A Ed 490 Capstone in Art Education

A ED 490: Capstone Course in Art Education
Syllabus Fall 2003

Class meets : 310 Patterson

A ED 490 CAPSTONE COURSE IN ART EDUCATION (2 credits per semester): Synthesis of preservice art education coursework; introduction to professional practices and standards; completion of teaching and learning portfolio. Prerequisite: admission to Teacher Preparation Program and successful completion of all required courses in the major except Student Teaching or final internship. Prerequisite or concurrent: A ED 488 for majors in the Museums and Cultural Institutions option. Concurrent: A ED 489 majors in the Schools option.

APPROACH: The focus of the capstone course is on YOU providing evidence and reflection on your professional knowledge in a teaching and learning portfolio to be presented at a practice job interview. What have you learned about art, visual culture, art education, diversity, instructional technology, pedagogy, diverse learners, and contemporary art curricula approaches in your Penn State courses? How have your beliefs about art, teaching, and learners (children) developed? Through reflection you will identify what is missing from YOUR pre-service preparation and plan a learning project assessed by the criteria and rubrics you design. The learning will presented to peers. Additionally, you will select one professional development resource to explore for a report to peers.

The PURPOSE of this course is for students:

1. To synthesize their experiences and understandings developed through prior courses in the Penn State undergraduate art education program.

2. To synthesize their understanding of contemporary art and art education and reflect on application of this understanding in future teaching and learning.

3. To complete and present in an interview scenario a teaching and learning portfolio that includes a creative cover page; table of contents; an introduction section with an autobiography with focus on becoming artist/art educator, resume, list of courses you have taken, and philosophy statement of beliefs about teaching, art, and learners; evidence in such forms as an edited video, sample lessons, units of study, and work samples from field experiences and other coursework correlated to specified goals along with reflection statements on why the evidence was selected and what strengths it represents.

4. To gain famililarity with professional standards, practices, and resources in art education.

The art education area faculty identified "threads" to weave through all the courses in the revised undergraduate art education programs. Below lists the threads, and how they are addressed in A ED 490.
THREADS	in A ED 490
History & philosophy	The course text presents a history of assessment of teachers. Students write a one-page autobiographical paper on learning/becoming an art educator and artist, and a philosophy of their beliefs about teaching, art, and learners.
Research/reflective practitioner	Portfolios include students' reflections on each artifact/evidence selected to document their knowledge of art and preparation to teach art. Students reflect on why they chose the evidence and the goal or strength it conveys based on INTASC standards.
Language	Voice and non-biased language, with careful attention to professional presentation without grammar or spelling errors are critical to the portfolio presentations in this course.
Assessment	Students assess their work through reflective writing, which involves describing it, analyzing patterns in the description, and stating plans from what they learn. Students also assess what is missing from THEIR pre-service preparation and develop a learning project to improve the deficient area. Students create rubrics to self-evaluate their specific learning project.
Technology	Web editing, digital video editing, Internet research, and use of other technologies are integral to the course in creating e-portfolios.
Educational settings	From reflections, students plan what they will do in specific educational settings. In practice interviews, students role-play employers with specified educational philosophies from real job descriptions. Guest presentators share their teaching experiences in a range of educational settings.
Future impacts	The course provides a synthesis of preservice art education coursework, with an introduction to professional development resources, and the preparation of portfolios and interview practice prepares students for gaining employment.
Interdisciplinarity	Evidence of sample lesson plans in student portfolios should indicate how art draws on, and art making involves, inquiry into other disciplines.
Critical pedagogy	Students experience critical pedagogy as producers of knowledge and in questioning knowledge production.
Instructional methods	In reviewing sample lesson plans in the portfolio and in the interview activity students will discuss the connections between lesson goals, instructional methods, and assessment strategies.
Learner(s)	Students consider the learner in their reflective writing about their teaching and plans for teaching.
Schools/Institutions	Students will have opportunities in this course to consider various curricular and philosophical orientations in real schools and instititutions.
Visual culture/art	The approach to visual culture, which includes fine art, folk art, mass media, design, popular culture, architecture, and other constructed categories of visual phenomena in culture and everyday life; is to investigate how images are situated in social contexts of power and privilege, which in turn influence societal and individual behaviors and values.
Diversity	Diversity is integral to the course in multifaceted ways: in curricular choices presented in the portfolios, in the use of non-biased language, and in consideration of difference in learners including those experiencing different abilities.
Identity	Autobiographical accounts and creative cover pages involve self-representation.
Collaboration with colleagues	Peer critiques with idea generation and interview partnering are some of the collaborative aspects of the course.
Collaboration with families	Students' portfolios should provide evidence of at least one activity that involves collaboration with family and/or community.
Teaching & Learning Portfolios	50% of the course grade is weighted for the development and presentation of students' teaching and learning portfolios. The readings and activities contribute to understanding the purpose of a strong "showcase" portfolio.

Supplies Needed for the Course:

In this course you will need at least two 100 MB Mac formatted zip disk (the second one for backup). PC zips can be reformatted or used non-reformatted in both PCs and Macs. The 250 MB zip disks will also work in the School of Visual Arts computers. For backup of digital videos you create and a portfolio you will need 2 or 3 CD-R recordable disks (e.g., LaCie CD-R 80 (48x) Recordable Disc, or Verbatim 1 speed CD-R 74 min.--650 MB or Memorex 24xmultispeed CD-R 80 min.--700MB). The CD-RW’s are rewritable, but not as reliable as the CD-R, which you can only write to once. CD-Rs are also less expensive than CD-RWs. Additionally to create videos you will need at least one Mini DV Video Cassette. You may want to organize with peers in the class for a bulk purchase of zip disks, Mini DV cassettes, and for a bulk purchase of CD-R recordable disks.

There are digital camcorders, tripods, digital cameras, laptops and projectors available for student check out for limited durations (usually 24 hours, or a weekend). Call 863-6008, Digital Photo Lab to check out equipment (digital cameras, digital camcorders, and tripods) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., M-F for a morning, afternoon, overnight, or weekend loan. After I submit the class roster to MTSS, you may reserve a laptop, computer projector, digital camera, and digital camcorder for 24 hours from Technology Support Services at 26 Willard Building, 814-865-5400.

Attendance Policy:

University Health Services Policy on Verification of Illness and Faculty Senate Policy 42-27 on Attendance: A new University Health Services verification of illness policy, effective immediately, eliminates the issuance of "class absentee excuses" for minor illnesses and reflects a commitment to viewing students as adults.The amended faculty senate policy, also effective Fall 2002, states that students who miss class due to legitimate, unavoidable reasons such as illness, injury or family emergency should have the opportunity to make up evaluative events. While notifying the instructor in a timely manner is a key expectation, the senate policy does not mandate official documentation of student illness or other unavoidable reasons for absence. Instead, the view is that as faculty engage students in mature practices and dialog -- in place of requiring an official record of a funeral or doctor's office visit -- students will rise to the occasion. The amended policy also states, however, that false claims by a student "may be considered violations of the policy on Academic Integrity." Similarly, R4 in the Administrative Policies and Procedures does not require official documentation when students take part in religious observances. [R4 states, "In preparing the calendar for an academic year, the University makes every effort to avoid conflicts with religious holidays. However, when conflicts are unavoidable, efforts are made to make special arrangements for the students affected.

I encourage you to attend professional conferences in your field, therefore your absence in class for such attendance is excused with prior arrangements.

Academic Integrity:

University Policies and Rules Guidelines states that academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University's Code of Conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity, respect other students' dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts. Academic integrity includes a commitment not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the worth of work completed by others.

Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to acts such as cheating on exams or assignments; plagiarizing the words or ideas of another; fabricating information or citations; facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others; claiming authorship of work done by another person; submitting work completed in previous classes; and/or submitting the same work to multiple classes in which a student is enrolled simultaneously.

Plagiarism is the use of more than three consecutive words, ideas, or images of another author without proper citation. Proper citation formats must follow one of the academic writing style manuals such as APA, Chicago, MLA, or Turabian. All images and text from the Internet, journals, or books must have full citation to be used in your work. See citation manual links.

Students charged with a breach of academic integrity will receive due process and, if the charge is found valid, academic sanctions may range, depending on the severity of the offense, from F for the assignment to F for the course.

Modifications for those Experiencing Disabilities:

If you need alternate arrangements or modifications to meet course requirements, please contact me during the first week of classes (also see Americans with Disabilities Act, 26 July 1990, Penn State's Nondiscrimination Policy, and the Office for Disability Services). Use Internet Explorer's "View menu" and "Text Zoom" to increase the font size of this and any Web page to meet your vision needs.

Health and Safety Information:

Every effort will be made to comply with the intent of state laws or acts and the University Health and Safety Program in an effort to maintain a safe academic and working environment. Information and awareness of safety factors will be included in the course content when applicable. When using a computer the main safety practice is to keep your arm, wrist, and hand in a straight line as you use the keyboard or mouse to avoid muscle stress, inflammation, and injury. Also take breaks, stretch, and look at objects in the distance periodically.

Click here for emergency procedures and phone numbers. Dial 911 for emergencies, (814) 863-1111 for University Police, or (814) 231-6110 for Centre Community Hospital Emergency Department. Patterson, room 304 has a phone by the podium to use (when there is not a class in session) to call off campus. Flashing lights and an alarm inside a building mean fire. Exit quickly.

The shop, located at 108 Visual Arts Building, is intended to serve the entire School of Visual Arts and is available to all students enrolled in SVA classes who have completed the appropriate orientation. Students in the School of Visual Arts may find themselves working in the shop or in their studios or classrooms using a variety of power and hand held equipment, which may cause injury. When assisting a person who is bleeding, use disposable gloves which are in the first aid kits in the shop and studio labs.Students should use the shop only after having received an orientation in the use of such equipment and when supervised by faculty or shop personnel. Should any injuries occur, in the shop, studios, or classrooms in the School of Visual Arts please report them to Jerry Bierly, Shop Supervisor, Room 108-A Visual Arts Building, Phone: 814-865-3962, email: jib7@psu.edu.

A ED 490: Capstone Course in Art Education Syllabus Fall 2003
207085		Section 001: 2 credits
Class meets : 310 Patterson
Tuesdays 4:40 - 5:55 p. m.		Dr. Karen Keifer-Boyd 210 Arts Cottage 814.863.7312 kk-b@psu.edu office hours:12-1p Thurs. 210 Arts Cottage or 3:20-6:30 T by appt in 401 Patterson lab or email for appointments at other times.