Weekly Updates

Check this page for updates every week during Practicum spring semester!

May 3-7

• FINAL ALL-CLASS MEETING FRIDAY MAY 7, 10:00-12:00. Final Class meeting. Directions have been sent out in email. Contact me if you have not received them.


• BRING 3 BLANK CARDS AND ENVELOPES. We will get those thank you cards written at the meeting!
  
  
• CHECK HOURS. Please get me your final journals and hours so that this can get updated before our final meeting.
  
  
• FINAL TA PACKETS DUE MAY 7, 8:00AM IN EMAIL TO LMI. This includes Teaching Artist Resume, Teaching Philosophy, 3 paragraphs describing 3 Practicum experiences in email to me. I will blue line the resumes and get back to you in email next week. You will want to bring them to our all class meeting on CD or flash drive as a back up.
  
  
• GALLERIES AND LESSON PLANS DUE TO CAROL BEFORE MAY 4. ALL digital galleries and html lesson plans are due to Carol in the manner she has asked you to submit before our final class meeting.
  
  
• REIMBERMENTS FORMS AND RECEIPTS. Place in my mailbox this week or bring to final class meeting.
  
  
• EXTRA SUPPLIES. Return to my office this week. Please put your names on them so I know who brought them back so I can give you credit!
  
  
• EVALUATION FORMS and VIDEO EVALUATIONS. I am still waiting for self-evaluation forms and video evaluations from the following:
  
  Rachel (Expo-video, Barton-video and self eval)
  Rudy (Jackson-self eval and video, Perpich-self eval and video)
  Lydia (Harriet Tubman-self eval and video, Barton-video)
  Katrina ( Ramsey - video)
  Jaclyn - (Lincoln and Jackson-video)
  Christa - OK
  Cara - OK
  Crystal - (Harriet Tubman-self and video, Art Student Workshop - self and video)
  

April 25-29

• CONGRATULATIONS RUDY! What a wonderful opening on Friday nite. The place was filled with community. The exhibition was beautiful. I hope you all will get over to Groundswell Coffee Shop to see the student work.
  
  
• RECEIPTS. Please put receipts with the reimbursement form in my box in the Library this week so you can get paid back immediately. If you have already submitted look for checks next week.
  
  
• EVALUATIONS. I am forwarding you teacher and artist evaluations as I receive them. I have already sent you each my evaluations. Many of you still owe me evaluation of each of your lessons, both self and video evals. They are required.
  • Jaclyn Nelson - missing 2 video evaluations
  • Lydia Alsdurf - missing 2 self evaluations, 2 video evaluations
  • Crystal Tomczak - missing 2 self evaluations, 2 video evaluations
  • Rudy Arnold - missing 2 self evaluations, 2 video evaluations
  • Rachel Smith - missing 2 self evaluations, 2 video evaluations
  • Katrina McMahon - missing 1 self evaluation and 1 video evaluation
    
    
• TA PACKET. The Teaching Artist Packet is due at 8:00 May 5 by email. It includes a Teaching Artist Resume, Teaching Artist Philosophy, and three paragraphs summarizing your three Practicum experiences. Find requirements and examples on the assignments page.
  
  
• FINAL MEETING. Our final all class meeting will take place on Wednesday May 5 from 10:00-12:00 at my home. I have sent maps and contact information out by email. All work is due prior to this meeting. Bring your 3 thank you notes with you.
  
  
• GALLERIES AND LESSONS. Are up. Thank you Carol!
  
  
• HOURS . Check your hours to make certain you have your required 90 on site hours. These will be updated again on Monday April 27.

April 19-23

• CONGRATULATIONS! The presentations this past few weeks have been exceptional. Your work matters and is of value. Well done!
  
  
• FINAL GALLERY BUILDING WORKSHOP WITH CAROL. Monday April 19, 7:00-9:00 in Summit Labs. Bring jpgs of student work and lesson plans ( Planning Backwards). Have final galleries finished with attached html lesson plans by Friday April 30.
  
