Arts and Arts Education

What?

Arts and Arts education is an important subject that needs to be taught in schools all around. During this I have really come to appreciate art and it being taught in schools. I am not much of an art person but taking this class has taught me that art isn't always what you think it means. Art and art education can range from drama, to dancing, to music, to visual arts. I have learned that you can teach any book and integrate it with an art method. I have really enjoyed opening my perspective and really seeing how important and influential it is in schools. I have gained a love for arts and have had fun while learning about the different forms. Art is not a simple subject. There are many forms, techniques, ways of teaching, and activities that are combined when you integrate art. Art can make a subject never get boring. It is a very interactive tool to keep the students attention and keep them involved.

During my field experience I really got to see how art is integrated into schools and how helpful and liked it is or can be. My teacher didn't really use any special type of art, but she did have her students draw the image or the diagram she wanted them to know in their books. These books were highlighted with key terms and pictures that will help them when they test. They not only had to draw the pictures in their books but they had to color it and make it look nice. When we were in the classroom, we used process drama with displaying the water cycle. This was a really useful way to help our students see the cycle work in person. They were able to get a visual connection to the subject matter and they were using their kinesthetic, which allows them to hopefully remember the actions they did or saw. The students really picked up on the arts and really made a connection to what something means or how it works. They also got excited when we integrated art into our lessons. They seemed to learn and remember best when they had this option of learning the material. They would also ask if they could add to it and make it more detailed. This was good because they were using their creativity and they were able to learn in their own ways.

Arts are so important in school settings. I am sad that people believe that it is not as important as it is and they believe they can take it out of schools. Art is the essence of creativity and is the way many young children's mind thinks. I think if teachers incorporated arts more into their lessons or if the school incorporated an art class then the students test scores would be higher. Just because art is not a subject believed to be used in the real world, does not mean that it is not important. However, I think art is used everyday. There are so many forms and styles and that is what this class has taught me.

So What?

So what I believe this means to me is a change in the way I teach and a change in the way I plan my lessons. I also think in order for me to integrate arts in my future classroom, I need to integrate arts into my life now as I continue my schooling to get my degree. When I have the opportunity to teach a lesson or present information to my class, I could easily integrate a key concept, term, or activity I learned while taking this class. I think something that would also help motivate the integration of arts in elementary schools is the idea to integrate art into our college classes more. I don't believe you just have to take art classes to experience art in school, it can come in any form or in any class. That goes for both my education now as I am in college as well as elementary classes and all education in general.

Something else that I believe will help me to become a better teacher as well as a better example is practicing what I believe by actually participating in art activities. There are several seminars I can take to help me with this. I can also become acquainted with the art museums in my area as well as plays, musicals, etc. I believe I need to grow a love in this area in order to passionately get my love and point across to my future students. Also, the more I show interest, the more and the easier it will be to teach in classes.

Now What?

Now, I know that this is a lot to do and a lot to say but I believe people can develop and find an interest in arts over time. It is not something that has to be done overnight but it is something that can come over time. I have a year and a half left and so if I do what I say I want to do then I should not have any struggles bringing and integrating arts into my future classroom.

I think that you (Dr. Escalante) has been a great role model and example for the way I want to be and the way I want to integrate art. You made it fun and exciting and I also learned a lot. I really enjoyed how you were not afraid as you acted out something or you started singing or you even began to read a story or do story telling. That is something that I need to work on as well. With doing all of this by researching and becoming familiar with art and the different forms as well as finding ways to integrate it into my lessons plans, I believe my students will have a strong foundation of art and may even learn the material better. It also gives me a new teaching style and it makes my career and my education more fun. Art is the key to engaging students into lessons and I learned this first hand in my fourth grade class during field.

Reflection #13

What?

My partner and I have had a lot of opportunities to teach during our field experience. This past week, we had the opportunity to teach math to our students. Teaching math showed me how much art is integrated.

So What?

