Interview Question #9

Which of these trends in education are you familiar with? What is your experience?

A PLC is a great way to interact with other teachers and to discuss the effectiveness of your content; although I do not have first hand experience I can see the value of implementing these interactions. I have been exposed to the content of RtI, PBIS, UBD, Common Core, SLOs, and p21 but have not been given the opportunity to work directly with them during my classes or practicum placements. I have spoken to peers about the importance of Partnership for 21st c. skills; this gives them the opportunity to work directly with materials that will directly relate to their lives outside of school.


Consider:
I was not specifically exposed to...
Open to learning
Positively frame it as an opportunity to strengthen you teaching student learning

Amanda: Recently out of student teaching

Student Teaching and the edTPA:

Meet your CT as soon as possible
Research the school (DPI report card)
Plan during the summer

Organize your time (edTPA)
Know your students (IEPs, names, etc.)
Journal activities/experiences

edTPA: thoughtfulness
Video - try exporting video from ipad or use another source (practice)

Guest speakers: Bob and Darrel

Retired teachers: High School (MN)

Bob: Math
Darrel: History

Fear: Scott Walker and administration; how do we overcome that fear? What is in their mind?
Past: Pay teachers for experience and education.
Now: measure student learning and pay accordingly.

The Union:
Are they democratic? Supporting what you believe in? Seniority? Are you able to voice your opinion once the union is gone? Too much power in administration?
Positive Perceptions: child labor, raising wages and working conditions, help you get to middle class
Negative Perceptions: keeping people that should be fired, one-sided: Democratic, cost of dues

Ask to see district policy
CESA

MN vs. WI
MN: becoming more liberal, raising taxes, empowering unions, legalized gay-marriage, embrace affordable health-care act
WI: becoming more conservative, decreasing taxes, curbing unions, school vouchers (private schools), reject affordable health-care act

Collective bargaining vs. District policy
Wages or compensation
Hours of work
Employment benefits
Supervision
Qualifications
Training and skills
Job functions
Termination procedure
Right to your view on issues
Sick leave/Personal leave

Dane: Recent Art Education Graduate

Unique student teaching experience:
Not many behavioral issues
Unexpected experiences

High School:
40 minutes: Sculpture, Ceramics, Intro to Art, Prep
8am-3:30 required time at school
What You Need (WYN) - Strictly academic: silent homework time/reading
Sculpture: 3 projects; start with clay busts and talk about symbolism; Goldsworthy lesson, the principles of art and design, talk about planning; Kinetic sculptures, wire hanger and nylon, gesso and paint, look at images of contemporary sculptures and objects: which one is the sculpture?, meaning in artwork
Ceramics: (two sections) Half the class throwing, half hand-building; the history of ceramics, cylinders, mugs, hand-build ceramic boxes, darted tumblers; time management! Your time is eaten up before and after work time, students need to practice, demonstrate wrong behaviors/techniques
Intro to Art: Surrealism, academic language and techniques
The sooner you can teach, the better
The unexpected: many personal traumas happened during student teaching (family deaths, etc.), student's sibling committed suicide, student's sibling die, drugs, etc.
Take attendance: get to know their names
Write your own lessons and access your Cooperating Teacher's

Elementary:
6 day cycle, see students every three days.
Scope and sequence: build off of previous lessons
Use videos to reiterate what you say (demonstrations, content, etc)
Do what you enjoy! If you are excited, students will be more engaged.

University observations:
Introduce the observer, tell them she might ask them some questions
Don't get strung out! It's not too stressful.

- Ask meaningful questions: don't ask dumb questions. Why do you say that? What do you see that makes you say that? Form more well-thought answers.
- Preparation; learn from other classes. Flexible
- Be relate-able to students, be friendly but professional
- Be passionate about your lessons
- Think about what you NEED to convey in a lesson. Too much information may be overwhelming, less confusion
- Be explicit and clear with all students of all ages. Make it clear that you have faith in their abilities.
- Being inclusive in your delivery
- You will have days that you have no idea what you are doing; it's okay!
- Be consistent with students in attitude and expectations
- Teach with fore-thought; anticipate issues (Demonstrate what happens when things are done wrong: What would happen if I did this wrong?)
- Speak to CT if you feel restricted by their actions

Art education: Trends

Visual Culture Studies:
Influences lives in all aspects.
Incorporate understanding in lessons: critique advertisements, recognize
Teach them about how to respond to visuals.
Overwhelming

