Education 3430 / MED 6430

Creative Processes in the Elementary Classroom

 

 

Instructor       Loretta Niebur Walker, Ph.D.

                        Phone:  626-8655

                        e-mail:  lorettawalker@weber.edu

                        website:  http://faculty.weber.edu/lorettawalker/

                       

Dates/Times  

Location         Room 317  McKay Education Building

 

 

Course Description:  This course focuses on the development of attitudes, methods and skills in creative teaching, including an exploration of using music, art, dance, and drama in the classroom. Graduate students will also explore philosophy, research, and theories that support arts integration, and development of teaching strategies and materials for use in the elementary classroom.

 

 

 

Required text & materials available from the media lab:

My Recorder Book by Sandy Feldstein, teacher’s edition with CD. (about $6)

Peripole Angel Soprano Recorder, baroque fingering. (about $5)

Elementary Song Book with CD (about $20) (Supporting DVD $25, order through Dr. Walker).  (USOE).  An earlier version of the book (only) also available online at www.utah.schools.gov/curr/FineArt for free, but CDs are required for this class.

Additional materials from materials center as needed.

 

Text available in the bookstore: Recommended for 3430, Required for 6430

Cornett, C. (2003). Creating Meaning Through Literature and the Arts:  An Integration Resource for Classroom Teachers.  2^nd or 3^rd ed.  Merrill Prentice Hall.  (about $52, the earlier edition is cheaper and still very useful) (Look in the bookstore under ED 4340)

 

Course Outcomes/Objectives:  This course is designed to help students build their enjoyment, confidence, content knowledge and skills in creative teaching methods, particularly using music, art, dance, and drama. Graduate students will prepare arts and integration lessons and materials for use in their classrooms, based on current philosophies, theories, and research.

 

University Ethics Policy:

Failure to maintain academic ethics/academic honesty including the avoidance of cheating, plagiarism, collusion and falsification will result in an E in the course and may result in charges being issued, hearings being held, and/or sanctions being imposed.  Any violation of the WSU student code of conduct may result in a failing grade in the course and/or withdrawal of the student's admission to the Teacher Education Program. 

 

ADA Statement:

Any student requiring accommodations or services due to a disability must contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in room 181 of the Students Service Center.  SSD can also arrange to provide course materials (including this syllabus) in alternative formats if necessary. 

 

Course Requirements:  Details and due dates will be announced in class

 

1.  Attendance, Participation, and Professionalism (150):  Full attendance and fully engaged participation is critical to receiving full benefit from this class.  Students are expected to be in class, punctual, prepared, and participate fully. Arriving at class late; leaving early; missing in-class projects; inadequate preparation, participation or collaboration; “blowing off” entire assignments or major requirements within assignments; sarcasm, put-downs, or disruption of class (including off-task talking) will influence the number of attendance/participation points earned.  Significant problems in any one of these areas can drop a student’s grade a full or partial letter grade.

         Because of the condensed scheduling of this course, attendance is required at every class.  In case of illness, contact the instructor.  Students who miss two classes or more may elect to repeat the course.  If you are absent it is your responsibility to learn what was done in class and be current on any assignments.

         By nature, the content of this course invites risk-taking.  We ask elementary students to explore and take risks as they learn so it is vital that students in this course also explore new educational territory.  Students in this course are not expected to become fully expert in the art forms, however every student is expected to explore new content and teaching strategies in order to develop expertise beyond that which they had when the course began.  Thus, full, active participation is critical in this course.

 

 

2. Art Element/Design Principle Presentations (75): Group presentation with full participation of each member of the group. Each group will research one or more art elements and/or design principles and give a presentation to the class. Each presentation must include (not necessarily in this order) (a) a clear explanation/illustration of what the element or principle is, including everyday examples (b) examples of different ways it is used in works of art (c) a very brief activity in which the class experiments with or manipulates the element/principle in some way. The entire presentation, including all transitions, must take no more than 15 minutes.

 

 

3.  What to do with a book group project (75): Group presentation with full participation of each member of the group.  Presentation should be in the format of a lesson with its primary focus on a specific grade level.  Involve the class in your presentation.  Provide a handout, for each member of the class. The handout must include full bibliographic information on your chosen book and a number of “seed ideas” of how to use the arts in relation to that book, plus additional notes about what you demonstrate in your presentation so that your classmates will be able to recreate the activity you model your presentation in their classes in future years. It is not necessary, however, to include a complete lesson plan in your handout.

