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Gabby Giovenco
Dr. Mary Monsour
SED 110 01
17 November 2014

Philosophy of Education
Albert Einstein once said, Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its
ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid as one of the
great minds of this world, this illustrates how influential people can be on others. Human
knowledge feeds human experience. If someone is judged by their lack of ability to read,
then no one will see the light in their eyes when students realize they are capable. That
first light is like seeing a piece of art for the first time, whether it is a movie, or an
actually painting, it evokes this internal fire the rules you and makes you shine. That
shine is the passion of recognition that drives students and humanity. As an educator, it is
the teachers responsibility to help students figure out what works for them. It is an
educators duty to show the students what they may not see in themselves; it is an
educators responsibility to showcase each students brilliance, not to bring them down.
Educators are meant to be the oxygen to a students fire. We as teachers are supposed to
guide the fish to the sea, to guide them in the forces they are already capable of rather
than asking them to do something that makes no sense, like climb a tree.
Students in this era are different types of learners. In the 21st century framework
students are considered to be prepared for life outside of school by using these 21st
century skills. Critical thinking is crucial part to succeeding in this world. Students will

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be challenged to think on their own and develop their own ideas through tasks given in a
class, like asking them to use a product to form a painting but not use paint, use hair dye
or tea. This task poses them with a fun and innovative way of understanding different
resources and concepts. Students in this art class will be challenged to think outside of the
box in a critical way. Being able to problem solve is part of a students capability to think
critically. Problem solving is a needed skill because in this current world students will be
faced with many knowledge based problems, and physical problems. Twenty first century
learners learn through technology more times than not because this world is developing
around information, advancements and technology. It has become almost common for
students to problem solve by using technology. Technology should be used in the
classroom to engage students and to prepare them for a technology based society.
Technology though will not replace hands on, pragmatic learning in the classroom. Music
and vivid imaging will often times be used to interact with the students through the use of
technology. In an art classroom it is so crucial to engage students through multiple
perspectives, while also engaging them in the objective. Music will be the hook,
incorporating technology but also using innovation. Another way technology can be used
in an art classroom is through the viewing of videos either for something cool to spark
interest in the students, or to provide students with another perspective on a
demonstration (Partnership for 21st Century Skills).
Theorists regarding education play a major role in development in the
classroom. Many theorists have shaped the educational system and teachers to be what
they are today. In my classroom the teachings of more than one theorist will be present,
from the ideas of Vygotsky, to Bloom. Vygotskys theory focused on the development of

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students in regards of independent work and frustration levels, the zone of proximal
development. The first stage relies on assistance; in my classroom assistance will be
given when needed through myself as the teacher, by answering questions or assisting in
demonstrating a technique or an explanation of how. The teacher should always be the
guiding force. The teacher should be the one that gives the necessary push for students to
become aware and understand, to push them to the next stage where the students are not
afraid to think on their own and begin to work independently. To work independently in
my classroom students will be expected to start the process of critically thinking in
regards to an art piece being studied or the development of their own piece with help
from myself when needed. Eventually students will reach the third stage by becoming
confident in their skills and will no longer need assistance, no longer needing help will
mean that students have learned and understand a concept. They are comfortable now to
take risks in the process because they understand what has been taught. The last stage is
the process in which students will plateau in a subject, where it seems they cannot go any
further and start to fall backwards. In this stage, as the teacher it will be my job to review
the material, to aide in the students understanding. My goal as a teacher following
Vygotskys theory will be to build my lesson around how the students learn, the lesson
will focus on the students needs rather than acting against them. Scaffolding will be used
to support the zone of proximal development.
Bloom was another very influential theorist who developed a series of cognitive
skills. These skills are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and
evaluation. Blooms theory, or use of these skills will definitely be integrated into my
form of teaching. The cognitive skills he developed are crucial to the development of a

