Spring 2012 Journal Entries

Select excerpts are posted weekly, for viewing by participants including CVA Teaching Artist students, classroom teachers, artists, and students from participating classrooms. View commutative hours here.

Select a number to view the journals for the week:

3 |  2 |  1 |  early start | 

Sample Journal Entry
Shadowing Mississippi Creative Arts Magnet - Marie Olosfdotter - 6 hours
This week I completed my shadowing with Marie Olofsdotter. Having missed the two days when the students actually constructed their masks, it was exciting to see the finished product. The three days I was present were spent rehearsing the story that the students had written together, which they were preparing to act out in a play. Each class was separated into one of 5 different characters, and each group of characters was split in half, allowing each student to have a larger role in the play.

I believe that the students were learning how important each of their roles is in the larger scheme of the play. They were reminded that if they did not participate in saying the lines or doing their actions, that the play would not make sense for the audience. They were learning the importance of being attentive to the play, to be able to join in with saying the lines and to now miss their cues. They also were learning how to stage play very professionally, as their audience on Friday is a classroom of kindergartners.

Some of the students were quite shy about acting out the play, and some were more extroverted. It was apparent that rehearsing many times helped them become more comfortable. The teachers and other students were openly laughing and enjoying their play, and this seemed to help them enjoy it too. The students at this school have experience in dance, music and theater already, but I wondered if there were any other ways that might help certain students break out of their shell even more and really enjoy the experience.

Week 3 – CVA Student Journal entries from January 30-February 3

• Kat Conway
  Hill Murray - Pat Benincasa - 9-12 grade - 3 hours
  Avalon Charter School - 9-12 - 4.25
  Field Community School - Shadowing with Jan Elftman - 2.75 hours
  At Hill Murray I am trying to keep myself as more of an authority figure and I am trying to walk around more when it is work time and voice my opinion every so often during critiques. I am trying to keep in mind that these aren't college level critiques and they don't focus on the same things that I am used to like hardly any of their work is concept driven. More of less in comes down to did you put time and effort into it and what works with it and sometimes suggestions of improvement from other students.
  
  At Avalon the students seem to be reacting to me as an authority figure or a person of interest. Some students were trying to throw wet clay at each other and I had to tell them to knock it off and it wasn't a good use of their time and a waste of the material. One of the ways I established some authority with students is by making their challenging me into a joke. One student said, "you know I don't think we will ever listen to you" and I responded in a happy tone "well you will just have to deal with the consequences then". I tried to make iProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 20a joke so they wouldn't feel threatened and made it more of a playful thing which most of the students responded really well to.
  
  I had a shadowing experience with Jan Efltmann at Field Community School in Minneapolis in the 5th grade science room. I was only there for one period in the science room where they were working on simple machines like ramps, wheels and levers. I ended up getting there early and got to walk around the room for a little bit and it was filled with animals. There were several birds, turtles, lizards and furry little mammals. The science teacher said, "I can't imagine a science room without animals". And for the first ten minutes of class they could bring the birds and animals out to play with them (under constant eye from the teacher). I was surprised by the poor behavior of a few students. I thought Jan handled it pretty well. If she said something wrong or goofed up a word they almost jumped at the chance to say she was wrong and they were right and interrupt her talking but she always made it into a joke that completely deflated any aggression they felt.



• Beck Dameron
  School - teacher - grade - hours
  



• Cati Eisel
  Anoka High School - Kevan Nitzberg - Grades 9-12 Drawing I, AP Art History, AP Art - 3.5 hours
  Anoka High School - Tara Hoffman - Grade , Governmen, Youth Issues - Grades 9-1 - 5.0 hours
  
I arrived during Nitzberg's 2nd hour, Drawing 1 as he was out of the room for a moment. Students are still working on the same self-portraits as last week and they were due this past Friday. Only about 5 students are on the computer this week getting photos ready to draw from. Everyone seems to be working on their drawings or on packets that are also due on Friday, and a few are working on the project from before the self-portraits. The scheduled time to start cleaning up is 10 minutes before the period ends, but most students only take a couple of minutes to clean up since they're only using graphite at the moment. This leaves about 8 minutes at the end of class where students are just standing around by the door.

Nitzberg has another student teacher right now for the next 6 weeks who also has to teach a lesson of some sort in the class room, but he will be in there daily and will be out of the classroom before I will be. During prep hour, we talked about when I and the other student teacher might do our lessons - I am thinking I will do mine next trimester in the Video/Computer Arts class.

During 4th hour Drawing I, it seems like all students are on task with self-portraits; no one is working on the last project and some are starting the next, expressive, self-portraits. The girls that snuck out of the class last week come in late from lunch and are sent to get passes. Students seem comfortable asking Nitzberg and the student teacher questions. The student teacher is working with individual students for most of the hour, spending a lot of time with students who have questions.

Critical questions - What is the best way to deal with a group of students who continually try to get out of the classroom?

Friday was the day of MORP ("Prom" backwards) at Anoka High School so I came in right at the end of 1st hour due to the pep rally in the morning. Students have elected a special needs boy as their Morp king this year and Mrs. Hoffman is very excited about this. There has also been an article in Rolling Stone about the Anoka-Hennepin school district regarding the issues of bullying and the issues with the districts policy pertaining to the discussion of homosexuality/GLBT issues in the classroom and how these things have contributed to the 9 suicides that have occurred in the district in the last few years that many students have read. Mrs. Hoffman brings it up in every class and asks the students their thoughts, comments, and concerns about the article as it does not put the district or its teachers/students in the best light. Some students did not know about the policy, which is one of "neutrality" that many teachers find confusing - teachers are to remain neutral on issues regarding GLBT but many teachers do not know what the definition of "neutral" is.

