Altoona Area High School Student Teaching
My first half of student teaching was spent at Altoona Area High School, where I independently taught ART 1, ART 2, Painting, and Adaptive Art. This was a very beneficial experience that taught me valuable skills in planning, teaching, managing, and assessing both virtually and in person. The beginning of this placement was spent teaching students virtually through Google Meet. We then switched to a hybrid model, where I concurrently taught students both in person and virtual. Below are snippets of the various lessons I implemented throughout this experience!
PAINTING
WATERCOLOR COLLAGE PLAY
In this lesson, students engaged in process-based play by experimenting with watercolor washes and altering them to create a collaged final product. Students had a large sum of freedom for this project, including their choice of subject matter, methods of creation, and reconstruction techniques. This lesson exposed students to nontraditional, expressive art making that pushed them past their artistic comfort zones.
ACTIVIST ART
This lesson involved creating activist paintings that represent individual student beliefs and fight for positive change. Students brainstormed what issues are important to them, researched, and created a unique work of art in response to their views and ideas. This was a great lesson that allowed students discover how they can use art for good and how impactful that can be to others. It also led to valuable discussions on acceptance of differing viewpoints and helped to open students up to multiple perspectives.
ART 2
IDENTITY ANIMALS
This project involved creating animals that best connect to each student's identity. Students learned cultural histories and the connect between humans and animals, including Native American "spirit animals" and the cultural appropriation that often occurs with this topic. They were introduced to contemporary artists that create art connecting to animals and the natural world. The learners composed an artwork that portrays an animal they personally identity with using taught shading and value techniques. This lesson helped students to find connections between them and the natural world by delving into their own personal identity.
THE SOUNDTRACK OF YOUR LIFE
For this project, students created album covers that represent theirselves and their identities. Students were given freedom of how to achieve this, allowing each student to utilize and experiment with their artistic interests. Completed submissions included their album cover with a connecting title, a soundtrack of 10 songs that connect to their identities, and an artist statement that reflect on their art process and album meaning. We ended this project with a remote critique that allowed students to showcase their effort and get constructive and helpful comments about their artwork.
ART 1
FRAGMENTED MEMORIES
For my first lesson in the introductory class ART 1, students were attending class virtually due to COVID-19. This was the perfect opportunity for students to experiment with digital art through their school-provided Chromebook. Students considered memories that have impacted who they are today and created digital mosaics based on these moments. This unit led to discussions on their memories from the past year living through the pandemic, and how these circumstances have drastically impacted them and their experiences.
MYSPACE
Throughout the bulk of the COVID-19 pandemic, students spent the majority their young lives confined within their bedrooms and living spaces. This project allowed students to think about these spaces and contemplate what their ideal rooms would be for social, emotional, and educational success. This lesson met the school-set curriculum standard of teaching 1-point perspective in a relevant and engaging way. Students were exposed to many contemporary artists who warp perspective and use nontraditional techniques, allowing them to get excited about the infinite artistic possibilities once they master the basics of creating realistic depth within their artworks.
ADAPTIVE ART
This adaptive class is an art course specifically geared towards students with severe disabilities who stay with their core group throughout the day. For these lessons, I focused on process-based projects that could be completed by the large variety of skill sets within the classroom.
WATERCOLOR PLAY
CARDBOARD SCULPTURES