Choice Based Art Education:
Student chooses project/media; students follow what they are interested in.
Students have choices to make meaningful learning
Benefits for teacher: in-depth instruction on a range of topics, special help/attention to students, get to know students, students could be highly motivated and ready to work, individualized instruction, more one on one time.
What teachers do: provide students with time for creating, studio space, variety of materials, encouragement, group/individualized instruction
CB Students: work at own speed, work from strengths, follow a line of thought over time, develop a working style, show responsibility, take care of materials, form cooperative groups for collaboration, explore interests in depth, be on task, set up own workspace and move on when ready.
Classroom: Centered around different artistic mediums
Assessment: topics, effort, skill with materials, creative problem solving, making artistic choices
Responding to standards: Begin class with demo or lesson, whole class sees new topic, artist, technique, concept, material, etc.

DBAE
Discipline Based Art Education; comprehensive education
Art production: making/process
Art Criticism: Examination, discussion of style, principles
Art History: insight into past, connections/relevancy
Aesthetics: philosophy of art, get students to think about what they are learning/feeling
Achievement, structure, organized, well-rounded students
Reveals knowledge, be best educators, keep up to date

Presentations: Trends in Education

RTI: Response to Intervention (Instruction)
Early identification and support of students with learning/behavior needs. High quality instruction and screening; involves special educator, general education teacher, and/or specialists. Focusing on student success and meeting the large range of needs of students. What does the student need? What can we do to help them?
1. Screen: success, struggles; how to make successes help struggles?
2. Progress monitoring
3. Multi-level prevention system
4. Data-based decision making
5. Grounding
Good instruction, on going assessment, tiered instruction, and parent involvement
RTI meetings, implement RTI in classes, may have to give RTI test.
This helps students that are in the gray area: students who do not have severe struggles. May help them focus on school and find success. This gives students the opportunity to receive help that may otherwise be overlooked. Without RTI students become frustrated and humiliated; these students may otherwise never receive help and potentially drop out of school.
 (Differentiate instruction; want students to succeed; help students succeed in school and in life)

Understanding by Design (UBD = Backward Design)
Improving student achievement: emphasize teachers role in designing student learning. Helps teachers clarify learning goals and engage students. Look to develop and deepen understanding. Use Backward Design and seek student feedback.
Backward Design:
1. Identify desired results - content standards, understandings, questions, knowledge and skills. Focus on big ideas.
2. Determine acceptable evidence - Key complex performance tasks indicative of understanding? What other evidence will be collected to build the case for understanding, knowledge, and skill? How will students self-assess?
3. Plan learning experiences and instruction - Focus on engaging and effective learning. What learning experiences and instruction will promote the desired understanding, knowledge and skill? How will you best promote the deepending of insight and interest? How will you prepare students for the performance?

Responsive Classroom
Elementary classes! Produce engaged students. "Educators creating, safe, challenging and joyful elementary schools". Highly structured.
Key practices: Daily morning meeting (reset, connect with classmates; social skills), a positive approach to discipline (students make own rules), positive teacher language (positive vision), giving students choices in their learning (more engaged in their own learning when given choice/responsibility). Dependable system for students

PBIS
Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (achieving academic and social goals)
Expectations clearly stated: assemblies, arrival/dismissal/bus/cafeteria (affect behavior in and outside of school)
Organizational supports, effectively use interventions.
Goals (for positive behaviors) rather than punishment (for negative behaviors)
5 stages of building PBIS program: 1. purpose building (exploration), Infrastructure (Instillation), 3. Initial Implementation, 4. Full Implementations, 5. Sustainability.
Four elements: Outcomes, practices, data, systems.
Fundamentals: Procedures, positive reinforcement, negative consequences, special interventions, keeping records.
Similar to RTI (Behavioral form)
Examples: Lynx Loot Reward Program - earn rewards for good behavior; Peace days - grade-level has no major office referral

Common Core State Standards
English and Math grade level expectations in standards; focus on core concepts and procedures (early), set goals but do not determine how it must be taught, mastering standards.
English: complex texts, evidence, building knowledge
Math: greater focus, coherence, and rigor
Implementation in Schools and Need to Know facts: standards establish what they need to know and not how teachers should teach. Implemented by state and local levels.
Does not require data collection by the schools.
There will be common core standards for art. (Discipline specific)

SLO (Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes)
Educator Effectiveness: performance-based
Reaction to "No Child Left Behind"
SLOs: Teacher: student learning objective; principal: school learning objectives
2 SLOs written each year: evaluation every three years --> approved, monitored, and scored by and evaluator
Keep in mind: most work at beginning of year, mid-year review ...)
4 Steps: review data and prepare SLOs, review and approve, collect evidence and conduct mid-year review, review and score
SMART SLOs: Specific measurable, attainable, results-based, time-bound

Guest speaker: principal

Paul:
Began as teacher (social studies) and became principal; has ability to become a superintendent.

