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Art Bots: STEAM for Art Teachers

4/17/2018

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As soon as I read the words “Affordable Art Bots” workshop, I was in! A robot that makes art? And they are affordable? This is STEAM for art teachers and I was hooked. I knew I had to find out more about it and see if it was worth bringing this experience to my elementary students. I look forward to the yearly National Art Educator (NAEA) Conference, it is a great place to meet teachers you “talk” to online face to face (finally!) and, of course to learn something new.

Imagine twenty art teachers playing with pool noodle pieces, battery operated toothbrushes, markers and googly eyes. You can see it, right? Problem solving and fun all wrapped into one! We experimented with inserting the toothbrush into a piece of pool noodle, added marker “legs” and gave it a whirl! We learned that if the toothbrush and markers were adjusted the robot could move more, or move in different directions. Adding eyes, mustaches and other features was the icing on the cake.


Arts Bots in the Classroom
Even though this was fun for art teachers, what’s in it for our students? The National Core Arts Standards (NCAS) are process based. In my choice-based art room, students create their own original art, ask and answer their own questions. Across the all of our new teaching standards: ELA, math, science, art, teachers are encouraged to step back and allow students to identify and solve their own problems.

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Last week, I brought my Art Bot to school and had my students experiment with him. They changed him as needed. This photo shows what two third grade students created out of cardboard as a solution to help Art Bot stand up. And it worked!
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Last year I facilitated an art bot session with teachers who attended an EdCamp in Southwest Connecticut. At the end of the day, two teachers were very excited about creating art bots with their students. One, a preschool teacher, couldn’t wait to have her students talk and write (together as a class) about art bots. The other was a high school creative writing teacher who was looking forward to having her students create an art bot and write about it.
Making the ConnectionsThis activity covers: visual art, engineering, art creation, problem solving and can fit into STEAM, STEM to STEAM, science, visual art, maker spaces and arts integration programs. All you need are some dollar store items: pool noodles, battery operated toothbrushes, markers, tape, rubber bands, making tape and craft supplies to decorate your robots.
How could creating an Art Bot help your students learn? Let’s discuss it below!


(Link to Art Bot PDF - many thanks to Hey That's My Art Teacher)


​This post was first published on Education Closet
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Eliminate Early Finishers with Choice!

4/10/2018

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It is not every year that I’ve turned my teaching career on its head and changed my teaching strategy (thank goodness!) but that is what I did last year.

I’ve been teaching for 30-ish years, and because of connections I’ve made with other teachers online, I changed my elementary art classroom from a teacher-directed space to choice-based and student centered. How did this happen? I learned from other teachers who challenged my ideas and made me reflect on my teaching, student responsibility and my entire teaching philosophy.

How on earth did this happen? I have been teaching a long time… I should be set in my ways, right?


Well, no.


I’m a lifelong learner. Gimme a challenge and I’m up for it. I know how students feel learning something new because I do it all the time.

And where do I learn new things? On Twitter. Really! There are lots of people who use Twitter, *ahem* for GOOD things, like healthy discussions and learning. Proper discourse where you LISTEN (well, read – you know what I mean!) so that you can see the other side of issues, teaching strategies, about many different topics.  I have created my own fabulous PLN (Professional Learning Network) of educators around the world.  

So, one day on Twitter I noticed some of my art teacher Tweeps (Twitter Peeps) were having a discussion, AKA “chat” with the #TABchat hashtag. I thought, “What’s this all about?” So I read as they Tweeted about their experiences with  Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB).

Imagine my surprise when these art teachers, who I discussed lots of art room issues with over a few years, were discussing how their students CHOSE what to create in the art room. Choice? Student CHOICE in the art room? You mean all the students were NOT creating the same THING???

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Cute, but all the same.
It literally blew my mind.


“What the heck are they THINKING?” I thought. “How could that actually WORK in an elementary art room?” Honestly, I was part horrified and but part curious.


So, I followed that chat and learned about TAB and choice based classrooms. I spent the next three years or so giving my students more choice. I mulled over and reflected on my teaching… a lot. Changing my teaching strategy and my entire teaching philosophy is definitely not something to jump into without a lot of thought.


When I took art workshops and classes, I thought, “I wouldn’t want to create something step-by-step with the teacher – I’d want to create my own thing!” (Yeah, no paint and sip classes for me! To each her own.) I began to realize that I would not want to be a student in my classroom. What a revelation. I was part horrified and part curious- again. Moving towards choice for my elementary students was the right thing to do.


I set up different centers for students, such as drawing, painting, collage and clay. When I opened a center, the mini-lesson informed students what was in the center, how to use it, and how to put it away. Once a few centers were open, mini-lessons became an opportunity for students to learn about an artist, a new way to use materials, supplies or tools.

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All drawings, all different.
Student engagement went through the roof. I was able to have meaningful conversations with students about their work and their choices about their work. I witnessed students owning their learning. Students learned from their peers, now there wasn’t one expert in the room, there were many!

Think about it: are you set in your ways? Are you still learning? Reflection and self-assessment are important for all learners: children and adults.


What can your students teach you? Will you change anything in your teaching strategy?
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Let me know in the comments below!



This post was first published as A New Year, a New Teaching Strategy? on EdCloset

This post is a part of The Art Ed Blogger's Network: Monthly Tips and Inspiration from Art Teacher Blogs. On the first Tuesday each month, each of these art teacher blogs will post their best ideas on the same topic.

Participating Art Teacher Blogs:

  • Art Class Curator - Artists That Inspire
  • Art Ed Guru
  • Art is Basic
  • Art Room Blog
  • Art with Mr. E
  • Artful Artsy Amy
  • Capitol of Creativity
  • Create Art with ME
  • MiniMatisse
  • Mr. Calvert's Art Room Happenings
  • Mrs. Boudreaux's Amazing Art Room
  • Mrs. T's Art Room
  • Party in the Art Room
  • shine brite zamorano
  • Tales from the Traveling Art Teacher
  • Mona Lisa Lives Here
  • Art Teacher Tales
  • Ms Nasser’s Art Studio
  • Arte a Scuola
  • There's a Dragon in my Art Room
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    Amy Traggianese

    Visual art and arts integration with a techie twist!
     
    I don't like disclaimers, but: none of my ideas expressed in this blog post or website are supported or endorsed in any manner by my employer or anyone else. I just write it as I see it, and that is that.

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