We taught on reflection and lines of symmetry. I saw how much art we used and all the different projects we found for our students to do. They had to use a transparent mirror and draw one side of an object and then have their partner look through the mirror and draw the other half of it. We then had them color them and hung them out on their bulletin in the hall. We did a lot of activities like this and it really opened my eyes to see the impact art has on students and the enjoyment they get when playing and using it. I also think it helps all students but most importantly those that are visual learners. I was able to point out those learners and saw the amazing ending result of their learning as well as their projects.

Now What?

Seeing how frequent art is integrated into lessons without realizing it makes me happy and makes me feel accomplished. I still plan to plan lessons that integrate art into it and plan to do this often. I think it is important for my students to see what they have done and it is also a very valuable tool for me to use to check understanding of a subject. I was never one that was good with art but I have changed the way and the frequency I will use it in my classroom. I think art is just as important as the other subjects and I feel the students excitement when it is used.

Reflection # 12

3/31-4/6 SPRING BREAK!!!

Reflection # 11

What?

This was my second week of field. We taught the cloud and wind unit this week and incorporated a form of art into our cloud lesson. The students were to make clouds out of cotton balls. We had what type of clouds they needed to make and they used their creativity and made a page full of 5-6 clouds. As for my cooperating teacher, I didn't see any use of creative arts in her lessons.

So What?

So what does this mean, this means since we haven't seen a lot of arts used in our teachers lessons, we should try to incorporate more. Something I have discovered while teaching is that the arts takes more time so if you are short on time, don't use it. Another art we used was having our students draw the valley and mountain winds as well as the sea breeze in their books. I have noticed our students are very talented with the arts and they like to put a lot of work and time into their project. I also noted I think they are better artists then myself. :)

Now What?

For me this means we should use more art in the classroom. I noticed again that the students really enjoy doing art. I still believe this is a perfect way to assess the students understanding of a subject. Something in the future my partner and I have said we need to focus on is how long something is going to take. The clouds project took longer than we thought and the winds we were afraid we would have a lot o f time left over. However, after coloring the timing was perfect. This was a great check to help us with the amount of time we spend on projects. I like the various forms of art and realize even when you don't think you will use art into your lesson, somehow it always becomes incorporated.

Reflection #10

What?

This week I started my first field experience at Vista Elementary. I am working with a fourth grade class and I love it. So far during field, the only form of art I have seen is the books they are writing and getting published. They have to draw pictures to go with their stories. This is all I have seen from my cooperating teacher.

So What?

So what does this mean, this means a lot. My partner and I have already had the opportunity of teaching a few lessons. We are teaching the water cycle and so we have incorporated process drama into the lesson. We assigned the students in groups and they were to act out the water cycle. Each student was assigned a different part but they were to come up and use their creativity on how they were going to present the water cycle. One group did really well at combining everything whereas other groups left a process out. Each presentation however showed creativity and showed art.

Now What?

For me this means we should use more art in the classroom. I noticed during this weeks field that the students really enjoy it. It is also a great way to assess the students and really see if they understood what was being taught during the unit. For my future classroom I plan to incorporate it more into my lessons. I think it is fun and very student friendly. I also noticed while planning our lessons that using art is very simple and we got ideas to use it in more than one way. We also used a song that could help our students understand the cycle better. The students really liked the song and caught on quickly because the music and lyric were catchy and easy to remember. It used a lot of repetition and vocab that they were working with during the unit.

Reflection #9

What did you learn from the process you engaged in to create this music lesson?

I have learned a lot during the music presentation. I learned that finding a tune of the song to match the lyrics was one of the most difficult tasks to do. I learned that this was probably one of the funnest lessons we have done because we really got to show our creativity by coming up with lyrics to match the books subject we were trying to teach.

What did you learn from the actual presentation experience?

I learned that teaching music is a lot more difficult then it looks. I also learned that when writing your lyrics don't place so many syllables in a song. It makes it much more difficult to teach and say when presenting it. I also learned it is best if you know your lyrics word for word when you teach the lesson. That way you can focus on helping those you are trying to teach.

So What is important for you to remember and learn?

