Artistic Abilities
Service Learning blogs
Artistic Abilities 3D
blog_1
Ross Montgomery
Journal Entry #1
March 21, 2017
Artistic Abilities 3D
Experience Narrative:
This was the first week of Service Learning teaching the Artistic Abilities 3D class. The demographic is mixed male, female and various Abilities. We have 7 students in our class, which allows for a lot of 1 on 1 interaction with the students. The lesson or “big idea” we are trying to get across is achieving interaction with a three-dimensional multimedia sculpture. I was experiencing high levels of anxiety before the beginning of the lesson. We wanted to be completely prepared for the lesson and really weren’t sure how difficult the lesson was going to be for the students. As well, how much differentiation would be necessary for the class? Today we began the lesson with an icebreaker exercise, going around the round introducing our names and telling everyone what our favorite animal was. This seemed to get the students in a good mood. It was effective because we had some giggling as we went around telling about our animals, which showed enjoyment and engagement from the students. We introduced the interaction project to the students and told them to get to work starting on the clay figure. The warm up exercise worked well because the students got right to work building, and most of the students began building their favorite animal. The biggest problem I ran into today was getting one student, Nicholas engaged and working with clay.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
As we had expected for the class, some of the students had troubles getting started. This was observed for instance with Nicholas. He had trouble getting started and really just sat staring at his clay. Even after accessing the situation with him and questioning, he still came off very quiet and timid. He muttered responses back to us when we asked him questions about what he wanted to make. It was at this point when I resolved this by giving him one option and sort of telling that we were going to roll slabs out of the clay. Nicolas took to this very well and we began cutting out squares and constructing a box. My main take a way from this situation, is that students, especially with learning disabilities, need to be given one option. When they are given multiple options they maybe are not able to process.
Personal Significance:
This was a very unique experience for me because I really don’t have much experience working with special needs students. Because I don’t have much experience in this I was feeling anxieties before the class. I took away from this class preparation is very important. As well, over-preparation isn’t a bad thing. This allows for clearing up the worries about the unknown. Along with this I learned that adaptation is paramount when leading a lesson especially with special needs students. One of the students, Nicholas, was very timid and I had a very difficult time getting him to engage with the materials. I had to adapt and stray from my intended lesson plan. After talking to Nick for about 10 minutes using inquiry-based questioning, I realized it was difficult for him to think in 3-D. After fully assisting him in building a box with slab building, we got some paper and markers for him to draw. We were able to let him work alone. He instantly took to this and began working diligently by himself. It was very encouraging.
Future Actions:
In the future I will have a better understanding of each student and how to encourage them individually. The first class was actually a lot of fun and engaging with the students was great. I also am encouraged for the students to become more comfortable around me and have the ability to open up and be more comfortable working. My goal as a teacher is to be able to differentiate learning with the different needs of the students better. This was difficult to achieve because we are really just beginning to get to know each other. I look forward to the next 4 weeks.
Journal Entry #1
March 21, 2017
Artistic Abilities 3D
Experience Narrative:
This was the first week of Service Learning teaching the Artistic Abilities 3D class. The demographic is mixed male, female and various Abilities. We have 7 students in our class, which allows for a lot of 1 on 1 interaction with the students. The lesson or “big idea” we are trying to get across is achieving interaction with a three-dimensional multimedia sculpture. I was experiencing high levels of anxiety before the beginning of the lesson. We wanted to be completely prepared for the lesson and really weren’t sure how difficult the lesson was going to be for the students. As well, how much differentiation would be necessary for the class? Today we began the lesson with an icebreaker exercise, going around the round introducing our names and telling everyone what our favorite animal was. This seemed to get the students in a good mood. It was effective because we had some giggling as we went around telling about our animals, which showed enjoyment and engagement from the students. We introduced the interaction project to the students and told them to get to work starting on the clay figure. The warm up exercise worked well because the students got right to work building, and most of the students began building their favorite animal. The biggest problem I ran into today was getting one student, Nicholas engaged and working with clay.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
As we had expected for the class, some of the students had troubles getting started. This was observed for instance with Nicholas. He had trouble getting started and really just sat staring at his clay. Even after accessing the situation with him and questioning, he still came off very quiet and timid. He muttered responses back to us when we asked him questions about what he wanted to make. It was at this point when I resolved this by giving him one option and sort of telling that we were going to roll slabs out of the clay. Nicolas took to this very well and we began cutting out squares and constructing a box. My main take a way from this situation, is that students, especially with learning disabilities, need to be given one option. When they are given multiple options they maybe are not able to process.
