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One challenge: We've been learning about figurative language and it has been difficult to help the kids see the difference between similes and metaphors. We have songs, videos and packets and I can't seem to help them tell the difference between the two. It has been a challenge, but I think with more time and practice they will get it.
One success I've had: Students are starting to understand fractions with a game I found. It has been exciting seeing their progress.

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I feel that Donner's use of peer assessments seemed to go well according to the video. The student examples shown had effective comments that helped the artist. One challenge may be that some students may not have effective or helpful comments, or that some students may feel judged by their peers and feel negatively about it. I might use peer assessments after students are more familiar with a topic.

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I would like to use the rubric as an assessment tool because I feel that it is important to have the students know what is expected of them. I also think it will help me develop my lesson deeper so that I know what I want my students to create. I do not use rubrics much in my class, except for major projects. So it would be helpful to use one for a lesson.

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Lately we've been trying to catch up in Math after missing so much school due to the Camp Fire. It seems to be the area where my kiddos are struggling the most. We are learning about measurement and I started playing Ron Brown's Math Music Songs before each lesson. Today as we were talking about millimeters and centimeters, the whole class started singing the song to answer the question. It made my heart super happy.

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Lately we've been trying to catch up in Math after missing so much school due to the Camp Fire. It seems to be the area where my kiddos are struggling the most. We are learning about measurement and I started playing Ron Brown's Math Music Songs before each lesson. Today as we were talking about millimeters and centimeters, the whole class started singing the song to answer the question. It made my heart super happy.

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It seems as if her use of peer assessment was very effective. All the students seemed really respectful and open to suggestions which is something I would view as a challenge. I feel like you would have to do a lot of work to prepare your students to interact this way, especially when they are young and say whatever comes to mind :P (I teach 3rd grade). I would probably use this type of assessment with my students, but would modify how open ended the feed back would be. I might have the students use the rubric and circle where they thought their peer was at, rather than allowing them to leave open ended comments.

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One challenge:  With the ease of access to information through the many technological devices available to students, an ongoing challenge is to keep students originally creative in the design of their compositions. I find myself having to remind them to find inspirational ideas through research and use those ideas to create something of their own, rather than just copying an image they find.
One success: We just completed a unit on still life painting on canvas which I feel was quite successful. I brought in real fruits and veges for students to choose from to set up their still life compositions. This allowed students to draw from observation, rather than from a flat image, taking note of light and shadow as they created tints and shades of color to capture the essence of the moment

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To be honest this entire year has been challenging. I was on maternity leave the beginning half of the year and then adjusting to the trauma and loss of school time because of the Camp Fire has been difficult.  I have felt as if I'm playing catch up with my relationships with students, classroom management and academics. The biggest and most recent challenge has been preparing for the CAASPP and fine tuning the various instructional strategies to meet students' diverse learning needs.
There has been success though. This week was the first week I actually had fun teaching with my students!! I felt that spark again. We started our "The Power of Flowers" Science unit and got to start working in our garden. Students are very engaged and excited.

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I think that Donnor's use of peer assessment worked well.  I liked how she modeled to her students how to take the suggestions and either use them or don't.  The challenges I see teachers having with peer assessment would be the time to teach and model how to give constructive suggestions and how to receive and apply the suggestions appropriately. My group of 3rd grade students (especially this year) would struggle with this. My students would not be successful with open ended suggestions. To modify this, I would make suggestions cards with the rubric numbers that each have pre written suggestions that fulfill the rubric's criteria.  The students could circle these as feedback.

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Ute Micklos:  Donnor's use of peer assessments appeared to be quite effective. Multiple strategies were used for students to communicate with one another about their ongoing projects. Because the review was occurring throughout the process, rather than through a formal critique at the end, students were given opportunity to improve their work. There appeared to be a low stress level for students, allowing for comfort in the assessment process. No one student was ever put on the spot to be judged by the whole class, as the evaluative process was ongoing, between the students. The post-its were a good way to communicate without stopping the flow of creativity. There was buy-in from the students as they helped create the visual rubric. Challenges teachers might face include setting up the system for communicating about one another's work, so that all students are following a set protocol for critique. To modify this strategy for high school students I might start with the rubric and have students do thumbprint examples for the various scores and criteria. As they work, have them circulate around the room periodically to leave comments for their peers regarding their progress.