I would say one of the most important things I should remember and learn are the seven habits of highly effective singing. This is a master key to being successful in teaching music. Another thing I find important to learn is the difference between beat and rhythm. I find that I often get those confused and if I want my students to follow along by doing one of those it is best if I know the difference.

Now What are your next steps?

My next steps are to research more songs that go well and are catchy with writing lyrics to books. There are a lot of resources out there for me to use and I need to utilize them and make it easier for myself. I also want to become more familiar with music and the elements and keys so another step for me would be to learn them.

Reflection #8

What:

Music creates feelings and emotion. Music also kindles emotional responses and fires up cognition, often in the form of mental images. Music can make it seem like time goes faster. Music affects the development of children and the way their brain works. Music affects the entire brain, mechanisms for emotion, memory, and language. Music affects each person differently but we are all hardwired to it since the day we were born.

We should integrate music into elementary schools because it is natural and a big part of children's lives. It is also a way of communicating and helps the brain to be a powerful tool both physically and mentally. We should integrate music because it bonds people together which is important with the different ethnicity's and differences found in elementary schools.

So What:

My goals for using music with my future students is for them to develop a love for all types. I also want to teach them music in a way that will help their memory and will help them do better in school. Another goal is to make learning meaningful and fun and a great way to do that is to involve something the students enjoy and that is music. Last, a goal that I think is important is using music to teach other subjects. Music can be use anywhere and with pretty much anything and will still be affective.

There are many things that makes teaching music to children important and those include allowing the students to be creative, teaching them how to listen, finding the connection, learning how to perform, and being able to read and study.

Now What:

Yes, I plan to effectively organize and prepare lessons that involve music. Whether I integrate it by teaching it directly or by adding it into other lessons. I plan to research what music is beneficial for students and what helps and impacts them the most. I also plan to prepare by looking at the books that are made to help include music into classrooms and to use the activities they list. I also plan to look at my past experiences when I was in elementary and what my teachers did to integrate and use music ,and how I felt.

Reflection #7

What:

Something I have learned from creative children's dance is that it is very time consuming. I learned when using dance, I need to set out the proper amount of time and add a little more time to it. The children really enjoy using dance and sometimes make more out of what they are doing which in return takes more time. I realized I can use creative dance in any subject and with any book. Each book has words and feeling that can be used and will allow my students to connect better to the content they are learning.

So what

I will be taking the understanding that there are many books and you can use any book and dance to it. One group did a really great job incorporating a rather long and boring book and made it fun and interesting. I will not be biased to using what only sounds fun but rather make it fun myself. I will be making sure I am organized and prepared because if not the activities can get out of control which results in a stressful lesson and day.

Now what

I realized I enjoyed every type of dance our class used and will try to incorporate different methods and tools when I teach it because then it will continue to stay interesting and entertaining. There are several lesson plans out there and so many different dance activities. I will look for new and fun activities and use them. To prepare that will require research on my part as well as finding a way to keep my students under control and involved. I am not going to limit what I teach but rather find many ways that will be fun and educational for my students as well as for myself.

Reflection #6

What new insights do you have regarding what children's creative dance is and why it is important? What important philosophical and practical things became clearer as you worked in class?

Children's creative arts is more than just teaching them dance moves, it is the freedom and opportunity to let them show you what they think dance is. Creative dance is movements that allows children to be creative and thin. It helps them come up with a unique move that represents something found in a story, poem, song, or instruction. Creative dance also allows children to develop certain functions or movements. If children are struggling with a certain area, dance may be just the answer to help reduce or solve it.
I realized dance is a way of life. People use dance all the time and may not know it. Dance helps children develop skills and it also allows them to use their mind and be creative. I also recognize how easy it is to integrate dance into many classroom lessons, no matter the subject.

So What does that mean for your preparation for next week and for field?
This allowed me to have a wider prospective on what something is (in this instance dance). It helps me to see the way we as teachers integrate learning and being creative together. Children quickly notice there is no right or wrong answer. Knowing this will help me prepare for next week by having the ability to look at any book and use a creative dance tool with it. It helped me prepare by having a wider outlook and realizing art can be found anywhere and in any form. This will help me for my field by integrating and using creative dance into my lessons. This will help me prepare for field by using examples and knowing what keeps the childrens interest are and what really helps.

