extra credit

I went to the Noble Room in Hendricks Chapel to look at the displayed artwork. My favorite piece of artwork was “Whisper” and “Flirt” by Jamie Sedal. I would love to have it hanging on my bedroom or bathroom walls. The concept and colors were amazing. I also enjoyed Kathie Maniaci’s transparencies. They were really pretty and sentimental. I like the color choice in the “Figure study” with acrylic on canvas by Renee Parisi. The acrylic sketch looked amazing on the canvas. Out of all the wall art, the one that caught my eye was the newspaper charcoal “Worries” by Amber Brown. I liked the fact it was done on newspaper because it can be an earth friendly project and perfect for the low budget classroom. I also liked that it wasn’t just one piece of paper but layered pieces of newspaper. I enjoyed looking at art teacher’s artwork. A lot of times in schools the students don’t see what the art teacher can personally do and instead, usually just tells the students what to do. I think it is important that art teachers also have their work displayed.

Rubrics

Rubrics are an important aspect to classrooms. They are essential to art classrooms: both for the student and the teacher. When I thought of rubrics in the past, I only thought of them via eyes of the student and how they pertained to the student. After reading these articles, I realize that the rubrics are just as important to the teachers. Rubrics assess the student's work and also asses the teacher. Rubrics are used for the teachers to express exactly what they want from the student and shows upfront what the student will be graded on and how the student will be graded. The rubrics talked about in the articles had different levels: novice, intermediate, and advanced. Perhaps I don't clearly understand this, but to me this doesn't seem fair. Some students are just blessed with excelling in art while others are not. I think it is the amount of effort put in and how much the student truly tries that matters and should be the basis of the grade.


As a speech pathologist I'm not sure if I would be able to implement rubrics. In each of our lesson plans we have long term objectives and session objectives which are sort of like rubrics. However, we don't grade our client on these objectives we just note if they are met or not and sometimes there is need for adjustment. We can't really make a rubric to say what we want our client to do in the session because everyone is different. It may take one client six months to master something that another client did in a week. We can not give an exact prognosis on when something will be met, we can only make an estimated guess. What I can use is the Words and Phrases for Prompt and Rubric Design. Knowledge/comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation are all a part of the lesson plan and SOAP note I would write up for sessions. I would also use the phrases under Difference in Degree, and the descriptors for weaker and stronger performances. It is important to use accurate words.

"It was always the pictures.."

I liked this article because at first glance the reader would think it was just about graphics in education helping students with disabilities. This is also the thinking of many teachers: that they are using graphics to help students in their classroom with disabilities. However, students without disabilities also benefit from these graphics too. The article talks about different types of graphics: graphic organizers, picture books, fascination focused materials, graphic notes and story kits. I have used a couple of these: graphic organizers, picture books, and graphic notes. I had never heard of fascination focused materials and story kits until reading this article, but they make so much since. If a student with Autism has an "obsession" with trains why try to make their obsession go away, instead as teachers we should feed into it. They are already interested in the topic, so why not use it to help them learn? Story kits are a great idea not only for individuals with disabilities such as visual problems but also for reviewing the story as a whole classroom. These techniques can work for every one. It's not just the kids with disabilities that will benefit from these. However, when 'typical" kids can succeed with out these aids, it is important to remember that some students may truly need these aids to get a grasp on ideas so they are able to learn as well.

