Quality Standard 3: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction and create an environment that facilitates learning for their students.

• Element A: Teachers demonstrate knowledge about the ways in which learning takes place, including the levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students. 

• Element B: Teachers use formal and informal methods to assess student learning, provide feedback, and use results to inform planning and instruction. 

• Element C: Teachers integrate and utilize appropriate available technology to engage students in authentic learning experiences. 

• Element D: Teachers establish and communicate high expectations and use processes to support the development of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. 

• Element E: Teachers provide students with opportunities to work in teams and develop leadership. 

• Element F: Teachers model and promote effective communication

Model Magic Monster

This was a lesson developed by the art team at Timnath Middle High School. To prepare students for clay work, they were allowed to play with Crayola Model Magic. A white, clay-like substance, which easily dyes with the marker or paint put into it. Students were able to experiment with color value, hues, and how they complement each other. 

Students started with a worksheet where they were asked to make an original monster that was colored, showed attachment (hands, legs, spikes, etc), and what the monster's super power is. This superpower will need to solve an everyday problem or a world problem. 

Standard 3: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction and create an environment that facilitates learning for their students.

• Element A: Teachers demonstrate knowledge about the ways in which learning takes place, including the levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students. 

This project welcomed students into 3D art by allowing them to explore Crayola Model Magic. A substance that allows students to color a white, kinetic sand-like substance that easily sticks together and dries out to make a pottery-like item. To get the students ready for 3D art, this is a great project that allows the students freedom to learn how to manipulate a clay-like substance, layer colors, and create their own superhero character that helps resolve a problem that's personal to them. In order to gain students' trust, I had to display my knowledge of this material and art style. When they witnessed my knowledge, their trust grew, and I was able to help guide them in creating their work.

This project was created to give students a taste of how this class is run, based on student effort and exploration, what working with a molding substance is like, and how they're important to us. We wanted to show empathy to the students by focusing on their character's super power can be global issues like war or something personal. That personal problems are as important as global problems. By highlighting this, it creates an environment letting the students know we care about what is going on in their lives, which is important for 7th graders who are going through puberty, having a ton of chemical and social changes, where those personal issues are major. 

Studio Habits of Mind: Express. Students used Model Magic to express themselves through the creation of their own character that has superpowers that solve issues they need help solving. 

Adobe Illustrator

This was a project that was designed to help students get their toes wet in Adobe Cloud software. Students had the prompt of making an Album or Book cover, as well as the option to do a movie or video game poster. They were given the option to use iconography of the various source materials; however, they could not re-create the album or book cover, nor the movie or video game poster. 

This was a perfect blend of challenging the student to communicate important themes from the source and using Adobe software to create these images. Both aspects tended to be a challenge for the students, from staying away from iconic images to working with layers, vectors, and composition without the ability to freehand. Some of the students took to the vast freedoms Adobe offers, while others felt restrained due to the complexity of the program. This was a perfect lesson that allowed students to explore what they feel more comfortable with. While some of the ones that felt burdened by the lack of freehand ended up producing amazing pieces. I made sure I encouraged them to explore Adobe Cloud.

That exploration into new territory, I believe, is an extremely important part of teaching art. In this situation, I loosely held their hands while guiding them through this path. I gave them as much time as they needed to get to a piece they felt confident in, with a style that they felt was theirs. 

Standard 3: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction and create an environment that facilitates learning for their students.

• Element B: Teachers use formal and informal methods to assess student learning, provide feedback, and use results to inform planning and instruction. 

Adobe is a complex program that will allow users to do anything and everything they wish to when it comes to digital art. Because of this, it's a very intimidating program to use, often overwhelming the user. This lesson was designed to go step by step, using the tools that the students would need to complete this project. I did this through multiple demonstrations, and after that, worked one-on-one with students. While this was not the students' favorite program they used, they all felt the ease of exploring this program to make this project. I was able to talk with each student, reflecting on their experience with Adobe Illustrator. 

Studio Habits of Mind: Stretch and Explore. Students had to get out of their comfort zone in order to be successful in this program. For all the students who finished this project early, I had them do either a book or an album cover. This way, they could get used to the tools used but also explore the other tools Adobe Illustrator offers. 

Dot Painting

This was a one-day project in which students followed the dot pattern on a paper towel while choosing their own color schemes. For example, one student used a rainbow pattern to fill in the dots, demonstrating both creativity and attention to detail.