Now What do you need to do to incorporate this knowledge and skills into your practice?
In order for me to incorporate this knowledge and skill into my practice, I need to research and find many ways and examples that will help both me and my students. Our creative arts book and the book Dr. Escalante showed to us in class has valuable information to incorporate this knowledge and skills into my practice. In order for me to be successful, I need to be willing to try. Even if that means failing! I need to place my mentality on my students level and think the way they do. I also need to look at what will help them develop quicker in other subjects and work with that. In order for me to incorporate this knowledge and skill into my practice I have to actually be willing to embarrass myself and have some fun. I need to just do it!

Reflection #5

What?

I thought developing a Process Drama from text was brilliant. I really enjoyed the connections I found as I prepared my section of the book. I liked how easy it was to think of ideas to use with any book. We looked at a few books and each book was pretty easy to come up with Process Drama to do. I learned that no matter who has what part, anybody can connect all their activities together because we are all using and following the same book. Each Process Drama my team members used tied everything together and helped our audience see the entire picture of what was happening in the book.

So What?

I really enjoyed all of the activities I saw during this week, but there are some that I can see myself using more often and those include, Pantomime/Movement, Decision Alley, Role Play, Machines, Mirrors, and the Interview process. Each of these allowed me to have fun and at the same time allowed me to connect to what was going on. I think my students would also enjoy them and recognize what it was I wanted them to learn.

Now What?

I plan to practice more of the Process Drama techniques and really narrow done which ideas work best with my teaching style. I have realized that I do not have to only use these techniques during art time but I can use them during pretty much any subject I teach. I plan to become more dramatic so my teaching will seem fun and entertaining. I think this will help me connect with my students as well.

Reflection #4

What have you learned?

I have learned that Drama is fun when used in class. It allows the students to visually see and work with the information given. I also learned there are elements and principles that are important to use when doing drama. There are several different ways and activities I can use as a teacher. Theater games help students build connections with others while using creativity.

What are your new perspectives about using drama in your future classroom?

My perspectives for using drama in the classroom has changed. I was never in to drama and thought it was wasn't important to do it. I thought you could use other forms of teaching. My perspective completely change because I got to physically and mentally see how fun it is and how much information I gained. I think this is one of the best ways to keep my students involved. This also builds classroom unity. It teaches them how to work together and how to communicate.

So What kinds of activities do you think you will use most as you begin teaching?

I really enjoyed the machine activity. This allowed us to be creative and to think outside of the box. Another activity I liked was role playing. This allowed me to be in tune with the characters and really assess what I knew. These activities will both be beneficial to me in seeing what my students understood.

Now What - Why do children need creative drama? Why is it important to integrate drama with other curricular areas?

Children need creative drama because it allows them to look at situations with a different perspective. It allows them to have fun and build connections with everybody in the class. Integrating drama with other subjects allows students to build connections among other classes. They can learn better when they are having fun. We want our students to be creative and come up with things on their own. Integrating drama into other subjects will help them build that trait.

Reflection #3

What is the value of using children's picture book illustrators as an entrance to both understanding and making art?

Picture books allow the students to see firsthand what art means. It allows them to focus on the meaning as wells as the different forms. It helps them to create and use that specific art style and make a copy of it, or make one as their own. Picture books are so broad and there are so many different types, which in return develops different styles of art. I thought it was beneficial to know about the illustrator and their background as well as their style because it helps viewers to see why and how this illustrator came up with their ideas.

So What can I do to effectively prepare to teach about artists and their techniques/styles?

I can prepare myself by learning about various artists as wells as learning about the different techniques, styles, and inspiration each illustrator brings to their artwork. I can also practice myself and see how it feels to create something similar to theirs.

Now What - Why will that be important to me and to my students?

