8/8/2023
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Alima Newton
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My student Gabriel is amazing. He is kind, thoughtful and creative and also has Autism. In my crowded art class, he stood out in both wonderful and challenging ways. He is very focused on his preferred subjects (wrestlers and video game characters), and would tune out any instruction that was not focused on those things, so was often not successful. This required me to have to reteach everything to him one on one, which was almost impossible in a class of 48 students. He would then get very disappointed and loudly complain about how "bad" his art was. At the same time, I saw that he was one of the most excited creative and motivated artists in the class and was driven by a desire to be successful and get praise. In the beginning of the year I tried sitting him up front and prompting him with each step whenever i was teaching a new skill. This did not work and created a negative cycle between us. He still tuned me out and grew more frustrated that his artwork was not "the best". So I began including him in the teaching of the skill; he would introduce the materials, read the Powerpoint about the history of the subject/materials to the class, hand out supplies and help me create examples. This helped him expand his knowledge, use the materials and practice the skills up front. He eventually became my classroom assistant, his work improved and he was able to be successful (and get praised!). |
11/24/2023
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Alima Newton
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- In my 2D Middle School Art Classroom, we use Self Evaluation and Reflection on every project. We begin each project by outlining the learning goals and end each project with the students evaluating how they did on those goals. I find this helps my students be more responsible for their own learning and to give more focused effort.
- I also plan to introduce more Venn Diagrams to outline content and process steps. Many of my students of all levels seem to really need the visual breakdown of tasks and learning in order to remember lesson steps and goals.
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11/24/2023
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Alima Newton
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- Describe an example of adapted assessment you have successfully used in the fine arts classroom for students with disabilities.
In my Middle School 2D Art classroom, I have students with a range of disabilities in every classroom. I try to always first adapt my level of supports for these students so they do not have to use an adapted assessment. I think it is so important to help all of our students succeed at the highest goals. However I have had to adapt assessments to reflect alternate routes of creating products for the goals of a project. For example some students with sensory issues with Charcoal, can complete the same drawing project digitally instead. |