Romare Bearden

Let's Walk the Block is a very interesting website. I like how he incorporates different aspects of Harlem into his page such as the artwork and jazz. Romare Bearden's artwork is very unique. The colors are bright and bring you in. I also like how he uses the same types of geometric shapes throughout but still makes every building different. He uses a real place but then uses his imagination to shape it. He puts his feelings and thoughts into his work. When one first sees his work they may think that the events in the picture really happened, but after browsing the website I found out that it was his imagination. When I was reading about his artwork I couldn't believe it was almost the size of a bus! I would love to see it in person. The website incorperates Bearden's life, inspirations, and how he creates his work. I liked the guided tour which explored the website. I also like how he has an educational tool on his website for young kids and older kids which parents and teachers can use. Works of art like his can be fun in a classroom- maybe have students draw their street and use their imagination to add to it.

comics in the classroom

I don't think any of my teachers ever used comics in the classroom. I wish they did after reading this article. I understand how great they are for the classroom and how they would entice the class and help with learning. They have visual appeal which draws the students in. Like the graphic novel we read; it states that these graphic novels help because they are read at the speed the child can read and doesn't go faster than they can understand. The pictures are permanent and words and characters won't just disappear when the child takes a little longer to understand. Students will enjoy subjects better with these graphic novels because they are fun and remind them of comic strips.


I also like how these graphic novels can be used for other subjects than just reading. Like how the teacher used them to teach math and lessons when he was absent and the students had a sub. What a great idea! Not much gets done in classrooms when there is a sub and this is a great way to keep the students learning.

Islamic Art & Geometric Design

Islamic art and geometric designs can be used in a variety of ways. It can be used to teach the history of Islam and all aspects of Islam. It can tell stories of Islam and Islamic art. It can be used for science, math, and art in schools. These designs can be used to teach students in math about grids and shapes. I liked how the article gave activities and step by step instructions to do these works of art in the classroom. They are beautiful pieces of art work but at the same time they are so much more. They have history and culture behind them. Teachers can use these in basically any subject to teach their ideas and the students can have fun while doing it! They might not even realize they are learning!

I remember when I was younger printing out designs on my computer that were black and white to color just thinking they were cool designs and patterns. After reading these articles I now know that they were Islamic art. I never thought of actually designing one of these my self either.

reflection 6

What I got out of Thomas A. Oakley's article was that we should think more about the way we think. In school students are thinking, but they aren't usually asking their selves why the think that or try to rationalize problems out a different way. Drawing is one way to rationalize problems to find how we are really thinking or feeling. In a an art classroom, art is obviously created. But, how often does one stop to think how art is actually created? And then put that into a picture.

Oakley also stated that art is something that is learned. I have never thought of it this way; I just always assumed that art is something you are born with.. like a gift. I think that this is important that he taught his students that because not all students in an art class may have the same passion for art or view themselves as artistic.

The Rube Goldberg website is very entertaining. I like how he thought out crazy inventions and put them into a cartoon. They can be used as artwork and humor.

reflection 5

As I read this article, I thought that the author, Robin Vande Zande, made really good points. When something isn’t appealing to look at, we fix it. Take a car for example, if we get into an accident and there is chipped paint and a dent most of us would want to have that fixed even if it doesn’t affect how the car runs. It is such an aesthetic appeal and is apart of us as humans. Why do we fix things that aren’t broken? This relates to art because we like to look at things/objects that are attractive and appealing; along with furniture and cars. We could usually have a plain chair or car without all the gadgets to suffice our needs, but we want more. So we have fancy cars and couches that don’t only serve as functional objects but also as aesthetics.





Depending on what we want objects to function as determines how it may look. Like the article stated, cars for travel with more people will have more seats and will be safer for highway driving. In class, we had to design a chair made out of cardboard to hold a softball. The functional aspect of the chair was just to hold a softball, so that is what I did. I didn’t add anything fancy or make it appealing at the least; but it can hold a softball. However, with more time I probably would have tried to make it look better and more appealing. That particular activity was fun and a good use of scraps. Many schools will find their selves with a low budget and not much to work with so this is a low cost assignment and good recycling activity.