  
• MISSING EVALUATIONS. If you have emailed these to me please do so again.
  • Jaclyn Nelson - missing 2 video evaluations
  • Lydia Alsdurf - missing 2 self evaluations, 2 video evaluations
  • Christa Meyer - missing Perpich self eval (did you hand in a paper copy?)
  • Cara Fazio - All in!
  • Crystal Tomczak - missing 2 self evaluations, 2 video evaluations
  • Rudy Arnold - missing 2 self evaluations, 2 video evaluations
  • Rachel Smith - missing 2 self evaluations, 2 video evaluations
  • Katrina McMahon - missing self evaluation and video evaluation
  
  
• FINAL ASSIGNMENT. The Teaching Artist Packet is due at 8:00 May 5 by email. It includes a Teaching Artist Resume, Teaching Artist Philosophy, and three paragraphs summarizing your three Practicum experiences. Find requirements and examples on the assignments page.
  
  Galleries and html lesson plans are due to Carol by May 4. Contact me with any questions.

April 12-16

• FINAL GALLERY BUILDING WORKSHOP WITH CAROL. Monday April 19, 7:00-9:00 in Summit Labs. Bring jpgs of student work and lesson plans ( Planning Backwards). Have final galleries finished with attached html lesson plans by Friday April 30.
  
  
• REFLECTION DUE DATES. Self evaluations needs to be turned in to me within a week of your presentation. The video evals a week after you receive the CD from me.
  
  
• NEXT LESSON PRESENTATION. This week Lydia is schedule for a presentation at Harriet Tubman on Tuesday 6:30 and Barton Friday 8:45. Katrina is scheduled to present at Ramsey Wednesday at 10:00. I will also be visiting Michelle at Southwest at 10:30 on Friday.
  
  
• 2ND LESSON PRESENTATION. If this is not scheduled as yet, it must be done this week. Please get these cleared and schedule to make certain you get them in prior to the semester ending. Rachel, Crystal have not scheduled the 2nd presentation as yet. My schedule is getting quite tight.
  
  
• FINAL CLASS MEETING WEDENESDAY MAY 5, 10:00. We will be having a brunch at my house. Directions will come in email. TA Packet is in email prior to 10:00AM that day. See assignment page.
  

April 5-April 9

• GALLERY BUILDING WORKSHOP. Monday April , 7:00-10:00. Bring jpgs of student work from each presentation to date and copies of your lesson plan (Planning Backwards Models) and a flash drive to take finished work with you.
  
  
• FINAL LESSON PRESENTATIONS. Cara, Christa, Jaclyn, Rudy are finished with both of their presentations. Crystal, Lydia, Rachel, and Katrina have presentations left to do, Make certain to schedule them this week to get them on the April calendar. Check the calendar for my availability prior to scheduling. Meet with me a week prior to your presentation to review your lesson plan. Send your lesson plan-Planning Backwards Model-- to me 2 days prior to your presentation.
  
  
• MATERIALS RETURN. Please return any materials you have purchased or borrowed for your presentation to me as soon as you are finished so that others can use them. Materials not returned will be billed to you.
  
  
• 2ND GALLERY BUILDING WORKSHOP APRIL 9, 7:00-9:00. If you have not finished and turned in your 2 galleries and 2 html lesson plan you must attend this workshop to finish off your work.

March 29-April 1

• UPDATE CALENDARS. Email me copies of the updated calendars for March, April and May. Note any upcoming presentation dates.
  
  
• SUPPLY RETURN. A number of you--Michelle, Christa, Crystal, Jaclyn, Rachel, Cara---have used supplies from the TA closet this semester. This is great but I need to have them returned immediately after you lesson presentations in order to have them available for upcoming lesson. If you have not returned them as yet and are finished please bring them to the library and leave them there for me.
  
  
• RECEIPTS. Use the Receipt Reimbursement Form for materials that you have purchased for the class. Please submit these soon so I can clear my records AND get you paid back.
  
  
• FINISHED SITES AND SHADOWINGS. Email me a list of the sites you are finished with including the shadowing so that I can get evaluation forms to your mentors and pay honorarium.
  
  
• SECOND PRESENTATION. Schedule final presentation this week with me to get it on my schedule. Check calendars prior to scheduling.
  
  
• PREPARING FOR GALLERY BUILDING WORKSHOP. Carol has requested that you send her the following by Tuesday, March 30. This will help her simplify your gallery and lesson templates and make your job much easier making template for you for our working meeting on Monday April 5 meeting from 7:00-10:00 in the Summit Digital Labs. It will take you moments only to email this info to her at carol at cva.edu. FIll it in to the best of your knowledge to date for each project.