Personal Significance:
This was a very unique experience for me because I really don’t have much experience working with special needs students. Because I don’t have much experience in this I was feeling anxieties before the class. I took away from this class preparation is very important. As well, over-preparation isn’t a bad thing. This allows for clearing up the worries about the unknown. Along with this I learned that adaptation is paramount when leading a lesson especially with special needs students. One of the students, Nicholas, was very timid and I had a very difficult time getting him to engage with the materials. I had to adapt and stray from my intended lesson plan. After talking to Nick for about 10 minutes using inquiry-based questioning, I realized it was difficult for him to think in 3-D. After fully assisting him in building a box with slab building, we got some paper and markers for him to draw. We were able to let him work alone. He instantly took to this and began working diligently by himself. It was very encouraging.
Future Actions:
In the future I will have a better understanding of each student and how to encourage them individually. The first class was actually a lot of fun and engaging with the students was great. I also am encouraged for the students to become more comfortable around me and have the ability to open up and be more comfortable working. My goal as a teacher is to be able to differentiate learning with the different needs of the students better. This was difficult to achieve because we are really just beginning to get to know each other. I look forward to the next 4 weeks.
Blog_2
Ross Montgomery
Journal Entry #2
March 28, 2017
Artistic Abilities 3D
Experience Narrative:
Today was the second-class session of artistic abilities 3D for our ART 235 service learning. I felt much better about this session than the first. This is because a lot of the anxieties were lifted from the first lesson. I had gotten to know all of the students and had more prepared understanding of the different abilities of the students. My goal from last week was to differentiate the students in ability and assist them on how much need be. As well, a main goal from week one was to gain trust in the students to open up to me and feel comfortable to express themselves artistically. This weeks target was to continue working on the clay figures and begin on the second element of their project in interaction. I explained to the students that this is a mixed media project and we are pushing using multiple materials. A challenge from class today was engaging one of the students, Chris, to work in other material. He didn’t want to work with foil and plaster gauze.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
I understand that it can be difficult for students to work with materials they are unfamiliar with. Chris is a very diligent and meticulous worker. He works fast and when he was done with about 6 clay pieces he got up and because more of an observer of the other students. This was very important moment for me. Reflection and observance of other students work is paramount. He was very engaged with other students and what they were making. This week’s communication with Nick also became easier. I think that he was able to show me that he could be engaged and his level of understanding was right there with others in the class. We have two students in our class that are not special needs and simply wanted to participate in the Artistic Abilities. I feel that I have not given them as much time as I have given other students. A question I have is my time as necessary for these two students? Or do I concentrate more of the needs of the other more challenged students?
Personal Significance:
After working with the students I am taking how that as educators we need to be prepared to adapt and think quickly on our feel. As well, working with students like Chris taught me that not all students are going to want to work with all materials. We were able to get him to begin working with foil and plaster gauze to make snails. This felt as a definite accomplishment for the day.
Future Actions:
The students are working hard on their sculptures. Some of the students have already completed two figures from clay and most are working on their foil and plaster pieces. For next class we are going to work on glazing and painting with the students. This is going to require the first bisque firing. We are going to leave the pieces out to dry this week and load the kiln to have everyone’s pieces ready to glaze.
