The teacher understands the framework and standards of the subject matter she/he teaches.  She/he uses the discipline's tools of inquiry, central concepts and internal structure , and makes interdisciplinary connections to promote learners' inquiry.

Indicators

• Assesses learners' prior knowledge and modifies instruction accordingly
• Demonstrates a mastery of accurate content knowledge across art forms required in USM's BFA-AE program, visual culture , and art history.
• Engages learners as investigators in activities that highlight key concepts in content areas(s)
• Continues to learn subject matter in an ongoing way
• Creates own artwork during the student teacher year
• Models and encourages students' application of the discipline's tools of  inquiry (creating artworks, researching art and art education, viewing artworks, critiquing artworks, etc)
• Assesses learners' prior knowledge and modifies instruction
• Presents content and concepts through multiple representations
• Draws on multiple resources to plan lessons and engage students in learning concepts.
• Creates learning experiences that integrate knowledge of different disciplines with art.

Artifacts

2013, Praxis Art Content Examination.

Preparing for this test required me to draw from past experiences and newly learned knowledge and skills. Studying for this exam taught me to work hard for what I want.  While studying for this exam, I gained significant understanding of architecture and artists throughout time, artist mediums and tools, and art aesthetics - all of which will be shared with my future art students.

2012-2013, Painting Throughout my Internship

To view my full gallery see My Work on the above bar

Painting throughout my internship required discipline and hard work, and it also inspired me to continually review and revise the way in which I paint and teach.  When teaching an elementary unit on Maine Animals, I showed the work of John James Audubon and Jonathan Harris. Each of the naturalistic artists use paint in different manners, and when I researched and studied their paintings I soon found my own work was influenced by their styles. Within my own work, I have thoughtfully addressed the Elements and Principals of Art, and by doing so I have gained a more thorough understanding of the art making process. Having an awareness that art is a continuous process helps me when teaching students in the classroom, where I can refer to my own knowledge and expertise to encourage student understanding and learning. 

2013, Designing and Building a Kamishibai Stage

As a service learning project for my internship at Cape Elizabeth Middle School, I chose to design and build a Kamishibai stage for my mentor and her students.  I was first inspired to make the stage when observing in the school the semester before, and while there, I helped to teach a Kamishibai unit, without a stage.  I noticed how strange it was that when read, the storyboards were just held up in the air. There seemed to be something missing from the lesson so I decided to investigate the subject.

Investigating for some time, I decided to design the Kamishibai stage based on several images I found online, however, I faced a lot of trial and error because none of the photos showed a clear picture of the actual woodworking. Although this was the case I felt eager to learn more about woodworking and expand my skills so I could, in the future, share this knowledge with my students.

The stage took a full day to construct and several days to finish. I began first by constructing two frames. One of the frames became the actual stage and the other frame became the doors. The doors were inlayed with a plywood panel and then attached to the stage frame with brass hinges. The back of the stage was especially challenging. My measurements did not match up and I had to attach several extra pieces of wood  in order to hold the storyboards in place.

The finished product was put to the test during my internship when my mentor and I presented the Kamishibai stories. I noticed how the addition of the stage grabbed students attention and enriched the lesson. I shared my process of making with the students, which helped them to understand woodworking as one of many disciplines within art.

I feel as though my process of making and using the stage fits into this artifact because as an artist one cannot just focus on a single area of study. One needs to be knowledgeable of a variety of medium as well as be open to new learning avenues that will continue to improve the education and the lives of my students.