For participants in AP Studio Art Institute for South Carolina Art Teachers.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Question # 6
Briefly explain how you will select students to take the AP class. Will there be a selection process? If not, how will you get the advanced students to take the class.
When I was asked to teach AP art classes I immediately began recruiting some of the upper level students. As years progress, I will continue to recruit them, and some will ask and be turned away. The criteria for selection will be simple: They will have to complete the 7-8 piece portfolio for submission to CCSD's Summer Art Institute. Acceptance into the institute is determined by AP Art teachers in the county. Jury members also include important members of the local art community as well as the head of the Redux gallery. Their comments will be read, their work will be assessed informally using the rubric for AP Breadth work (both drawing and 2-D depending on the piece). AP class at my school is going to take place during the spring - "embedded" in the Art 3/4 honors class - and the AP students will be required to take an additional art class with me in the fall. I actually went to school today first thing and explained this to the Principal and members of guidance - all of whom have experienced this process in other schools. They all agree that gaining a credit in AP art is a year long experience,and all know the magnitude of the task at hand. Students' schedules were adjusted to my needs by the time I left the building, and some minor changes were made in the master schedule at my school to accommodate the demands of the program. I highly recommend to any one reading this to make sure your school is ready for you to teach an AP class now so you don't wind up with a cluster-mess at the beginning of school. An hour of visiting the appropriate people now will save you days of straightening things out in a couple of months!!! I was also able to contact one of the students and get her started on making art over the summer using some of Robert's and Rachelle's (Riverside) summer assignments.
Right now my top Art 1,2 & 3 students are encouraged to take IB Art. IB Art requires a lot of research and keeping an Investigative Work Book. I am hoping to be able to start AP Studio Art to appeal to the students who want to concentrate on studio art. These students should have passed Art 1, Art 2 and have instructor approval. On a case by case basis, individual students may also be required to present previously produced work in portfolio form as evidence of skills and ability prior to signing up for AP. I am hoping to get the other art teachers on board with AP as well.
Because this is the first year(ever?)we have offered the AP Studio Art program, the criteria for recruiting has been left to my professional descretion. [although, one student was recommended to me by my principal, without having one day of an art class. upon viewing his work, I approved immediately!] Mostly, I was/am looking for that student who has that "it factor", as its referred to. Qualities such as: having a 'voice' in their artwork; true committment to seeing a piece through to the end; quality in their line/mark-making; consistently interesting compositional choices; abundant use of art vocabulary. These are but the beginning of my list of criteria. Basically, if they are Fine Arts Center and/or Gov School material, they would qualify for AP, as well.
When I introduced the idea to my Advanced Art students this year, I made very sure I explained how difficult and demanding this would be, for all concerned! As it stands now, I have 5 of the original 6 students recruited on my roster. Although they will not be double-blocked as we had requested, I have arranged for an "Open Studio" time after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays in order to have access to me and the art room/materials on a regular basis, until spring semester's class begins.
As time passes, and the school experiences the progress and successes of my AP program, I feel sure there will be more students inquire about entrance to the program. I already have a running list of those students I have tapped for AP in 2012-2013!
I feel like I will be able to get some students working towards Ap even though we probably can't have an AP class yet. We have a very small school district and I feel confident that I will need to work with students either embeded within the regular program or out side of class (like at lunch, during preparation period, after school etc.).
So far I have had some say in who will be in AP, but I have also been pressured to increase the numbers in order to keep it going. The students are required to have three art courses prior to enrolling in AP. With teaching AP during other classes, it requires the students to make out-of-class meetings with me, which now has become a deciding factor.
I feel that I would keep my eyes open in the lower level art classes so I already have a good idea of which students would be talented and hardworking enough to handle such a rigorous art program. I would also require the student s to present me with a mini portfolio of about ten pieces of their best work. The pieces could be from previous art classes. I think a mini interview like we discussed in class would be a good idea as well so I have an opportunity to meet each student as well.
My school is an arts magnet school. Students from all over Charleston County audition to get into the school via one of 8 arts area majors. When a student is in visual arts at the high school level (we are a grades 6-12 school), all three teachers (one middle school, one high school and one middle/high) keep an eye on each student as they progress. Skill level and drive are identified early on. We've started selecting students when they are freshmen to discuss one-on-one with them the AP program and to learn more about what they want. Students participating in AP their sophomore year are only allowed to do so by the invitation of the two high school teachers. Students who wish to take AP their junior year have already been identified by us, or have expressed interest. In either case, they are required to do summer assignments and they are given the syllabus so they understand what will be expected of them. In addition to the state high school diploma we now offer a School of the Arts diploma. In order for a student to receive this, they must complete a senior thesis. AP is considered senior thesis and with this in mind we make it mandatory for all seniors in visual arts to be taking AP.
I think I would be grooming them from ninth grade onward. Students who naturally have the sort of drive and discipline AP requires typically like my classes and want to be in them because that is the sort of ship I run. I attract a lot of the engineering type students that are often turned off by more “artsy” environments. The trick would be getting them to cut loose enough to have a truly expressive portfolio. For this reason I don’t think having enough numbers would be a problem and the weeding process would take care of itself. The students who would want to do it would be the ones capable of doing it. Of course, once I had a year or two with the program and developed a feel for it, I would write up some formal requirements that matched the successful students. I’d reverse-engineer my requirements.
As of now I have only taught intro art classes and Art I. I hope that I will be able to spot raw talent and push them in the AP direction and hopefully weed out those who are not serious about it. We have a problem with guidance turning our program into a dumping ground, because of the required art credit. I will be teaching Ceramics I and I hope to latter be able to get to teach other upper level classes, so that I could have more influence on them going into the AP program. The other teacher at my school already teaches 2-D and Drawing AP classes, so I want to start the 3-D program.