reflection 4

Amy Schultz article states that for visual learners, it is hard to put a story in writing and is easier to put it into an illustration and tell the story for there. When I was in school, we were always writing our thoughts instead of expressing them via other forms of expressions like artwork. This seems like an unfair advantage to students that are visual learners and grades may suffer because of this. Not because they aren't as strong story tellers but because they aren't effectively using the right means to creating the story.
Many times in a speech clinic or classroom, a Speech Language Pathologist will have their client create a story, usually by writing it and then reading it aloud to work on their pronunciation. Many times the story is brought home and rehearsed for the following week before they are asked to read it aloud. As I read this article, I thought that if I wanted my client to create a story, they could create it with an illustration and then tell me the story using the picture. As a speech pathologist, it doesn't matter how the story is made as long as they are telling it verbally afterward. Since I plan to work with young children, my clients will be more excited about their session if they are able to color and draw instead of dreading the idea of having to write a story because then session feels like school; which many already do not like due to their speech problem. After the session, the child can bring their artwork home to give to their parents to hopefully hang it on the fridge and display it!

reflection 3

I was really surprised when I read the statistics about all the adolescents that opt for tattoos so young. A couple of my friends got tattoos in high school, but senior year was the earliest. I agree that many teens get tattoos without clearly planning ahead on the tattoo process, the tattoo itself, and the place they are getting it done. Some tattoos have personal relevance while others are just something they think looks cool. Neither of my parents have tattoos and didn't encourage me to get one. I had always thought about what I may want- for some reason I always liked stars even though they don't mean anything. My sophomore year of college my roommate, who at the time had one tattoo, and I decided we should go get tattoos. On a limb we went and got tattoos. I decided I would get the same one she already had- a small star on the hip. Looking back, I, like many people talked about in the article, wish I would have thought it through more. I don't know if I really regret it, but I wish I had planned better. I do want another one, but am really thinking it out this time. I want it to have meaning to my life.
I think that for some people tattoos is an art form and is used to express who they are and their beliefs. For other people, tattoos are just a right of passage or a way to rebel. I believe that there is a whole art form of tattoos and the history of tattoos. In some religions it is frowned upon, while in others it is a "normal" occurrence. Tattoos should have be for the person whose body they are on, and it shouldn't matter what other people think.

Reflection 2

Do people automatically turn pictures in words? Or words into pictures? Temple Grandin and Donna Williams argued against one another in this argument and about different learning styles.
Temple Grandin sees life in pictures. She is able to manipulate things into pictures in her mind and see the outcome. She believes that people with Autism, are detail oriented but use different groups to do this. The three groups they fall into include: Visual thinking, the way she does, Music and Math thinking, and Verbal logic thinking. Grandin also believes that non autistic people think verbally with words.
Donna Williams does not agree. She states that only 30% of the population is verbal thinkers. Williams believes that many people can not think in pictures at all; like her self. The two differ greatly and as do their views.
I’m not sure which one I side with. It is hard to say because we aren’t in everyone else’s mind, understanding how their mind works. But I do agree with Williams when she says that everyone is diverse and has their own way of interpretation. Knowing that there are other ways of interpretation out there is important when I will be working with people as a Speech Language Pathologist. Being open to the way that works best for them and their strengths will help me do my job and help my client strive and do their very best.

In the “Why Art” article, I learned about a boy whose life was transformed by art. He was headed down a bad path until art pulled him back in. I have often heard of art being an escape for some people. When words can’t be used to express feelings, art is a great way to express those feelings. The “Functions of Art” article makes sense that knowing the artist helps in identifying the piece of art. Also, one piece of art may have different functions for different people depending on how that particular person views and interrupts it.

As I began thinking about what role art has played in my life, negative thoughts began. I have never been artistic. I was a high honor roll student, and still received good grades in art, but I was not very good. I can barely draw a straight line with a ruler! When my friends and I would make sweatshirts or shirts in high school, they would always do mine for me because they knew how awful mine would come out. However in college, I made a scrapbook and huge collage of pictures that no one believed I made! My negative thoughts of art changed when I read an article and it mentioned dance as a form of art; which made me think of cheerleading as a form of art which has had a large role in my life. One question I have is how can teachers make the role of art in students lives not seem as negative as I once viewed it?