For each of your lesson presentations send her the following text specifically adapted to your classroom work in the order and format below. Cc me. See following is an example:

NAME OF INSTRUCTOR, GRADE RANGE and CLASSES, NAME OF SCHOOL, LESSON NAME, with CVA student
YOUR NAME

Example: Jane Spice, 3rd and 4th grade, Barton Open School, Scenery Painting with CVA student Christa Meyer


• PHOTOS AND BACKWARDS PLANNING MODELS. Bring your quality, high resolution photos of students work from your presentations (each student) and your lesson plans using planning backward model in MS word or rtf on a flash or CD to our all class mandatory meeting on April 5. Make certain they are Mac compatible.

March 22-26

• MID TERM BREAK. If you worked over break please submit your journals as usual so that you can stay caught up.
• MID TERM EXPECTATIONS
  • 48 hours cumulative work on site
  • One classroom presentation and revised lesson plan
  • One self evaluation, video evaluation, and receipt form submitted
  • Second presentation scheduled
  • Shadowing finished or scheduled
  • One set of quality photographs from first presentation of each students work. Name and number sequentially each photo as follows. 01-YourName-school (example: 01-JS-Jackson.jpg, 02-JS-Jackson.jpg, 03-JS-Jackson.jpg etc)
  • Submit calendar for remainder of March, April and May after spring break.
  • Journals up to date.
  • Note to LMI regarding which residencies are finished
• PARIS SURPISE. It was delightful to see French school children as young as 8 working in the museums, on the floors with art making tools surrounded by throngs of tourists. They owned the museums!

March 15-19

• CVA SPRING BREAK. Some of you are working over spring break. Please submit journals at the end of the week so I can stay updated for your sites. I will be linked in from Paris.

March 8-12

• HOURS. To be on schedule with hours you will want to have logged 45 as of the end of this week (mid semester). If you do not have this amount you will want to consider how you will make hours in order to complete your 90 hours of in class observation and work by May 7. Please update me if your hours are inaccurate in the hours log.
• ALL CLASS MANDATORY MEETING. All Class Mandatory Meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 5 from 7:00-10:00 in the Summit computer labs. Be prepared with images of each students work from your first lesson presentation along with a revised digital Planning Backward Lesson Plan from your presentation.
• PRESENTATIONS. All first presentations should be scheduled at this time. A few of you have schedule your second. I expect to attend your presentation unless we have spoken about an alternative. Check my schedule on the Practicum page to find a time that aligns with your teachers, yours and mine. Christa, Rudy, Jaclyn, Crystal, Cara, Rachel have done at least one presentation. I am waiting to hear from Katrina, Lydia and Michelle on dates for their first presentation.
• PRESENTATIONS OVER BREAK. If you are doing a presentation over break you will need to meet with me to review your lesson plan prior to Friday March 12 during my office hours and send me a Planning Backward Model prior to that time for review. The video camera will also need to be shared. Please send me time, dates and places you will be presenting over break so that you can share the video camera with one another.
• ALL CLASS MANDATORY MEETING. All Class Mandatory Meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 5 from 7:00-10:00 in the Summit computer labs. Be prepared with images of each students work from your first lesson presentation along with a revised digital Planning Backward Lesson Plan from your presentation. Keep your photos at a high resolution.
• OFFICE HOURS. I will be extending my office hour on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week to include the lunch hour 11:00-12:00 to meet your needs.

March 1-5

• PRESENTATIONS AGAIN. Rudy, Cara, Jaclyn, Rachel, Crystal have scheduled or have done at least one presentation. Michelle and Katrina need to get me dates for their first presentation this week. Check calendars to see when I am available to attend.
• PHOTOS OF STUDENT WORK. You must have photos of all of your students work for your galleries. Leave these large files and make certain you are taking quality photos. Place in a well lit area--fluorescent lights can stay on, flat and carefully placed in the picture plane, turn off the flash, hold still shooting form above or use a tripod, put black paper behind each item....or you can scan the art in the library. Keep the scans or art high resolution. You want good work showing you off. You will need photos from one class for our Gallery Building Meeting after mid term with Carol.
• ASSESSMENT FORMS. After your presentation you will receive a CD from me and an evaluation. You need to turn a self and video evaluation in to me as your final work for the residency. See the bottom of the Practicum page for forms.
• FINISHING A RESIDENCY. Let me know as soon as you have finished a residency or a shadowing so that I can send a thank you, evaluation form and an honorarium to your teacher or artist.
• PLANNING. Meet with me two weeks prior to your presentation to begin planning. Send an email planning backward model the week prior to presenting.
• RECEIPTS. You have a $25 stipend for materials, but check with me for materials we may already have. If you take materials form the TA closet you must return them immediately after presenting so they are available for other students. Submit receipts with form to my mailbox in the library.
• HOURS LOG. You should have 30 hours by the end of this week to be on track. Check Hours Log for accuracy.
• JOURNALS. Journals have been fabulous. Our partners are reading them. If you journals are not updated or submitted it says you are behind on the journal page. Please get those updated this week before mid terms go in.

