My creative spirit

At the beginning of this course, I felt much like the individual underneath the waterfall. I felt bombarded with information to the point of suffocation. However, now I feel renewed and refreshed. I know that I am not a great artist but my disposition towards the fine arts has greatly changed. I understand its importance and have seen first hand the positive effects it has on a child's emotional, social, physical, and academic development. More importantly, I have formulated my own principles for infusing the arts based on my own personality and artistic ability. When teaching fine arts I will show enthisiasm, a willingness to take risks, and an ability to do creative problem solving. As well, I will demonstrate a willingess to learn by proactively pursuing ideas from colleagues and capturing the many opprtunities to learn from my students which will undoubtedly arise. Not having learned how to play a musical intrument is something that I regret. I would like to take formal lessons at some point in the future. Hopefully I can follow through on this but the greatest obstacle has been overcome - the seed of desire has been planted.

Potluck Luncheon

I want to congratulate everyone on their ability to come together and put on some great entertainment. It is nice to see people put in a little extra effort just for the sake of doing something to the best of their abilities and not just work hard when they know that they are being evaluated or that they will get something in return. As teachers, we will all have to put in extra hours and our best effort to help children learn. It was great to see that we raised the bar for next year's class. I was floored with how well Nicola and Linda played the drums. And the recorder quartet; Leisbet, Linda, Sara C, and Sherri; you were fantastic. How you all learned that song in such short notice is beyond me...Thanks to everyone who volunteered, put in a little extra effort, and came with such great holiday cheer. I know that I had a tough time being festive with the busy last few weeks. Way to go EY07!

On a final note, I would like to thank Mr. Michael "mustache" Caldwell. It has been great collaborating with you on videos. Thanks to you, I now can edit a video on my own! Thank you.

Art Gallery

I really enjoyed the art gallery. There were lots of great lesson ideas shared and the chance to get "in the mix" and experience making art was wonderful. The most rewarding experience for me was hearing that it is not always best to display art. My focus up to this point has been on creating class murals and documenting final products so that students can celebrate their work. I know that this is important, however, now I understand that it is equally important to include art projects where there is no final product. This helps kids enjoy the process of art rather than focusing on the final product. I think this viewpoint is important to include in the school curriculum. How wonderful it would be if we all were able to focus on the process rather than on grades...I think this lesson is something that we all can benefit from by reflecting upon. If we want to be teachers that focus on improvement rather than test achievement, then we need to model this for our students. How can we expect children to do something that we won't?

Theatre North West

Gail and I went to a the play at Theatre North West tonight. It was "A Christmas Carol" adapted by Jeff Pitcher. This was my first experience attending the theatre in Prince George. I plan on returning. I found it to be extremely entertaining and very professional. The set was amazing and the acting was first-rate. I also enjoyed looking at a dramatic performance from a new perspective. I found myself admiring the use of song as a transition. Whenever there was a new scene, the performers would either sing a song or play the violin to act as a segway. I was blown away by the talent of the musicians and the voice of one of the actresses. This play is running until Dec. 7. If you have time over the holidays, check it out. Theatre North West will "re-create one of your best-loved dramas, overflowing with hope and true Christmas cheer. The Cratchit family, Jacob Marley, Mrs. Dilber, Old Fezziwig, and Ebenezer Scrooge all come alive on the TNW stage."

For more information check out their website at http://www.theatrenorthwest.com/

The Dali Project - A Multimodal Research Platform

This is the video that Mike and I collaborated on for our Reasearch Platform. This was a great experience. I think it is very important to incorporate multimodal learning into our instruction and assessment. It gives students multiple ways to learn and apply this learning to demonstrate their understanding of course content. As well, it is congruent with many of the core principles we have learned thus far in our education program - we should include a variety of evaluation methods and use differentiated instruction so that students are most likely to achieve success. Not all students learn the same way, at the same rate, and represent their learning the same. Variety is the spice of life! My thanks to Mike for patiently taking me through the editing process. This marks the first time that I was able to edit a video!

Remembrance Day "Lest we Forget"

For me, Remebrance Day is a time to remember all the individuals who have given their life for our freedoms, and the many who are willing to risk their life so that strangers in another area of the world will have a better life. I know that there are not as many World War I and II Veterans but I believe that change is underway to include present day soldiers. My spouse and I went to the Remebrance Day ceremony at the Civic Centre and Cenetaph today. It was solemn, grave, and touching. The slide show by the soldier who had been on two missions - one in Afghanistan and one in Bosnia - was particularly illuminating. It helped to give me a brief glimpse into what it would be like to be a soldier and put your life on the line. It is something that I am willing to do for my immediate family, but not for complete strangers on the other side of the planet. Words cannot express my gratitude. People like him make this world a safer place.

Children's Art Show

What a fabulous visual arts event! It was so great to see all the beautiful art work that was created during the practicum. I also enjoyed seeing the wide variety of art work. I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about getting everything ready, but I believe it is a testament to our amazing cohort that we were able to put such a wonderful event together on such short notice.
Not only was it well-organized, but I thought that everyone chipped in and contributed. I know that I missed a good deal of what was happening in the main atrium, as I had appointed myself the menial and unnecessary job of shuttling parents and students who arrived at the front entrance, but when I did walk around I couldn't help but smile at all the interactions. People were "chatting" it up with parents and keeping kids entertained. It was amazing. The best part for me was hearing the little tidbits as I walked people in. A typical conversation involved me asking what grade and school a child attended. After telling me, they usually added who their teacher was at how excited they were to see him or her again. I must have received at least ten, "Is Mr. ___ or Mrs. ____ going to be there?" I must say, well done everybody. Not only was the art show a great success, but it sounds as though people did some wonderful things in getting to know their students, capturing their interest, and motivating them throughout their practicum.
On a final note, I would like to add that I was aware that this event would have an important impact on the students' lives, but I was still impressed when the following Wednesday I returned to my practicum class and my cooperating teacher told me (about five times) that students had told him how much they enjoyed going to UNBC for the art show. I wish that all the students could have gone but for the five and their two friends who came along, it sounds as though it was an event that they will remember for a long period of time and that it will have a positive impact on their self-esteem.
Oh yes - thanks everyone! What a great experience it was to collaborate as a class. You all rock!

Practicum Reflections

I did my best to provide an environment that stimulated the "inner artist" wiithin my students. My goal was to encourage students to take risks and take pride in their work. I found that displaying student work was a great way of accomplishing the latter. The former was more difficult. It is my belief that this does not happen overnight but is the result of the teacher's attitude and disposition towards art. I feel that if teachers model a positive attitude towards art, then it will be more likely that a similar disposition is instilled in their students which will enhance self-efficacy. For my students, this was extremely important. Many of their previous teachers had labelled them as a "problem class". Creating art was one way that I was able to make in-roads to this self-fulfilling prophecy and instill feelings of success.
I was astonished by the depth that fine arts could be incorporated into classroom management. I used music as a way to keep students on-task and working cooperatively. I had students bring in some of their favourite music and played it during seat work and group work (previewed by myself of course). The results were great. Students worked more quietly and were more effective in group work. Another way I incorporated music into my practicum was to play classical music at the beginning of the day while students entered the classroom and began their daily edit. Although some students initially complained, the results were beneficial in creating a positive environment to start the day. Student performance at the daily edit also increased which supports what our text says about music increasing academic achievement. I believe that the results could be even more profound at the primary age.