TEACHER QUALITY STANDARD III
Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction and create an environment that facilitates learning for their students.
Element A: Teachers demonstrate knowledge about the ways in which learning takes place, including the levels of intellectual, physical, social and emotional development of their students.
Progress Photos
To help both students and myself as their teacher track levels of learning and artistic growth, students were required to document their progress through photos and written reflections (also called artist statements). These progress photos not only serve as visuals to track their artistic journey but also allows students to reflect on their creative decisions, technical development, and problem-solving abilities. When students submit their final digital portfolio, these progress photos and reflections are graded alongside the final artwork, ensuring that the entire learning process—not just the finished piece—is recognized and valued. This documentation helps me as a student teacher assess where students are intellectually, physically, socially, and emotionally in their creative development. It also informs my instructional decisions, allowing me to adjust scaffolding, provide targeted feedback, and design future projects that meet students where they are while pushing them toward growth.
Element B: Teachers use formal and informal methods to assess student learning, provide feedback, and use results to inform planning and instruction.
Work Habits
Self-Assessment
To give students more ownership of their learning, they were required to complete a bi-weekly self-assessment based on their Work Habits. Students assigned themselves a score and justified their reasoning, using this structured reflection to evaluate their engagement, preparedness, and classroom interactions. This self-assessment served as an informal yet structured tool to measure participation while fostering self-awareness and accountability. Their written reflections provided valuable insight into how they perceived their own learning habits, allowing me to offer targeted feedback and adjust my instructional strategies to better support their needs. As a student teacher, my role was to ensure that assessment was a two-way dialogue, not just a top-down evaluation. I carefully reviewed each student’s self-assessment, leaving comments on whether I felt they were grading themselves too harshly or overlooking key areas. This created a private and reflective space for discussion, allowing me to address classroom behavior and engagement without singling students out publicly.
Element C: Teachers integrate and utilize appropriate available technology to engage students in higher level thinking skills.
Artist Portfolio, Website
My lesson on "Customizing Your Google Slides" and the related written assignment serve as artifacts because they show how students can think beyond just making art—pushing them to consider how their work exists in the digital world and how they present themselves professionally. Through this lesson, students were introduced to portfolio-building and digital branding, encouraging them to think critically about how they want their work and identity to be represented online—not just as artists, but in any career where having an online presence matters. By customizing their Google Slides portfolios, they had to make intentional design choices, considering color, layout, and presentation in a way that reflected their personality and artistic voice. To take it a step further, they analyzed how modern day artists market themselves online, breaking down what works, what doesn’t, and how they could apply these strategies to their own portfolios. This got them to look at their art in a new way—not just as something they create, but as something they can curate, brand, and present professionally. As a student teacher, my role was to help students connect their creativity to the real world, showing them that technology isn’t just a tool for turning things in—it’s a tool for telling their story, building their brand, and preparing for their future.
Element D: Teachers establish and communicate high expectations and use processes, such as questioning, to support the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Pre-Critique Form
I established and communicated high expectations by implementing a structured peer critique process at both the midpoint and end of each project. These critique forms push students to think critically about their own work and their peers' while helping them refine their ideas. Before projects are officially due, students use checklist-based critique forms to evaluate each other’s work, ensuring they’re on track to meet project criteria and maximize their scores. This process also builds accountability for both the peer reviewer and the artist, reinforcing that thoughtful feedback is a responsibility, not just a task. But this isn’t just about checking boxes—it’s about learning how to analyze and question artistic choices in a way that actually improves their work. By providing guiding questions, I help students understand how to give and receive meaningful feedback, encouraging them to rethink, adjust, and refine their work before the final gallery walk critique. This pre-critiquing process fosters collaboration, accountability, and self-reflection, ensuring that students are actively engaged in evaluating and improving their art rather than just passively receiving feedback at the end. As a student teacher, my role is to create an environment where students feel challenged and supported, helping them develop the confidence and critical thinking skills they need to push their work further—not just in art, but in any creative or problem-solving situation.
Element E: Teachers provide students with opportunities to work in teams and develop leadership qualities.
Game Time!
I incorporated several interactive online games like Pictionary, Jackbox, and Jeopardy into my lessons to help students engage with the material while developing teamwork and leadership skills. These games challenged students to communicate, strategize, and problem-solve as a team, reinforcing not just their understanding of the content, but also their ability to work effectively with others in a dynamic setting. For example, in my History of Ceramics lesson, students used their skeleton notes to apply their learning in a team-based Jeopardy game. They delegated roles, discussed answers as a group, and—because I used online software like Buzzinga—practiced their typing skills! Instead of traditional methods like raising hands or using dry-erase boards, teams used their Chromebooks to submit answers, which kept participation high and energy levels up. The competitive yet supportive atmosphere helped them build confidence, communication, and collaboration, all essential skills that extended beyond the classroom. As a student teacher, my role was to design engaging, team-oriented activities that allowed students to take ownership of their time in the classroom, step into leadership roles, and experience firsthand how teamwork led to success—and candy! 🍬
Element F: Teachers model and promote effective communication.
Portfolio & Artist Statements
I used artist statements and digital portfolios to model and promote effective communication by teaching students how to express their artistic goals, processes, and creative decisions in a clear and professional way. These artifacts connect to the element because the portfolios required students to develop both written and visual communication skills, helping them explain their work to different audiences, including peers, teachers, and beyond. The portfolio process required students to document their artistic journey, write artist statements, and present their work professionally, reinforcing the importance of self-reflection and critical thinking in communication. To support students in this process, I provided structured templates with examples, created a permanent "How to Build Your Portfolio" resource in Google Classroom, and designed a lesson on amplifying their personal brand through art. These tools ensured that students had accessible guidance at all times, allowing them to build their portfolios with intention and confidence. As a student teacher, my role was to provide structured guidance on how to craft meaningful artist statements, organize digital portfolios effectively, and give and receive constructive feedback. By offering practical resources and real-world applications, I helped students develop lifelong communication skills that extended far beyond the classroom, preparing them to present themselves and their work in professional and artistic spaces.
Standard III: Reflection
Understanding where students were developmentally shaped nearly every decision I made around planning and instruction. The types of art projects I planned were meant to challenge students appropriately but I understood that sometimes lessons needed to be quickly revised based on engagement. Feedback was ongoing, both written and verbal, and I used it to adjust instruction in real time instead of waiting for a final product to reveal gaps.
Technology, collaboration, and critical thinking were constant priorities. I used interactive online tools to keep students engaged while still pushing deeper learning. High expectations were clear from the start, and I supported students in building the skills they needed to meet them. Through group projects, peer critiques, and artist statements, students practiced problem-solving, working together and reflecting in ways that felt authentic and connected to the creative process.