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successful student because these students will be able to form their own thoughts while
also using the information they have previously gained. Then they will be able to take
this knowledge and apply it to life. By being able to apply this knowledge to life the
students will then be able to ask why and find more answers furthering their analysis
and knowledge. An important part of life is being able to take what a person knows and
make something out of it. Without this the world would lack all productivity, we would
not have architecture, medicines, art, or majority of the things we use in a day-to-day
basis. Knowledge and use of knowledge allows humanity to form judgments. These skills
make for successful students and people. Students will develop a knowledge based
around art and through this a comprehension, through the comprehension students will be
able to apply art to life and projects. From there students will grow to form an opinion
and be eligible to analyze art for content, concept, quality and so much more. By
understanding the process students will then be able to make and produce art due their
comprehension of a subject, then it will be acceptable to develop an opinion, or judgment
because students will have all the knowledge they need to form a justified opinion. Later
on two other cognitive skills were integrated into Blooms taxonomy to change the
dynamic of the way students learn. The two new skills focus more on creation than
memorization. One of the new skills is creating which is useful in an art classroom
because it has students thinking of new ideas and applying them to a project, it is almost a
combination of critical thinking and problem solving like the 21st century framework
uses. Creation focuses on taking the knowledge and using it to make something out of
their knowledge. The other skill is remembering which goes along with the
comprehension factor previously stated. Students need to retain information rather than

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memorize it, in this sense art students will need to remember techniques, the principles
and elements, artists, eras, and so much more. By remembering rather than memorizing
students will be able to apply what they know to their projects rather than memorizing
what is necessary and doing the bare minimum.
Education grows as students progress through their years. Students growth is
also a depiction of how the forms of education change and adapt. This world, this era is
introduced to different trends that impact the role of the teacher and how the students
learn. Technology has become an affective method to engaging students into a lesson
while also aiding a student in the development of a project. Technology has a broad
spectrum of uses and utilities. As time progresses, technology is only going to continue to
become better. Which means as an educator, the teachers will be expected to understand
the uses and apply them effectively to a classroom. Technology alters the role of a
teacher in the way the teacher applies the lesson. Technology may provide a greater
understanding for the teacher because the process may use a different outlet of
perspective. Meaning the technology provides a different way of learning something, for
example music/audio may be applied to a PowerPoint to distinguish that the lesson is
based in a certain era, like the 1950s where the students may hear Elvis Presley and this
provides the students with something easily recognizable and engaging towards the
lesson. Another use of technology in the class that will benefit the students and the
teacher is the use of web 2.0 devices or an app, like ShowMe or Haiku deck. ShowMe
uses a process that allows a lesson to be portrayed on a tablet like a demonstration on a
white board, but ShowMe also allows for a verbal interpretation to be added. This would
allow, for me as an efficient teacher to teach my lesson away from the classroom if

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necessary. Another benefit is that if I or the students recognize that a particular lesson is
difficult, the students and I could collaborate to make a ShowMe and post it online so that
the whole class has something to reference in their studies. Haiku Deck is another app
that just allows for the personalization of a PowerPoint type device. From my own
personal experience I have learned that this app is more engaging and appealing to the
eye. Benefits arrive from the fact that the students and I are using this device for a
presentation; the presenter has access to their notes on the sides of the slides rather than
actually on the presentation, allowing for the access of greater visual aids an more oral
representation. Focusing in the art field, there are many technologies developing that are
awesome for the classroom. The use or access to 3D printers has become more common
in the classroom allowing for hands on practice. In the classroom hands on work is
always important due to the fact that art often times is trial and error based. Like any
subject, art has to be learned as well and the use of technology becomes a new skill and
aide. Technology changes the role of the educator because it becomes a new skill I have
to learn and be able to use effectively in my classroom.
Technology is the bare minimum of trends in the education world. There are more
things going on that effect education or that are applied to education that alter aspects of
the society. Twenty first century learners/framework is something applied to the
classroom that is changing the way students learn and educators teach as stated before.
The world of education at one point thought of lectures as a good mechanism of
education, as if students would respond to being talked at rather than interacted with. The
21st century learners framework deals with the ideas of focusing on things like getting
students to work independently and problem solve, with the incorporation of critical

