In this blog post, I will be reflecting on my formal teacher observation. This year has been bonkers with the covid –19 restrictions and remote learning, blended learning and new social distancing protocols in place now that students have been reassigned back to full time in-person learning. With all of that going on, my formal reviews this year are being conducted by one of my assistant principals. However, she recently was informed that she will be reassigned to the middle school in the upcoming year and personnel have shifted around. As such, assessments are behind schedule.
Sooooo...I am going to use my last full review conducted by my principal. I think this will be a prudent reflection as it was done at the end of my first year of teaching, just before the pandemic and remote learning was enacted. It was done with a full class of students, in the midst of a semester. This class was a Studio Art 1 class, mostly freshmen, packed into an oversized class...we lost an art instructor, so these classes have been large (I believe this class started at 34 students) and at times hard to manage. It was a good barometer of my teaching and classroom management skills at that point that I can effectively reflect on now that I am nearing the end of my second full year of teaching.
The observation is based upon Ohio Teacher and Principal Evaluation System (OTPES) and is broken down into three categories: Instructional Planning, Instruction and Assessment, and Professionalism. There are several standards to each category and every step is graded upon a rubric assessing Ineffective, Developing, Skilled or Accomplished. Closing in on my second year of teaching and with students now back in the classroom fulltime, I will address all areas where my observation recorded areas to work on and what practices I am still employing and can reflect on the efficacy of my practices a year out.
Instructional Planning
I received an assessment of accomplished for the first standard: Instruction. It is essentially the lesson plan that I provided to the observer.
This 3-part lesson focuses on the element of art: Texture. Specifically, the students will learn the meaning and the utilization of implied texture and how to implement it into future projects effectively. Additionally, they should begin to grasp how texture is interlaced with the other elements of art that we have covered so far this year (shape, form, space, value and line) and begin to see how all of the elements work together in unison. Drawing upon the content they have demonstrated in practice; they must follow the steps involved to successfully execute examples of implied texture. Utilizing both visual reference and imagination, students will show an understanding of the practical use of texture in space to give visual interest and value to their artwork. As one of the seven elements of art, it is integral for students’ art education to both create and visually/verbally analyze works of art with the universal language of design. This lesson intends to address the Ohio Visual Arts Standards of Producing/Performing 2PR* and 4PR** *2PR Apply the elements and principles of art and design using a variety of media to solve specific visual art problems. **4PR Establish the appropriate levels of craftsmanship when completing artworks. EL students - Uses Google Docs - under Tools uses a printed document and translates into their language. Uses Rebecca Hayden as a resource
For Assessment Data, I received a skilled level assessment. The difference between a skilled and accomplished score in this category being diversifying the means of assessment to match a full range of student needs, abilities and learning styles. This still something that I struggle with. In this particular class, I had 4 different languages spoken, English, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic. Additionally, there were multiple students with individualized education plans (IEP) and two students with learning disabilities. I typed out the steps of each lesson and post it onto Google classroom with a link to the translations. I also make a paper copy and hand it out to each of the concerned parties so I can ensure that they understand. In addition, I also put together hand drawn instructions for most projects, especially the ones applying to the elements of art. I follow all of this instruction with a slideshow presentation and physical demonstration of the project, reviewing past steps daily. I do not have an effective system to differentiate my assessment style to accommodate all of these differentiated needs.
Introducing the steps and grading weight of the project midweek before the lesson begins both the students and the instructor have the opportunity to discuss how the Art 1 grading rubric* will specifically be applied in this lesson. Handouts are supplied to each student to ensure that they have an understanding of the points being applied to the assessment of each part of the lesson. Previous lessons with the rubric show that the students tend to progress with better comprehension when given a handout to accompany all steps of the lesson. I like to do the pre-introduction as directly given student feedback has told me some students benefit from a schedule of upcoming projects. Past assessments of projects also show a benefit to tactile and teacher examples and tutorials. I try to mockup each step of the process of the lessons and have a visual aids and tutorials ready to deploy the lesson. I have also found value in having a separate video teaching example to give creative alternatives to subject matter that I present. In the 1st part of the lesson, students follow a step-by-step visual presentation with PowerPoint and a teacher lead demonstration of creating 9 examples of implied texture. Using studio time for one-on-one conference, students express which of their examples represent their best examples of implied texture and attempt to explain why they feel the textures were successful. Providing the students with feedback on their work, as well as allowing them the opportunity to self-reflect on their work before they enter into the second phase of the lesson, craftsmanship. The students have the opportunity at this point, with the hindsight of self-reflection and instructor feedback, to fine tune areas where they do not demonstrate achievement of learning points as well as reinforcing where they are being successful within lesson.