Journal Entry #2
March 28, 2017
Artistic Abilities 3D
Experience Narrative:
Today was the second-class session of artistic abilities 3D for our ART 235 service learning. I felt much better about this session than the first. This is because a lot of the anxieties were lifted from the first lesson. I had gotten to know all of the students and had more prepared understanding of the different abilities of the students. My goal from last week was to differentiate the students in ability and assist them on how much need be. As well, a main goal from week one was to gain trust in the students to open up to me and feel comfortable to express themselves artistically. This weeks target was to continue working on the clay figures and begin on the second element of their project in interaction. I explained to the students that this is a mixed media project and we are pushing using multiple materials. A challenge from class today was engaging one of the students, Chris, to work in other material. He didn’t want to work with foil and plaster gauze.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
I understand that it can be difficult for students to work with materials they are unfamiliar with. Chris is a very diligent and meticulous worker. He works fast and when he was done with about 6 clay pieces he got up and because more of an observer of the other students. This was very important moment for me. Reflection and observance of other students work is paramount. He was very engaged with other students and what they were making. This week’s communication with Nick also became easier. I think that he was able to show me that he could be engaged and his level of understanding was right there with others in the class. We have two students in our class that are not special needs and simply wanted to participate in the Artistic Abilities. I feel that I have not given them as much time as I have given other students. A question I have is my time as necessary for these two students? Or do I concentrate more of the needs of the other more challenged students?
Personal Significance:
After working with the students I am taking how that as educators we need to be prepared to adapt and think quickly on our feel. As well, working with students like Chris taught me that not all students are going to want to work with all materials. We were able to get him to begin working with foil and plaster gauze to make snails. This felt as a definite accomplishment for the day.
Future Actions:
The students are working hard on their sculptures. Some of the students have already completed two figures from clay and most are working on their foil and plaster pieces. For next class we are going to work on glazing and painting with the students. This is going to require the first bisque firing. We are going to leave the pieces out to dry this week and load the kiln to have everyone’s pieces ready to glaze.
blog_3
Ross Montgomery
Journal Entry #3
April 4, 2017
Artistic Abilities 3D
Experience Narrative:
Today was the third class for Artistic Abilities 3D for ART 325 service learning. Alison informed us that we would be having another student join our class for the rest of the sessions. I honestly didn’t have any preconceptions of this because I really didn’t know anything about the student. I didn’t want to get to over prepared for the new student and just see how the situation plays out. When first met Jared I introduced myself to him and said hello, and there was absolutely no response from him. It seemed that I would have to start at day one with engagement and trust with him, as I had to with the other students. This would prove to be the most challenging day I have had yet. Roxanne began working with Jared to get him started on clay building. This started with slabs to build a box and quickly I realized Roxanne was a bit overwhelmed working with Jared so I stepped in. Patience was the key in working with a student like Jared. He has a very short attention span, and understanding 3D is very difficult at this point as well, this is was no level of trust with Jared. What is the best way to approach this situation? If a student is showing little interest in anything you though at them? I spend the entire class period giving my attention to him and in some cases he just wanted to get up and walk away and go outside. I was struggling with trying to keep in interest and whether to follow him around and think of ideas for him. This was a very mentally draining and challenging day. Aside from this the class was productive. Though I didn’t get to work with much of the other students most everyone got their clay pieces glazed. How do you appropriately disperse your time and engagement with all your students if one needs so much more attention then the others.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
Today was very challenging for me and let to a lot of reflection. I left the class with lots of question of how to handle a situation with a student like Jared. I went though most media building types and non-seemed to spark interest with him. I though he might be interested in painting a plaster form in which we recently made. He showed interest in this for a short period of time, like 10 minutes, and then got up and walked away. I noticed he knew were the magazines were and he continued going to the cabinet and getting some out.
Personal Significance:
Today lesson showed me that educators we need to be prepared for anything that might happen in the classroom. My main takeaway from this lesson is patience. It was a difficult day for me and was draining. Another takeaway from the lesson is how simply adding one more student to an already established classroom can change the working order. Something I noticed from all the others in the class was their patience with Jared. It was very special to see this.