Mrs. Hoffman is one of the teachers that is outspoken about her own feelings on GLBT issues (she is very supportive of the community and promotes tolerance with her own children) but she always emphasizes that this is her own belief and she's not telling her students what to believe. Some classes have a lot of comments and questions and some don't have much to say at all. Most kids who speak up don't say anything negative about the GLBT community - only two kids say anything that may be taken that way. Everyone seems to be in agreement that the policy needs to change but also that most students and teachers at Anoka do not typically contribute to the bullying or to the negligence of the issue. Besides the article discussion, Youth Issues classes are once again student presentations and the Hon. Gov't class is about to start a discussion panel of the issues they have been researching for the past week. Classes are rather uneventful.

Critical questions - How should teachers handle a policy they don't understand? Is it okay to state political/controversial opinions in a classroom if it is emphasized that your opinion is only your own and that students should form their own ideas and opinions? Is there a definite line?


• Stephanie Frey
  Expo/Harriet Bishop Elementary - Ulla Tervo-Desnick - 2nd Grade - 9.0 hours
  Walker Art Center/Shadowing - Illene Krug Mojsilov - Adult Seniors 65+ - 2.5 Hours
  Expo. This week the student have been getting ready for their big district wide testing. The students had a long review of math, practiced writing and vocabulary. They have almost completed their bibliographies and I have been helping edit them for the final draft. On Thursday, the students were treated with a show from the St. Paul Chambers Orchestra.
  
  Ulla uses a thing called ‘whole body listening’, which is all the steps in being quiet and attentive together all in one phrase. The students have learned what this means and all listen to it. She hardly has to repeat herself. The student are learning that the teacher has something important to say and if others are talking no one will know what to do. At the concert they learned how to listen in a group, how to be polite to those around you in a concert setting and they learned about music and culture.
  
  I noticed that during the review of math the students were getting very antsy and uncooperative. How do you as a teacher turn their attitudes? We tried to tell them nicely to be happy about what they are doing and so it becomes easier. Is it better to push through even though it is painful or hard to do or is it better to stop and take a break? Every one will have to do something they don’t want to at some point, could this be a teachable moment?
  
  Walker Art Center. I helped out and shadowed Illene with a class for memory loss adults. The students became the curators of the Walker. They used printed out paintings on stickers and placed them on top of paper. The paper represented the gallery walls. The students shared their galleries at the end and some had themes and stories to them.
  
  I have hardly worked with other generation but I learned a lot. These students were learning verbal communication through the sharing of their project. They used their hands for kinetic learning by peeling and gluing the pieces to the papers.
  
  I noticed a big difference between the second graders and the seniors. Is a teacher supposed to change up their style based on the age group? How does one do that? I know that it would be beneficial but I feel that it would be a big change to be aware of.
  
  
• Katy Orth
  Jackson Elementary - Judith Kerrigan-Krodel - 1st Grade - 10 ½ hours
  
On Friday Judith’s class and I went to the Dodge Nature center in West St. Paul for a field trip. Seeing the kids light up when they saw the animals, made butter, played in hay and learn how to milk a cow was a lot of fun. It was a surprising reaction from the kids because it would seem like most of the students have never experienced farm life or animals before. We started the field trip off by brainstorming about what foods that we can get from farms and what animals live on farms. Doing this exercise helped the children realize where a lot of the food they eat comes from and how it is made. The guide mostly focused on milk and dairy products but it got the children thinking about the food they eat. We also learned about what defines a mammal and where people from other countries get their dairy products from mammals such as goats, water buffalo, and other large female animals. Then we got to see all of the farm animals in their barn. The students loved it.

The students and I went back to the classroom and we got to milk a pretend cow, use a butter churn and then make real butter but putting whipping cream into small watertight containers and shaking them until they became solid. The children then got to taste the butter that they made on saltine crackers. The great thing about this field trip was not only what the children experienced but that they learned about the food that they often eat. It is important for people of any age to understand where the food comes from that they eat and how it is processed. The children were also very well behaved and attentive on the trip which set a good example for the school and inner city children who can often get a bad reputation and have negative judgments about them but our guides where just great and treated them with the respect that they deserve.

On Tuesday the class will be making a collage based on the animals we saw there.

The students seemed to show a real sense of pride from making the butter that I have not seen as strong during many of our classroom activities. Is there any way to infuse this pride from their accomplishment into other subjects or activities? It was just such a great sense of joy that they successfully made something that they probably never guessed they ever would.


• Tara Shaffer
  Jackson Preparatory Magnet School - Mr. Nelson - 5th grade - 5 hours
  
Today the students continued to work on their memoirs. Many students had turned in their final drafts and were working on one illustration to accompany it, which thrilled most of the students. Those that hadn't turned in their assignments had to guess the definition of crunch time when Mr. NElson told them they were in it, which I thought was humorous. He did this with a warmth that appeared to make the students want to work. I walked around the room and talked to students about observation in their drawings. From this, the students are continuing to learn a sense of self-awareness in telling their own stories. I talked to them about how they wanted to compose the memory as a drawing - what they wanted people to understand from the picture. This seemed to be a new thought that many students were excited about. After "crunch time", students went to something called "Skills", which means about half the students go to a different classroom, while that class sends about half it's group to Mr. Nelson. The result is four groups of students, two in each classroom, all divided by skill level. Mr. Nelson's groups took turns taking a spelling test on one side of the room while the other group read quietly at desks. Many of the students in the first group still have a lot of trouble with the English language, and all students seemed very concentrated on this test. Students are noticeably learning a sense of control even when their environment-- their normal classroom-- has changed. They conduct themselves almost better than in front of their teacher. When all students were back in their proper classrooms, they did their daily homework-copying into their planners.

They've been doing a lot of work in math lately with starbursts, using different sample sizes to get percentages of flavors in a bag. They're done with this for a while, and they celebrated by playing "The Starburst game", where they unwrap and eat it without looking, and try to guess what flavor it is. All the students were very excited about this.This seemed like a really fine way to wrap up the Starburst statistics, and it was nice to see that the students got to apply what they've been thinking as math tools for a while to a celebratory wrap-up. Im wondering how that repetition of learning tool to reward can be used in other ways, as it seemed to really thrill the kids.


