Thinking About Assessment

As we are nearing the third week of the first grading period, a lot of grades will begin to turn up in both the Canvas and Aeries gradebooks.
I believe in a different form of assessment than many teachers, and it is certainly different than how I was assessed as a student.
I do not think you can do things the way they have always been done and find success in the same way.
I also do not believe that grades indicate learning. As a measurement tool they have plenty of things wrong with them.
Unfortunately for me they are a way of life for our students and our larger school community.

What I know is that if a student is present, working, and thoughtfully putting marks on a page/canvas that they will improve and show growth. They will also find out more about themselves and learn processes that are important to their development as individual humans - and individual humans that exist in a community.

While this is very lofty sounding indeed, there is truth in it.
It is about the learning, not about the grade. We all know that students have ways of achieving an "A" but not really and truly mastering the content. Unfortunately there is a lot of grade inflation and students (and families) too often expect a superior mark for less than superior performance.

With that said, I do have a process that I have been developing, and since we are getting to the point of having larger and finished projects coming up - and since the school requires marks in a gradebook - I wanted to share my general process with you.
This general process also links to a grading policies document - that includes a percentage scale - if you are interested.

Have a great day!

Do You Like Videos?

And then there is this thing a couple friends of mine made. In case you are inquisitive enough to spend a few minutes of your day HERE.
I'd love to know your thoughts, too!

I'm Selling Stuff on Sunday

Many of you know that I did open studios last May, and while it was a lot of work, it was also really fun. That prompted me to get some t-shirts made over the summer, which you may have seen on instagram. By the way...those t-shirts are super super soft!
I'm selling them with some other folks as part of the SJ Made contingent for Viva Calle SJ this Sunday from 10-3 at Arena Green Park.

There will be food trucks and locally made wares and yoga and picknicking and a generally good time (I would assume). If you want to come say hi, I would love to see you. You can link a flyer for the even above and HERE.

Have a good one!

Here is an example of the shirts for sale. I will also have some prints from my sloth paintings and ink drawings available. Let me know if you have any questions.

Daily Sketchbook 2/5

I love instagram, but you probably already knew that. While I don't post as many pictures of class/work as I used to, I'm still using it on the daily and finding awesome things all the time.
Your task for the day is to choose one of the below photographs as your inspiration and point of beginning/departure.
Have fun!

Daily Sketchbook 1/22

So you see the sub here today, right?
Please do what you know you are supposed to and be kind and courteous and appropriate with your time. Some of you are more on top of this than others, but as usual you should know that it is your responsibility to help make sure your peers are doing as you all know they are supposed to be doing.

Your daily sketchbook for the day...

I want you to position yourself at your table group so that you can see another table of students working in another part of the room. Please spend the next 15 minutes after you finish reading this to draw, from observation, a table group in another part of the room.
Your drawing should include the people, tables (or at least the table tops), and any other important information (pencils in hands, sketchbooks, etc.)

Might I suggest beginning in a gestural fashion and only worrying about details after you get everything blocked in???

Addendum to the Book I Mentioned

Remember at back to school night (you parents out there), and I mentioned the great book by Frank Bruni called Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be? Well HERE he is in a video talking about a new report that is out.
Very interesting interview. Personally I just hope this is part of a changing tide. I would say it is time to be on the front end of this, really.

Daily Sketchbook 1/20

I have a book at home by Tom Kelley and David Kelley with the following paragraph that I can't help but share.

Please read it and let it sink in. 

"With creative confidence comes the desire to proactively guide the course of your life, or organization, rather than be carried along on the prevailing winds. Roger Martin, dean of the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, once told us hat what stuck out to him about designers is that they always act with intention. While others may unconsciously go with the default option, design thinkers make everything a conscious and original choice: from how they arrange their bookshelf to how they present their work. When they look around the world, they see opportunities to do things better and have a desire to change them. Once you start creating things, whether it's laying out a new garden or starting a new company or writing a new piece of code, you start to realize that everything has that intention behind it. Everything in modern society is the result of a collection of decisions made by someone. Why shouldn't that someone be you?"

After reading this passage I want you to open up to a new page in your sketchbook and create a large-ish shape on the page. Within that shape, creatively and uniquely copy the above quote. When you are finished, photograph this quote and submit that for today's daily sketchbook.

Daily Sketchbook 1/15

It's been a digital drawing week, so I'd like for you to go get an ipad to finish your daily sketchbook for today.
Please also get a mirror.
Draw a self portrait, as accurately as possible, using the same app as earlier this week*. When you are at the end of fifteen minutes, save your image and upload it to Canvas.

Happy Friday!

*If you do not have Procreate on the ipad you pick, use something like Sketchbook (Express?) or some similar app.

Daily Sketchbook 1/13

It's another digital art/drawing day for the daily sketchbook.
Please move your chair up to the front corner of the room near the ipad cart (or the tv, we'll see), get an ipad, and wait for me to put the image up for you to draw.
You will be using the same program as on Monday, so maybe you get the same ipad? IDK, just an idea.
I'll time you and tell you when it is time to upload.
Have fun!

For those of you absent today, below is the image everyone drew from.

Daily Sketchbook 1/11

We are going to do some digital drawing again today. We first did this way back in October, so if you don't remember exactly how to get set up, please go HERE to review the step by step.
This will require you getting an ipad to begin with so here is my request.

• Put your phone down
• go get an ipad
• open this page back up in safari on the ipad
• open the requested drawing program (procreate - or if procreate isn't there, use brushes)

Once you have that completed, here is your drawing topic for the day:

Close your eyes and imagine your kitchen sink. Think about the faucet and the objects surrounding it, and its general area.
Now draw that area in as much detail as possible for 15 minutes.

When you are finished, save your image to the camera roll and then upload it to your daily sketchbook assignment in Canvas.

Interested in some Extra Credit?

As some of you know, I am a big Casey Neistat fan. The below video is one of his recent daily vlogs that I thought had some interesting things he said that we as creatives know/go through/experience/feel.
What do you think about what he says?
I'm interested in what you think. For a very small bit of extra credit, watch the video and leave a comment - on this post, below - regarding your thoughts and ideas and feelings regarding what he says. You may even create comments and conversation in relation to your peer's feedback.
I'll be checking back in about a week or so to see what you have commented. Happy Friday.

As a bit of lagniappe, see below. Just because.

 

Daily Sketchbook 1/7

I want you to go back to the pencil drawing that you began on Tuesday, 1/5, and continue the drawing. You should continue working in pencil with the same objects arranged in front of you. Today you will probably get to shading, and will of course pay attention to highlights and contrast and things like that.
I want you to begin this semester with a relatively easy and low key drawing assignment to get back in the swing of things and get your arm/mind moving.

Good morning!

Daily Sketchbook 1/5

Pull out the contents of your backpack or purse.
Ok, ok, it doesn't have to be everything, but you should have at least five to seven items there.
Please don't be too un-fun and take "easy" things like a stack of books out. Keys and pens and cool stuff that is challenging is way better.
Set them on your table and draw them in pencil to create a composition on your page.

If you came to class with nothing - or just not enough - share items with your neighbor. Put your things together and have both of you work from the same thing.

Please make sure you have all of the same stuff here on Thursday as we will be using it again then.

Oh, HAPPY NEW YEAR!