexibility in
devising their own projects. For the sake of comparison, however, I will discuss how I
would teach a beginning art class.
I plan to follow the path art history has set, but I may choose to highlight different parts
that those Mrs. Cs’ uses. I will teach my students to draw and build on each new skill with
each progression of information. As we study art history the students will be responsible
to learn the major relevant points. Students will have a sketchbook in which to keep their
drawings. They will do all class drawings and some homework assignments in this book.
In the back of the book students will have a section or class notes. When students are
given handouts, they will tape them into their note section. One of the main goals of this
sketchbook system is to help students to keep all of their work together. Another goal is to
allow students to see a progression in their work.
In my class lectures, I will work very hard to make art history interesting to my students. I
have witnessed several groups of uninterested students, but I believe that each student
needs to and can be motivated. This may mean continuously finding new ways to present
the material and will be more work for the teacher, but will pay off greatly by better
preparing students for the world outside of high school.
There are two main methods I will use to teach art history: questioning and imagery. I will
ask a lot questions designed to get kids to think about the images in front of them: When
did the artist live? What might his life have been like? What do you think he was trying to
communicate? Do you think he was successful? My comments and opinions will be
withheld until the students’ opinions have been heard. If students are not volunteering
answers, I will ask individuals direct questions. I may also direct the conversation to
make certain points about the work. Imagery is also very important. Many teachers use
only a few examples to discuss an art period, but I believe this is too limiting. If the class
is discussing impressionism and all the students see is Monet their knowledge will be
limited. It would be far better to show the work of three or four different artists. For each
artist they should see several different pieces of art. I will put several images on a power
point slideshow and have more available in an image database, as backup examples or to
show students who are interested in a particular style or theme.
Art practice will be slightly different. For teaching art technique I will follow the math
model. First students will learn simple skills like different ways to hold a pencil and how
to draw basic shapes. Next, students will be shown the difference between a shape and a
form and they will learn about line, plane, tone, value, etc. Through out their experience
in my classroom, students will use these simple ideas to build their knowledge base.
Each project will introduce a new idea or two and reinforce ideas already learned. As
students work on mastering basic drawing skills, they will begin to learn about color
theory. When they can determine what mixing red with yellow will do, students will have
the opportunity to begin to work with paint. My class will always be a process of students
taking what they have learned and building on it. More advanced students will be able to
move onto more complex projects. Students who are slower in grasping ideas will have
time to really learn them.
As one walks into Mrs. C’ classroom, one parallels walking into their own living room.
Each student has a place to sit and a place to put his stuff. Each student knows what is
expected of him – what he is supposed to do and how he should act. Students also know
what to expect from their teacher – she is very organized and has provided consistency
and stability for them.
As the students enter the room their teacher greets them. Each student is assigned to a
specific chair and table. The first student from each table to arrive in class knows that he
should get portfolios for his peers from the student cabinet and someone else will return
them at the end of the period. The students settle in to their chairs as the bells rings to
mark the beginning of class. Students know they should be prepared to start working
right after the bell.
Each ninety-minute class begins with a warm up and then a simple drawing project. The
students have a portfolio (a folder) that holds these drawings. Students can use the cover
of this folder to begin to warm up their hands and prepare for the first drawing of their day.
This also gives Mrs. Cs’ an opportunity to take roll, set up a drawing project and put up the
daily schedule. At Sierra High School each teacher gives the students a weekly guideline,
which they are expected to follow and can refer to if they miss a class.
Ten minutes into class, Mrs. Cs’ gives the first assignment of the day. She assigns a
simple drawing based on something the students have been studying: contour, value,
tone, etc. The students spend the next fifteen to twenty-five minutes drawing the still life
in front of them. Students work quietly and are allowed to talk as long as the noise level
stays relatively low. Mrs. Cs’ walks around her classroom and assists and coaches her
students.
After this first drawing exercise, the class moves on to a more complicated assignment.
One such project was a papier-mâché mask, which the students designed, constructed
and painted. This project took several weeks and had to be completed in stages. First the
students watched a video on masks and mask making. Next, Mrs. Cs’ demonstrated papier-
mâché and plaster techniques for the students. The students were allowed to work at
their own pace and were shown the next step in the project, as they were ready to begin
that step. Mrs. Cs’ did most of her demonstrations with small groups (3 or 4) of students,
repeating difficult topics – such as how to plaster – as often as necessary.
Mrs. Cs’ makes herself available to her students; they seem very comfortable approaching
her with questions or concerns. She appears compassionate and genuinely concerned
about how her students do, both in her class and outside her class. She has worked at this
school for six years and is currently the department chair. She is continuously looking
for new projects to do with her students and has two very large file cabinets full to draw
from.
