Artventure: NAEA Journals

Someone told me before in order to do our job well, we need to know what's going on two levels below us and two levels above us. This statement was a lot of me to unpack then but I didn't ask further. I guess understanding two levels below us is quite achievable since we all can accumulate work experience or learn on the job.

The tricky part is understanding what's going on two levels above us. The question is if we knew what is beyond us, wouldn't we be at that level instead? So, to work towards that two levels above us could mean that we have to learn continuously. I think the most accessible way to learn is to read and by reading I mean through quality sources. That said, we can learn from our friends or acquaintances too. Rather than meeting our usual circle of friends and staying in our comfort zone, it's likely that our learning curve might become a constant. However, when we venture out to a group that's unknown to us, it can be quite daunting and uncomfortable at first but that's also where we can learn the most.

I sign up for NAEA membership many months ago and today I've just received the printed copy in my mail. The journal articles are great and I look forward to reading them. For some reason, NAEA is dedicating 2 issues of their journals to STEAM. What are the odds, right? because I'm doing a new project related to STEAM next year. As Paulo Coelho says in The Alchemist When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

Artventures: To other schools

All newly-minted art teachers undergo this Beginner Teachers Programme that has a learning journey component to other schools. There's a list of schools pre-selected by the faculty and you can take your pick. The ones that I've attended in the beginning of this year have either a workshop or a talk conducted by the teachers from the school. It was a great experience and I went to Ngee Ann Secondary, Raffles Institution and St. Joseph Institution.

When I get an opportunity to go for workshop or learning journey, I'm not usually looking for quick fix where I can "steal" people's ideas and implement them in class and since I'm teaching in a primary school, I'm sure I'll get many opportunities in the future to visit other primary schools. Thus, I've chosen not to visit a primary school this time and see what teachers of higher education are up to.

Housekeeping: How I remember names

This year, I have 566 pupils under my charge for Art class. My goal was to remember all their names before summer holidays. It's year end now and I still fail to do so. During our first Art lesson, I had everyone write their names on a mini whiteboard and take a photo. So, with these images in my phone, I arranged them in folders according to classes so I can do my memorization at home. I guess I will still continue with this next year and supplement my diet with ginko biloba.

PAL: Books I use

PAL lessons are structured mostly around books/ videos that touches on Social Emotional Learning. They act as starting points for discussion as the children would be familiar with the routine of their English language lessons by reading a book first and followed by discussion. 

Artventures: Canadian International School (CIS)

I love visiting other schools! It's great to immerse in a different environment and culture and especially cool if it's a different context. I attended CIS STEAM fair this year and saw many eye-opening activities. Enjoy some snapshots below!

Saw some connectors and plastics saw for making cardboard slide.

Artfriend is selling this 36"x 48" Corrugated Tri-Fold Display Board-White + header for $8.80 *Gasp* My hopes are dashed.

Some classrooms have these tennis balls on chair legs to muffle noise.

Makey-Makey

Each level has a common area. So cosy.

Artventures: Pulau Ubin

Hi everyone! I had a community art project between September and December 2015. Every weekend, I live in a kampong house in Pulua Ubin. It was a very enriching experience. I was still very thankful that friends, family and colleagues came to support. To find out more, you can read my weekly blog here.

PAL

PAL is the acronyms for Programme for Active Learning. It was introduced in 2010 and targeted at 7 and 8 years old. In 2016, every Singapore primary school is given a set of Art pedagogical resources. In the last chapter of one of the books, Serious Play: Perspectives on Art Education, you can find more information on PAL visual art and art lessons in general.

Lesson Unit: Salted Fish

This year, some teachers within a cluster got together and conducted a workshop for other art teachers. We also shared our lesson units on pedagogical boards. It was great because I got meet other art teachers and share about our work. It was time well spent listening and learning from them.

The lesson unit wraps around Cheong Soo Pieng's painting, Drying Salted Fish. I accompanied that with a book written by Yeo Wei Wei which was inspired by Cheong's painting. The painting is still exhibited in National Gallery Singapore and you can see the image here. A while ago, there was even a photo booth featuring this work!

You can click here and here to see some students' art books.

Art Club: Excursion to National Gallery Singapore

Art Club latest excursion to the National Gallery Singapore was on 7 November 2016. The students were divided into upper and lower primary and we had facilitators for each group of students.

Art Club: Excursion to Singapore Art Museum

On 1 August 2016, Art Club students went to 8Q@Singapore Art Museum. The children really enjoyed the interactive exhibition, Imaginarium: Over the Ocean, Under the Sea. Another bonus was the students got to meet artist, Tan Zi Xi and hear her sharing about her work.  Thank you to Ms Wang Tingting from SAM for this special arrangement.

Housekeeping: Class Schedule

As the only art teacher solely dedicated to one discipline in my school, I have started to record all the tentative dates for lessons in a school term. This document will aid me to plan for lesson units so that I will know in advance the dates to avoid etc. (I use google calendar to check for all the examination dates and also this website for school/ public holidays). 

Doing this works for me as I see 17 classes a week. Besides, I also show these schedules to my students so that they know how much time they have left or the number of lessons left to complete their work. Thus, this keeps everyone on task. 

I wonder how other art teachers do their time schedule? If you have better suggestions, please share with me. :)

Art Club: Excursion to National Gallery Singapore

On 16, 18 & 24 May 2016, 3 Art club students from P5 went for an Art camp cum roundtable discussion at National Gallery Singapore(NGS). They had an opportunity to mingle with children from other schools sharing the same interest. Pin-ups are available for public viewing at the Keppel Centre for Art Education at NGS.

The children were divided into 5 groups. Each group was granted a day (or rather an hour+) to interview an art expert. To prepare for the day, the groups had to prepare some interviewing questions. It's amazing seeing the depth and breadth of the questions asked!