Getting a job:
Know: Educator Effectiveness, SLO, PPG, PLC, Smart goal
We are in a world of accountability; responsibility to the common core. Understand the above vocabulary. Be able to have a dialogue.
Obama - race to the top; no longer No Child Left Behind - evaluate students and educators using federal criteria (states come up with models).  (Below: WI)
Educator Effectiveness Model: 50 SLOs/Smart Goals and 50 evaluation by supervisors; understand the Danielson models (The Framework, 6th ed.). PPG for self. (Collaborative SLOs)
Teachscape- uploading artifacts

Looking for a job:
Get license and substitute; get your name out there! Different students and settings.
Where you look: state of Wisconsin job site, large districts will post positions on website

Four things: Cover letter (Correctly label and address!! tells them if you can write - very important for schools today, state objective, where you heard about the job, 'please consider me a candidate for', 'I am certain that', support statements), resume (clear and concise; first: degree, license; then education and student teaching; two page resume; talk about exhibitions in cover letter), transcript (official or unofficial depending; from all schools), letters of recommendation (total:3; cooperating teacher, administrator if experience, 2/3 should be education based.), Application
Portfolios: use to enhance what you are saying (know where it is); may not be used during first interview. Both personal and student work.
Send in about a week in advance, be patient! Wait for the call. 

Receive call a week in advance of interview day.
Interview: PREPARE; apply to every position (never turn down interview), remember questions from previous interviews and prepare based on them, repetition, it's okay to be nervous!, okay to say, "can I think about that for a minute", always have an answer - prepared to learn, be nice to the secretaries, show up 15 minutes before the interview, have questions ready for the interview team, know the district (I noticed that... can you tell me about that? Your staff must do a great job; large population of minority? Do you have any programs...? What kind of software are you using for that course? Questions about position and district - do not talk about salary or benefits)
Second interview: prepare for teaching lesson, interview team observe teaching, meet superintendent, never burn a bridge.

Final phone call:
Accept the job or take a little time to consider
Understand salaries and benefits; compensation? Save money (TSA, 403B plan)
Know your HRA, add to it!

308 presenters: Special Ed and At-Risk Students

Today we had two presenters: Shanna M (At-Risk Students) and Becky M (Special Ed) both of whom worked with high school students at the same district.

Becky spoke first about her experiences as a Special Ed educator; she spoke about cognitive, learning, and physical disabilities that she had experience with through work. She was recently hired at Stout to work with students on campus and loves her job because she feels that she is always learning about students needs and different disabilities. I thought she said some great things about these students, even how to address them and their disabilities. Becky said that all of these individuals are students who happen to have a disability. They are not LD students, but rather students with learning disabilities, etc. I think that this is a simple and effective way to address their needs in a may positive way. She also said that disabilities are deceiving and that you cannot make assumptions; each individual has very specific needs that may not be apparent based on the physical appearance of a students.  This is definitely important for us to understand as future educators because we do not have much experience with special needs before we start working with students. Becky also read a poem to us about having a child with special needs, it was a hard to hear it. It's important to remember that these individuals have difficult lives and so do their families. She reminded us that it is important to be empathetic rather than sympathetic. Becky also spoke to us about accommodations (same final product) and modifications (similar final product) and when/if they may be appropriate. It may also be important to teach things like what paying attention looks like and to consider where these students are seated and how the environment affects their attention. She made it very clear that it is important to get to know each student and what their individual needs are.

