Please answer each survey question in a few thoughtful sentences.
Start of the Semester
1. How do you envision using art in your classroom? In my classroom, I hope to find time to use art as much as I can. I want my students to be comfortable using their imagination and using various mediums of art without being self-conscious or feeling that they will be criticized for their work. I want to encourage my students to express themselves openly through their art.
2. What do you know about integrated learning / integration? I am familiar with the idea about integrated learning/integration, but I do not know too much detailed information about it. I know that integration is the idea of making connections across content areas. I think that art can be integrated with many content areas--in literature, students can illustrate their writing, in science students can draw their observations, in math students can draw representations for fractions or other mathematical ideas. I think that integrated subjects helps students learn information better--the more connections that they make between topics, the deeper the understanding will be.
3. Rate your comfort level in making art, and discuss. Uneasy 1 2 3 4 5 Comfortable On a comfort scale of 1-5, I am about a 2 in making art. I am not incredibly comfortable in making art. I had art classes once a week in grade school. In those classes, we mostly painted and drew but did not have much experience with different mediums. In high school, I took the required art class--which, again, was mostly painting and drawing--plus a ceramics class. I really enjoyed the ceramics, I liked getting "down and dirty" with art and really using my hands and manipulating the clay. While I enjoy the artistic process, I am not very comfortable with the results of my artwork because I do not think that they are very good, because I got into the habit of comparing my own work to that of my classmates. So, it is because of the fact that I am not confident in my art work that I am not comfortable with it. However, I realize that everybody's artistic ability is different and I do enjoy art.
4. Rate your comfort level in analyzing and talking about art, and discuss. Uneasy 1 2 3 4 5 Comfortable On a comfort scale of 1-5, I am a 3 in analyzing and talking about art. Last year, I took an Art Appreciation class. This class exposed me to various types of art from different cultures, time periods, and mediums. We frequently had to analyze art and discuss our ideas about the theme, why the artist may have chosen to depict their work they way they did, and how the manner that they depicted their work helps present their message. So that class made me more comfortable analyzing art, but I am still not extremely confident with it. I often second guess if my ideas or thoughts are correct, or if they even make sense to other people, because I am nervous that what I see will be completely different than what somebody else sees. While I realize that everybody will bring different perspectives to a work of art, I just occasionally think that mine will be completely out of left field. It is for that reason, even with my experience of analyzing art, that I am only a 3 in my comfort level of analyzing and talking about art.
End of Semester
1. How do you envision using art in your classroom? I cannot wait to integrate art into my classroom. I will strive to help my students realize how much art can enhance learning in every subject area while being fun at the same time. I also want my students to be comfortable using their imagination and using various mediums of art without being self-conscious or feeling that they will be criticized for their work. I want to encourage my students to express themselves openly through their art.
2. What do you know about integrated learning / integration? I now know that integration is the idea of making connections across content areas. I have learned that art can be integrated with every content area--in literature, students can illustrate their writing, in science students can draw their observations, in math students can draw representations for fractions or other mathematical ideas. I have come to learn that integrated subjects help students learn information better--the more connections that they make between topics, the deeper the understanding will be. Art can really spark student's interests, be extremely educational, and telling of what a student knows.
3. Rate your comfort level in making art, and discuss. Uneasy 1 2 3 4 5 Comfortable On a comfort scale of 1-5, I am now about a 4 in making art. I have noticed that I am much more comfortable in making art. Before this class, I was not confident in the products of my art making. Now I trust myself and my intuition when it comes to making art. I learned this because there is no right or wrong way to do art. I realize that I have different abilities than everyone else, but I appreciate my skills more now than before.
4. Rate your comfort level in analyzing and talking about art, and discuss. Uneasy 1 2 3 4 5 Comfortable On a comfort scale of 1-5, I am a now about a 4 in analyzing and talking about art. Last year, I took an Art Appreciation class. This class exposed me to various types of art from different cultures, time periods, and mediums. We frequently had to analyze art and discuss our ideas about the theme, why the artist may have chosen to depict their work they way they did, and how the manner that they depicted their work helps present their message. That class made me more comfortable analyzing art, but I am now more confident with it. I used to second guess if my ideas or thoughts were correct, or if they even make sense to other people, because I was nervous that what I see will be completely different than what somebody else sees. I now realize (through writing a paper about analyzing student's artwork to determine their developmental levels and by participating in VTS--visual thinking strategies) that my ideas and opinions in regards to art have merit. My ideas are just as legitimate as other people's.