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thinking and open mindedness. Twenty first century learners are developed in another
way that allows students to be prepared for their lives outside of the classroom. As a
teacher it will be my responsibility to appeal to the aspects of the 21st century
framework, because as of now this is the focus of education. These standards will require
me to think outside of the box along with my students. To get my students to think
critically I will have to task them with understanding the whys and the hows of art, I
will have to pose them with projects with guide lines but allow them to fill in the lines
themselves. This incorporates my pragmatic side (Partnership for 21st Century Skills)
Art education is something that often times can be adapted. If I apply the CCSS
method of lesson planning to my classroom then I will be expected to appeal to the
common core state standards and base my lesson around these standards. Using the
standards, objectives using the ABCD method will be the focus of the lesson. The
standard will develop the objective and the objective will be the focus for the class. The
Pennsylvania state standard developed by the states department of education says that a
standard for a 12th grade visual arts classroom is to know and use the elements and
principles of each art form to create works in the arts and humanities (9.1.12.A). This
would be the standard applied to a lesson, a time or duration for the day would be
determined, then Id work to figure out what the essential questions would be for this
standard. Some possibilities for essential questions could be How the colors in Piet
Mondrians painting the Rhytmus work with the elements and principles discussed in
class? Or how do the elements and principles function in the process of drawing a
face? both questions would serve the purpose of guiding the students in the lesson and
get them to think critically about art. Then from there the goal would be to distinguish

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who the audience is (the students), what their behavior should be (what they will be doing
in the lesson), the condition (to what extent they will be executing this behavior) then the
degree (for how long or to what point they are to get to). These ideas would be the
objective of the lesson. Using the standards and objectives I will then figure out how in
the lesson I want to assess the students, whether it is formative or summative. A
formative means, an ongoing assessment or something that can be improved on.
Summative would be more final, like an end of course exam. A formative assessment in
an art class could be to assess the students understanding through discussion, or having
them try a technique. While a summative assessment would be to grade a final piece,
something that was of major focus for the class, grading them based on quality and
understanding of the task, like using different thicknesses of lines to create depth and
interest in a piece (Standards Aligned System).
Many factors add up to create a lesson plan. It is like the human body, you have
the bones, which would be the common core standard and objectives. Then there is the
muscles and nerves, this would be the assessments and activities because of the effort that
has to be put into both by the students and the educators. The brains are the last part to
this body, and the brains of the lesson plan would be the one executing and developing
this plan, I would be the brains. Along with being the brains means that I have to come up
with other contributing factors to the plan, like developing the introduction which is
crucial to the lesson because it will be the first thing the student sees or hears that will
determine their interest, having a good hook is necessary. Still working with the standard
of elements and principles, I will hook the students into the lesson by having a fun
demonstration to define the two prospects. I could demonstrate how lines function by

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mapping out different shapes and thicknesses of lines on a face and then allow the
students to do the same with other faces or animals on the board. This first activity would
be interactive and get the students engaged in the objectives. After the introduction to the
topic, another main point of the lesson will be the transitions from point to point.
Transitions are what guide the students in the lesson, like in a speech when the speaker
moves from one side of the stage to another this signals to the audience that s/he is
changing direction in the speech. Transitions can be fun and are also a great way to keep
the class engaged. When changing from lines to principles of art would require a
transition. A fun activity to perform would be to go on a scavenger hunt throughout the
classroom, having each item collected relate to one of the principles. Activities along
these lines provide a fun and interactive transition into the focus of principles in art.
It has already been distinguished that lesson plans are crucial to the education and
productivity of students. With that said lesson plans need to focus on all students,
including the students requiring accommodations. Accommodations are the changes
made to a situation (the classroom) in regards to a persons capability or needs. These
accommodations have to encompass the whole class though, so not just one student is
singled out. If a student who has ADD/ADHD is present, as a teacher one of the biggest
challenges may be to get the student to focus. A possible accommodation for this student
in regards to art could be to have them do quick, gestural drawings of the subject matter
instead of long\dragging pictures allowing the student to work quickly they are more
inclined to retain information and stay focused due to the constant movement.
Accommodations are written into the lesson plan along with the objectives and ideas,
accommodations provide the necessary changes for students.

