Reflection 6 - Field Experience

I was extremely nervous at first and my head had a hundred thoughts running through it. "What is my class going to be like? What is my teacher going to be like? What if my partner and I don't work well together? What if our lessons turn out terribly? What if I dislike this so much it makes me not want to be a teacher?"  A lot of crazy thoughts, I know, but I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing field was.

We had an incredible cooperating teacher who took incredible care of us.  She gave us dozens of insider tips and tricks that she had accumulated over the 25 years of teaching she has under her belt.  She was flexible and was up for anything we wanted to do, but gave us suggestions, too.  She incorporated the arts into her classroom, which we noticed from day one.  The class had their Utah program coming up, and our cooperating teacher taught her students the Virginia Reel, and the LOVED it. They square danced for the following week and the kids had loads of fun each and every time they danced it. Along with the dancing, the Utah program incorporated many songs, which not only engaged the kids, but it was a great tool in teaching them about Utah's history.  They had fun with it and more importantly, they really remembered all the information they sang about.

For one of our lessons, my partner and I did a process drama.  We got a picture book on the Pony Express and  made little activities for the kids to do while we read it.  They had so much fun during that lesson and it allowed them to be little actors and actresses and to use their bodies and learn kinesthetically.

Throughout this journey of field and this first semester in the education program, I've learned and value of the arts in the classroom.  A classroom without the arts in it is a sad and deprived one. I have learned that art in the classroom isn't just coloring, like some people think.  There are so many elements and principles to each of the arts - visual arts, dance, music, and theater.  In this class, we have been given countless examples and ideas of how we can mix the arts into our future classrooms, ideas and examples that can be applied to a variety of grades, a variety of subjects, and a variety of contexts.  I plan on using music a lot in my future classroom, by finding songs that can teach a subject, by perhaps creating and singing my own songs to teach with, and even by playing classical music in the background while my students do their work. I adore the process drama idea.  I had never heard of it before this class, and I think it's great.  It's nice because you can find any picture book about any subject and do a process drama.  I can easily see myself using process dramas in my future teaching.  I have always been a fan of color in general, and I plan to have a very colorful, inviting classroom.  I plan to keep up on the creative arts by attending attending music and dance and theater presentation, art galleries, etc., so that I can be in the know about the new advances in the art world.  That way I can better incorporate the arts into my classroom.

I truly believe that the arts have many, many uses in the classroom and that they are extremely beneficial for the teacher and the student.  The arts will play a big part in my teaching career.

Dance Reflection

What?
When I think of "the arts", dance is the form that comes to mind last, or at least it used to.  I wasn't aware of how useful and beneficial children's creative dance can be in the classroom.  It allows students to be incredible expressive and creative and imaginative.  I learned many different ways dance can be incorporated into lessons and how it can be a teaching tool.

So What?
Learning about this art form before field might change the way I approach my lesson plans.  It has gotten my mind going as far as how I can add creative movement and dance into one or two of the lessons I will teach while in field.  For field, we're only focusing on the area of Social Studies, but there are many subject areas that dance can be used in.  I could research and find dances that come from certain cultures or time periods, and that would work wonderfully to mix dance into my field experience.

Now What?
As a future educator, I need to keep up on the breatkthroughs in the arts and education.  I need to let my own creativity and imagination go and explore, so that I can help my students foster and use their own creativity.  At times, I think/have thought that dancing is just a silly thing that makes people let lose and laugh a little. To incorporate this into my future practices, I need to remember the real and true advantages of dance in the classroom and not just that it's fun.

And...
As always, this project was great and is something that I plan on referring to when I am an actual teacher.  I feel as though this was one of the easier assignments, which was nice seeing as how field is right around the corner.  To be honest, I don't feel as though I contributed much to my group.  I feel like my other group members took charge and told me what to do, which worked for me.  In working with multiple people with multiple visions and ideas, I have learned that sometimes things don't turn out exactly how you might think they should.  I personally would have gone in a different direction, but I believe in being a team player and my group and I still came up with a good presentation.

Music Reflection

What?
Music is the combination of tones and sounds in succession.  Music in the classroom is my favorite thing! It should be in schools for many reasons.  According to the class text, the brain is predisposed to detect patterns and sounds, which means music and academic achievement are linked.  Music is a significant part of life, it's natural, and it uses the whole brain. 

So What?
Being a strong musical learner myself, I plan on incorporating music into my classroom as much as possible.  There are songs out there that cover all subjects, which I can use in many of my lessons.  I'm very passionate about music and believe that it is extremely beneficial in the classroom.  When teaching music to children, it's important to keep it simple.  They will have a much harder time learning material through a song if the song is too difficult.  Repetition is also important.  Our brains need to hear something many times to create meaning from the information.