When I was asked to teach AP art classes I immediately began recruiting some of the upper level students. As years progress, I will continue to recruit them, and some will ask and be turned away. The criteria for selection will be simple: They will have to complete the 7-8 piece portfolio for submission to CCSD's Summer Art Institute. Acceptance into the institute is determined by AP Art teachers in the county. Jury members also include important members of the local art community as well as the head of the Redux gallery. Their comments will be read, their work will be assessed informally using the rubric for AP Breadth work (both drawing and 2-D depending on the piece). AP class at my school is going to take place during the spring - "embedded" in the Art 3/4 honors class - and the AP students will be required to take an additional art class with me in the fall. I actually went to school today first thing and explained this to the Principal and members of guidance - all of whom have experienced this process in other schools. They all agree that gaining a credit in AP art is a year long experience,and all know the magnitude of the task at hand. Students' schedules were adjusted to my needs by the time I left the building, and some minor changes were made in the master schedule at my school to accommodate the demands of the program. I highly recommend to any one reading this to make sure your school is ready for you to teach an AP class now so you don't wind up with a cluster-mess at the beginning of school. An hour of visiting the appropriate people now will save you days of straightening things out in a couple of months!!! I was also able to contact one of the students and get her started on making art over the summer using some of Robert's and Rachelle's (Riverside) summer assignments.
ReplyDeleteRight now my top Art 1,2 & 3 students are encouraged to take IB Art. IB Art requires a lot of research and keeping an Investigative Work Book. I am hoping to be able to start AP Studio Art to appeal to the students who want to concentrate on studio art. These students should have passed Art 1, Art 2 and have instructor approval. On a case by case basis, individual students may also be required to present previously produced work in portfolio form as evidence of skills and ability prior to signing up for AP. I am hoping to get the other art teachers on board with AP as well.
ReplyDeleteBecause this is the first year(ever?)we have offered the AP Studio Art program, the criteria for recruiting has been left to my professional descretion. [although, one student was recommended to me by my principal, without having one day of an art class. upon viewing his work, I approved immediately!]
ReplyDeleteMostly, I was/am looking for that student who has that "it factor", as its referred to. Qualities such as: having a 'voice' in their artwork; true committment to seeing a piece through to the end; quality in their line/mark-making; consistently interesting compositional choices; abundant use of art vocabulary. These are but the beginning of my list of criteria. Basically, if they are Fine Arts Center and/or Gov School material, they would qualify for AP, as well.
When I introduced the idea to my Advanced Art students this year, I made very sure I explained how difficult and demanding this would be, for all concerned! As it stands now, I have 5 of the original 6 students recruited on my roster. Although they will not be double-blocked as we had requested, I have arranged for an "Open Studio" time after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays in order to have access to me and the art room/materials on a regular basis, until spring semester's class begins.
As time passes, and the school experiences the progress and successes of my AP program, I feel sure there will be more students inquire about entrance to the program. I already have a running list of those students I have tapped for AP in 2012-2013!
I feel like I will be able to get some students working towards Ap even though we probably can't have an AP class yet. We have a very small school district and I feel confident that I will need to work with students either embeded within the regular program or out side of class (like at lunch, during preparation period, after school etc.).
ReplyDeleteSo far I have had some say in who will be in AP, but I have also been pressured to increase the numbers in order to keep it going. The students are required to have three art courses prior to enrolling in AP. With teaching AP during other classes, it requires the students to make out-of-class meetings with me, which now has become a deciding factor.
ReplyDeleteI feel that I would keep my eyes open in the lower level art classes so I already have a good idea of which students would be talented and hardworking enough to handle such a rigorous art program. I would also require the student s to present me with a mini portfolio of about ten pieces of their best work. The pieces could be from previous art classes. I think a mini interview like we discussed in class would be a good idea as well so I have an opportunity to meet each student as well.
ReplyDeleteMy school is an arts magnet school. Students from all over Charleston County audition to get into the school via one of 8 arts area majors. When a student is in visual arts at the high school level (we are a grades 6-12 school), all three teachers (one middle school, one high school and one middle/high) keep an eye on each student as they progress. Skill level and drive are identified early on. We've started selecting students when they are freshmen to discuss one-on-one with them the AP program and to learn more about what they want. Students participating in AP their sophomore year are only allowed to do so by the invitation of the two high school teachers. Students who wish to take AP their junior year have already been identified by us, or have expressed interest. In either case, they are required to do summer assignments and they are given the syllabus so they understand what will be expected of them. In addition to the state high school diploma we now offer a School of the Arts diploma. In order for a student to receive this, they must complete a senior thesis. AP is considered senior thesis and with this in mind we make it mandatory for all seniors in visual arts to be taking AP.
ReplyDeleteI think I would be grooming them from ninth grade onward. Students who naturally have the sort of drive and discipline AP requires typically like my classes and want to be in them because that is the sort of ship I run. I attract a lot of the engineering type students that are often turned off by more “artsy” environments. The trick would be getting them to cut loose enough to have a truly expressive portfolio. For this reason I don’t think having enough numbers would be a problem and the weeding process would take care of itself. The students who would want to do it would be the ones capable of doing it. Of course, once I had a year or two with the program and developed a feel for it, I would write up some formal requirements that matched the successful students. I’d reverse-engineer my requirements.
ReplyDeleteAs of now I have only taught intro art classes and Art I. I hope that I will be able to spot raw talent and push them in the AP direction and hopefully weed out those who are not serious about it. We have a problem with guidance turning our program into a dumping ground, because of the required art credit. I will be teaching Ceramics I and I hope to latter be able to get to teach other upper level classes, so that I could have more influence on them going into the AP program. The other teacher at my school already teaches 2-D and Drawing AP classes, so I want to start the 3-D program.
ReplyDelete