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Ute Micklos:  Donnor's use of peer assessments appeared to be quite effective. Multiple strategies were used for students to communicate with one another about their ongoing projects. Because the review was occurring throughout the process, rather than through a formal critique at the end, students were given opportunity to improve their work. There appeared to be a low stress level for students, allowing for comfort in the assessment process. No one student was ever put on the spot to be judged by the whole class, as the evaluative process was ongoing, between the students. The post-its were a good way to communicate without stopping the flow of creativity. There was buy-in from the students as they helped create the visual rubric. Challenges teachers might face include setting up the system for communicating about one another's work, so that all students are following a set protocol for critique. To modify this strategy for high school students I might start with the rubric and have students do thumbprint examples for the various scores and criteria. As they work, have them circulate around the room periodically to leave comments for their peers regarding their progress.

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I would like to try having students respond to one another's work as they are engaged in studio activities. I do begin with a rubric at the onset of a lesson allowing students to know how they will be scored before they begin. They then do a self reflection using the rubric as they turn in their completed projects. What I would like to add to that is perhaps having them rotate around the room with post-its to respond to their peers' work while in progress.

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In school, I always liked to see my work compiled into one spot. It was nice to see all the hard work I did, where I started and where I ended with my work. A portfolio is a good way to show what a student has learned and provides a platform for students to present their best work. They also will be able to have their reflection on that work. A portfolio also presents evidence of how a student’s work was developed and they growth that student made in that learning process. I also like that the portfolio can be assessed with a rubric so the student knows what's expected of them.

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One success that I had was realizing that I was able to bring a rich and diverse art program to a district with a budget of $700.00 a year.

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One success that I had was realizing that I was able to bring a rich and diverse art program to a district with a budget of $700.00 a year.

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A challenge that I had, in the same district, was promoting the Arts when they were not valued or a priority as part of the curriculum. Along with this came trying to keep art in the curriculum as well.

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As always I struggle with fitting everything in.  There just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to do it all.  The kids have to tell me when it's time to go home because I just want to keep on going.

A success I've seen recently is that I decided to do a singing program for an upcoming family day at our school. I have had my previous classes do if for as long as I can remember. This year I just wasn't feeling it. I had to move classrooms mid year, the camp fire, as well as various other obstacles. I was feeling like I just couldn't get it done this year. I decided to sing a couple of the songs with the kids for fun and realized how much they love it. I could see their smiles and eagerness to learn a new song and sing with their friends. I have since decided to continue with my singing program this year.

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I feel that Donnor's use of peer assessments were an effective tool.  The students seemed to know what to do and had some nice suggestions without hurting anyone's feelings.  I would worry that some of the comments wouldn't be as effective as others in helping a student rethink what had already been done. I think these students were clearly trained in how to give peer assessments and that is key.  I would definitely make sure that it was practiced several times before actually doing it. I too like the idea of having a small scale rubric that students could circle or highlight where a student's work is at and then they can build upon that.

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Simply because I haven't used rubrics for art in my class, I think that is what I'd like to give a try. I remember always wanting to know up front what was expected of me and what it would take for me to get there. A rubric with clear expectations could help students to not be afraid to get started and know where they are going.

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My school recently had a curriculum night where parents and the public were invited.  Each teacher focused on one culture.  I taught my students an African dance.  I had the boys as drummers and the girls were the dancers.  It was successful, but only three out of twelve boys showed up to perform.  All but one of the girls showed up.  Next time, I would let the students choose whether they would like to be a dancer or a drummer.

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My school recently had a curriculum night where parents and the public were invited.  Each teacher focused on one culture.  I taught my students an African dance.  I had the boys as drummers and the girls were the dancers.  It was successful, but only three out of twelve boys showed up to perform.  All but one of the girls showed up.  Next time, I would let the students choose whether they would like to be a dancer or a drummer.

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The students were very receptive to what their peers were saying about their art work. I would be willing to try this. I would worry about some of my students being unkind in their assessments. I guess they would have to be trained on how to give constructive feedback. The rubric
would definitely be key to making it work effectively.

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I really like the idea of rubrics because the students can see what is expected of them. For example, if they want to be rated a 4, they have to include all the elements that would rate a 4. I can see my artsy students striving to get a 4 on projects.

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Currently, our access to information is so readily available and our ease of communication through this technology has made socializing much less cumbersome.  I can text a person right next to me and avoid eye contact.  A current struggle I face is my own internet.  The platform where everything is done at our school is through Google School.  It is great and information can be easily shared.  However, I am constantly tied to my phone to get updates.  I live in a rural area about 30 miles from where I teach in a rural school.  Having to drive to school on a Sunday because my internet service is not working can be quite a problem.

