INSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY
Because art can often be an independent and isolating experience, my goal with my management plan is to make sure that students develop a collaborative, communal, and leadership-based mindset when developing an independent work ethic and taking responsibility for their actions (project creation and clean-up). This can be achieved in a few ways:
By practicing these habits in the classroom, students will be able to take more responsible actions for their communities outside of school. This will give them a sense of purpose as they consider what they want to do when they become adults.
- Creating novelty, play, and experimentation that impacts the eight studio habits across different age ranges excites students to create art (process and product). If the lesson speaks to their innate interests, they are less likely to feel bored or act inappropriately during class.
- Planning instruction specifically around students with high learning needs (ESL, special needs, and GT) allows for a lot more creative flexibility when it comes to motivating students to work and giving enough structured support to complete the tasks by themselves. It also prevents me from assuming that students will understand how to complete an assignment because of their age and assumed ability level.
- In a classroom environment, drawers and supply cabinets will be labeled with words/pictures of tools and be color coded so students can immediately know where to find things. Displaying large posters of important rules above specific classroom locations is also important too. I will provide students with process checkpoints and visual cues so that they will have some direction about the amount of work they should get done during class.
- Safety instructions with dangerous materials (appropriate to grade level) are made explicitly clear with posters, appropriately marked areas of the room, repeated and modeled instruction, and “horrifying” stories when things go wrong. Only when students are made very clear what consequences they would experience working with these materials with a little more respect.
- During formative and summative assessment-based class discussions, students have to respectfully listen to what each other have to say instead of having side conversations or checking on their phones. Students are asked to learn from each other and have more tools in their creative thinking toolbox, alleviating any sort of dependence on the teacher to solve all of their problems.
- Students are made aware that the “art studio” is a collaborative space that they need to treat with respect. This involves becoming aware of giving students space to work and cleaning up after themselves so the next group of students come in with a clean slate. Students have to complete their clean-up tasks and model appropriate behavior for clean-up.
By practicing these habits in the classroom, students will be able to take more responsible actions for their communities outside of school. This will give them a sense of purpose as they consider what they want to do when they become adults.