Standard 3: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction and create an environment that facilitates learning for their students.

Element C: Teachers integrate and utilize appropriate available technology to engage students in authentic learning experiences. 

This activity served as a fun exercise that incorporated a familiar, everyday material in a new and engaging way. Students used markers to trace and enhance the paper towel’s manufactured dot pattern, highlighting the design that holds the material together. One challenge of the project was learning how to work with the paper towel’s absorbent quality and using it to enhance, rather than hinder, the final artwork.

The project fully captured students’ attention. They were especially intrigued by both the dot patterns and how the ink spread through the material, leading to a high level of focus and engagement. An added bonus was that students could see the dot impressions transfer onto the table underneath, which further sparked their curiosity. Additionally, this activity helped develop fine motor skills, as students practiced careful control while holding markers and precisely dotting each space.

Studio Habits of Mind: Observe- students had to observe the pattern of the dots on the paper towel, then color them. 

High School Coil Pots

“Do not become attached to your ceramic project.” I love telling this to all pottery students. Clay is a medium that requires patience and a willingness to learn how to manipulate it in order to achieve a desired result. Some students embrace this challenge and find the process meditative. Others, like me, prefer to explore and let the medium guide their creative decisions. For new students, I emphasize the importance of playing with the clay and discovering what it can do, especially when constructing coil pottery. Letting go of attachment, exploring how coils interact, and treating the process as meditative were central to this project.

Standard 3: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction and create an environment that facilitates learning for their students.

• Element D: Teachers establish and communicate high expectations and use processes to support the development of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. 

Coil pottery can be both calming and frustrating. Students must wedge their clay properly, ensure that base coils are thicker than those above, and use slip, score, and smoothing techniques to maintain the structure. These steps are essential not only for the pot’s stability, but also to prevent cracking or damage in the kiln. For this project, high school students were expected to take their time wedging clay, rolling even coils, keeping them moist, and carefully constructing their pots using these foundational techniques.

Throughout the process, students encountered the reality of clay doing what it wants. Coils became too dry, too thick, uneven, or poorly attached, common challenges for beginners. In these moments, it was important to guide students in adapting to and working through these issues rather than becoming discouraged.

At the start of each class, I reminded students to use spray bottles or water dishes to keep their coils moist. I emphasized thoroughly scoring both surfaces, applying slip, pressing firmly, and smoothing at least one side. I also reinforced the importance of building with thicker coils at the base and gradually decreasing their size as the pot rises. Despite these reminders, students still faced hurdles such as cracking coils and uneven forms.

A major component of the assignment was glazing. Students whose pots developed cracks explored creative ways to conceal them with glaze, while those with top-heavy forms embraced and transformed them into unique design elements. This adaptability became a key part of their learning experience.

In the end, students used the project requirements and guidance to create pots they were proud of. As I emphasized from the beginning, the goal was not perfection, but flexibility: to not become attached and to learn to adapt. They took that lesson to heart and, with the guidence was able to find solutions to problems that appeared. 

Studio Habits of Mind: Observe- students needed to be mindful and observe what stage their clay was at, what the size and shape of their coils were, and if they attached and smoothed everything correctly. Through these observations, they were able to find solutions that fixed the issues that occurred.

Team Work

One of the main goals I wanted to incorporate into my ephemeral art project was teamwork, helping students collaborate to complete the project more efficiently. I gave students the option to work in groups of two, three, or four. Many were excited to work with their friends, collaborate on ideas, and divide responsibilities for collecting materials outdoors.

Standard 3: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction and create an environment that facilitates learning for their students.

• Element E: Teachers provide students with opportunities to work in teams and develop leadership. 

This project was designed to teach students how to function as a team. On the front of the worksheet, each student wrote down an emotion, drew a symbol to represent that emotion, and explained their choice. As a group, they then had to compromise and decide on a single emotion and symbol to represent collectively. Once they agreed and documented their final decision, they were able to turn the page and assign specific roles. These roles included collecting sticks, leaves, flowers, and pine cones. In teams of two, students split the roles; in teams of three, one student took on two roles; and in teams of four, each student was responsible for one.

As students worked through the first part of the assignment, I circulated around the room, checking in with each group. Most groups collaborated effectively, though a few needed support in learning how to cooperate. In those cases, I acted as a mediator, encouraging students to vote on ideas while also reminding them that individual ideas could still be explored independently during the outdoor portion of the project. This approach increased student engagement, both in the group activity and in their own creative exploration.