In the classroom I have had many success and interest using student devices.  Students have been a resource to find information and also use their devices to engage them through "Kahoot-it" or "Quizlet."  It has been a double edge sword using these devices as a tool when it is so easy for them to check social media and potentially experience cyber bullying.

This has led to many conversations that tend to deviate from the prescribed standards and pacing of adopted curriculum.

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I believe Donnor has a very effective lesson through a rubric that would provide clear expectations.  Rubrics should be given prior to an assignment, so students are aware of the expectation.  It seemed as if students had buy-in and input into these rubrics.  It can be risky to have peers critique or evaluate each other especially with art.  I believe that most students are their own worst critic when it comes to their own art and by having classmates validate your known failures could be potentially traumatizing.  However, if there was also and evaluative expectation in place for student critiques, any embarrassment could be avoided.   Ultimately through this process Donnor was able to validate her students through open conversation and individuals had a chance to assess their own work and reflect on changes they could make with "texture" in the future.

If I were to add anything to the lesson, I might bring in a variety of objects of differing texture. It may help reinforce "texture" as a vocabulary word. I am a second-grade teacher :)

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I would also like to give a rubric.  Whenever I have used a rubric it means that I have taken the time to consider student expectations and outcomes.  Students have every potential of earning a top-score if they choose to and from a student perspective expectations are clearing defined avoiding any uncertainty.

As a summative assessment, I would want their to be a teacher-scored rubric, student self-scored rubric. I believe that students should place value on their own work. In my own experiences self-evaluation made me feel more confident because I reflected on the outcome and then when others found things that I may not have considered it helped open my mind to greater potential.

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 just finished a unit on Portrait drawing - we used several helpful videos that explained where to place eyes in relation to mought, nose, and ears - very helpful to young artists - then I had them select a masterpiece to copy - they loved the Picasso and attempted to copy it - we also use The Grinch and a Leprechaun - the final was selecting either George Washington or Abraham Lincoln - they then had a portfolio to show their individual progress and top five went on the bulletin board in the main hallway

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 just finished a unit on Portrait drawing - we used several helpful videos that explained where to place eyes in relation to mought, nose, and ears - very helpful to young artists - then I had them select a masterpiece to copy - they loved the Picasso and attempted to copy it - we also use The Grinch and a Leprechaun - the final was selecting either George Washington or Abraham Lincoln - they then had a portfolio to show their individual progress and top five went on the bulletin board in the main hallway

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I have some very behavioral challenging students in my class this year. Many students have behavior intervention plans. One student in particular tends to just leave class whenever we are doing something he doesn't want to do. However challenging this student may be on a daily basis, a recent success with him was when I finished teaching a small group math lesson and he said, "This is easy. I totally get it."

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Peer Assessment

I found the use of peer assessment very effective because students were able to analyze the work of their peers and look for ways to improve their paintings. Since the students are using critical thinking to analyze others work, they can then apply analysis to their own work as well as applying the suggestions from their peers.

Some challenges teachers would face is students analyzing friends work or others they don’t like and using bias when reviewing their work.

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Assessment Options

I would use both a rubric and peer review as assessments in my classroom. A rubric provides guidelines for students before, during, and after the assignment.  The peer review would provide students with the opportunity to analyze others work and apply their analysis and suggestions from peers to their own work. I think both assessments throughout the process would provide valuable insight for students.

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I'm super interested in having my students do a written response by using the program Adobe Spark. I think it's a fun and interactive way for my students to explain what they have learned. https://spark.adobe.com/video/vZ2CdlIchUnTV

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Challenges in a Special Education classroom

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Challenges in a Special Education classroom

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I have a student who has a "go to" of art. I try to connect everything to art.

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I am starting an art unit that will interest the child to engage.  

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I am starting an art unit that will interest the child to engage.  

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Donnor--The pictures that Donnor used as examples of levels 1--4 were clear and easy to understand.  The challenge of peer assessment is that one student might be too easy (not enough thought put in the response) and the contrast of someone being too critical of another's work.  I would do lots of verbal assessments and group responses until I was sure that the student understood the concept(s).  

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Donnor--The pictures that Donnor used as examples of levels 1--4 were clear and easy to understand.  The challenge of peer assessment is that one student might be too easy (not enough thought put in the response) and the contrast of someone being too critical of another's work.  I would do lots of verbal assessments and group responses until I was sure that the student understood the concept(s).  

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As a teacher, I would use peer assessments and a rubric with specific guidelines.  I would make sure and provide strategies to help clarify the criteria.