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Lesson Plans


teaching art education methods in college...(long)

[ Thread ][ Subject ][ Author ][ Date ]
Bunki Kramer (bkramer.us)
Sun, 31 Jan 1999 09:28:09 -0800 (PST)

>I had an INCREDIBLY useful art education class when I was in undergrad
>at Wayne State University in Detroit 10 years ago. "Saturday Art School"
>was our pre-student teaching experience. We worked in teams of 4 or 5,
>prepared a ten week DBAE drawing and painting curriculum and wrote
>lesson plans, created examples and visual aids, and then presented our
>lessons to real students in grades 3 through 12 who registered for the
>classes through the university at enough cost to cover the art supplies.
>The children came each Saturday morning for the 10-week period each Fall
>from about 9:00 to noon......(snip)
....(snip)>After the kids were gone and the rooms/equipment/supplies were
cleaned>up, we met under our wonderful professor's guidance, to view and
analyse
>the videos of our teaching - oh! the pain and anguish of it all! There
>were also written assignments, and a culminating paper in which we
>described, analysed and evaluated our experience, and evaluated the
>teaching of our peers.I have never heard of another art teacher
>preparation course like this one. Pity.
>Linda in Michigan
*****************************
>> <<<snip>>>
>> In a message dated 1/22/99 3:05:54 PM, grex writes:
>> <<In>> a couple of weeks I will take them to "Mac" lab and have them
>>research some>> material for the lesson plans they will each teach to the
>>other class members.>> They will write a lesson plan, prepare
>>demonstration materials (models,>> visuals, etc), and teach. As this
>>semester is Art Activities II, directed at>> the concerns of secondary
>>students, their lesson will directed to the class as>> if they are Art
>>I.>>
****************************
Hi, Linda and others on this thread. I've been on the list since 1966.
We've discussed this thread a couple of times. I've babbled on and on about
the need for change at university level for art ed. methods when seeing
what appears in the schools after college graduation. I rankled a few
professors in the process who were sensitive to this subject. I heard from
other art teachers who felt the same way as I did but I received lots of
anger from professors who are still teaching this way and defending their
choice.

Linda...The letter you were RESPONDING to indicates that things haven't
changed much in 25-30 years or so except that now they use Macs for
resourcing instead of the libraries. It's the same old- same
old...resourcing lesson plans and giving the lessons to their peers in a
sterilized arena. It's EXACTLY what I had in my university years in the
late 60's. Never mind teaching it to kids, discovering discipline problems,
learning how to talk to, communicate body language to, and listen to kids
while teaching. That's more important than everything else put together.
Why can't more professors get a handle on that idea? Perhaps that's the way
they were taught? I dunno.

I'm pleased that you had such a good experience with your art methods and
that, from your description, it was so well done. And....yes, it IS a pity
that this is not the norm. I couldn't agree with you more. I'm afraid,
though, that things will not change much in another 25-30 years unless we
as a group clamor and raise a rukus about what's NOT happenin' in the
college classroom in teaching.

I am also excited to say one of our members, after our discussions, decided
to take a sabbatical from his professorship and go back into the classroom
for a spell. I think that is an excellent choice for any professor of art
methods to do. And I'm not talking about "observation"...I'm talking about
"real" teaching...actually getting up in front of a class of 35 8th graders
all by yourself and giving a lesson for 45 minutes. That'll give you a clue
to if you're a "real" teacher or not. The "resourcing" is just the icing on
the cake.

Now...I'm not so insensitive as to realize that one can forget quickly what
actual classroom experience is like when not there all the time. Gosh, I
forget sometimes just in the span of two months in the summer....then fall
rolls around and I have to get into my "teaching mode mindframe" again.
That's why I think it is extremely important for professors to actually
"teach" (not "observe") a class full of little tykes for at least two weeks
a year all by themselves. You can't teach a university class well without
full, recent knowledge of what's actually happening in a school classroom.
If you do, it's bogus/not real. Teaching 21 yr. olds is NOT the same as
teaching 13 yr. olds or 6 yr. olds.

Aaaaah. I'm probably still beating a dead horse here but if we can remind a
few souls that there is a difference, maybe my tirade is not in vain. I'm
sure there are hundreds of us out here who would welcome a professor back
into our classrooms. Toodles........

Bunki Kramer - Los Cerros Middle School
968 Blemer Rd., Danville, California 94526
bkramer.ca.us...(sch)925-552-5620