New Year’s Resolutions
So the time of year approaches where most every one’s year is coming to an end and we all engage in reflection of the past year. Radios give us the top 100 hits of the year. TV has the Best of… for 2012. Then on midnight we will set our New Year’s resolutions. The quandary for art teachers is that we are only about half way through our year, as professionals. So we reflect on our personal life and make personal resolutions. But when do we do this in our professional lives? Usually by the time the buses pull away from schools we are all singing… “Na, Na, Na-Na, Na, Na, Na-Na, Hey, Hey, Hey, Good-bye” and scrambling to see which car follows them out of the lot the quickest. We are so tired, the last thing we want to do is hold a mirror up to our practice for the past 36 weeks. I don’t think this will ever change, so instead, let’s focus on a paradigm shift for now.
Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines assessment as an action "to determine the importance, size, or value of”. Wikipedia defines self-reflection as the capacity of humans to exercise introspection and the willingness to learn more about their fundamental nature, purpose and essence. Wikipedia also defines Educational assessment as the process of documenting, usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs. Assessment can focus on the individual learner, … The final purposes and assessment practices in education depends …, their assumptions and beliefs about …, the origin of knowledge and the process of learning.
As educators we hear many words associated with assessment:
• Formative: during the project or lesson to aid in ‘forming’ the learning
• Summative: at the end of the project to determine the success of the learning
• Performance based: referring to ‘doing’ something more than bubbling in an answer: a task, applying a process, an art project, etc.
• Objective: suppose to be unbiased and based on criteria
• Subjective: based on the beliefs and with acknowledgement of a person’s biases.
• Formal: usually based on criteria, written, and accompanied by an evaluation or grade
• Informal: usually casual and may include observation, checklists, rubrics, performance and portfolio assessments, participation, peer and self-evaluation, and discussion
So the paradigm shift I mentioned? Ask Father Time for an hour to practice a little self-reflection and give yourself a formative, subjective, informal, performance based assessment.
• Take a few minutes and reflect on why you like teaching art. What do you want students to learn by taking your art class? Is it techniques? How to communicate through images? To participate in introspection about an issue or feeling? To think outside the box? To be the next Michelangelo?
• Now pull out your lesson plans (in whatever fashion they are in) from September through December. Ask yourselves some questions… and write down some feedback to yourself. Remember the best feedback is written comments, not grades. Grades are a stopping point and summative, you want comments you can grow and learn from, formative in nature.
• At this rate, will I address all the standards to allow for mastery for my students?
• What have I focused on because I am most comfortable in that medium, technique, style, etc.? What is lacking in my instruction?
• Where are my students struggling? Is there a way to teach it a different way?
• Are my students going through the motions or are they truly engaged in the projects? Are they invested emotionally? Or just on the surface? Am I?
• Have I taken care of my creativity? Am I learning? Am I taking risks with my art? Can I expect students to do this when I haven’t?
• What were my intentions or goals (resolutions) for this school year? Am I still working on them? How did I get sidetracked?
• Take a look at the written feedback you have given yourself. What value do you assign it? Can it help you improve? Does it give you new direction? Are the lessons addressing your purpose? Are you communicating through your art (your teaching) your fundamental beliefs?
Okay, Father Time says times up… Now what is your ‘new year’s’ resolution?
-Cheryl Maney