Being able to teach about an artist and their techniques and styles will be very important to both my students as well as myself because it will help our mind have the ability to integrate art in doing just about anything. Most importantly, it will help my students with their other subjects. Studying and really looking into a person and the way they do things will help my students and myself to be more observant. I noticed each group presented a different way and presented a different illustrator. This opened my eyes to see there is more than just one way of doing things. That is really important for me as a teacher to learn and act upon.

Reflection #2

WHAT?
I have learned a lot about visual art and the complexity of it. Art is not just colors on a board or paper, although that has something to do with it. Art is defined by its elements and its principles. Art is the feeling a person receives as they focus on what makes this form of art so special.

SO WHAT?
As a teacher this means a lot to me. Knowing that visual art is so broad and so difficult will help me better teach my students that art is not merely perfection or standard. Having the knowledge of the elements and principles in visual art will help me better teach my students the different types they can use. It will give them guidelines so they won't feel discouraged or be afraid to be creative. I can better point out the feelings and moods of what the illustrator wants us to see by knowing the important ways in which they do that. In return, this will help my students understand and demonstrate what they want their viewers to recognize. Some students learn best visually so knowing this will help those students to succeed and do better in school.

As a person, this is important to me because I am able to look at life different. I am able to look at life as an art piece. I am able to recognize the important things in life and focus on my intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences. Visual art is so meaningful in discovering meaning. It is an easier type of communication because you can visually see the picture.

NOW WHAT?
I will prepare to effectively teach my future students by discovering the different forms of visual art. I will prepare by learning and focusing more closely on what makes art so different and unique, as well as what makes art important and valuable? Learning the elements and principles of art and really seeing examples of this has changed my perspective for the good. I love art and always have, but I never knew why I liked it or what made it so special. I never recognized what the illustrator was trying to say or trying to show. This will change the way I teach by using more visual art in my classrooms. Visual art is descriptive and enjoyable. Visual art tells a lot to a person in a simple but creative way. Visual art makes a person have to think. All of these explanations of visual art are examples and reasons of why I will include it in my classroom as well as how I will include it in my future classroom.

Reflection #1

What has been your personal experience with the arts? Did you have teachers who taught and/or integrated them in your education?

When I think of art classes I think of drawing. I have always loved art and have had an interest in it but I never thought I could do it. I was afraid to try. I cannot draw so I think that is something that automatically drew me away from the arts in school. In elementary, I remember my teachers always having us draw out what we understood from the story. We would also do projects that integrated art. When I was in 5th grade, a project I had to do was to write and illustrate a book. I really enjoyed that project and still to this day look at that book. Later on in my education, I realized art was more than just drawing. I took music and photography. I was really interested in the process of photography and enjoyed every minute of music class. My teachers integrated several categories, which included research as well as finding the perfect picture or finding the perfect song or tone. They then integrated the meaning whether it was from history or something I would learn in another class. This was when I really realized my passion for art.

So what impact have they had in your life? What were some of the characteristics of your favorite and least favorite teachers? So what does that mean for you as a future teacher?

Even though I may have not taken many art classes, I remember each teacher who used art in my learning. Some characteristics portrayed in my favorite teachers were, the ability to get the message and content across to all students. I had many teachers teach in different styles and I really enjoyed that. These teachers were also very positive and even though we knew I was not the best in art, they still encouraged me to do my best. Characteristics some of my least favorite teachers portrayed were unfriendliness. I wondered why they went into teaching. I also remember being afraid which blocked my need for creativity. To this day, I still hesitate when it comes to doing creative projects with not much time to work with. When I become a teacher, I have learned from my teachers what to do and what not to do. I want a friendly environment as well as a positive environment. For me as a teacher, I want to be open to all and realize not every student excels in one area but recognize their desire to try. Integrated will help make this process easier.

Now what do you want/need to do it terms of your preparation to effectively teach and integrate the arts as a teacher?

I need to become more familiar with the different genres of art as well as the different types. I tend to forget certain subjects fit into the art category. I need to become proficient in art myself so I can teach it to my students and not have the fear or negative attitude I have now! I also want to find connections on how I can relate art to other subjects.