With the concern to improving my assessment process, I have consistently used a grading rubric to assess my students’ work. Allowing students to see how and why their score is determined, I have continued tweak my rubric. Grading upon five criteria (Deadline, Criteria, Creativity, Effort, Presentation) each allowing for 20% of the grade.
Prior content knowledge I received an accomplished score as well.
Previous projects are referred to specifically to remind and urge students to utilize skills learned that will apply in this lesson. The elements of art already reviewed (shape, form, space, value and line) in previous lessons, will be called upon to integrate with this lesson on texture. Students are asked to create an implied 3-dimensional cube, calling upon successful use of space, line and form. Moving further, students then render the cube from a specific directional light source, asking them to use value while reinforcing sense of form. These all need to be in place for students to successfully advance into the heart of the lesson, implied texture. Students are reminded with both past lessons and visual aids, how the elements of art are tied together and provide a platform for creating art and design. Lastly, students focus on how craftsmanship has played a part in the successful completion of previous projects and are directly informed on which steps (the 2nd, making a paper cube) will be graded solely on that factor. Reinforcing the use of math, careful calculation and draftsmanship, ties the lessons learned in the class with multiple other disciplines. Having the skill set to think visually enhances both the ability to show comprehension and to teach/relate that knowledge to others. The ability to apply the appropriate level of craftsmanship to different aspects of real-world problems will always benefit students as well as all lifelong learners. The rubric utilized for the assessment of the project weighs heavily on the deadline, which I often try to reinforce to students. Whether a fry-cook, an engineer or an artist/designer, everyone has deadlines to meet. Additionally, I reinforce to students, the language of art is universal. Globally, art and design are spoken of, referred to and assessed in terms of the elements of art. Teacher uses previous lessons to deepen student comprehension of new content. Teacher supports district and building level goals by supporting mathematical content. Students are held accountable by the use of deadlines.
Knowledge of Students I received an assessment of skilled. I talk about this in the classroom management section coming up after this.
Art 1 in general always has a large population of freshman which usually will present some difficulty in keeping students on track. Behavior is always an issue as coming into art in High School, many students view it as simply recreation time. I try to combat this by making sure I am constantly moving about the room. I have reorganized the tables with the approval of Ms. Hayden and Ms. Seeger, whom I share the space with. I try to give students multiple paths to success in the art class as well as offering additional guidance if they are interested in pursuing careers in the visual arts. Likewise, if art is not their life's focus or interest, I attempt to present a path of following directions, meeting deadlines, and successfully taking projects to completion. Project based learning has shown to be problematic for some students, so I attempt to reach out to counselors and students alike to find solutions. I offer the opportunity to create alternative projects to students if they want to try another way to achieve the same learning goals. Additionally, I offer different learning spaces (my vacant Digital Art room or Mr. Reynolds classroom) to a couple of my students who find it difficult to perform in the, often chaotic, art studio. I have several students with IEPs, and I do my best to show every aspect of the lesson in both visual, written and tactile explanation. I verbally take surveys to ask who is checking digital grades and who is sharing those with parents/guardians. I also try to contact counselors and/or parents with students who are struggling with their grades. Additionally, while not in this class, I have multiple ELL students performing in the low range of English comprehension, so I keep translating technology on hand in the form of digital tablets from the library to interpret spoken and written word. I try to do one-on-one conferences with these students to make sure they have a good grasp of concepts. Progress report - looks at student personal life; Learns about students by talking with counselor and offered the student a different way to approach the topic. Allows a student to work in another environment. Teacher uses strategies with students with disabilities, non-motivated students, and those that are English language learners.
Instruction and Assessment
Lesson Delivery was scored as skilled. This was followed by a score of accomplished in Differentiation and Resources. This mixed review was followed by some advice from the observer on class management. I allowed students to go to the restroom without checking with me first, unbeknownst to me, a very odd practice. I like to treat the students like young adults and give them freedoms and show them I have respect for their honesty. Despite my reviewer's objection, I continue with this practice. I have modified this to have students sign out, so I can have a record of their whereabouts for security, but I find this little trust building exercise to work very well for me. Other trust building tactics that I employ are encouraging students to use their phones for photo reference, searching data and listening to music. Observed by the reviewer, she noted that 100% students were working on projects and were using phones in the manner directed.
