KATIE KUTZ
Artist/ Student/ Art Educator
Quality Standard Two: Teachers establish a safe, inclusive and respectful learning environment for a diverse population of students.
Knowing your content and being able to teach it is only part of being a great teacher. I could create the most amazing lesson plan in the world, but with out classroom routines and expectations, students will likely not be engaged or know what is expected of them. Having a solid classroom routine and expectations gives students a sense of stability and safety which will only aid in the learning process. Most art lessons include showing artists examples, as the teacher it is my responsibility to provide students with examples from various different cultures. Not all students come from the same background, it's important to show students that art has been created by people of all backgrounds. Students also are not all at the same skill level. some students may need a bit more assistance while others need to be challenged. It is my job to ensure that all students are having their needs met and get the opportunity to learn. I would rate myself as proficient in this standard, even though I believe it is always important to keep learning and improving, I recognize students need a reliable, culturally diverse education that addresses their specific learning needs.
Element 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.
For element A I chose a poster that we had hanging on our wall in the art room
at my elementary school placement. This poster represents our classroom rules.
At the beginning of the semester we go over these rules with our students and
point out the poster. These are the expectations of he classroom and were
reinforced regularly. This helped students to always know what to expect
in the art room.
Element B: Teachers demonstrate an awareness of, a commitment to, and a respect for multiple aspects of diversity, while working toward common goals as a community of learners.
In the art room I always do my best to incorporate artists and artwork from
various cultures. For this lesson I wanted to introduce students to a form
of African art- Kente cloth. We discussed the significance and the history
of this art form and went over the meaning of the colors used. Students
then had the opportunity to pick colors based on their meanings to create
their own version of a Kente cloth.
Element C: Teachers engage students as individuals, including those with diverse needs and interests, across a range of ability levels by adapting their teaching for the benefit of all students.
For this element I chose a written document of a lesson I did on value. In this lesson we discussed what value is and how to use value to create form in our paintings. Usually these lessons are given through google slides, however we had a students who was in in-school suspension and needed the assignment to be printed off as he did not have access to technology. I wrote up the lesson with all the facts that he would need to know and included the various choices of assignments. This was a skill-builder lesson where I taught the skill, and then gave students various choices of assignments to choose from. I started with a base level assignment and also provided more challenging ones. I also always included a student choice assignment as well. The objectives for this lesson were to use value (highlight, midtone, and shadow) and create a black and white painting from observation.
Element D: Teachers work collaboratively with the families and/or significant adults for the benefit of students.
The artifact for this element is an email exchange I had with one of my students parents who also happened to be a teacher at Silver Creek as well. This particular student had struggled with depressive episodes and self harm. During one of my classes she drew an image of a wrist being cut open and expressed that she had watched a video of someone doing that. Knowing her background I became concerned and thought it best to ensure that her support people were aware. I contacted her mom and her counselor and let them know what she drew and how our conversation went about it. This is a situation where I needed to communicate a safety and well being issue to ensure that this student gets the support she
needs.