• Amber Wallin
  Mississippi Arts Magnet - Mrs. Cecere's 5th Grade Class - 5hrs
  
This week at Mississippi I observed for the most part, having the chance to help out some of the students with their math and some of their biography project.

Something that was fun that I got to observe the students do was a game where they learned about taxing and the Boston Tea Party. For the game M&Ms were used as "money" and they were split into groups, from highest rank (the king in Britain) to the lowest (the colonies in America). They got to pretend to tax each other, the king eventually getting about 90% of the money. This was a fun way to engage the students in learning something important about our history and the value of money.

Something that I noticed that is really neat is that everyday in Mrs. Cecere's class there is a student of the day. The student has a chance to be in charge of some of the duties for the classroom, giving the student some responsibility. This gives the student a feeling of importance and develops leadership skills. During sometime in the day the student will have a chance to answer questions asked from the other students, being able to share something about themselves to everyone. This is a great way to build public speaking skills as well as self-confidence.


• Katelyn White
  Great River Charter Montessori - Sam O'Brien - 11-12 grade - 4 hours
  Perpich Arts High School - Nancy Norwood - 11-12 grade - 4 hours
  
This week at Great River Charter Montessori, I worked directly with the students in the IB art class in helping guide them through their projects as well as help them brainstorm topics or specific research material. The students in the classroom seem to be working much more diligently then when I had visited my first day there. Almost everyone seemed to be on task and working on their art pieces or in their IB sketch journal. During my time spent their this last Tuesday, I critiqued and gave advice on a student's painting as she was struggling with the look of skin tones and making the paint appear evenly. I also worked with a student on brainstorming the look and feel of a self portrait sculpture she was planning on making. Lastly, I aided a student in brainstorming ideas for her series of drawings of pregnant woman.

On Friday, I met up with the IB art class at Intermedia Arts Center in Minneapolis for a field trip in which they would be viewing a a performance piece and later viewing a gallery show called "Not About a Bomb". The performance piece and gallery show were created by Iraqi woman, and specifically discussed the Islamic faith as well as other social issues circling around Iraq. The performance piece was a dance performance by 3 young Islamic woman. They began the dance in their traditional Islamic garb, a long black dress and the Hijab, then in the second moved into a hip-hop style of dancing where they transitioned into a sweat suite while still wearing the Hijab. The point of this piece was to show that just because they were Islamic woman, did not mean there was anything for us Americans to be afraid of. The gallery show also touched base on that issue, as photographs displayed the struggle Islamic and Islamic-American woman face in today's society. As I was leaving the gallery a very prominent quote stood out to me and made me really understand the suffering some of these woman are going through. As the quote read on an artist statement , "There are almost 1 million widows in Iraq today. Most of their men have perished since the 2003 U.S. invasion".

I noticed some of the students struggled to understand some of the heavy concepts in the works of art, however many did seem captivated by the performance piece, as hip hop is a dance that I find many young adults can connect to as a part of their culture. My critical question remains this, after my time spent with the IB art students this week: Is contemporary art being thoroughly discussed in the/their classroom? I believe that artists in today's society should truly understand the basis for contemporary art and the critical thinking involved in it to be a successful artist in today's age and time."

------

This week at Perpich Center for the Arts, I began my in class Practicum time with the Point 5 photography students. On Wednesday, the class reviewed the history of the camera and photography as a whole. I was completely blown away by how much information they had retained about photography in only two days of class. After the brief review on the history of photography, Nancy introduced the darkroom to the students, which was a discussion on safety in the lab, as well as how to use an enlarger and mix up chemicals. I found this very interesting that students at this school, in a beginners photograph class, were allowed to mix up their own chemicals at any given open lab time in the day to work on their photographs. I believe the responsibility that is given to these students is large, however it seems that the students handle the responsibilities in a very mature manor.

On Friday, my second day in the Point 5 Photography class, the students had in class work time to work on their Photograms, which is a photographic process that involves no negative, but rather only a light sensitive piece of paper to create a work of art. Students were asked to bring in objects to create their 4 different photograms, which showed the concept of line, texture, self portrait, and a photogram displaying 5 different values to create depth. I felt somewhat out of place that day working with them in the darkroom as I tried to strike-up a conversation with the students and they seemed either hesitant to talk to me, or simply annoyed by my presence. I tried to take it as a grain of salt as I figured they were consumed in the working process. The rest of the time I spent treating their photographs and placing the photographs on the drying racks dry.

After spending two days in the classroom at Perpich, my critical question is this: Is it the best learning environment for the students to have to double up on the enlargers, versus having their own enlargers to themselves? Thus far it surprisingly doesn't seem to be an issue, in fact it seems to be useful for the students to get to work with one another on the enlargers as they are new to the process. However, will this aspect change as the students get more comfortable with the enlargers and desire to use the 45 minute class to the fullest versus sharing equipment?

• Kat Conway
  Hill Murray - Pat Benincasa - Highschool Art - 3 hours
  

This was the week of a new semester for Hill Murray. This was my first time being in the class during a work day and I am trying to figure out the line of being a friend and being a friendly teacher. The first class I fell into the habit of being more of a friend and not a teacher. So for the next 2 classes I tried to keep on the teacher side of things when I walked around the room and assisted students.

I was surprised to see how amazing some of the work is. I noticed I have to try not to get too comfortable in one spot. And I tried to raise the question to myself what is the best time to give a working student input on their work? Pat said she wants to make art fun and get them passionate about it. When I talk to students and see how they react I can see that its working. Kids walk in thinking “I’m not really an art kid.. I can't draw” and by the end of it saying they really enjoy making art.

