Elizabeth Rosendahl: Blog II

How have you grown as a teacher from this experience so far (skills, understanding, or knowledge gained) (lesson planning, classroom management, demonstrations, etc…)?

I have learned so much about working with children from different ages and how they interpret various instruction in different ways. I like how each Sunday the children come to class and are excited to see how the mosaic has progressed. I also like how I am able to show them different tiling methods. I have become more experienced with children who have a shorter attention span. This is evident in the multiple techniques I use to engage them in the activity. I also have grown in my knowledge and understanding of mosaics and because of that I am able to instruct the children more effectively. I love being able to see how much they have grown (skill-wise) over the semester.

What new understandings do you have about children/education/your role in the classroom?

I have learned better ways to interact with children who are younger and have a more difficult time staying focused. I discovered that the students respond really well to encouragement and positive reinforcements, it helps them remain motivated to continue working on the project. I found that breaks can also help them by allowing them time to release their energy and when they come back from their short break, they are more focused.

What has made you happy about teaching this quarter?

I like the fact that the children are excited to see me when they come to class, it makes me happy to know that I’m bringing them joy. Seeing the processes in which they work and create art is so much fun. I love seeing them be creative and coming up with unique ideas. I like hearing what they have to say about certain things as well, it’s interesting to see the world from a child’s perspective.

What is something that you would like to work on improving by the end of the semester?

I want to be able to learn even more strategies related to classroom management, especially because the class we are teaching is so unstructured. Sometimes it is challenging to keep the children under control and have them stay in a specific area as opposed to running around the library and making loud noises. I think having those tools will help me improve my abilities to teach challenging classes in the future.

Elizabeth Rosendahl: Blog I

What is your teaching experience so far?

So far, I have had a few of teaching experiences with the A.I.M. program. In spring of 2017, I taught the Jumpstart program and this past fall I participated with a group teaching the mosaic mural project at the library. I have also been given the opportunity to go to the children’s school on campus and create artistic projects with them.

What are you looking forward to about the class you will be teaching?

I look forward to being able to create a mosaic mural that will be a permanent piece in the library. I worked on it last semester and it’s so amazing to see how everyone’s piece that they worked on come together. I am excited to teach others about how to create mosaic artwork as well. The process of creating the mural is so transformative and everyone has a unique perspective when working on it.

What do you hope to learn/gain from this experience?

    I hope to be able to learn how to create better color coordinating designs within a large piece of artwork. I also anticipate that I will be able to learn more about creative problem solving. We are trying to decide what color to apply to the background to make it look cohesive, but not have the flower stems blend in. I also want to learn more about the mosaic creation process, specifically about the application of it to the wall. This is a relatively new medium to me and I hope that throughout this semester I can learn more about the process so that I can potentially do something like it in the future on my own.