Shanna then spoke to us about the at-risk students that she works with through the program at her district. She made it clear that these students have the capacity to function highly and are generally found in grades 5-12; these are the students who are at risk for not graduating on time. Part of her job is to counsel these students and talk them through issues that they are having at home or in their lives. She searches for the cause of their issues and how they can get the student through their struggles. Shanna focuses on the fact that these students are not victims and that "life sucks, what are we going to do about that?" She's looking to empower students rather than focus on their struggles. I think that she has a great approach to assisting these students; they need to feel safe and be given the power to take care of themselves. Shanna also told us that she has a difficult time getting parents involved, many of them have bad memories of high school and are not interested in coming back, even for their child. It's not that they don't love their child(ren), it's that they don't know how or what to do. This district also has a unique program that is imbedded in mainstream education rather than just puts these kids somewhere. Her ultimate goal is to get these students back into general education classes so that they have a chance at attending college or at the very least receiving their GE degree from high school. Shanna told us that it is important for us to not feel sorry for these students, but rather than we should help them move forward with their lives. I couldn't agree more. She also told us that when we have these students in our class we should know that punishment isn't a big deal for these students, they are comfortable with this. We should also be aware that they care about success, even if they say they don't.

I think these talks were really important for us to hear; as art education students we will have many of these students in our rooms but have little experience working with them before we leave Stout. We need as much information to reference as possible for when we inevitably work with these individuals.

3/5 - Wed

Today was a day 2 with Mrs. W and her students.

3rd grade: 30 students/90 min
This class is behind due to snow days and the change in rotation that ensued; this means that these students are in the same place that the last group of third-graders were. They are continuing their sarcophagi and Mrs. W had them gather around the central table for a demonstration. While waiting for their attention, Mrs. W said, "eyes on me please, I'm waiting for two people." I think this worked well because it gave these students the opportunity to quiet down without being singled-out. I spent the hour helping these students catch up to the other classes, this was a great group of students to work with. I think that Mrs. W does a great job with cleanup; depending on the age she either demonstrates or reminds students how to properly cleanup after a project. Mrs. W reminded these students that they "know where markers go" and motivated them by saying, "you all did an awesome job today, let's do an awesome job cleaning up too." This was really great, I'm going to use this for my lesson. It compliments their work for the day as well as motivates them to clean up well after themselves.

2nd grade: 18 students/90 min
This group of students was also behind due to the snow days; they were trying to catch up with their castle books. These students began their stained glass windows today (fabric paint and project paper) after a demonstration. It was easy to catch this group up due to the small class size. Although this was a difficult aspect of the lesson, the small number meant we could quickly work our way around the room to help all of the students efficiently. These small classes are a dream to work with! When it came to cleanup and dismissal, Mrs. W said, "I'm looking for tables that are seated and ready to go." Instead of telling students be be quietly seated, she gives them the option as a group of students at each table to quiet down so that they can be dismissed.

2/26 - Wed

Today was a day four of their rotation; I spent 8:30am-1:00pm working with Mrs. W and her students.

3rd grade: 30 students/90 min
These students had not yet voted for the paintings that would be sent in to the duck stamp contest, so Mrs. W clearly demonstrated and asked, "can I trust all of you to be quiet in the hallway? Is there anyone that can't be trusted to be quiet?" I thought this was really great, it meant that the students agreed to behave in the hallway as they were dismissed by table. Mrs. W also told these students that she was proud of their work and that she would not have hung them in the hallway unless she believed that they were their best works. Mrs. W then asked the students if they remembered how to safely come and stand around the supply table, the students said yes and they gathered around. She then modeled how to both correctly and incorrectly attach the next pieces of their sarcophagi. I then assisted students with the next step for the remainder of the hour. These students worked hard during class and were really excited about the project; I asked them if they liked it and they all said yes. I think that Mrs. W does a great job of asking questions that guide them towards success, I've carefully written down her questions and am planning on incorporating some of them and similar ones into my lesson; I really think they're powerful.

2nd grade: 14 students/90 min
This class seemed so small after working with 30 students; this class was beginning their stained glass aspect of their castle books. Mrs. W asked these students, "What does good mean?" and "How many of you like a challenge?" She uses questions to get them thinking and involved in learning and to motivate them in their art making. She also asked, "How can I learn from my mistakes?" Mrs. W is really teaching these students not only how to make art, but how to live and be successful in society/other classes. This aspect of their book was difficult for many students; I spent the remainder of the hour explaining the process and walking through it with them individually. Other students did not struggle for a moment. I helped with this part of the project in another class, but with 30 students. Honestly, it was a little overwhelming in there with 30, but 14 students seemed much more approachable and reasonable. It was much more difficult to teach a difficult lesson with 30 student than 14.