February 22-26

• PRESENTATIONS. You should have a presentation under your belt by mid term. Schedule your lesson presentation as soon as possible so that I do not have a conflict. Look at the calendars of the Practicum page before you schedule to make certain I am available. I must be there in order to do an evaluation and grading. Make certain to meet with me as you begin to develop your lesson.
• PLANNING BACKWARD MODEL. The lesson plan is due to me one week prior to presentation. Visit the Assignment page for the lesson plan and requirements. Email me your rough draft.
• HOURS LOG. Check hours log for accuracy. I am assuming a number of hours have not been reported and need updating. Send me the dates, hours and schools/teacher/artist you worked with if hours are inaccurate. These are due weekly with your journals.

February 15-19

• THANK YOU for checking hours and getting journals in so that I could get them up.They are good reading! I feel like I am there. Make certain to take the time to read one another's each week. You will find great tips, good questions and a variety of experiences.
• RESIDENCIES AND SHADOWINGS. You are all in residencies this week. You will be helping in the classroom as the teachers requests, getting to know the students, and learning about school, grade level and classroom cultures. Please connect with each of your teachers or organizing group members about a date for your presentation. Check the Practicum page calendars so that we can make certain I am able to attend as it is the way I will be assessing and grading you. Some of you will be working over break. I WILL NOT be available during break this year so presentations much come either before or after break for these first classes.
• SCHEDULING PRESENTATIONS. Once you have scheduled your presentation date and content with your teacher or organizing group, please meet with me during my office hours to begin to brainstorm possible curriculum connections, formats, materials and methods. I have already met with Jaclyn, Cara, Rachel and Lydia and look forward to meeting with Christa and Rudy this week. Crystal, Michelle, Katrina please contact me regarding projected presentations.
• PLANNING BACKWARD LESSON PLANS. Lesson plans need to be emailed to me a week prior to your presentation for comments, development and questions.
• EVALUATIONS AND ASSESSMENTS. I will send evaluations to your partnering artists and teachers as you finish your residencies. Always let me know when you have finished hours so I can get the paperwork out. You also will need to fill out the self evaluation and video evaluation. Please submit it to me by email or in my box in the Library.
• PHOTOS. Make certain you are taking quality photographs of the student work that are not too small. Keep them large files for now. We will size them in our workshop. See last weeks message and link to copy stand us for quality photos. Art students are expected to take good quality photos.

February 8-12

• CHECK HOURS. You should have 18-20 hours completed by the end of this week in order to stay on schedule. If you are short, schedule a meeting with me to discuss how you will be making these up so you do not get overwhelmed as the semester proceeds.


• FIRST PRESENTATION DATE. Calendars are up. Please make the date and time for your first presentations as soon as you are in a residency classroom. Rachel, Jaclyn, Cara, and Christa have scheduled or done their first presentation. That leaves the rest of you to choose a date and time. Check my calendar and your teachers calendar to set a date. I MUST BE THERE. If my schedule does not work for you contact me and we will work out a substitute plan.


• SUBMIT PLANNING BACKWARDS LESSON PLAN. Prior to our meeting or a week prior to your presentation submit a Planning Backward Lesson Plan via email for my comments.


• REVIEW PRESENTATION PLAN. Set a time to meet with me about your project plans and curriculum focus soon. You can email or sign up on my office door. If you cannot meet during office hours contact me for an appointment.


• PHOTOS OF EACH STUDENTS WORK. After your presentation take quality photographs or scans of each students work from the classroom assignment you taught--only one if you are doing the lesson more than once at the same school. These will be used for your gallery on the website. You can use the copy stand by the photo studio classroom or the scanners in the digital lab. Make certain you put black under the object you are shooting and frame it carefully in cameras viewfinder. It is more difficult to create a quality photo in Photoshop than to take a good one at the start. For student canonicity we will only be using teachers names on the student galleries.