Other reflections that I have employed from this observation is to make a point to learn students’ names as quickly as possible. This serves multiple purposes, one to establish some sort of familiarity with students, and to address them directly and specifically when redirecting behavior. These are tactics that I do not have to use very often, but when I do, if I address a student by name, they take note. It was also noted that I turn my back on students quite often, however the observer noted that all students were on task. I do not have to combat this in my other class as all desks face forward.
Professionalism
Professionalism I received an assessment of accomplished.
Before, during and after each Art 1 lesson, I am constantly checking in with the other two instructors, Mr. Reynolds, and Ms. Seeger. We talk about technique, teaching styles, delivery, and pace of the lessons we are all simultaneously giving in the different classes. We have reworked all the lessons thus far in the year to better address artistic concepts based on their past experiences, and we scrapped one project altogether in favor of a new one (Space and one-point perspective). I seek the feedback of my fellow teacher frequently and ask for help when needed. Although I am very independent and self-driven, I count it as an asset to know when to ask for help. Thus far, I have engaged directly with students to discuss every time a project is missing and to ensure they know the effect on their grade. I remind students frequently of the opportunity to rework projects for an updated grade as well as deadlines for rework. I remind them of checking their grades, encourage them to share them with parents/guardians, and to always come to me if they are having problems meeting deadlines. I try to encourage students to act as I would in a professional setting and speak to my art director if I was unable to accomplish goals and meet deadlines. Beyond students, I first address lacking grades or effort with their assigned counselors. I attempt to, and so far, have been successful at, responding the same day to any parent inquiries on grades by email. I am direct and specific as all of our work occurs in studio and many parents may not see what their student artist are working on. I keep all of the handouts and grading rubric online on both Schoology and a Google drive so that I may attach exact assignments to parent emails efficiently. In my traditional art classes, I am in constant discussion on projects with Mr. Reynolds. Not only keeping all of the Art 1 classes roughly on pace with each other, we compare project assessments and results. I inform him of difficulties I am having with concepts and/or techniques and we share ideas on presenting artists and careers into the curriculum. During the current project, I introduced a secondary career research project that the students can work on if they finish daily lessons. It is based on The Art Career Project website that lists a collection of careers in the arts and describes the career, environment, educational needs and salaries expected for each job. This is a project developed in another art class I taught with the Boys and Girls Club of Columbus and I was eager to share it with Mr. Reynolds and get his feedback. I constantly try to give real world examples on how I have used the techniques and learning we are working on in class to my student artists. Art, especially fine art, is a difficult concept for them to grasp and I try to relate real-world practicing artists into a quick intro at least 3 times a week. We discuss the great masters and art history also, but it is important for them to see successful living and working artists of different genders, race, religions, and backgrounds as well as old, long dead white men from Italy and the Netherlands. I believe the useful tactic of "seeing to being" is informative and necessary to break the stereotypes put forth by society. It is also of significant importance that students see the tradition of art as a vehicle of voice in support of or against society's ideals and practices. As I new teacher, I find it valuable to ask my students directly and plainly how they feel about projects and how they are graded. I encourage them to take me on as a new teacher and tell me if they have ideas on better implementation of lessons. I let them know I have a direct voice with the WC Art Dept. Chair and I will relate their opinions directly to him. My student population is my greatest asset in teaching. They give me direct feedback as to how well I have rolled out a lesson concept. For example, I allowed them to self-learn from a step-by-step packet on shape to form techniques. I gave them a study sheet along with the packet and informed them that this will be the exact test in four days. In four days, I gave the study sheet as a test, asking basic questions on shape and form. They overall population did poorly, telling me I needed to reteach the lesson so they could better absorb it. Learning and self-assessing my performance based on my student artists’ successes and failures are paths I see to becoming a better teacher. Discovering new ways to assess student learning in a project-based class is one of my goals. I hope to find a good balance of teaching visual arts to students and introducing career opportunities to them while still allowing them to see the pure joy and freedom possible in accomplishing their own artistic endeavors.