Instruction II | Standards + Assessment
Performance synopsis

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​​Standard 1:    Teachers demonstrate mastery of and pedagogical expertise in the content they teach. 

• A | Teachers provide instruction that is aligned with the Colorado Academic Standards and their district's organized plan of instruction.
  • ​Artifact | Ideation Lesson Plan
  • Advanced
    • Rationale | Within this lesson plan example, the viewer can clearly identify an organized structure to the lesson plan which addresses all Colorado Academic Standards for art education at a high school level. Content standards are established in order to set specific goals for the lesson, which develop into the "understandings" or "big ideas" that students would see written on the board for that day. Along with this information, the schedule for the day is clearly described in a way that any person with teaching capabilities could pick up this lesson and deliver it to the students. A "post lesson reflection" is also included, showing the level of professionalism I hold myself to in order to reflect, revise, and improve my lessons.
• B | Teachers develop and implement lessons that connect to a variety of content areas/disciplines and emphasize literacy and mathematics.
  • Artifact | Composition Lesson Presentation
  • Advanced
    • Rationale | I set a goal for myself mid semester, that by the end of the term I would: "Incorporate mathematical and literary standards within the first week of class, particularly concepts such as: the golden spiral, golden rectangle, rule of thirds, proportion, and perspective to build upon these theories/guidelines the rest of the semester."  (Standard I: B Teachers develop and implement lessons that connect to a variety of content areas/disciplines and emphasize literacy and mathematics) So, within this lesson and those thereafter, I specifically included these listed concepts to connect art concepts to other disciplines and expand students' mindset of the "useful quality" of skills learned in creative courses toward the outside world. I believe art naturally integrates many content areas, through the deep discussion art making provokes and the advanced skills/concepts students must understand (as listed above) in order to create artworks that are dynamic, personal, pertinent, and comprehendible to an audience.

Standard 2:    Teachers establish a safe, inclusive and respectful learning environment for a diverse population of students.

• A | Teachers foster a predictable learning environment characterized by acceptable student behavior and efficient use of time in which each student has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults and peers.
  • Artifact | Contemporary Artist Connection: Lesson Plan
  • Proficient
    •  Rationale |  Teacher and student actions on the lesson plans were accompanied by time estimations when applicable to ensure co-teacher voices were equally represented and student voices were provided the opportunity to be heard. During Google Meet sessions, at least one teacher (who was not presenting) served as “chat monitor” to ensure students remained on task. Students were able to make connections with one another often through the chat as they could contribute short comments or discussions about pertinent personal interests that will ultimately benefit their future work. In particular, one class we were talking about composition and students began discussing how they ideate for projects--many responded they listen to music for inspiration. This opened up discussion about their music interests in the chat and allowed me to connect with students, as many bands were familiar to me! Although someone from the outside may have viewed this discussion as “off task” I allowed it because it allowed students to bond with one another and ultimately led to me knowing more about my students and things that interest/inspire them to better my lessons in the future. This conversation informed me about how to better my lessons to form deeper connections and heightened engagement within the lesson
• B | Teachers demonstrate an awareness of, a commitment to, and respect for multiple aspects of diversity, while working toward common goals as a community of learners.
  • Artifact | Contemporary Artists: Presentation
  • Proficient
    • ​Rationale | This lesson presentation includes: examples of artists from various cultural backgrounds and exhibited representation of both male and female artist examples, incorporation of individual research of an artist who inspires them (ensures students’ backgrounds and contextual knowledge are considered), presentation of research/pertinence/personal connection to classmates, encouragement of insightful discussion about classmates’ presentations showing that the teacher and classmates value their effort, ideas, and opinions (effective communication, different points of view, capitalizes diversity as an asset), and having students respond how they may incorporate people/ideas which inspire them into their future work therefore accelerating progress towards learning goals (uses materials and lessons that counteract stereotypes and acknowledges the contributions of all cultures).

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

• 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.
  • Advanced​​
  • Artifact | Management Plan
    • ​Rationale | Within my management plan, I have laid out various guidelines and expectations for my classroom. Establishing boundaries within a classroom is vital in ensuring students feel safe both socially and emotionally. When students feel safe and encouraged in their learning environment, they are more likely to ask questions, take risks, and make valuable discoveries. Having these protocols and expectations visible in the classroom, ensures that there are no gaps in communication and students know exactly what is expected of them. Establishing my teaching philosophy exhibits the thought and care I put into my instructional process and allows me to have a reference-able visual to hold myself accountable. Writing down specific goals for my classroom ensures that I maintain the environment I have envisoned.
• B | Teachers use formal and informal methods to assess student learning, provide feedback, and use results to inform planning and instruction.
  • ​Advanced
  • Artifact | Student Work Analysis Protocol​ 
    • ​​Rationale | Within this artifact, I analyzed all student work from their Drawing I: Final Project. Within this document I was breaking down the process of assessment through establishing student expectations, standard expectations, my personal expectations of their responses, and diagnosing students strengths and needs. Based on the scaffolded curriculum of Drawing I, 45% of students achieved results for the 'high' category where objectives were met above and beyond expectations, 40% of students achieved 'expected' meaning that the assignment objectives were partially met, and 15% of students scored 'low' meaning the expectations of the assignment were not met. Based on this data, I established which skills students need more review on. 

