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Show page 24 lessons, Fail 2003 Once they begin their work at the hospital they are assigned a mentor as part of new grad support group. Students are aware of the importance to mesh knowledge with clinical experience and the ability to cope. Many students such as Rhiannon Bush combine school with workplace experience. Bush, a Senior at Westminster College, works in Neuro/Rehab at University Hospital. Bush's awareness of the transition from good grades to workplace success is worth noting. Bush said she chose a job in the medical profession so she could apply what she learns from school at work. Bush knew, "I wanted more than book learning." In other disciplines professors know the importance of real experiences to aid in a student's achievement in the workplace in addition to the significance of a letter grade. Mark Ely, Professor of Music, believes nothing can be taught in the classroom or on campus that can prepare a student teacher for the overall experience of teaching on their own. Ely, an instrumental advisor for music teaching majors, believes many courses help a student-teacher learn techniques to teach music, but they don't replace being on-site in a public school setting. Part of the student's success depends on placement of that student with a competent mentoring teacher, one that the student can relate to. Ely handpicks his mentoring teachers. David Weiller, Director of Choral Studies from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas agrees. Weiller a recent guest director for three of Utah's high schools believes the match up is important. He chooses mentors that help the student-teacher move from knowledge of their subject to the importance of thinking of the children they teach. Weiller evaluated a student-teacher who had major trouble in the classroom. When this happened Weiller recommended the student drop student-teaching and take other classes through the College of Education. The classes included the classroom management and discipline sequence. After this sequence was completed, Weiller signed the student up for student-teaching again. Weiller knew more help was needed and acted accordingly for the benefit of his student. Neil Hendriksen, U of U alumnus and a KUED Golden Apple Award recipient, agrees that high grades and the ability to perform vocally or with an instrument do not necessarily equal success in the classroom. Hendriksen has taught vocal music in the public school system for seventeen years, and has seen many student teachers engage in their first classroom experience. Hendriksen has mentored ten student teachers through the years, nine of them from the University of Utah. He comments that once these students are teaching in his classroom he can pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses in a short period of time. One student may have amazing vocal prowess, but cannot connect with the teenagers in the room, nor do they want to. Another may do well in communication but cannot rehearse and play the piano simultaneously. As a mentor, Hendriksen spends many hours talking to student-teachers about different ways to tackle a problem. For instance, a typical problem is the student teacher's inability to keep the high school student's attention. The students may be bored or anticipate the student teacher's every move. Hendriksen encouraged using a different strategy thus opening the student teacher's eyes to different possibilities. Instructors can prepare a student for success. According to Sue Chase-Cantarini, instructor in the University of Utah's College of Nursing, there is a specific process to help students prepare for success as they are evaluated along The Art of Grading Painting, photography, poetry, sculpture, stage and dance performances... For every art form there are a dozen different interpretations and opinions about it. Every person who views a particular piece will hold a different interpretation of it. Art is unique because of the subjectivity in appreciating the various forms. A person cannot prove that one art form is better than the next. With such a complex and subjective understanding, how is art taught and subsequently evaluated? How can an individual measure pieces against others and assign definitive superiority to one and inferiority to another? Antonio Serrato-Combe, professor of Architecture, acknowledges, "grading is the most difficult part of teaching." Professors in creative disciplines face a certain struggle to share their skills and knowledge while simultaneously evaluating student talent. Grades become a double-edged sword: they can motivate and encourage students, but they can also squelch a hopeful spirit. Taylor Arrigo, a former art major, abhors the concept of grades. He feels that "they detract from the original artistic intentions of both professor and student." Similarly, Professor Serrato-Combe recognized, "grades can kill people in terms of creativity." A poor grade could possibly discourage and humiliate a budding creative mind. Art professors and instructors face considerable burdens when it comes to grading. Likewise, they must assert their expertise and authority in order to maintain the creditability necessary to issue criticisms. Fred Wright, a photography instructor, relies on 25 years of experience to help his students. He encourages them to develop an "underlying sense" to guide them in their work. Using a similar technique, Professor Serrato-Combe strives to "develop that taste, that experience" in his students. From the outside it seems as though all a professor in such a field can do is teach his or her students the technical skills necessary to produce pieces of artistic merit. These skills are learned through years of attempts and failures. For drama Professor Glenn Brown, this process is often very frustrating. "I try to make them aware that this struggle is part of the process," he explains. "Making that connection is important." Understanding this exasperating process becomes even more valuable when grades are given. For many professors, the final grade does not depend on comparisons with other students, but reflects individual achievements and progress. "The student is constantly evolving," clarifies Professor Serrato-Combe. "Their grade depends on both their willingness to learn and willingness to evolve." Success in art disciplines depends on creative outcomes and expectations. The same grading principles used in math and science courses could never be applied to these departments. If art education were stripped down and made formulaic, it would lose that unique quality of subjectivity. Art courses allow creativity to flourish. The difficulty in teaching and grading such fragile work is that so many different interpretations and perspectives are possible. "I've had countless disagreements with professors regarding differences in personal aesthetic," recalls art major Krista Rockne. Many professors believe that the essence of critiquing art is to apply it to the student's personal evolution. The evolution of creative mind should not be injured with unnecessarily harsh grades just to maintain a curve. Rather, evaluations should encourage with expert advice from the instructor. Professors in these departments accept this delicate task; they know that the letter grades they give hardly compare to the critiques and advice their students will encounter in the evolution of their artistic lives. -Lyndsey Scull |