Kindergarten: 30 students/45 min
Mrs. W began the class with, "Good afternoon, Kindergarteners!" and the students replied, "Good afternoon, Mrs. W!" This class was beginning a new project today, they were starting their cuckoo clocks. This project is introduced with a short video about German cuckoo clocks, "who can remind us of what I expect while we watch a video?" Although there were so many of these young children, they seemed to behave well during this introduction. Mrs. W then asked questions about the video, "I will call on students who raise their hands." She then introduced the concept of telling time using a children's book that was projected onto the screen. Students were surprisingly receptive to the concept of telling time. We then began the first steps of this project after a demonstration that engaged students with questions and demonstrations of both correct and incorrect methods. "Does that look like I did a good job? What about now?" I think this is a really great way to engage students rather than just lecture to a group of 30 five-year-old children. This gives them the opportunity to really listen to what is being said. I feel like I've already learned a lot about working with young children through my shadowing of Mrs. W. She is an exceptional educator who really cares about the quality of education that her students receive.

Interview Question # 8

On a scale of 1-10 how organized are you?

I would consider myself an 8.5; I work very hard to be organized as a student and as a professional. I think that clarity is part of my personality and therefore I feel a necessity for organization. I think this can be seen in my lesson plans and even in my personal art work, I like to feel a sense of control/intention over material and content because I feel that without it, important aspects can be overlooked.

There will always be things that happen beyond expectations – prepare for unexpected.

If you are prepared your students will be.

Communicate to students and parents that you care.

Interview Question #7

How comfortable and capable are you in teaching:
     -Photography
     -Graphic Design
     -Art Metals

I am absolutely comfortable teaching all three of these classes; I have experience working in photography, design, and metals and I feel that I could teach these classes and access any information that I need to assist me in doing so. I am competent in these mediums.

2/19 - First Day of art in elementary ed.

The district that I am placed at for my practicum experience has a "sage" program, which means that classes are either 18 students for one teacher or 30 students for two, but once students go to their electives they are left with the single elective teacher regardless of class size; this means that class sizes greatly fluctuate throughout the day. Mrs. W, my Cooperating Teacher (CT), has also recently acquired the Kindergarten classes. (This district splits students up K-12 into 4 different schools that are all connected.) The Kindergarten art class is 45 minutes long and meets twice during the 6 day rotation, whereas all of the others meet for 90 minutes only once every 6 days.

DAY 5
3rd Grade: 18 students, 90 min.
This was the first class of the first day working with Mrs. W and her students; they were beginning their second class of an Egyptian sarcophagi project. Even during this first class I could see that Mrs. W is an exceptional teacher who can really engage her students. She began by reviewing the story that was used to introduce the lesson by asking specific questions that were directly related to the story. It was amazing to see what the students could recall from that last class. Mrs. W also never told students they were wrong if their answer was incorrect, she would say "not quite" or "close", it was clear that she didn't want to discourage students from further participation. She also lead students to an answer that they were unable to find, she used things that they were familiar with to lead them to the right word, one student picked it up quickly and answered "scarab beetle!". While students were working on this project Mrs. W spoke to the students about their last project, which was a duck stamp painting, and told them that today was their day to vote for the best ones to be sent in for a contest. She told them to be proud of their work, even if they did not get theirs sent in. She said she would not have hung them in the hallway unless she thought they were their best. She then dismissed them by table during work time to vote out in the hall, asking "Is there anyone that can't be trusted to be quiet in the hall?" Students voted and worked well through the class, I assisted students with the building process and answered questions throughout the 90 min class.
Knowing that I will be teaching a lesson at this school, I pay very close attention to Mrs. W's interactions with her students and how she conducts her classes. She uses a really great clapping rhythm that students imitate to get their attention. I've definitely taken note of this for my lesson! I've also started thinking about and writing down questions that I will ask students for my lesson. I also like Mrs. W's use of positive feedback and that she asked students if she could trust them to be quiet rather than just telling them to be quiet in the hall. I have to make sure that I remember these for my lesson. I also spoke with a group of boys in this class; they were discussing a video game while working that I was familiar with, when they realized that I knew what they were talking about they immediately opened up, asking me question after question about the game and to help them with their project. It seems that with some students, you just have to have an in.

2nd Grade: 30 students; 90 min.
The class began with the question, "Who can remind us what we are working on?" and when students raised their hands to answer, "Thank you for raising your hands". These students were continuing castle projects and reviewing what they had previously learned. Mrs. W asked several questions and had enthusiastic replies. She demonstrated the next part of their Castle book using a document camera. As students began working, Mrs. W worked individually with all of the students in order to guide them through this difficult stained glass aspect of their books. I also circulated the classroom answering questions, re-explaining the demonstration, and walking some students through the process.
This was a difficult task for many students, some understood without any issues while others could not understand the task at hand. I think this was a great challenge for this class and yielded beautiful results. I'm not sure if I would approach this with this age-group if I were teaching, simply because so many students needed so much guidance, but there was definitely students who excelled. I think this is something that I'm going to have to think about an continue to consider as I approach my lesson and student teaching.