Standard 4:  Teachers demonstrate professionalism through ethical conduct, reflection, and leadership. ​

• A | Teachers demonstrate high standards for professional conduct.
  • Advanced
  • Juxtaposition Project | Ideation Padlet
    • Rationale | Within this screenshot of our work space on Padlet, you can see the feedback I provided to my drawing students regarding their ideation for a project based on "juxtaposition". Padlet is a free online tool that is best described as an online notice board. Padlet can be used by students and teachers to post notes on a common page. The notes posted by teachers and students can contain links, videos, images and document files. I strive to provide students with very thorough feedback, providing as much constructive commentary as possible so that they have many points to jump from throughout their concept creation process. I make sure to connect my feedback to our learning goals for the assignment, alongside any personal motivations I may be able to provoke within the students.
•  C |  Teachers are able to respond to a complex, dynamic environment.
  • Proficient
  • AVID Tutoring Reflection
    • ​Rationale | During AVID I faced many obstacles teaching virtually, then in-person, and co-teaching during that time. Tutoring in content areas other than my own could have been extremely difficult, but I was motivated by my ability to ask questions. Throughout college I have been taught various processes of how to ask students guided questions in order to strengthen their ideation and art making processes in a way that doesn't encourage them to seek the instructors approval, but instead find the correct solution within themself. I felt very confident in my ability to respond to new situations, and that also included conflict resolution and collaboration with my co-teachers. Understanding that educators, especially in various content areas, are bound to have contrasting methods of teaching and finding solutions to co-teach is vital in establishing equal roles of authority and respect within the classroom so that the educators and students both feel safe and heard.

Professional Teaching Dispositions:  Exhibit dispositions required for effective teaching and professional practice

• Self Evaluation - Click to preview
       
•  What two dispositional areas do you feel very comfortable with and why?
  • ​Initiative and Dependability | During my time at Thompson Valley High School, I sought out many opportunities beyond the requirements for the course. I was able to teach more than the required 2 lessons, maintained a close relationship with the drawing instructor as this is a content area I am very interested in teaching, spoke with the instructor collaboratively to ideate for his own lesson plans, and took advantage of leadership opportunities  during AVID tutoring. My co-teachers and I talked frequently outside of school to collaborate, discuss homework, and find a sense of comradeship and dependability for one another. I was even presented the opportunity to apply for a teaching position at a high school within another district during my practicum, so I balanced teaching and applying for a job (figuring out how I would be able to balance my practicum and a part-time teaching job, etc.) in order to prematurely expand my teaching experience. I communicated with all of my professors and co-teachers during this time, on the chance that the teaching opportunity indeed was presented to me. Although I did not get the job, I was proud to have experienced the application process prior to the typical time in which fresh educator apply and having those professional conversations with my learning network early on. Being able to wear many hats and balance a multiplicity of tasks is one of my greatest strengths.
  • Commitment to Profession | I have wanted to become an educator from an early age, finding more value in the practice as I have gained hands-on experience throughout my life. Living in a democratic republic society means that our individual identities and perspectives are vital to the greater picture and ultimately lead to conversations and decisions that affect our country as a whole. Our collaborative voices and how we employ them are what define our societal values. Education is built to encourage everyone to succeed. Education is vital in ensuring that young adults are prepared to be active participants, role models and leaders in our society. It is incredibly important to nurture all learners whether or not they are a “genius” in your class or find the content to be the most exciting thing in the world. It is important to validate their struggles, commend their effort, and say “how can I help you succeed?” In terms of being an art educator, I have seen through experience that a good art lesson is one that sparks interest in your students and draws passion from within them to create something meaningful and exciting. One will know a lesson is successful when you see each student approaching challenges with confidence; they are comfortable in the environment, supported by their instructor/peers, and confident in their ability to approach new methods and ideas knowing that failure is a viable and welcome option. Humans learn and grow through the process of trial and error, creative methodology and imagination. Educators are preparing students for life after high school by teaching them to be resourceful and unwilling to give up or check out. When I imagine a “good” art teacher, I envision someone who understands and exhibits empathy, values effort and creative problem solving, finds excitement in the content they are teaching, and cares deeply about their students. 

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• ​What is one dispositional area you want to focus on during your student teaching semester?
  • Collegiality and Responsiveness | I now have had both very positive experiences and negative experiences working collaboratively as a co-teacher. I find it much easier to co-teach with people who are in the same content area as myself. We have very similar value systems in terms of education making our teaching philosophies and goals very similar. I was very lucky to experience positive collaborative teaching opportunities to know how I want the dynamic to feel. During AVID, I faced many challenges co-teaching and that was partially due to differing value systems based on both content area goals/teaching philosophies and teaching style. I would like to better my ability to collaborate with educators who do not hold the same teaching style as my own, and find more value in assessing our differences and how I might adapt my teaching style based on these observations. It is incredibly important to be able to collaborate effectively with a variety of people, so this is certainly a skill very important to me that I feel could be improved. It can be difficult for me to teach with an iron fist, but perhaps that is something that could be beneficial to me in terms of stronger behavioral management in the classroom. There is always something to be learned from the teaching style of others, whether it jives with mine or not.