• Beck Dameron
  Clara Barton Open School - Allison Rubin Forester - 7 and 8 grade - 5 hours
  
This Thursday was the beginning of a new semester at Barton. The end of the old semester is punctuated with Exhibition Night; the kids (from various classes, including the two dance classes I had been working with) put on a dance performance. All of the kids prepared a portfolio of the semesters work for their parents to review. So, Tuesdays classes were dedicated to preparing portfolios and practicing dances. The whole idea of how Barton has an exhibition night presents a very different approach to a typical "parent teacher night". The kids, themselves, sat down with their parents and went through their work, including all of their self assessment and goal sheets (with the teachers there and available for interaction). Again, I find it wonderful how the students at Barton have so much responsibility which helps them gain a sense of self direction, self satisfaction and control over their own education.

The dance performance "Drop it Like it's Hot!" was a total hit. The 6th hour class, which I had been involved with the week I began over break, performed all of their student choreographed pieces. If I can figure out how to post the videos I took on my phone (technologically inept as I might be) I'll get them up ASAP. The 2nd hour class lead a swing dance and the Waka Waka. There was a slight communication snafu involving some outside performers taking up around 30 minutes of time that had been designated for parents to view their kids portfolios, so they were short on time/stayed later than expected. I did get to witness the interaction between the teacher whom had contracted the outside dance group (and failed to inform anyone about it) and Allison (as she was running the show). It was interesting to observe. It was obvious that there was tension between them, but it was handled with a sense of decorum and respect.

I was unable to attend on Thursday due to illness.


• Cati Eisel
  Kevan Nitzberg - Anoka High School - Grades 9-12 Drawing I - AP Art History, AP Art - 4 hours
  Tara Hoffman - - Anoka High School - Grade 9 Government 0- Grades 9-12 Youth Issues - 5.5 hours
  
Wednesdays are advisement days at Anoka High School, where teachers of each subject meet in the mornings to discuss curriculum, methods, etc. so the hours are shorter than normal. I arrived during Nitzberg's 2nd hour drawing class. Students are currently working on a gridded self-portrait in graphite. Reference photos can be brought from home or taken in class, and students are using computers and Photoshop to grid their images and to turn the images black and white and adjust the contrast for printing. Although some students are sitting at tables working on the last project or starting this one, many are using the computers but not working on their photos. It appears most students are talking to friends or playing games online. When Nitzberg sees he comments and reprimands students verbally but students often stay on the webpage they were on anyway.

3rd hour is his prep period, during which Nitzberg explained the new online/computerized grading system Anoka has and some things about his online AP Art History class. 4th hour is another drawing class where students are working on the same project. More students seem on task this hour, and many have questions. I don't think Nitzberg sat down once during the class period despite it being work time. Four students sitting at onetable are AP Art students working on independent projects and are consistently working even though they are conversing. Nitzberg only has one student in his 5th hour who was independently working.

Critical questions - Why do some students not respond at all to verbal reprimands for being off task? What would be a better way to keep students on task without taking their computer priveleges so that they can still do their Photoshop work? It is against school policy to use headphones/mp3 players in school but Nitzberg allows it in class because some students work better while listening to music - how does this affect students behavior? What is the best way to supervise a classroom with a studio set up like this when students have questions that require the teacher to walk around?

Mrs. Hoffman is primarily the Honors Government teacher at Anoka but also takes on the Youth Issues class. She usually has one or two sections of YI but has 3 this semester and only one section of Hon. Gov. I arrived during the 2nd hour YI class. One of the biggest things I noticed throughout the class period was that students seemed very comfortable with Mrs. Hoffman and with their fellow students. YI classes contain mixed grade levels and quite often a diverse array of students from different "cliques." Two students are presenting on time management and ask the group a lot of questions and there is little to no hesitation from the audience in their responses. 3rd hour is prep period for Hoffman as well, and some students came in to take a test under her supervision. During this period a student also came in to inform Ms. Hoffman she wouldn't be in class later, and they quietly discuss a problem the student has been having. 4th hour is Hon. Gov. where students are working on research papers. Students stay on task for the most part during the hour. 5th hour is another YI class. Three students present on stress. The presentation involves playing Just Dance on the Wii and although students are slow to volunteer, about half the class ends up playing.

Critical questions - What is it about a teacher that makes students so willing and open to talk to them? It seems that even the disinterested students often admire Mrs. Hoffman and tell her about their problems. Nitzberg has also mentioned a few students having home problems - do parents often come forward and inform teachers of these problems or is there something about certain teachers that inspires students to inform them themselves?


• Stphanie Frey
  Expo/Harriet Bishop Elementary - Ulla Tervo-Desnick - 2nd grade - 8 hours
  
I have sat in on Ulla Tervo-Desnick’s 2nd grade class at Expo Elementary. The students are continuing to work on their bibliographies about famous people that they choose. They are past researching and now they are creating sentences and editing them. If they do not know a word they first have to check the dictionary before they ask for help. The whole school was participating in a “No Name Calling Week,” and the kids wore different colored colors to symbolize it.

When the students have to check the dictionary before they ask for help they are all learning how to use a dictionary but also independence. The teacher is pushing kids to find the answers themselves because she is preparing them for 3rd grade. They will be expected to know how to find the answer on their own. It is not only knowing the answer but it is knowing how to find and use resources to find the answer.

I noticed, with the large-scale project of the bibliography, that kids all were at different stages of the project. We all know that students work fast and slow and all in between but some were still in the research phase while others were ready to make their final copies. I was wondering, how do you maintain a balance between the fast and slow kids in a project that spans over a month? I feel that the faster kids would become bored and do some busy work while the slower kids would feel left behind and anxious to catch up.


