Beattie Elementary
Fort Collins, CO
Beattie Elementary is a 2-track elementary in the central Fort Collins area that serves PK-5 students. Beattie is known for its Open Classroom Layout, Restorative / Whole Child behavioral models, and its robust Student-Centered Art Program.
Demographics:
- Student/Teacher Ratio: 15
- Total Number of Students: 322
- Minoritized Enrollment: 34.8%
- Low-income Enrollment: 43%
Choice-Based Classroom Environment:
The art program at Beattie embraces an Art Education Philosophy called "Teaching for Artistic Behavior." This philosophy is based on three fundamental concepts:
1. The child is the artist.
2. The classroom is the child's art studio.
3. The child engages in art-making the same way that artists do.
Per this curricular and pedagogical strategy, the teacher becomes a facilitator who bridges the gaps in students' knowledge of techniques, skills, and sources of inspiration.
In a TAB classroom, student artists choose:
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which materials they work with (per the studio choices that the teacher has opened)
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the concepts & ideas they make art about (intrinsic motivation)
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how they will reflect on their artwork/ make an artist statement
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the steps they will take to engage and persist through an artwork or project
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which presentations & demonstrations their teachers provide for them
This choice-based environment also utilizes the Studio Habits of Mind as learning targets that reflect and model the National Art Education Standards. Throughout the course of the year, the teacher guides students in practicing each Studio Habit:
EXPLORING TEXTURES - Lesson + Slides
During student teaching, I developed a lesson for students to explore and understand the differences between visual and physical textures. During the lesson, students identified physical and visual textures in the classroom and on their clothing, in contemporary artworks, and eventually within their own artworks.