Future Actions:
Mostly all of the students have finished glazing their clay pieces and began painting their plaster figures. We are going to fire the glazed pieces so the students can see them for next week. We plan introducing habitat to the students and being working with shoeboxes to express where their figures live. As well I am going to introduce casting with the students who are ahead and we are going to make plaster caste molds of their hands with hot wax. I think that this will intrigue the students a build classroom interest.
Journal Entry #3
April 4, 2017
Artistic Abilities 3D
Experience Narrative:
Today was the third class for Artistic Abilities 3D for ART 325 service learning. Alison informed us that we would be having another student join our class for the rest of the sessions. I honestly didn’t have any preconceptions of this because I really didn’t know anything about the student. I didn’t want to get to over prepared for the new student and just see how the situation plays out. When first met Jared I introduced myself to him and said hello, and there was absolutely no response from him. It seemed that I would have to start at day one with engagement and trust with him, as I had to with the other students. This would prove to be the most challenging day I have had yet. Roxanne began working with Jared to get him started on clay building. This started with slabs to build a box and quickly I realized Roxanne was a bit overwhelmed working with Jared so I stepped in. Patience was the key in working with a student like Jared. He has a very short attention span, and understanding 3D is very difficult at this point as well, this is was no level of trust with Jared. What is the best way to approach this situation? If a student is showing little interest in anything you though at them? I spend the entire class period giving my attention to him and in some cases he just wanted to get up and walk away and go outside. I was struggling with trying to keep in interest and whether to follow him around and think of ideas for him. This was a very mentally draining and challenging day. Aside from this the class was productive. Though I didn’t get to work with much of the other students most everyone got their clay pieces glazed. How do you appropriately disperse your time and engagement with all your students if one needs so much more attention then the others.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
Today was very challenging for me and let to a lot of reflection. I left the class with lots of question of how to handle a situation with a student like Jared. I went though most media building types and non-seemed to spark interest with him. I though he might be interested in painting a plaster form in which we recently made. He showed interest in this for a short period of time, like 10 minutes, and then got up and walked away. I noticed he knew were the magazines were and he continued going to the cabinet and getting some out.
Personal Significance:
Today lesson showed me that educators we need to be prepared for anything that might happen in the classroom. My main takeaway from this lesson is patience. It was a difficult day for me and was draining. Another takeaway from the lesson is how simply adding one more student to an already established classroom can change the working order. Something I noticed from all the others in the class was their patience with Jared. It was very special to see this.
Future Actions:
Mostly all of the students have finished glazing their clay pieces and began painting their plaster figures. We are going to fire the glazed pieces so the students can see them for next week. We plan introducing habitat to the students and being working with shoeboxes to express where their figures live. As well I am going to introduce casting with the students who are ahead and we are going to make plaster caste molds of their hands with hot wax. I think that this will intrigue the students a build classroom interest.
blog_4
Ross Montgomery
Journal Entry #4
April 11, 2017
Artistic Abilities 3D
Experience Narrative:
Today was the 4th class of service learning for ART 325. Today was a busy day in class and the students were very hard at work and engaged. We continued working on our interaction pieces, coloring and glazing to complete them. We introduced the idea of habitat and interaction of figure with its surrounding. We were able to achieve this in a diorama type environment. We used shoeboxes turned on their side as a sort of environment. From this the students were encouraged to use paint or construction paper to color their habitat. Using the shoebox added a multipurpose element to the project. This not only acted as a habitual but a nice carrying box for the students to keep their figures together. As a separate project I introduced hand plaster casting to the students. This is for the students who were far enough along in their projects to work on something else. Most of the student had finished what they were working on so I wanted to introduce a new project that could take up the end of class 4, and give them something to do class 5. I was able to borrow the sculpture room’s poly skin casting wax to cast the hands of students who were interested. After showing the students some of my examples I had made there was a high level of excitement from the students. We discussed the process of casting. This begins with a wax mold of something, in out case the hand. I demonstrated first how to properly cast a hand in the wax. We achieved this by dipping our hand in a cauldron of hot poly skin wax, then dipping into cold water to cool the wax. This is repeated 8-10 times until the wax is thick enough to pull the hand out. Small holes are poked though the fingers in order to relieve the suction so the hand can be removed from the wax. I then mixed the sculpting plaster and poured into the hand molds. The students will follow up by painting the hand casts on the last session.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
Today the students were very engaged with the lesson. We began the class with a quick intro to making an environment out of a shoebox. I think some of the students had a bit of difficulty comprehending this idea. It wasn’t until I actually got the shoebox out and opened it up to show how it would work, that the students began to understand how this diorama would act as the environment. This is important and showed me the visual understanding of the students. Explanation is important, but showing students hands on really allows them to see and experience the idea. This was definitely a breakthrough moment for me in understanding for the students.