• Katy Orth
  Jackson Elementary - Judith Kerrigan-Krodel - 1st Grade - 4 hours
  
Monday morning during writer's workshop the first graders made thank you cards for the teacher or school faculty that they were appreciative of. I missed the first half of the lesson so I do not know the background for this lesson. The students were learning not only how to write, use salutations and make full sentences but learn how to be appreciative of their surroundings and the people in their life. They also learned the importance of letting people know that you are appreciative of all the work they do for you which is an important skill for children and adults all throughout life. Good manners and respect for each other is important and is enforced in the classroom at all times. I think this was a good idea because it brought together many lessons. Many of the children made cards for the student teacher in the classroom and some of the workers in the school such as the nurse.

Over the past few weeks I have noticed a few students that are disruptive and often disrespectful to the students around them everyday. Despite the almost constant enforcement of respect for one another including the teacher a few of the children seem to keep up the same rude and disruptive behavior to the other students. How do you deal with children that do not seem to change their behavior despite numerous reminders and discipline? Is there a way to figure out a more effective way for children like this to be disciplined? And would it be fair? I talked with Judith about it and she said a lot of children have trouble at home, getting yelled at and not enough food, etc. How in that situation can you work with a child like this to improve behavior? And is it the teacher's responsibility? Maybe responsibility isn't the right word but I can't think of how to form what I want to ask...


• Tara Shaffer
  Jackson Elementary - Mr. Nelson - 5th Grade - 8 hours
  
Students had an hour of standardized testing, and led eachother back in groups. I noted this because all students returned wthout incident or provocation, which I thought was impressive. They then read about notable African Americans and filled out sheets about the person they read about. The discussed synthesis of ideas, and what that means. They were instructed to write about what kind of person this was. This meant they had to take facts like "Martin Luther King Jr skipped the 9th and 12th grades" into "He was a hardworking person" or "He was a smart person".

The rest of the day went as usual, with the students working on their writing journals and then copying down their homework before a snack. While the students were writing, three students returned from the principals office after some sort of fight they got into earlier. One student in particular had been crying, and was clearly displaying an attitude in class. He shoved things around, sniffled, and refused to do any work. At points he walked around the room. At some point, Mr. Nelson took him out into the hallway. He began to cry loudly, and they other students bacame aware through the open door and began to laugh. When they both returned, small insults were exchanged without Mr. Nelson noticing. Through the synthesis discussion, the students are learning a great deal about how to think. While they are applying this to notable people they are learning about, in a larger picture they are learning higher levels of thinking than the simple analysis they've learned in the lower grades. Through the behavior incident, the children seem to be relearning a pecking order. The student in question appeaared to have been previously regarded as a tough kid, and the other children delighted in knocking him down a little. They were not reprimanded for these actions, and therefore did not learn it was wrong.

Today the kids worked on their second drafts of their memoir assignment. They had previously made corrections on their first drafts, and today they were to simply copy their previous drafts including all corrections. Many students seemed confused about this process and we went over it many times. There was another behavior issue today, this time with the other two students involved in the three-student fight that got them sent to the principal's office last time I was there. They were both consistant problems throughout the day, constantly trying to assert authority over Mr. Nelson. They refused to sit on the floor with the other students, refused to work on memoirs, and talked back at every chance. Mr. Nelson tried many approaches, but this continued until the bell rang. The memoir drafts are teaching the students to work on something even after they have declared it finished. I can tell this is something they are not necessarily eager to learn, but learning it nonetheless. Through telling their own stories, they are also learning a bit about self-awareness; at least in being able to communicate well a private memory. I can tell the majority of the students would not try any of the tactics used by the two who cause trouble today, but I'm wondering about what those two particul;ar students are doing. Mr Nelson did everything I can think of- had private conversations in the hall, has behavior warning checks that end in a "fix-it" apology sheet that mus be signed by their parents, even making sure never to raise his voice for fear of losing authority. Nothing worked. Those students are learning that being consistant in defiance can work. My biggest question of this day is what is an instructor to do in a situation like that? These students were bent on being problems even in the face of kindness; how can some kind of understanding be reached?


• Amber Wallin
  Mississippi Creative Arts Magnet - Mrs. Cecere - 5th grade - 8 hrs
  
This week the Mrs. Cecere presented a biography writing project to the class. For this assignment students get to do a biography on whoever they would like, which gives them some freedom of choice.

I got to help out some of the kids with some reading and writing, while being able to see some of the things they are working on in the class. It seems that they have a lot of little writing ptojects about books that they read where they have the option to draw, as well as worksheets that are simiilar to games. I think this makes learning more fun to them, helping them retain the things they learn from the books s little more easier.

Some of the students were working on a math project where they had to figure out how to spend 1 million dollars by finding store/home and car ads and pretend to buy things, adding up the things they choose in attempt to get to 1 million dollars. I think this was a good way to learn how to decipher ammounts, working with and learning how to add many different numbers.

I found this project strange in the sense that they might be learning other things about using money, buying products, consuming and wanting different things. I do think this is important math lesson but I'm curious about where the value of money is taught in this lesson? Would it be more beneficial for it to be a realistic, where they might learn about the difference between wants v. needs and how to manage money well in real life? Perhaps they get a certian amount of money but they have to focus on the things they need first, and seeing with how much money they have left they can see what things they can get for themselves.


• Katelyn White
  Perpcich Center for Arts Education - Nancy Norwood - 11/12 grade -2 hours
  Great River Charter Montissore - Samuel O’Brien – 11th grade - IB art class - 1.5 Hours
  Upon arrival at Great River Charter Montissore this last Tuesday afternoon, I observed the end of one of Samuel O’Brien’s sculpture class. I was early for my regularly shadowing time, but took advantage of this opportunity to observe what was happening in one of Sam’s classrooms. Sam was lecturing on some typical strategies for making ceramics, and other like objects out of clay. However, amidst this lecturing, there were a couple of IB art students in the classroom working on their portfolios and other miscellaneous art projects. I was surprised to see so much happening in the room all at once, and am wondering if this is the best way to in fact teach children special skills in the art world in such an environment? The noise level created amongst the IB art students among the pottery students was minimal, up until the end of the class period.
  