Once outside, the teamwork became even more evident. Students took pride in their assigned roles, gathered materials efficiently, and supported one another throughout the process. During the reflection portion of the project, many students shared that they enjoyed working together and felt their success in creating their symbols from natural materials was a direct result of their teamwork.

Interestingly, very few groups established a clear leader. In some cases, a leader naturally emerged, particularly when organizing roles. However, during the construction phase, most groups collaborated without a single dominant voice directing the process. I appreciated seeing both dynamics: groups that worked collectively through shared decision-making, and those where a leader stepped up to organize tasks. Together, these experiences reflected the range of how group work can function in a classroom, highlighting both collaboration and leadership as valuable skills.

Coda

Adobe is a complex program with seemingly endless creative possibilities. When introducing 7th and 8th graders to Adobe, I needed to simplify the experience to make it approachable and ensure students could succeed on their summative assignment. For their formative assessment, students completed a step-by-step project creating a flower and “Coda,” their mascot.

Standard 3: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction and create an environment that facilitates learning for their students.

• Element F: Teachers model and promote effective communication

To help students understand the basic tools in Adobe Illustrator, I designed a guided lesson focused on the essential skills they would need for the summative project. Using LanSchool, a classroom management tool, I projected my screen onto each student’s computer. My display appeared in a smaller window, allowing students to follow along while still having access to their own Adobe Illustrator workspace. I also walked around the room to ensure each student had their screen set up correctly and was ready to follow along.

Once everyone was set up, I began the lesson by introducing the tools and demonstrating their locations and how to use them. I repeated each demonstration three times, pausing in between to give students time to practice. During these pauses, I worked one-on-one with students who needed additional support. When we moved into creating the flower and Coda, I continued this approach—modeling each step three times while clearly explaining the process. After each step, I circulated the room to assist those who were struggling while allowing more confident students the space to explore independently.

Due to the complexity and pacing of this formative assignment, students spent three class periods completing it. Each day began with a review of the tools and a refresher on how to use them, followed by guided practice and individual support. Clear, structured communication was essential throughout this process. To support student success on the summative assignment, I focused on delivering precise, consistent, and accessible instructions, recognizing that clarity is a foundational component of effective graphic design instruction.

Studio Habits of Mind: Observe- Students needed to watch and follow the step-by-step process of creating the flower and Coda before being let loose to create their summative. 

Conclusion

When it came to Standard 3: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction and create an environment that facilitates learning, I believe I performed somewhere between the developing and proficient levels.

Within my classroom, students consistently demonstrated learning, effort, and growth. Every student showed a willingness to try, identify areas where they needed improvement, and work toward success. Whether students were learning how much ink or paint was needed for their Model Magic monsters, manipulating tools in Adobe Illustrator to create mascots and flowers, or collaborating effectively as a team, they were actively engaged in the learning process. My students understood that they could safely explore, experiment, and problem-solve while knowing I would be there to guide and support them toward achieving their goals.

At the same time, I recognize there are still areas where I am developing as an instructor. I would sometimes stumble over my wording, move too quickly through instruction, or fail to simplify information enough for students to fully understand what they were being asked to do.

This became especially apparent while teaching younger elementary students. Mr. Meikel demonstrated incredible patience while observing me teach kindergarteners using vocabulary and explanations better suited for older students. Importantly, he pointed out opportunities for me to be successful and helped me recognize specific moments I could adjust my communication. Because of his feedback, I began experimenting with new ways of explaining concepts to younger learners in a more accessible and developmentally appropriate way.

As I gained more experience, I noticed my communication skills steadily improving. Even while I was still navigating the best ways to present information to different age groups, students continued to demonstrate growth and learning within the classroom environment.

My professional goal for this standard is straightforward: continue teaching, continue gaining experience, and continue seeking feedback. Experience is one of the most important factors in improving instructional delivery and communication skills. The more opportunities I have to teach, the more opportunities I have to refine how I explain, demonstrate, and guide learning.

When teaching older students, I often include opportunities for reflection not only about their growth and how the project could improve, but also about my own teaching. One question I can continue asking students is: “Was there any confusion with the presentation or demonstration for this project?” Feedback like this will help me better understand where communication breakdowns may occur and how I can improve future instruction.