MTEL Visual Arts Test

Posted by Nick on March 15, 2011 4 comments

To the brave souls whose quest is to seek the coveted teachers license in Massachusetts, in its path lies something so hideous, so terrifying, that just the sight of those 4 wretched letters in sequential order leave thousands of prospects gasping for air.  What I speak of is the demon that is the Massachusetts Test for Education License (MTEL).  The following information may heed the reader well if they choose to engage the beast, known as The MTEL.

The MTEL was designed by the Massachusetts DOE to ensure all prospective teachers on the capable of communicating adequately to students, faculty and parents and that they possess significant knowledge in the content area they are seeking license in.   While I agree that teachers and administrators should possess adequate communication skills and content area knowledge, I thought that’s what a college degree proved.   You could have a PHD in Communication from an ivy league university and would still be required to take the MTEL.  $erioulsy, whats the deal?

To do well on any MTEL, you must prepare for the format of the test by studying the phrasing of questions and thoroughly understanding what the questions is asking.

All prospects are required to pass the Communication and Literacy MTEL which consists of a reading and a writing subtest.  Candidates must also pass a separate content area MTEL.  The reading portion requires you to read a passage and answer the multiple choice questions that follow.  Easy right?  It is fairly simple, but gets darn redundant once you have repeated the exercise a dozen times during the test.  Basically, you have to be able to comprehend the following after reading each entry:

  • SUMMARY
  • AUTHORS POV
  • RANDOM VOCAB TERM
  • WHICH STATEMENT BEST SUPPORTS THE AUTHORS POV
  • MAIN IDEA

The writing subtest is where the fun really begins.  If you’re the type who enjoys doing sentence correction and composition exercises on weekends with friends,  you’ll be in great shape.  If not, you may want to complete the practice test a few times over to clear the webs and the dew from that part of your brain that’s labeled “SAT”.  A computer-based test is now being administered which saves you from handwriting lengthy essays in pencil (brutal).

If you’re smart you will register for the Reading and Writing subtests on different days,  or you could be like me and take them both at the same administration date.  I would advise taking them on different days to allow yourself ample time to complete the tests and to avoid the afternoon crash during the second testing period.  You’ll be arriving bright and early and need your strength to defeat the beast.

The MTEL Visual Arts test takes you on a journey across the globe spanning thousands of years, content wise.  To do well on any MTEL, you must prepare for the format of the test by studying the phrasing of questions and thoroughly understanding what the questions ask.  You can automatically eliminate two responses if you understand what the question is asking!  Don’t concern yourself with knowing every fresco from the Renaissance period but rather know thy format!

You don’t have to be an art history buff to get a qualifying score on the Visual Arts MTEL.  Having an appreciation for Art in a cultural and aesthetic context will be good enough.  Have a look at the following question (not from the MTEL practice test).

The Last Supper by Da Vinci

 

Which of the following techniques did the artist employ to direct eye movement to the central figure.

a.  Realism

b.  Fresco

c.  Orthographic Perspective

d.  Color contrast

If you read the question carefully you can rule out a, b and d because those answers aren’t specific to eye movement.  Perspective is more specific to directing eye movement so c would be the best choice.

The MTEL Visual Arts test has 100 multiple choice questions like the above example and two composition exercises. The composition exercises require you to analyze and provide relevant facts and supportive arguments about an image.  The images will most likely be one’s that you have never seen before so don’t panic.  On scrap paper, write down as much as you can about the image first in aesthetic terms, then go on describe your reaction to the artists motives.  Remember that your compositions constitute a decent portion of the weight on the test and will be graded by someone with an adequate knowledge of art so don’t write BS, it will only hurt you in the end.  You don’t necessarily have to be right or wrong regarding the artist motives but rather be convincing, supporting and concise in your writing.  You are going to want to use as much art related vocab to support your writing but be sure they are in the correct context.  Also, make sure your essays have a logical flow and transition well.

Use the following  guidelines when structuring your compositions and you’ll be in good shape.

Paragraph 1:  Introduction and basic objective thesis

Paragraph 2:  First main point and explain

Paragraph 3:  Second main point and explain

Paragraph 4:  Third main point and explain

Paragraph 5:  Finish up with your closing thoughts.  “In conclusion, I believe the overall statement…”

I stayed the entire 4hr administration period to complete the MTEL Visual Art test.  I suggest you do the same and don’t rush, think about how much you’re paying and the possible consequences  of a retake.  If you’re afraid of running out of time to complete the essays you can skip the multiple choice section and get started on the writing right away.  I should also mention that your test results arrive in the mail 6 weeks after taking the non computer-based tests and if you didn’t meet the qualifying score, you’re already in the late regi$tration period for the next administration.  Go figure.

