TEacher Portfolio

Teaching portfolio

This page chronicles the work I have done in my final Art Education course at the University of Illinois. I completed three different secondary placements, two in high schools and one in middle school. My experiences in these schools are described below.

I also completed a series of projects throughout this course. I created a curriculum grid for a high school level beginning drawing class. I worked in a teaching group to formulate and teach a mini unit on perspective and composition. I also worked with a partner to lead an activity based on a reading from the textbook Art Centered Learning Across The Curriculum, regarding arts based research in the classroom. All of these projects along with their documentation are presented below to explore.

Observation Placements

Centennial High School

Here we observed the Freshman Art 1 class as well as the Drawing and Painting 2 class. The Freshman Art 1 class was working on a collage based project which we aided in teaching by instructing the students about composition and perspective. The Drawing and Painting 2 course was finishing a black and white india-ink landscape assignment focusing on control of the materials and emphasis on value.

Urbana High School

Here we observed two different Art 2 courses. The first class was working on a clay sculpture assignment where they had to create vessels using the slab technique that incorporated texture. The vessel also required feet and a lid with a flange (inner rim) to make the project more advanced. The second class was exploring surrealism through ink drawings that abstracted printed images. They were also working on a tessellation assignment using colored construction paper.


Urbana Middle School

Here we observed the 7th grade ceramics and sculpture class as well as the 7th grade general arts class. The general arts course was working on water color techniques and focused on these skills through the lens of depicting microscopic cell structures. The sculpture course was working on creating clay vessels using the slab technique and creating textured plates suing metal tooling and patina techniques.


Curriculum Grid

Seven week curriculum along with rubrics for a high school level freshman drawing course that focuses on classic drawing techniques and materials through the lens of nostalgia and formation of identity.

Arts Based Research Lesson

Activity plan, power point presentation, handout and lesson plan for teaching arts based research to future educators.

Collage Mini Unit

Lesson plans, power point presentations, and video examples from a high school Art 1 lesson on composition and perspective.

Student Work: Arts Based Research Project

We tasked our classmates with researching a topic they picked out of a hat using a specific research method we went over in the lesson. After their research, the assignment was to create an art piece using a variety of materials that displayed something new they learned through their research.

Student Work: Collage Mini Unit

The assignment we created for the students began by them practicing drawing landscapes in their sketchbooks using foreground, middle ground, and background. Then they practiced drawings that incorporated the rule of thirds composition technique. We emphasized creating a sense of depth through overlap and being intentional about composition. Some students grasped these concepts easily and chose to go further, while others had a more difficult time.