Synthesis

     This class taught me a lot about becoming an art teacher.  The classes were interesting and the field trips and outside-of-class experiences were very useful.   I learned new ways of viewing and responding to art, thanks to the introduction of Big Ideas and VTS, both of which will definitely become important in my classroom.  I love the way big ideas give lessons a focus point for meaning and the way VTS forces the students to slow down and really look at something.  Our class trips to the Historical Society and MUMAA were informative and interesting.  They gave me ideas on ways to use such experiences in the classroom, plus it was great to see Mary in VTS action.

     Developing art curriculum was totally new to me.  I liked the way we had examples and a format for creating lessons and unit plans.  It was hard work, but I'm so happy to have done it, seeing how I will be doing so much more of it in the future.  I have heard different teacher friends say, "I'm so busy, I'm writing curriculum."  Now I know what they are talking about.  I appreciated Kathy's talk about her classroom practices and her drawing unit plan.  It showed the possibilities available when you are creating the lessons.  I liked working with my Tiger Artist group to create a lesson.  Our brainstorming session made me realize how important it is to hear other people's opinions and suggestions.  People come up with great ideas.

     The Tiger Artist experience also taught me many things about teaching art.  It was amazing to take our lesson plan from the page to real life.  Watching the students interact with our ideas was great.  I also appreciate the way that the Tiger Artist reviews let the whole class see what happened on each Saturday.  (Speaking as a parent of Tiger Artists, I know that my children really enjoyed their time with the MU students and they are very pleased with the artwork they made.)  My field experience at Lange Middle School also taught me about different aspects of being an art teacher, from using technology in the classroom to handling disruptive behavior.  I have learned new strageties that I plan to use in my own classrooms, and things that I would definitely do differently.  I know that I plan to have a big idea for each lesson.  That way the student's will see that the projects they spend so much time on actually have meaning, hopefully meaning that is important to them.  I enjoyed the class where Kathy, Amber and Valynda Huffman talked to us about teaching.  It was fun and informative.

     I think that creating my Unit Plan was the most effort I have ever put into anything that was not an art project.  That was hard work.  I'm proud of it though.  With a few modifications, I think it is a feasible unit plan that students would enjoy.  The P3's were great, they gave relevant feedback that I appreciated.  It was fascinating to see all of the different ideas that my classmates turned into unit plans.  We are a creative bunch.  I'm glad that we can all learn from each other's great ideas.