 

4.  What to do with math (75):  The same basic guidelines apply as for What to do with a Book. More details will be discussed in class.

 

 

5. Self ratings on art and music core (50):  Rate yourself early in the class and again at the end on two grade levels—one upper grade and one lower grade (in both art forms) unless you are early childhood certification only, in which case do 1st and 3rd grades.  If you have already done self-ratings in ED4340, choose two upper grades with more challenging content. You will mark your ratings on the same copy of the core both times. Use the following scoring system:

0 = Totally clueless

1 = I know little or nothing

2 = I’ve heard about it, but don’t feel comfortable with the content

3 = I am comfortable with the content

4 = Given time and resources I think I could teach this

5 = Give me a class, I’m ready to teach this!

 

 

6.  Art discussion and artist study (75):  Students will lead the class in the discussion of an artwork and in a brief study of an artist’s life, or a traditional art work from a particular culture. Presenters will work in either pairs or trios. The discussion will include at least three components: a discussion of the art work itself (please do not ask the class to guess if it was created by a male or female artist), a discussion of the artist’s life (or culture) and how it affected his/her art work, and a discussion of other works by the artist (or from the culture) and other artwork of the time.  The entire presentation should last no more than 15 minutes. Please use effective presentation techniques.

 

 

7.  Ensemble performances (100):  Perform a selection of your choice for the class. Everyone must perform on recorder and at least one other voice/instrument.  More details in class. (By the way, this is a really fun assignment.)

 

 

 

8.  3430 only Art elements & design posters (250):  Create a poster illustrating each of the visual art elements and design principles listed below. Make them the kind of quality that you will be proud to display in your future classroom. All finished posters must be half-poster-sheet size or larger and laminated, unless there is a compelling reason not to do so (such as some texture posters). Be sure that the name of the element/principle is displayed on the front of each poster (or can be attached, such as with Velcro). Be sure your name is on the back of all posters so they can find their way back to you if they get misplaced.

 

Elements:                      Design Principles:

Value                            Harmony

Color                                      Variety

Line                              Pattern

Shape                            Proportion and/or Scale

Form                             Emphasis

Space                            Balance

Texture

 

 

 

8.  6430 Only Integrated arts rationale, teaching unit, and materials. (300):  Using the first three chapters of the text by Claudia Cornett as a springboard, write a short (2-5 pages) rationale for integrating the arts in your classroom. If you are a classroom teacher, be sure to address the incorporation of substantive arts content as well as integration with other curricular areas. If you are an arts specialist, be sure to address why and how your curriculum should interface in a substantial way with other curricula classroom teachers

 

9.  Teaching and Management Strategy Notebook with course reflection (150/100 for 6430):  This is where you will keep track of activities as well as activities and management strategies presented by Dr. Walker and guest presenters.  If you keep this notebook well, it will be a resource to you for years to come.  It will be graded on completeness, organization, neatness, and ease of use.  I will expect to see certain sections in all notebooks, i.e. a one or two page reflection on your experiences and growth in this course, art samples illustrating each of the elements/design principles (beyond what you do in your posters), the USOE songbook with the songs we did in class marked and notes about how we did them if we did anything different from the commentary in the songbook, the art and music cores, handouts from other students, handouts from class, management strategies, and a list of music recordings we listened to/used in class (probably with comments on how they were used). Use your own ingenuity to organize these items and anything else you desire to include in a way that is useful to you. It does not need to be a work of art, but it does need to be a useful resource for your future use.  Feel free to use cross-referencing of ideas to reduce the amount of paper you need to use.

 

Grading Standard for 3430:

1.  Attendance and Participation	150
2.  Element/Principle Presentation	75
3.  What to do with a Book	75
4.  What to do with Math	75
5.  Self Ratings	50
6.  Art discussion	75
7.  Ensemble performances	100
8.  Art posters	250
9.  Teaching and Mgt. Notebook	150
Total	1000

 

 

A         100-94%

A-        93-90%

B+       89-87%

B         86-83%

B-        82-80%

C+       79-77%

C         76-73%

C-        72-70%

D         69-60%

E          59

 

Grading Standard for 6430: