For those who have asked for Puffer tee shirts, they are now available for kids and adults. Please go to http://www.cafepress.com/pufferart to order online.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Puffer tee shirts
For those who have asked for Puffer tee shirts, they are now available for kids and adults. Please go to http://www.cafepress.com/pufferart to order online.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Travel 2006
Our trip to Paris, Avignon, and Nice held many interesting adventures such as a visit to the market in St. Remy. It's now time to start thinking about our next trip for art teachers, art students, and their friends. Where would you like to go?
The Netherlands? A cruise of the Greek Isles? Spain? Ireland? Mexico?
If you have a suggestion and would like to join our group, please email me. When a destination is chosen and a time is set, information will be posted here, on my website, and on the SchoolArts website.
The following photos were taken as we toured France.
Pam (left) and Jenn (right) visit a Metro Station in Paris. The station was recently re-designed by a French artist.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Dropping in on Andy Warhol
Dropping in on Andy Warhol is now available from Crystal Productions. You'll find both the book and video to be appropriate resources for elementary classrooms.
email me if you have questions.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Art Resources for Teachers
Visit my website, www.artresourcesforteachers.com, to view the resources and opportunities that are provided for teachers, school districts, and art museums.
Bridging the Curriculum through Art
Bridging the Curriculum through Art is a book for teachers that includes chapters filled with meaningful art-based, interdisciplinary lessons. The book is currently adopted by a variety of art teacher preparation programs in the US and is becoming a staple for many established teachers.
The book is co-authored with Nancy Walkup, editor of SchoolArts, and is available through www.crystalproductions.com or at www.Amazon.com.
Dropping in on Grant Wood
Dropping in on Grant Wood, the fourth in my series of children's books and animated videos about master artists, is now available from www.crystalproductions.com.
Both the book and the video are carried in the bookstores of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art and the Smithsonian as well as a variety of other museum bookstores around the USA.
Dropping in on Romare Bearden Available Soon
Tips for Effective Classroom Discipline
Probably the biggest fear student teachers face is how they will deal with classroom discipline. Most fret over how to work with disruptive students and how to keep classes under control. While every art class will have its own set of rules and there is no one-size-fits-all formula for dealing with discipline issues, there are a few guidelines that help when resolving discipline problems.
Some key points to keep in mind when dealing with classroom disruptions are:
1. Remain calm, be in control, and use a conversational tone of voice;
2. Never offer opportunities for argument by asking questions that could prompt inappropriate answers;
3. Set limits and explain choices in clear, positive language;
4. Be reasonable, consistent, and positive;
5. Remind, reinforce, and redirect;
6. Follow through with realistic and enforceable consequences; and
7. Have a few phrases in your bag of tricks that can give you the edge in difficult situations.
Some Scenarios
I. Consider that you are introducing a clay lesson to fifth graders. The entire class is excited to start and this excitement is shown by the way they enter the classroom. Everyone is talking and they begin to play with the tools that have been arranged on tables. Using the suggested guidelines, two appropriate responses would be:
“As soon as everyone shows me that they are ready to listen, we will be able to begin making clay whistles.” (Calm, in control, no room to argue, positive)
“Tell me about the rules for entering the classroom. (Remind) Why are these rules important? (Reinforce) Can you follow these rules and show me that you are ready to begin the lesson?” (Redirect)
II. Consider now that one child is disrespectful and uses an inappropriate tone of voice. To diffuse this sort of problem, remain unruffled and say something along the lines of “When you are ready to talk in a calm voice, I am ready to listen.” If the problem persists or you are tempted to say something reactionary, it is better to simply say, “I need to think about this for a moment” and quickly walk away.
Of course, this is not a wise solution if the child poses a threat to others around him. In that situation it is a good choice to send another student to the office or to a nearby classroom to seek adult assistance.
Planning your Response
One way to feel at ease with disciplining students is to be proactive. Plan for potential classroom situations and write down some thoughtful responses. What would you respond to a student who:
Yells across the room?
Uses profanity?
Destroys art room property?
Turns in sloppy work?
Is defiant?
Pushes another student?
Asks each day to leave class?
Disregards the code of conduct for the campus?
Works below ability level?
Cries with little or no provocation?
Some key points to keep in mind when dealing with classroom disruptions are:
1. Remain calm, be in control, and use a conversational tone of voice;
2. Never offer opportunities for argument by asking questions that could prompt inappropriate answers;
3. Set limits and explain choices in clear, positive language;
4. Be reasonable, consistent, and positive;
5. Remind, reinforce, and redirect;
6. Follow through with realistic and enforceable consequences; and
7. Have a few phrases in your bag of tricks that can give you the edge in difficult situations.
Some Scenarios
I. Consider that you are introducing a clay lesson to fifth graders. The entire class is excited to start and this excitement is shown by the way they enter the classroom. Everyone is talking and they begin to play with the tools that have been arranged on tables. Using the suggested guidelines, two appropriate responses would be:
“As soon as everyone shows me that they are ready to listen, we will be able to begin making clay whistles.” (Calm, in control, no room to argue, positive)
“Tell me about the rules for entering the classroom. (Remind) Why are these rules important? (Reinforce) Can you follow these rules and show me that you are ready to begin the lesson?” (Redirect)
II. Consider now that one child is disrespectful and uses an inappropriate tone of voice. To diffuse this sort of problem, remain unruffled and say something along the lines of “When you are ready to talk in a calm voice, I am ready to listen.” If the problem persists or you are tempted to say something reactionary, it is better to simply say, “I need to think about this for a moment” and quickly walk away.
Of course, this is not a wise solution if the child poses a threat to others around him. In that situation it is a good choice to send another student to the office or to a nearby classroom to seek adult assistance.
Planning your Response
One way to feel at ease with disciplining students is to be proactive. Plan for potential classroom situations and write down some thoughtful responses. What would you respond to a student who:
Yells across the room?
Uses profanity?
Destroys art room property?
Turns in sloppy work?
Is defiant?
Pushes another student?
Asks each day to leave class?
Disregards the code of conduct for the campus?
Works below ability level?
Cries with little or no provocation?
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Philosophy of Teaching
STATEMENT of TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
PAMELA GEIGER STEPHENS, PhD
For any subject taught…, we might ask [is it] worth an adult’s knowing, and whether having known it as a child makes a person a better adult.
Jerome Bruner, 1960
The Process of Education
Bruner’s statement is essential to my philosophy of teaching in and through the visual arts. Regardless of when or where a subject is taught--whether to children in primary schools or adults in graduate programs--the eventual value of any subject lies in how that subject affects understanding and life-long learning.
It is my conviction that the visual arts and visual arts education are subjects worth knowing. For this fundamental reason, my mission in education is to provide meaningful teaching in and through the visual arts while making connections to various areas of learning and real life experiences. This is accomplished by approaching the visual arts as a hub for all learning. Finding meaning in artworks throughout history and from diverse traditions affords broad learning opportunities for students from varying social, economic, and cultural backgrounds.
All students under my direction are provided a non-critical learning environment; a learning environment that values cultural and social differences, recognizes divergent learning styles, and encourages deep thinking and better cognition. This type of learning environment requires interactive participation between my students and myself. It is not a situation that relies upon regurgitation of textbook knowledge and skills; rather, it is a situation that makes students responsible for individual learning and personal demonstrations of competence. It is a learning situation that empowers students in their own cognitive development.
In practical terms, my teaching approach is one of modeling, coaching, and self-reflection. It is impossible for me to have all the answers and to be everything to every student. When students witness an instructor searching for answers along with them, their own learning processes are validated. This tandem learning environment creates (in my opinion) a healthy classroom that encourages students to be risk-taking team players rather than passive bystanders of their own education.
My classroom suggests that gaps in knowledge are opportunities for learning; that contradictions are a part of our information society; that collaboration stimulates new ways of seeing and knowing; and re-thinking of ideas or understandings are a part of continued growth.
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