  Secondly, was my shadowing in the IB art class, which directly followed the pottery class. The students gathered in desks and got the one hour of class to work on their portfolios. I began directly interacting with the kids by helping them brainstorm and strengthen artistic concepts, as well as suggesting great reference material like books, galleries, and specific artists. At first I felt somewhat uncomfortable, as I was roaming around the room helping the students work on their portfolios. However, near the end of the class the students seemed to have warmed up to me, and I am sure that it helped when Sam introduced me and explained what my role in the classroom would be.
  
  Overall, I am definitely looking forward to my participation in this classroom. The kids seem extremely intelligent, and eager to learn new ideas about art. My critical question, though, remains this: As a recent high school graduate myself, how do I establish some common grounds as an authoritative figure, a practicum student aide? I know that college professors often run into this issue, as they can have students that are several years older than them and I wonder how they deal with this pressing issue.
  
  This last Friday I met again with Nancy Norwood as we discussed my lesson plan for the upcoming Point 5 photography class at Perpich Center for Arts Education. The lesson plan I presented I modeled after Nancy’s sample class syllabus, and discussed how I would be covering pinhole photography in her Point 5 photography class. I will be asking the students to create a series of 5 images that are based on a specific memory or dream that the student has head. They will be asked to properly construct a pinhole camera, demonstrate how to properly use a pinhole camera, and present a cohesive series of 5 pinhole images with a brief summary of their work. There will be one in progress critique and one final critique, followed by an exhibition of their work in the media gallery at Perpich.
  
  The next step is to now construct a schedule with day by day plans, handouts for the class, and a presentation to introduce pinhole photography to the class. Nancy also showed me some former and current student’s pinhole photography work, so that I might be able to pull adequate examples of pinhole photography done by Perpich students. I believe this will be of good use to show to the students because it displays the possibilities that lie in their hands as current Perpich art students. After some reflection on this meeting, I seem to be finding myself both curious and nervous that as non-photography students taking a photo class, they me be slightly harder to get excited about each photography project. I am wondering if this will in fact remain to be the truth? And, if so, how should I execute instilling excitement into each student?
  
  

• Cat Conway
  Hill Murray High School - Pat Benincasa - 9-12 grade - 3 hours
  
  Friday, I went to Hill Murray from 7:30 to 10:30 and observed 2 of Pat Benincasa’s classes. The first was an intensive studio arts class and it was their final critique day.During the Critique there were a few times when Ms. Benincasa wouldn’t have to say anything and the students ran the crit. Many of the students admitted that they weren’t really “art kids” before they took the class.
  
  Wonderings: The second class was a digital art class. This took place in a mac lab and the computers were broken up into stations with 4 each. I sat in the back and watched their critique and noticed it was very different than the first one. There was a boy that sat in the back of the room and would not behave. It got to the point where he was watching things on youtube. At times he would talk over people. So I started thinking to myself how should you deal with a kid like this that didn’t seem to listen to anything anyone told him and said rude comments to other students and about their work?


• Beck Damron
  Barton Open School - Allison Rubin Forester - 7 and 8 grade - 6.5 hours
  
  I have to say, it's been rough not being in Allison's classroom full-time. It is odd how quickly one can become adapted to a given situation. Only being in Allison's first three classes definitely leaves me wanting to invest more hours. I suppose that means that I am pursuing the right avenue in life :) This week I had to say goodbye to the fifth hour kids, and celebrated my leaving with a granola treat for everyone. I'm still contemplating how best to thank the 6th hour kids. I am looking forward to seeing all of their hard work and rehearsal hours pay off at exhibition night, I am going to miss out on my printmaking class to attend, but I think it's worth it. It's amusing, working with a whole bunch of 7th and 8th grade kids who'd rather not admit to anyone, especially not you, that they care what you think. I have had more than a few questions on the sly as to whether or not I'll be coming to see them perform. I wouldn't miss it.
  
  Seeing as this week has been an adjustment to being back in school, I have little to say regarding my practicum experience. Only that there is much anticipation for this coming Tuesday.
  
  
• Cati Eisel
  Anoka High School - Tara Hoffman - 9-12 grade - Youth Issues - .50 hours
  Anoka High School - Kevan Nitzberg - 9-12 grade - Drawing I, Drawing II, AP Art History - .50 hours
  
  
In Mrs. Hoffman's classroom I came in at the end of a Powerpoint presentation in her Government 9 class on the branches of the government. Students seemed quiet and attentive and most appeared to be taking notes. I'm not sure where they were at in the unit but I did notice that the teacher was not asking a lot of questions of students but was instead telling them the information. After the presentation Mrs. Hoffman had students work on packets for the chapter using their books. She and I talked about scheduling and what classes she has this semester, and then she left the room to copy the school's period schedule for me. While she was out of the room, most students continued working on their packets individually, although the classroom did get a little noisier. Everyone quieted down when she returned. From having her myself in high school, I know most students respect and listen to Mrs. Hoffman after a few weeks of having her; she was stern but understanding when I had her and connected with her students and I'm excited to figure out how she does this so well.

In Mr. Nitzberg's classroom, students were just leaving for lunch when I got there, so I did not get to observe. I talked with him about scheduling and what kinds of opportunities there will be for field trips, etc. during the semester.

Wonderings: How necessary is asking questions to helping students learn, and when is the best time in a unit to be using this method? A test coming up in the next week was mentioned, so is now the time to be using questions in teaching? How will this affect students' test scores?


• Stephanie Frey
  Expo/Harriet Bishop Elementary - Ulla Tervo-Desnick - 2nd grade - 8 hours
  
  When observing Ulla Tervo-Desnick’s 2nd grade class at Expo Elementary I noticed the students used whiteboards with crayon to follow along with the teachers’ math demo. Two students were chosen as the leaders. They took charge of the group and the activities for that time. Students are also researching and looking for interesting facts about famous people. They also completed an art project where they used symbols to create a snowman. I noticed that at any given time there are at least 2-5 different activities going on at once.
  
