Miss Art of Teaching

Today my Year 11 students submitted their Body of Work for marking. I wanted them to focus on 'presenting' their artworks. I purposely booked the meeting room as my classroom is too busy with a lack of wall space. Students were encouraged to move their artworks into the meeting room at the start of recess. A lot of students spent an entire period setting up their artworks and getting their Visual Arts Process Diary ready for marking. I spent another two periods marking with a co-worker. Discussions were formed and we talked about how I can support my students through to the HSC. Marks still need to be finalised and I plan to spend my weekend writing constructive feedback. Here are a few photos from today:

This week, I have avoided taking work home. This is probably the 'procrastinate' period. I tend to always do this before going on full auto-pilot mode (except I do focus on the material at hand)  Above: How I imagine myself when I go on auto-pilot mode. Over here in Australia, it is Week 3 of Term 2. Here is my to-do list in order of importance: 1) Art Teacher role: Get Year 11 'Portraits' resources printed as textbooks for senior students. 2) Art Teacher role: Finish marking three late Year 7 Case Study assignments and one late Year 10 Case Study assignment.  3) Art Teacher role: Finish marking three class set of Year 7 Self-Portraits.  4) Art Teacher role: Start three class set of Year 7 Visual Arts reports, one class set of Year 7 Technology Mandatory reports and one class set of Year 9/10 Visual Arts reports. 5) Year 7 Adviser role: Prepare Week 5 Tuesday PowerPoint and resources on 'Study Skills' and '7 Habits of Highly Ef...

The first day back was SUPER busy... The day started off with three new Year 7 enrolments. I greeted them among trying to photocopy resources for my five-period day and my attempts at moving all the things into my classroom that I have been stealing from home. I provided the new students with their school diary, assessment booklets, uniform information, fee information sheet, mobile phone policy ALL before school even started. I also managed to assign the students into classes. Instead of having period 1, there was a formal Anzac Day service. The History teachers and Student Leaders directed the ceremony. They did a fantastic job even down to the finer details - red handmade poppies on skewers. I was happy to see my students again. They were quite eager to share their holiday stories. I had to use my 'NOISE' strategy to quiet down my first class. It worked tremendously well after flipping through two letters. Link to 'NOISE' ...

Still trying to enjoy the last few days of my school holiday break over in Australia. I have either been marking my life away or connecting with nature. Not sure if I am ready for another 10 weeks of school. However, having a routine is probably better for me than waking up and sitting in my room like a sloth (on days that I stay home to mark). The main things I will miss is the beautiful sceneries and the freedom to stay in bed.   This morning I went to La Perouse. It is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney. It is a great place to explore cliffs and learn about the historic area named after French navigator La Perouse. The Bare Island Fort (pictured below) was built in 1885 to protect Sydney from a perceived Russian threat. Guided tours are available in three time slots every Sunday. Above: The Bare Island Fort Above: Beautiful weather. The little black specks in the water are people learning how to scuba dive. Above: Spot me! We had a simple picnic at La Pe...

I did a bit of marking this morning- Year 11 Senior Visual Arts exam papers. I only marked question 1 and started question 2. Glad to see that my students are doing well minus a few who need to read the question carefully and use the keywords in their response. It will also help if they do more than list what they can see in the plates (unknown artworks) and think of how the artists are challenging the audience or how they address social issues. I have stapled the marking criteria and an example of a teacher response (my attempt) for each question. This way students can compare their responses to the marking criteria and look at how I answered the same questions. I also provide them with an individual feedback. When Term 2 starts, I will need to spend at least half a lesson to go through what was working well and what needs improvement. There will be more revision throughout the year using old test papers to get them ready for Year 12 HSC. Above: Far left is the teacher's ...