Now What?
To effectively teach and integrate music into my future classroom, I plan to start researching and collecting songs that I could potentially use for my students.  I can't teach songs if I don't know any.  I hope and plan to express my creativity and let it grow so that I can come up with fun and unique ways to mix music into my class.  One bonus way I'd like to integrate music is to learn how to play music myself.  Bring my ukelele to class for my presentation was fun and engaging, and I would love to do that again, or bring another instrument, in my future classroom.

And of course...
Working in my groups for this project went great.  Unlike the larger groups, it was just Mallory and me.  However, that didn't matter as much as I thought it would.  We split the work evenly, which is always nice.  She got our picture book and printed the little cards while I came up with the lyrics and played along.  The decision to do Utah symbols was both of ours, and in my opinion, that was a good decision.  Through working in teams, I've learned the value of different points of views and ideas.  Collaberation with others can create beautiful, new, interesting things.

Drama Reflection

What?  This week, we learned about how we can use and incorporate the art of drama into the classroom.  Did you know there are dozens and dozens of drama games and activities teachers can use for dozens and dozens of reasons?  I didn't.  Drama promotes creativity and participation in the classroom. 

So What?  I can see myself mixing many drama activities into my future classroom.  I think they work fantastically as warm-ups or starters, brain boosters, or if students just need a quick break to get refocused.  I loved all the drama group activities we did in class, and I could easily see myself using lots of fun group activities.  Using drama in groups encourage creativity as well as teamwork.  Drama can also be used as a great formative or summative assessment strategy.

Now What? Children need creative drama as a way to express themselves in their school setting.  Drama gets children up and out of their seats to learn while letting them express how they interpret the world.  I know when I was in grade school, I loved when I had the chance to be unique and creative, and that's exactly what drama allows students to be.   It gets them up, makes them smile and laugh, and let's them create.  What's not to love?

And...This group project went well.  I feel like I almost took the backseat for this project and was told what my part was, which was just fine.  Everyone in the group did what they were supposed to do, and they did it well.  We divided our book into equal sections, created our own activity for those pages, and then each presented for about two minutes.  When it came to the actual presentation, I felt as though it didn't flow as well as I had hoped it would, but I believe that has mostly to do with the time restrictions.  I learned how valuable and useful process drama for a text can be.  It really involves the learner and connects them to what is being taught, which I love.  All in all, I enjoyed working with my group and I think we worked well together.

Reflection - Visual Arts

What?
In the visual arts unit, we learned about the basic principles (value, color, shape, line, texture, and space) and elements (proportion, balance, rhythm, variety, emphasis, and unity) of visual art.  We looked at and analyzed different works of art that demonstrated the principles and elements. 

So What?
As a teacher, this means that I can teach my future students about visual art.  Not only have we learned about ways to create visual artwork, but we also learned how to critique and analyze works of art.  Visual art is something that I can teach my students to appreciate, as well.  As a person, knowing about and valuing visual art makes me more educated, more cultured, and a more well-rounded person.

Now What?
As I learn more about the visual arts, I can better plan to incorporate them into my lessons and activities.  I've always been a huge fan of arts, especially visual arts, so my perspective hasn't changed much.  I've simply learned a couple extra facts and tips during this great unit.  I think visual arts is something that kids enjoy and are enthusiastic about, whether it's fingerpainting, coloring, drawing, or any other method, and I look forward to mixing the visual arts into my classroom.

And...
I really enjoyed this group project.   Laura and Angie were great teammates.  My group worked extremely well together.  I feel like each of us pulled our own weight; we each were assigned a piece of the virtual handout, and we each brought supplies for our project itself.  I thought the project my group came up with was genius and our other classmates liked it, too.  This project was a FANTASTIC way to incorporate visual art into the classroom while encouraging team work and allowing creativity.

The Arts and Me

The arts have always been something that's interested me.  I love the freedom and creativity that comes with the arts.  I remember when I was seven.  My local grocery store had a coloring contest near Halloween.  I found the best picture in my new coloring book and went to work.  I went to the store a few weeks later to find out the results...and I won! There wasn't a happier girl on the planet.  Perhaps this memory is what sparked my love for the arts.

Music is an art form that is dear to me.  I absolutely use music to express myself, but I also use it as a learning tool. You can find a song about anything, which I adore.  I recall old teachers of mine using songs in the classroom to help us remember a certain something, and I can remember some of those songs to this day.  My favorite class in high school was choir.  The times I had in choir were what made my high school education excellent.  Not only was choir fun, but I believe that it helped me in my other subjects as well.

As a future teacher, I absolutely plan on incorporating the arts into my classroom.  I wouldn't want to be in a classroom without them.  The arts are what hooks kids - the colors, the shapes, the sounds, the movements.  It lets them express themselves, and allows them to interpret the world around them.  In my opinion, a classroom without the arts is an unsuccessful one.