Part Two - Content Knowledge and Instructional Practice: The educator demonstrates the ability to thoughtfully examine, critically analyze, and insightfully reflect upon the use of content knowledge and assessment, planning, and instructional strategies to implement creative, rigorous, and engaging learning.
Interpretation of Theme & Reflection of Personal Learning:
The theme of Part Two is: Content Knowledge and Instructional Practice which includes content knowledge, application of content for transferable skills, assessment, planning for instruction, and instructional strategies. There is a lot to unpack here and so I will focus on two standards that I will be working on developing over the first few years of my teaching experience: Teaching Standard 8: Instructional Strategies and Teaching Standard 6: Assessments.
New teachers spend a lot of their time outside of class planning for instruction and preparing for the classes to come. I know that I spend countless hours preparing for my weeklong art camps for children over the summer. I even adjust the plan for the following day each evening as I reflect on the day. I know that in time the planning will come more naturally, and the feasibility of each lesson will become more clear with experience. Until then, I will take what I have learned from my student teaching experiences as well as the literature that has been recommended to me, to plan instruction for my future classes.
One resource that has supported my experience in the classroom this year has been Engaging Learners Through Artmaking: Choice-Based Art Education in the Classroom (TAB) as I observed and participated in the TAB art classroom set up at Charlotte Central. Chapter 2 of this valuable resource is entitled: Curriculum and it gives helpful guidelines on establishing a curriculum, planning out the school year at glance and includes thoughts on the National Core Arts Standards as well considerations for district and school community expectations. There are also examples of maps that illustrate learning goals across the grades for the school year. Overall, this is a wonderful resource for a new teacher interested in running a TAB classroom. Having seen a TAB classroom run successfully for 3rd through 8th grade, I am inclined to start my art teaching career this way but am open to alternative teaching methods should I find one that rings true to me and my style of teaching.
According to Douglas and Jaquith (2018), "Good assessments support teachers to make the right decision about what students should learn, when, and how. Teachers assess constantly while moving among students, setting up for the next class, and going through portfolios of work after school. All of this information is essential to help the teacher plan and prepare for classes" (p. 70). This citation helps my understanding of assessments greatly. When thinking about assessment, my mind goes to grades and maybe feedback, but the truth is, assessing is what we constantly do to improve. I used to keep a clipboard with me at all times when I began my position as director of an after school program in order to make notes on what was working, what I wanted to get or do to improve the program. I had not thought about it this way before, but I was assessing my program throughout the afternoon to make upgrades or adjustments so that it worked better for my students, my staff, the school, and even the parents and guardians.
What I have also learned about assessments this year is the role of the rubric and how to utilize rubrics in the classroom to not only assess student work, but to have them reflect on themselves as a student in the art room. In addressing the reality of grades, I turn to another resource: How to Create and Use Rubrics for Formative Assessment and Grading. In Chapter 11: How to Use Rubrics for Grading, the author suggests to, "Use the same rubrics to grade the assignment that students have been using formatively as part of their understanding of their learning target and for monitoring and improving their work" (p. 113). Rubrics that are used at the end of a marking period should not be a surprise to students, but rather, a tool used throughout the class time to keep students on track for the learning targets established. As I embark on my teaching experience, I plan to use the rubrics that I developed during my student teaching experience with the caveat to adjust as necessary. I imagine many of my routines and teaching methods will be adjusted frequently during the first few years in the classroom.
Resources:
Bookhart, S. M. (2013). How to Create and Use Rubrics for Formative Assessment and Grading. ASCD.
Douglas, K. M., & Jaquith, D. B. (2018). Engaging Learners Through Artmaking: Choice-Based Art Education in the Classroom (TAB). Teachers College Press.