6/10/2022
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Amanda Valdes
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Teaching Elementary Art can be challenging at times with the range of students you have in one class, so there is a lot of differentiation that needs to occur on a regular basis. One particular student I had this past year was a Kindergartener that would come into my classroom and would either be having a good day, or a bad day. [Being that he is in Kindergarten he was going through the process of being evaluated. By the end of the year, I believe he was diagnosed with an Emotional/Behavioral Disability.] On the bad days, he would climb under one of my tables and kick out all of the chairs and then start yelling at his classmates. The first time this happened, I tried to talk to him and he was not responsive, at all. I ended up having to get the school counselor to come in and help me, since his class was leaving and I had another grade level coming into my room. [Which is one of the tricky parts of being a special area teacher, that you can't always dedicate the time you need to each student (and each situation) because you are under a time constraint.]
The next day, (we have our kids for a week at a time on a rotating basis) I had a conversation with this student and made a connection with him through his sisters that I also teach. He was able to choose to sit in his big sister's chair and sometimes I would even let him hold one of my stuffed animals during class, so he could teach my bear how to draw what we were doing that particular day.
At the end of the day, I feel that no matter what, each student deserves and respects that I try to make some sort of connection with them. (Especially since I teach close to 600 students.) |
6/11/2022
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Amanda Valdes
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To begin, I am in an unusual position… I teach at a K-8 school, and I have been the elementary art teacher for the last 7 years, and this year they are moving me up to middle school. SO, my thought process is a bit different from where I was.
Personally, I am quite interested in finding out more about the Task Cards and Cubing Lessons to promote not only differentiation, but also students’ interests in the lessons. After also subbing in MS art for a couple of weeks, I found the Self-Evaluation and Reflection piece to be very empowering and very telling of which students took this class seriously and which ones were just there to be there.
The Task Cards and Cubing Lessons could be implemented as the ‘You Do’ part of a lesson. Once the lesson (or artist) is introduced, the students can take the information presented and create a variety of examples of how to interpret or learn about an artist. This could be done through a variety of examples from a game to a personal example reflecting the artist, to a PowerPoint. There are so many options and opportunities for this, I am excited to be able to explore more about how to implement this in my classroom.
The other strategy I found most intriguing when subbing for Middle School Art for 3 weeks, was their reflection and ability to be able to reflect on their work. We say, we are our own worst critic, this was evident when I asked them to tell me about their work. It was refreshing those that took my questions seriously, but it was also equally as frustrating those that had some retort like, “I don’t plan on being an artist, so I will never use this in my future.” Which to me, was very disappointing, so I am going to have to address reflections a bit different this year now that I AM the MS Art teacher.
As far as a student with a disability, each of these options allow for the differentiation and ability to modify the lessons without drawing attention to them as different. One of the biggest lessons I teach in my classroom that sort of lends itself to this is the ‘Fair vs Equal’ argument. I tell my students from day one, I am not going to treat them equally, and I explain why. Then I tell them that it is my intention to treat each of them fairly – and I am grateful when they understand this and appreciate what I am explaining. Having a child with a learning difference, makes me very aware that you do not want to bring attention or treat them any differently – they just need different things in order to be successful. I had to explain to my son that his accommodations are no different than an athlete going onto the field with a brace on their leg. This does not mean they are ‘cheating,’ it means they need a little extra support in that area. |
6/12/2022
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Amanda Valdes
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An example of an adapted assessment I have successfully used in the fine arts classroom for students with disabilities (specifically dysgraphia) is in the form of a summative assessment. In coming into the middle school classroom with only five weeks left of school, after the previous teacher ‘resigned,’ I chose to use a rubric for assessment. This provided me the opportunity to be able to have a common outline of procedures and guidelines, but also provided me concrete expectations I was looking for in each project. One example of an accommodation was with the ‘Neatness and Craftsmanship’ section of the rubric. I asked the students to use a Sharpie to outline their project before they went on to color. On the rubric it stated ‘Outlines are smooth and consistent (demonstrated patience). With this as a ‘guide’ my students who have fine motor skill difficulty, I was able to take into account each student and their individual needs. I would therefore not mark a student down if it was apparent that they did their best to demonstrate patience on a particular project.
My intention has always been for students to be able to have success, especially in the fine arts, where it is easy to say, “I’m terrible at art.” I feel like having a rubric as a tool has been a helpful way for me to have specific expectations, yet allows me to meet the different needs of my students on so many varying levels. |