Personal Significance:
I took away from todays lesson not only the importance of showing as well as explanation, but also the importance of time management. I also took away the importance of setting daily expectations. It’s not only pertinent to set personal expectations but also to make the students away of these so they know what they need to get accomplished. Todays lesson was our second to last class and I had to convey to the students the sensitivity of time. In order to complete the projects we needed to have all ceramic pieces glazed by the end of class so there is enough time to fire before the last class. I really squeezed a lot into the lesson today with the addition of hand casting. I didn’t begin the hand-casting demo until about 5 o’clock. I felt a spread thin a bit today and busy. This made the class fly by, but with extra help from one of Alison’s students, Roxanne, all of the students were able to get more individual attention. The first hour I was able to get the students working on their dioramas. By the second hour we finished about 5 students hand casting and got all the plaster poured by the end of class. Todays lesson was busy but I got everything accomplished that I wanted to, as well with the addition of the hand casting the students will have a project to work on for the final class.
Future Actions:
The next class is our final lesson. Every student except Jared was able to get his or her ceramic pieces glazed and ready for a kiln firing. Jared joined us the 3rd lesson and has a very difficult time staying on task and keeping engagement doing a single project. It has been challenging working with him to complete tasks. My goal for next class is to have something tangible for him to bring home and show his parents. Next class we will be finishing up our projects. This includes at least 1 ceramic figure, at least 1 plaster gauze figure, and the 1 environmental element. The ceramic figures need to be glazed and fired. If this is not achieved we can work with painting so the project is complete. The students who made hand castings will paint their pieces and add any surface treatment they want.
Journal Entry #4
April 11, 2017
Artistic Abilities 3D
Experience Narrative:
Today was the 4th class of service learning for ART 325. Today was a busy day in class and the students were very hard at work and engaged. We continued working on our interaction pieces, coloring and glazing to complete them. We introduced the idea of habitat and interaction of figure with its surrounding. We were able to achieve this in a diorama type environment. We used shoeboxes turned on their side as a sort of environment. From this the students were encouraged to use paint or construction paper to color their habitat. Using the shoebox added a multipurpose element to the project. This not only acted as a habitual but a nice carrying box for the students to keep their figures together. As a separate project I introduced hand plaster casting to the students. This is for the students who were far enough along in their projects to work on something else. Most of the student had finished what they were working on so I wanted to introduce a new project that could take up the end of class 4, and give them something to do class 5. I was able to borrow the sculpture room’s poly skin casting wax to cast the hands of students who were interested. After showing the students some of my examples I had made there was a high level of excitement from the students. We discussed the process of casting. This begins with a wax mold of something, in out case the hand. I demonstrated first how to properly cast a hand in the wax. We achieved this by dipping our hand in a cauldron of hot poly skin wax, then dipping into cold water to cool the wax. This is repeated 8-10 times until the wax is thick enough to pull the hand out. Small holes are poked though the fingers in order to relieve the suction so the hand can be removed from the wax. I then mixed the sculpting plaster and poured into the hand molds. The students will follow up by painting the hand casts on the last session.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
Today the students were very engaged with the lesson. We began the class with a quick intro to making an environment out of a shoebox. I think some of the students had a bit of difficulty comprehending this idea. It wasn’t until I actually got the shoebox out and opened it up to show how it would work, that the students began to understand how this diorama would act as the environment. This is important and showed me the visual understanding of the students. Explanation is important, but showing students hands on really allows them to see and experience the idea. This was definitely a breakthrough moment for me in understanding for the students.
