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Inclusive Clinical Experiences

IPTS (2013) Standard 1 – Teaching Diverse Students: The competent teacher understands the diverse characteristics and abilities of each student and how individuals develop and learn within the context of their social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and academic experiences. The teacher uses these experiences to create instructional opportunities that maximize student learning. 

IPTS (2013) Standard 3 – Planning for Differentiated Instruction: The competent teacher plans and designs instruction based on content area knowledge, diverse student characteristics, student performance data, curriculum goals, and the community context. The teacher plans for ongoing student growth and achievement. 

Emiliano Zapata Academy Virtual Clinical Experience 

Description: In 2022, on March 18th, March 25th, and April 1st, I virtually instructed three different art lessons to a 5th grade class at Emiliano Zapata Academy in Chicago, Illinois. Each lesson had a focus on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and presented students with different ways to create art. The first lesson taught students how to create illustrated name artworks with markers, the second lesson taught students how to create three emotion self-portraits with markers and colored pencils, and the third lesson taught students how to create tradition sculptures with Model Magic.

Rationale: This experience was very important to me because it allowed me to teach impactful art lessons to students who do not typically have art class at their school. My first lesson enabled students to reflect on themselves and their interests while answering prompted questions to be applied to their illustrated name artworks. My second lesson had students explore common emotions they have along with portraiture and color theory. My third and final lesson asked students to think about their own cultures and backgrounds to create sculptures of traditions they have. All three of these lessons had students think inward in a creative and positive way in accordance with SEL. 

Emiliano Zapata Academy Unit Plan

Lesson 1 (Week 1):

Illustrated Name Artwork Example

JonOne Presentation

Prompts Worksheet

Lesson 2 (Week 2):

Happy, Sad, and Angry, Self-Portrait Artwork Examples

Example Self-Portraits Presentation

Self-Portrait Demonstration Guides

Lesson 3 (Week 3):

Tradition Sculpture Artwork Example

Traditions Worksheet

Self-Portrait Template

High Road School of Bloomington Clinical Experience

Description: In 2022, on April 13th and 20th, I observed a middle school classroom at the High Road School of Bloomington. The High Road School of Bloomington is a SESI (Specialized Education Services, Inc.) school with students ranging from ages 5 to 21 years old. 

Rationale: This experience was extremely beneficial in my journey to become an art teacher. I observed many things and learned a lot about students with special needs. I got to observe how classrooms were set up to accommodate all students, how violent and challenging behaviors were handled in a productive way, and how art was present in this setting. The division of the classroom I observed into stations allowed the students to pick up a routine and stay focused on the station they were learning at. The tinted blue lights created a peaceful environment where students could feel calm while learning. The staff at High Road School of Bloomington were proactive in responding to unwanted behavior and excellent at deescalating outbursts with clear communication and positive reinforcement. Art was consistently included at the school in the form of coloring pages and other creative activities such as Lego constructing. 

Consideration of the Diverse Needs of Learners

Description: Adaptations and accommodations are required in every lesson and unit plan because every student is different and needs different things. My Emiliano Zapata Academy Unit Plan includes adaptations and accommodations for students who speak Spanish because the majority of the students at Emiliano Zapata Academy are Hispanic and live in a predominantly Spanish-speaking community. As a teacher, I must have the resources needed to communicate with students if I don’t speak the same language or come from the same background. My Informational Disability Printable on Deafness and Hard of Hearing includes information about deafness and hard of hearing and includes accommodations for students that are deaf or hard of hearing. Understanding multiple disabilities is required of teachers so they know how to accommodate any student that they may teach.

Emiliano Zapata Academy Unit Plan Adaptions and Accommodations

Informational Disability Printable on

Deafness and Hard of Hearing

Projects

Unusual Art-Making Project

Unusual Art-Making Artwork

Jessica Park Research Presentation

This research presentation is about Jessica Park, an abstract-realist painter with Autism.

Disability Artwork Example

This artwork is a grid of various textures. This artwork could be developed into an art project where students gather textures they like to create a texture chart. This artwork and art project idea resulted from my experience at High Road School of Bloomington and an observation I had of a student playing with toys of various textures to calm down. 

Textures on My Disability Artwork Example:​

  • Duct Tape

  • Sandpaper 

  • Laminated Paper 

  • Mesh 

  • Pipe Cleaners 

  • Cotton Balls 

  • Parchment Paper 

  • Feathers 

  • Aluminum Foil 

  • Felt 

  • Wax Paper 

  • Foam 

  • Folded Cardboard 

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