1.

How have you grown as a teacher from the information you’ve learned this
semester? (5 points) Give me your general impressions here about the kind of
teacher you were when you walked into the classroom and the kind of teacher you
are as you leave this class. Like a thesis statement.

Before I entered this class, I was a teacher who thought creativity and art in the
classroom was just having students paint and color whatever pictures they wanted to,
as long as they followed the perimeter the teacher gave them. As I leave this
classroom, I am a teacher who understands that art is so much more than students
creating pictures. In a classroom, art gives students choices in the pieces they create
and helps them understand the meaning and themes behind other artworks. Also,
having students think critically about their art processes, and having the students
being able to discuss why they created an art piece.

2. What skills from this class do you plan to use in your teaching/pedagogy? (10
points) Cite at least 3 different skills that you plan to use in the classroom and how
you might use it to be a better teacher.

One skill I plan to use in the classroom is allowing students to be creative, but also
having a perimeter for them to work with. When assigning class projects and art
activities I want to allow students the freedom to make choices on different aspects
of the activity, but also following the guidelines I set before they began working. This
might make me a better teacher because students will be more engaged in the
activity, and they will retain their learning from the assignment more because they
were able to make many decisions along the way. Another skill I will use in my
classroom is giving students time to work independently or with a partner, and I will
regularly check in and see how progress is going. I think this skill will make me a
better teacher because students will feel more independent when completing an
assignment without the teacher constantly walking around and asking each student
how they are doing every couple of minutes. A pedagogy skill I plan to use in my
teaching is tapping into students’ prior knowledge before teaching a lesson. I think
this will make me a better teacher because tapping into a student’s background
knowledge can increase their understanding of a subject, because you have
connected a new idea to an idea the students have previously learned.

3. What did you find most useful to your upcoming teaching practice? (5
points) Evaluate what the most beneficial part of the class was for you and why you
feel that way. Be sure to justify and defend your reasoning with how it will help your
teaching practice.
 I think the most beneficial part of this class for me was when we had to come up with
our own art project and create a lesson around it. This was the most useful activity
we did to prepare us for teaching because that assignment is something we will have
to eventually do as teachers. It is up to teachers and the curriculum to decides what
art projects should be created by students, and then it is up to the teacher to create a
lesson around the project. I think having done this project will make me a better
teacher because I now have practice reading through and finding an art standard to
fit my project, as well as deciding the amount of time I should dedicate to each part
of my lesson. All the different parts of the EdTPA lesson plan will help me when it
comes time to implement art activities into my own classroom.

4. What sparked your interest and is something that you plan to look into further? (5
points) Here’s where you have to think about something that you might not know
everything about yet, but would like to continue looking into. Tell me what that
might be and explain your reasoning for why you want to explore it further. How do
you think it will help you grow as a teacher someday?

Something I want to look further into is how to implement TABs activities into my
classroom. I think that a full TABs lesson is something that is mostly done in the art
room with the art teacher, but I am interested to learn how teachers implement a
TAB’s lesson into the students home classrooms. I would be interested to know when
the teachers decide to use TABs in their class, whether that be for indoor recess or for
a brain break for students. I think learning more about how to implement TABs in my
future classroom can make me a better teacher because I would be allowing students
the opportunity to make independent choices and use what they already know about
art and creativity to create their pieces.