Kindergarten: 30 students; 45 min.
I was only able to stay for the first 20 minutes of this class, but I was able to watch Mrs. W begin this class with several questions. These students were creating a cuckoo clock out of paper, cardboard, sculpey, string, and pine cones. Mrs. W said, "I will call on you if you respectfully raise your hands". She used lots of questions, which I think was really great. I don't know if I would have thought about using that many questions without having seen it in action; I'm now planning on asking more questions for my own lesson.

Interview Question #6

What are three words that describe you?

Tenacious - work hard, I'm not easily deterred, and I'm passionate about education/arts
Empathetic - work to be emotionally accessible and relate-able to students so they feel safe and welcome in school/class.
Knowledgeable - I know my subject matter: my teaching experience and double major have allowed me to master my content.

Interview Question #5

How do you deal with safety in the classroom?

Safety is a very important aspect of art education; I want to ensure that students are safe in my class since we could be handling potentially dangerous materials. I believe that a great way to approach safety is to give a pre-quiz (ungraded) and the same quiz (graded) after covering the safety material. Students should also sign these quizzes to show that they understand the expectations. Safety is something that is not to be taken lightly in an art room. When safety is violated, students should be corrected.

If something happens - cover first-aid kit and protocol.

Interview Question #4

How do you assess student artwork? ***
(What I want students to learn: content, techniques, etc.)

I assess student artwork using a clearly structured and labeled final rubric; these rubrics include sections on relevant cultural aspects, craft, participation, and lesson specific material. I also incorporate reflections and questions that check for comprehension of content and aesthetic choices (more rigorous as the age increases). I feel that it is important to clearly explain through scoring and written comments why a student received a certain grade so they know how to better approach or finish the following lessons. I also have students complete self-assessments. This means that I consider both summative and formative assessment for each lesson; due to the subjective nature of art and the value of data in a school district it is important to be as thorough as possible when approaching grading at any age level.

Difficult to measure, but important to consider: effort, participation, attitude - progress.

FORMATIVE
-in-progress critique
-self-assessment


SUMMATIVE
-written feedback
-rubric

Interview Question #3

Do you teach a discipline-based art curriculum or a choice-based one?

I enjoy using discipline based art curriculum (DBAE) when structuring my lessons. I think this can be an important tool in planning lessons that are comprehensive. Merging production, criticism, history, and aesthetics rather than separating and focusing on them individually is important for creating a lesson that is well-rounded. I believe that these are all crucial aspects of art education and using this structure will ensure that my lessons take full advantage of my time with students.

Interview Question #2

Being an "ART TEACHER", what is more important to you? Art or Teaching?
Do you need to be an artist to be an art teacher?

This is a very difficult question; I value both for such different reasons and am double majoring because of my passion for both. I also feel that my approach to education at this time is that they are inseparable, I wouldn't truly love one without the other.

However, I will say that I have chosen to be an art teacher rather than a "starving artist" and I believe that teaching is the truly meaningful and altruistic path. I also feel that personally, I need to be an artist to be an art teacher (this isn't true for everyone). I want to teach because of my passion for the arts and the significance of education, not strictly because I love kids. I feel that by being a practicing artist as well as an educator I will have more to offer because of my approach to education. My love for my own work and investment in education is what will make me an exceptional educator, this unified front feels necessary to me at this time.

Link to Prezi: First day of High School Art Introduction

http://prezi.com/9gq7o5ufbm3p/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Interview Question #1

What can I expect to see/do on the 1st day of school in your art classroom?

Secondary School response:
On the first day of school I will cover the syllabus; this will include classroom rules, information about the projects that will be completed during the semester, and a calendar of the semester lying out the deadlines clearly for students. This will be handed out and clearly discussed with the students to ensure comprehension and to answer any questions that they may have regarding expectations. I will also hand out a quiz that is graded on completion, this quiz will test their knowledge of the material that we will be using throughout the semester. This will be compared to a test taken at a later date. The content of this quiz will cover mostly safety issues and vocabulary that will be crucial later on in the semester. We will then review the correct answers to ensure a safe environment for the students to work in alongside one another.