  When the students used the whiteboards the students were not only learning how to minus numbers but they were also learning to pay attention, sit still, and how important their answer to the whole group. This is because the whole group was working on it together. The leaders learned how to lead and how to keep a group together and happy. The other students learned to follow directions and learn that they are all equals.
  
  Wondering: When I was in the classroom there was always something going on at the same time as other things. Adults were walking in and out for various things, kids were doing math or reading at the same time and it seemed like a lot to handle. To my surprise the kids always knew what they needed to do. Is this the best route for younger children? I would think some kids would get lost and frustrated. From what I’ve seen it works very well.



• Katy Orth
  Jackson Elementary - Judith Kerrigan-Krodel - 1st grade - 6 hours
  
  
While I was in the classroom on Friday afternoon there was reading time, choice time and a math lesson. During the math lesson the students were being taught how to add and subtract but to do this Judith was asking the students questions about what other words to use rather than subtract/add, such as fewer, less and smaller and vice versa with addition. The way she was doing this taught the children applied math in a way that applies to everyday situations where people do not often use the word, subtract/add but words like less than etc. I believe that this teaches math in a way that can easily be applied to more verbal math and written problems and learning how to speak mathematically and also use it aside from just formulas. The class also learns math while sitting at assigned squares in a group before working in their journals. Here they learn about personal space and not to talk out of turn or interrupt, although lately the class has been having issues with sitting still because of indoor recess caused by the cold weather and schedule changes (Judith mentioned that routine changes also tends to put the classroom in a funk.) Getting the students to settle down has been a struggle and it wastes a lot of class time keeping everyone in check.

Wonderings: Is there a way for the children to be able to get some energy without going outside and still keeping a quiet classroom? If not, is there a way to set up or designate gym space for colder months or situations like this? The students would benefit from the chance to burn some energy so they could focus more on the lessons and have less time wasted.


• Tara Shaffer
  Jackson Elementary School - Chris Nelson - 5th grade - 2hours
  Wilder Memory Care - Barb Zeis - 1 hour
  
  
I started this week in Mr. Nelson's class. I came at the end of the day, so students were copying down their homework into their planners. Each student had to show Mr. Nelson their planner before they could return to their seats. They then read quietly while Mr. Nelson called tables one at a time to come up and get a snack. They then had to clean up and different groups had different assigned jobs on the wall. Some washed tables, some straightened books, everyone knew their job without asking. For the last few minutes of class, I talked to the class about college and what an illustrator does. Mr. Nelson and I walked all the students down the row of busses, dropping students off one at a time.

Even though I wasn't present for an actual lesson per se, I witnessed a lot of what the children are learning based on their behavior and their response to Mr. Nelson. When "quiet" reading time became talkative, the students lost the ability to take home gift bags they had recieved at an assembly until the following day. This teaches them a sense of responsibility for their actions through consequence. The majority of Mr. Nelson's reinforcements seem to be the positive kind, but this one instance of negative reinforcement was handled very well by the students, becoming quiet but not complaining. They are also learning social interaction through this method, as students begin encouraging their peers to be silent. In addition (I'm not sure if this should be a seperate document), I also met with Barb Zeis at the Wilder Center for one hour to fill out paperwork and discuss a schedule.


• Amber Wallin
  Mississippi Art Magnet -Mrs. Cecere - 5th grade - 7 hours
  
  
Friday at Mississippi I observed Mrs. Cecere's 5th grade class from start to finish. To start the morning Mrs. Cecere asked everyone about something fun they might want to do on the weekend. The students got to discuss to one another what they might do, then if they want they can raise their hand and share with the class. I think it is a good thing to talk about something they are looking forward to doing before taking on a work filled day.

Wonderings: Something I've noticed is they discuss ideas with one another a lot, and get to work on problems together before sharing with the class. I do wonder though, if they discuss with the same people a lot in class. If they do, is it important to talk with people they normally wouldn't? They also all participate in answering questions on white boards, particularly during math time Mrs. Cecere asks them math questions and they write them on the board, sometimes asking people next to them for help, and then show her. This seems like a good way of working together as a group, each student knowing that their participation is important. During this time Mrs. Cecere encourages that making mistakes is alright as long as you are trying, something I think is important to assure. Although the students seem engaged and to be learning their math well, I am curious what would be some creative alternative ways to get the students more involved and having fun with math?


• Katelyn White
  Great River Charter Montessori - Sam O'Brien - 10-12grade - 1 hours
  Perpich Center for the Arts - Nancy Norwood - 11-12grade - 2 hours
  Shadowing with Barry Kleider - 3 hours


This past weekend I worked with Barry Kleider, an established photographer and Teaching Artist in the metro area. Barry is not currently completing any residencies, however he is prepping and leading a Teaching Artists convention held in Saint Cloud at the Paramount Arts Center. As an intern under Barry I have been able to read and review the scheduled plans for these convention meetings, which has been very informative and beneficial to me as a current student learning to be a Teaching Artist. This past weekend we discussed in depth what it is like ot be a teaching artist, and the necessary prepartion it takes to be a successful teaching artist. We went over several different examples and scenarios a teaching artist would face in an arts integrated class and how to deal with problems that may arise in such scenarios. It was very interesting to discuss with Barry the possibilites a Teaching Artist can bring to a classroom, and also how difficult at times it can be to even convince schools and teachers the importance of a Teaching Artist and how truly benificial they can be to non-arts classroom.