 

The following MTEL survival techniques will help to minimize stress and maximize your score:

Be prepared - print out your admission tickets, get directions and have pencils and ID ready the night before.

Arrive to the test location early – Get up extra early so you can get your Dunkin routine in and secure a parking spot.  You need time to get through the lines to get your admission ticket and hand over your cell phone in a plastic bag.  Get there plenty early!

Get a good night sleep – It may be tough if you’re anticipating getting up early and driving to take the MTEL but try to get some decent rest because you need energy to do well.  Don’t cram!

Eat a healthy breakfast and stay hydrated - You need energy to stay focused for hours so eat some fruit and drink plenty of water.  You’ll also be avoiding that embarrassment when your stomach is gurgling in a silent classroom full of people.

Wear comfortable clothing - Sweatpants and a hoodie will do just fine.  If you have RLS and wear swishy pants you’re going to upset people.

 

Good luck! Feel free to add your comments and suggestions regarding the MTEL.  Thanks!

Thinking with Type

Posted by Nick on March 8, 2011 None comments

In my search for resource material for my graphic design students, I came across Thinking with Type. Thinking with Type provides clear and focused guidance for students, designers, writers and editors on how to arrange written content. Since typography plays an integral role in the realm of graphic design, I wanted my students to have a solid understanding on how to use type effectively.

Thinking with Type

Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton

The book breaks down every facet of type starting with Letter and provides interesting and pertinent historical facts which integrate nicely with the accompanying illustrations and witty examples.  The “type crimes” provide examples of what not to do when using type.  “Its not a book about fonts, its a book about how to use them.”

The author provides clear and concise information on how type has been used and how it evolved over the last half millennium.  From learning the anatomy of a letter to the ways type is used to control eye movement, the author provides an engaging and though provoking read into a topic whose advancements most simply take for granted.

metal movable type

Most of us perhaps think the TV,  Telephone or iPod was the most significant invention of the last millenium, but rather it was the invention of movable type by a German named Johan Guttenberg.

 

Following Letter, the next major component covered in Thinking with Type is Text.  In my classes we talked about the arrangement of type and how terms like kerning, tracking, line length, point size and leading were all various properties designers could change depending on the typographic problem at hand.

Students completed the Space and Meaning exercise outlined in the book using Gimp (Open Source Photo Manipulation Software).  After showing a few examples of works from the text, students quickly became engaged with their own ideas.  It was a bit more challenging for some of my ESL students because they were unfamiliar with the vocabulary terms.  The following are examples of student work:

disruption

 

subtraction

 

migration

The final  “comps” were cut out and mounted onto black tag paper.  This was a great introductory typography exercise that students really enjoyed doing.  Most were able to get a solid grasp on how to effectively use type to enhance the meaning of the words while experimenting with the text tool properties and surrounding negative space.

Continuing the discussion on Text, the author moves on to the typographic Hierarchy topic.  The hierarchy expresses the organization of content, emphasizing some elements and subordinating others.  The hierarchy is signaled by one or more clues, such as a contrast in spacing, style and scale to emphasize and diminish certain type.  There are endless combination’s one can use to structure a hierarchy, however, one should use one or two “clues” to emphasize content. 

The publishers website (PAPress)  has tons of great info from Thinking with Type along with additional resources for students and teachers.  The detailed high res pdf’s and project sheets rock!

Another great project from Thinking With Type is the poster project. It provided students with the opportunity to be creative and test their ability on how to structure a hierarchy.  I worked along side students and created my own poster while teaching simple techniques to show emphasis and to be consistent with styles.  The poster had to be purely typographic yet not look like an office memo so I found that using large scale numerals as shapes was beneficial and also contributed to the event info (four people).

Design Culture Now

my hierarchy poster...i rule

 

Design Culture Now

Holt

 

Design Culture Now

Chen

It was interesting to see the different processes each student went through to come up with a solution to the hierarchy project.  Getting students started was a major stumbling block but showing them examples of completed projects from the Thinking With Type website seemed to help get the gears moving.  Students all have sketchbooks but seldom want to take the time to do a thumbnail sketch or a draft before jumping to the software…no surprise for most art teachers!

I urged students to “keep it simple” by minimizing typefaces and color choices and focus on the organization of the content.  Some kept it too simple and ended up with an office memo. Hand lettering the poster would be a good alternative for the “left-brainers” who have trouble thinking outside the text box.

Students have a tendency to get into the details before they having a solid composition in place so perhaps some extra time in the sketchbooks doing preliminary work might help too.  This is definitely a project I plan on doing in the future!

Look for an update in the future on the last component in Thinking With Type,  Grid.