• JOURNALS. Take note of Jaclyn and Katrina's Week 2 Journal. They are fine example of the descriptive review response. Journals are due each Sunday by midnite. Thank you to those of you who get them to me early in the week.

February 1-5

• CALENDAR SCHEDULES. February schedules must be emailed to Lynda by Monday this week Include place, date and time currently scheduled for your site work. Calendars will be up on the Practicum page for teachers and schools as soon as you supply them to me. This is important. Let me know when there are changes in the schedule.
  
  Rudy, Rachel, Michelle, Crystal, Lydia and Cara still need to submit January dates, places and times to get credit.


• LESSON PRESENTATIONS. Schedule your first lesson presentation this week if you are in a classroom or residency or with Free Arts. Check my schedule on the calendars on the Practicum page before planning the date with your teacher. You need to present when I can be there. Check with me if my dates and times do not work for you and I may be able to move something around.


• INSTRUCTOR MEETINGS FOR PLANNING. Meet with me to plan your lesson as soon as you have scheduled it. Submit your planning backward model a week prior to teaching for my feedback.


• EVALUATIONS. When your lesson is finished fill out a self evaluation and put it in my box in the library. I will put a DVD of the lesson in your box. After viewing it, fill out a video evaluation form. Your partnering teacher and I will both fill out evaluations. I will send the evaluation form to your teachers and artists and give them to you after they have returned them to me.


• SUPPLIES AND REIMBURSEMENTS. If you need supplies for your lesson meet with me first to make certain I do not have them prior to you purchasing. If you do purchase supplies, you have $25 per classroom (not shadowings). Fill out a reimbursement form and attach receipts. Put in my box at the Library for quickest submission.


• FINISHING UP ON A SITE. Let me know as soon as you finish a residency or shadowing so that I can get evaluations out quickly and pay your partnering teacher or artist. FYI---those of you working with a volunteer organization, we will not be giving them an honorarium or supplies. We can lend materials that they might not have for a project that you want to do...bone folders, glue guns, papers, or other supplies they may not have.


• RETURN MATERIALS. Return and borrowed materials you have sign out. Students are responsible to replace materials they have taken from the TA closet.

January 25-29

• You need to be on site in either a residency or shadowing for six hours this week to meet your overall hours requirement for the semester.
• TA calendars will be collated and go up on the Practicum page later this week. If you have a change or an update in your schedule email it to your instructor as soon as possible.
• When contacting teachers or artists always cc your instructor.
• If you are having trouble contacting an artist or teacher let your CVA instructor know immediately.
• Journals are due with your your weekly cumulative hours each week Sunday nite 12:00 midnight if you have worked or not.

January 19-22

• TA Practicum all class meeting will be held in the CVA Photo Lab on Friday, January 22 from 3:00-5:00. All TA students are required to attend.
• Start scheduling your Practicum during January so that you are working on site the first week of school. Begin by scheduling the shadowing experience first and then contact teachers to schedule. This will help you from falling behind on hours. Bring calendars with schedules to our first meeting. Fill in what you can and update via email as dates become more solid.
  1. Shadowing experience is expected to range from 12-15 hours.
  2. Residency experiences are expected to range from 40-45 hours each.
  3. All three are to total 90 hours by May 8.
  
  
• Journals are due by email to LMI by every each Sunday by midnight. Report even if you have not participated in residency or shadowing activity. Use journal to communicate Practicum dates, sites, accurate accounting of hours spent in shadowing and residency experiences, schedule changes, and a descriptive review of weekly observations and interactions on site (200-500 words).
  
  Use the following Descriptive Review format for all journal entries.
  
  1. Your name, school, teacher and hours or shadowing artist and hours each week.
  2. Describe key events and learning activities that took place while working in the classroom.
  3. What do you think the students were learning? What was the teacher teaching?
  4. What questions were raised for you about student learning and teacher practice?
  
  
• When you begin working in a classroom, check the web calendar for LMI's availability and schedule your lesson presentation with her and your teacher. Reserve the presentation date with LMI through email after discussing it with your teacher.
• Check Updates each Monday and your email daily.