The curriculum Mrs. Cs’ uses draws on eight years of teaching experience and focuses on
basic art skills and the major points of art history. She works to incorporate art skills into
learning about art movements. For example, students learn basic drawing skills as they
study cave paintings or they learn about perspective while studying the renaissance. She
has also developed a sketchbook to help the students stay organized. The sketchbook is
made up of several handouts, which used to be given to the students separately, but are
now bound together. This method has helped the students to be more organized and cut
down on the amount of lost work, as well as providing the students with something to
work on when they are done with their other work.
Mrs. Cs’ classroom is very well organized. There are cabinets full of supplies for the art
room, some of which are available to the students whenever they wish to access them and
other materials available upon request. Another cabinet houses the students’ portfolios. At
the front of the room are eight computers each with drawing and painting programs
available to the advanced students. Through out the room, there are six student tables,
each with a place for six students. Mrs. Cs’ desk sits across from the doors. Next to her
desk is an overhead projector, which she uses to support her lectures. In one corner
flanking a door to another classroom, stand two file cabinets, and a very large paper
cutter. Her neighbor, Mrs. V teaches ceramics next door and the two teachers share some
supplies. Two sinks, in the opposite corner, provide a place for students to clean up.
The clean-up bell rings seven minutes before class is over and the students have plenty of
time to clean up whatever materials they have used. Each day two students are
responsible for cleaning up the sink area and all students take a turn with this chore.
Students return the materials they have used to their proper place and put away whatever
project they were working on.
Mrs. Cs’ classroom and teaching style is very similar to my ideals, which is in part why I
choose to work with her as my master teacher. However, there are some ways in which my
classroom will be different. When I imagine what my future classroom will be like I expect
I will place a greater emphasis on getting the students to care more about art history and
teaching the students to be more self-motivated. I know that this will not work with all
students but it will be a big part of my focus. Ideally, my preference would be to teach an
advanced group of students, who would, in theory, already be more interested in art.
Given the chance, I would teach printmaking and allow the students a lot of flexibility in
devising their own projects. For the sake of comparison, however, I will discuss how I
would teach a beginning art class.
I plan to follow the path art history has set, but I may choose to highlight different parts
that those Mrs. Cs’ uses. I will teach my students to draw and build on each new skill with
each progression of information. As we study art history the students will be responsible
to learn the major relevant points. Students will have a sketchbook in which to keep their
drawings. They will do all class drawings and some homework assignments in this book.
In the back of the book students will have a section or class notes. When students are
given handouts, they will tape them into their note section. One of the main goals of this
sketchbook system is to help students to keep all of their work together. Another goal is to
allow students to see a progression in their work.
In my class lectures, I will work very hard to make art history interesting to my students. I
have witnessed several groups of uninterested students, but I believe that each student
needs to and can be motivated. This may mean continuously finding new ways to present
the material and will be more work for the teacher, but will pay off greatly by better
preparing students for the world outside of high school.
There are two main methods I will use to teach art history: questioning and imagery. I will
ask a lot questions designed to get kids to think about the images in front of them: When
did the artist live? What might his life have been like? What do you think he was trying to
communicate? Do you think he was successful? My comments and opinions will be
withheld until the students’ opinions have been heard. If students are not volunteering
answers, I will ask individuals direct questions. I may also direct the conversation to
make certain points about the work. Imagery is also very important. Many teachers use
only a few examples to discuss an art period, but I believe this is too limiting. If the class
is discussing impressionism and all the students see is Monet their knowledge will be
limited. It would be far better to show the work of three or four different artists. For each
artist they should see several different pieces of art. I will put several images on a power
point slideshow and have more available in an image database, as backup examples or to
show students who are interested in a particular style or theme.
Art practice will be slightly different. For teaching art technique I will follow the math
model. First students will learn simple skills like different ways to hold a pencil and how
to draw basic shapes. Next, students will be shown the difference between a shape and a
form and they will learn about line, plane, tone, value, etc. Through out their experience
in my classroom, students will use these simple ideas to build their knowledge base.
Each project will introduce a new idea or two and reinforce ideas already learned. As
students work on mastering basic drawing skills, they will begin to learn about color
theory. When they can determine what mixing red with yellow will do, students will have
the opportunity to begin to work with paint. My class will always be a process of students
taking what they have learned and building on it. More advanced students will be able to
move onto more complex projects. Students who are slower in grasping ideas will have
time to really learn them.
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| Kathe Welch |
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