One thing that stuck out in particular to me when I had my discussion with Barry was how to keep students engaged in your lesson even after great preparedness and well designed meaningful content. Barry shared with me that he found it worked best to engage with all members of the class by bringing yourself down to the same level as the students, and not place yourself on too high of pedestal. This means to say you as the teacher, are just as much of a learner as the students are, but are simply there to share something very unique, fun, and beneficial to them as a student. Also, if you seem to initially fail in grasping all of the students attention, he noted that he found success in re-gaining all students attention by apologizing to the students in saying, "I'm sorry... I must be doing something wrong, let me try and re-explain myself". Barry explained that after saying this, he found that almost always students would immediately assert their attention towards him. -gasp- "Did the teacher just say sorry to us!?"

Wonderings: My question after discussing this with Barry is: will this method of teaching work with an older audience? Or, does this method of teaching only work with a younger audience?

Over this past week I spent time with both Nancy Norwood, instructor at Perpich Center for the Arts, and Samuel O'Brien, an instructor at Great River Charter Montessori, to discuss future plans as a Practicum student in each of their classrooms. When I met with each educator, we discussed typical protocol in their classrooms and went over the syllabuses. We also arranged a schedule for me to come in to their classes and complete all of my residency hours.

When I met with Sam, the sole arts teacher at Great River Charter Montessori, we discussed the role I would be playing in interning with a few of his art classes. We came to a conclusion that I would be assisting primarily with the International Baccalaureate art students; a group of upper level art students who must create conceptual works of art while linking them to cultural and historical content. Here I will be aiding with their IWBs, Investigation Work Books, which is essentially their artist sketchbooks and journals. The IWBs are one part journal, one part sketchbook, and one part research book, which plays a crucial role in the IB students art making (just as any sketchbook is to an artist). I also will be aiding in running the IB student's critiques, which will give the students proper one on one time and feedback, as Sam has several other non-IB students in his class at a time.

Wonderings: After meeting one on one with Sam, I am very much so looking forward to my Practicum residency there as it seems Great River Charter Montessori maintains a very different and unique style of teaching. The students seem to be taught to be very creative and innovative thinkers, and are given a good amount of independence. However, I am wondering if the large class size Sam usually takes on pairs well with this style of teaching that Great River Charter Montessori holds?

As far as meeting with Nancy Norwood, the photography teacher at Pep rich Center for the Arts, we held a similar meeting to the one I had with Sam O'Brien, as mentioned above. When I met with Nancy, however, we mainly discussed the areas of photography covered at Perpich and the aspects of photography we would be covering in the Point 5 Photography class, which is the class I will be completing my Practicum residency hours in. The Point 5 Photography class is a intro photography class for non media students, such as the Musicians, Dancers, and Actors at Perpich. I am truly looking forward to working in this class as it will be interesting to see what other kinds of artists are drawn to photographing, versus the typical "photographer's eye".

Wonderings: My question remaining with this particular residency is how well motivated will these students be in this photography class?- seeing that there main interest is not photography. Also, I wonder if it will be hard to keep the students interested in their work, as well as how Nancy and I will deal with attending to students who seem to struggle in keeping in interest in completing assignments?

• Beck Damron
  Clara Barton Open School - Allison Rubin Forester - 7 and 8 grade - 32.5 hours
  
  
This week I've been in Allison's room all class periods as well as lunch and prep hours. It has definitely been an intense experience, what with being a part of two Algebra classes (one of which is also homeroom), a Geometry class and two dance classes. The 2nd hour dance class is learning swing dance which they will perform at portfolio exhibition night. In the last class of the the day, all of the students are rehearsing their student choreographed dance pieces (also for exhibition)... it has been incredible to see what the kids have come up with.

Allison (the teacher with whom I am currently working) is a well seasoned veteran of Barton, and has honed her classroom management skills over the years. Generally speaking, Barton tends to have some pretty unruly classrooms compared to other, more traditional schools... even so, Allison has mastered the "subconscious shush". Mid-sentence, sometimes mid-word... if any of the kids go beyond needing the minor shush as discipline without self correcting, their disrespect is brought to attention and they are asked to take a break. At this point, I noticed kids would break from circle, or their tables and head for (what in my day was) the cloakroom... A minute or two later, unprompted, they rejoin circle/their table. The point being that these were kids involved in their own self discipline... it was very impressive to see them self-regulate.

Throughout the week there have been a variety of subjects presented under the guise of mathematics... as is true to the concept of whole brain education at Barton. Including graphing height and shoe size (as a way to sign in) and plotting a line of best fit for all of our data, and graphing changes in heart rate while exercising incrementally to "Chicken Fat" (a record issued to all elementary schools by the Kennedy administration).

Above all, I have been impressed with the creative way in which subject matter is integrated with examples... it creates an impact on students that causes the subject matter to stick with them in ways it would not if only the examples in the book were used.


• Amber Wallin
  Mississippi Arts Magnet 6hrs - Ramsey Fine Arts- 2hrs
  
This week I started my internship at Mississippi Arts Magnet school shadowing Suzanne Cecere’s 5th grade class. I met with her first on Wednesday the 11th for 2 hours to be introduced to the class and observe how they do their mornings. They started out with discussing some questions about bullying to prepare for the assembly they held the following Friday. Then they practiced math, decimals and fractions.

I came back on Friday the 13th to observe for 4 hours in the afternoon, where they worked on reading most of the time on their own. I listened and assisted a few of the students with their reading, helping them sound out words. I also got to watch the assembly on bullying they had for MLK day on Friday, which encouraged students to stand up to bullying and to understand its consequences more fully.

On Friday before I went to Mississippi Arts Magnet, I met with Janet MacDonald, who works as the site coordinator in the autism program at Ramsey Fine Arts school. I met at 9am, and although Janet was in a meeting until 10, I got to meet her staff and students as they arrived to class. There I met with her and talked about when I will be starting and the days I will be coming in. I also got to see a little bit of what they do in the morning, which includes identifying what day it is and talking about the weather conditions of the day so far, as well as reading along with Janet some current world news shown from the internet.

It's going to be a pleasure working with everyone I have met so far and I’m very excited to continue my observations!