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Lesson plans are a direct reflection of the functionality of the classroom. The
room that a class and teacher spends dedicated to their studies is of fundamental aspect of
education. The way the classroom flows impacts the way the students react. If a class is
crammed into one space with no room to walk, for even the teacher, then the space
becomes uncomfortable and speaking from personal experience an uncomfortable space
leads to an unproductive day. With that said, a classroom space should not be crammed,
nor should the walls be cluttered with posters or other decorations. Decorations are lovely
and fun, but decorations should not overwhelm the walls for the possibility of creating a
sensory overload situation or a distraction for the students. The classroom should be
moderately decorated, in an appropriate way.
My dream classroom, that is something hard to imagine. The classroom would
definitely need to be an open space, so students and I have the freedom to move around.
Having the freedom to move in an open space would allow for different perspectives to
be created through movement, perspectives are a crucial aspect of art. Along with an
open space and freedom to move, instead of desks, there would be large tables to allow
for a greater surface area to work on. A SmartBoard, light boxes, a personal computer
and lighting would be a few necessities for the classroom. SmartBoards allow for fun
demonstrations and activities, light boxes provide aide when students need to make more
than one copy of a drawing, a personal computer allows for me to create lesson plans,
post assignments and notes online while also working with students via internet when
needed. Lighting would be detrimental if it was not provided in the classroom, along with
lighting, control of the lights is needed. Having lights and control means there can be
manipulation of the situation in regards to the subject matter, like a still life. Lights and

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windows would benefit this classroom dedicated to the study of art.
A functioning classroom allows for good communication from teacher to student.
Communication needs to go further than in classroom, with the students. It needs to
extend out to the parents. Communication between teacher and parent is crucial for both
sides. Parents and teachers need to work together like coworkers to benefit the students.
There are more than a few ways to do this. Growing up, the first thing my parents asked
me to do on the first day of class, or open house, was to get the teachers email. Email is a
fast and easy way for parents and teachers to communicate, whether there is a problem
with a grade, behavior, or if the parent just wants to notify the teacher that their child is
sick and will not be attending class for a day. Along with emails, teachers can always
send out weekly agendas so the parents know what the students are doing that week and
they too can monitor the childrens efficiency in the matter. I saw a teacher use this
method during an observation of a preschool class. From email, to weekly letters, there
are some more out of the box forms of communication like the use of twitter to keep
students updated with changes to assignments or school activities, this would provide the
same information for parents. The Superintendent in southern Maryland has authorized
principles and some teaches to have twitters for quick information and monitoring of
issues that may go hidden in the school but become apparent in the classroom or school.
Communication is the first step to involving parents in the process of participating
in the education of their students. By creating a partnership between parent and teacher it
creates a more effective process of learning. If the two are working side by side the
students are provided with a better opportunity to succeed. If I assign homework to a
student that involves them defining vocabulary then I can separately email the parents the

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actual definitions and they can help their children define them, study, or just give them
praise when they do well. Or if there is a big test in the future students will be sent home
with a study guide and parents will receive the answers along with some fun study
activities like maybe a Jeopardy set up that I create. Parents can play a role in making
sure their students are studying and having fun. If students are not enjoying getting an
education then there is no point to it. Education should not be a burden, it should be
something people look forward to, parents and teachers can make this a
reality. Communication is the first step, and then the second step is taking action.
Being an educator encompasses many aspects of life. Education itself is important
to life. To me education means to give oxygen to fire, to give word to a voice, to provide
the world with thoughts. Teaching is not for everyone, but this is in my heart like the
strokes in my paintings. I want to see my students develop as artists, and grow wiser with
their thoughts. As an educator it will be my goal to be there and be compassionate for
people. I want to be the necessary force to guide my students to greater knowledge, in the
art world, and universally. Students are the future of this world, I want my students to
succeed, which is why I will not fail as an educator.

"A Regulatory Framework for the 21St Century." Eastern Economic Journal 25.3 (1999):
253-63. Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
"SAS." Pennsylvania Department of Education. Commonwealth or Pennsylvania, n.d.
Web. 14 Nov. 2014.

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