Personal Significance:
I took away from todays lesson not only the importance of showing as well as explanation, but also the importance of time management. I also took away the importance of setting daily expectations. It’s not only pertinent to set personal expectations but also to make the students away of these so they know what they need to get accomplished. Todays lesson was our second to last class and I had to convey to the students the sensitivity of time. In order to complete the projects we needed to have all ceramic pieces glazed by the end of class so there is enough time to fire before the last class. I really squeezed a lot into the lesson today with the addition of hand casting. I didn’t begin the hand-casting demo until about 5 o’clock. I felt a spread thin a bit today and busy. This made the class fly by, but with extra help from one of Alison’s students, Roxanne, all of the students were able to get more individual attention. The first hour I was able to get the students working on their dioramas. By the second hour we finished about 5 students hand casting and got all the plaster poured by the end of class. Todays lesson was busy but I got everything accomplished that I wanted to, as well with the addition of the hand casting the students will have a project to work on for the final class.
Future Actions:
The next class is our final lesson. Every student except Jared was able to get his or her ceramic pieces glazed and ready for a kiln firing. Jared joined us the 3rd lesson and has a very difficult time staying on task and keeping engagement doing a single project. It has been challenging working with him to complete tasks. My goal for next class is to have something tangible for him to bring home and show his parents. Next class we will be finishing up our projects. This includes at least 1 ceramic figure, at least 1 plaster gauze figure, and the 1 environmental element. The ceramic figures need to be glazed and fired. If this is not achieved we can work with painting so the project is complete. The students who made hand castings will paint their pieces and add any surface treatment they want.
blog_5
Ross Montgomery
Journal Entry #5
April 18, 2017
Artistic Abilities 3D
Experience Narrative:
This was the last class session for the Artistic Abilities 3-D class. The session went well and every student was able to create something, which showed us that they understood the overarching idea for the project. This was a positive learning experience for me and I gained some beneficial insights. At the beginning of the last class we had to differentiate the room a bit because students were at different points in the project. Adding this, work speeds and attention span of students can make things a bit difficult. We introduced and began the hand casting mini lesson last week. There were about five students who casted hands and worked on coloring them for the last meeting. For the other four students who didn’t cast hands this meant that they didn’t have much else to do for the last lesson after their interaction project was finished. We created another mini one-day lesson so the students who didn’t want to hand cast would have something to work on. This lesson didn’t build off the previous project and is meant to challenge the students in construction and painting. We had them make a flowers out of paper plates and paint the final product. In the end every student had completed their projects and were able to take them home. This was a very accomplished feeling.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
This class was very productive. There was a moment where the room as completely silent because all the students were working so hard. The differentiation in our lesson worked pretty well. Because the students were at different points in their projects this was beneficial in allowing them to work at different paces and complete their work. Jared has been very challenging to help because he has a very short attention span. There was a wonderful moment during this class when I was taking a cast hand out of the wax mold. He was really interested in what I was doing, and he continually tried to assist me. I realized at this moment that Jared really enjoys helping others.
Personal Significance:
Working with Jared really showed me diversity in learning and working. I had difficulties in getting him engaged with his own work and he seemed to get bored after 5 minutes. His willingness to help others transferred into cleanup as well. We stopped 10 minutes before time was over to clean the studio. I was sweeping the floor and Jared came over to me and hinted to take to broom out of my hands. I gave him the broom and he began sweeping. I took away from this that there are many different types of learners and interests. For example Jared really enjoyed helping others with their work. This can be difficult sometimes because he had work that needed to be finished but he wanted to help others. There are workers like Paul, who is very tedious and methodical with his work. He has many ideas and takes on maybe a little more that he can handle. Students like Chris, who are very intelligent and have particular things they want to do. For Chris we had to create a new mini lesson so he would have something to do the last day because he had finished his interaction project. I think my largest overall takeaway from this experience is patience. Teaching requires not only patience by flexibility also. This experience taught me that expectations are not everything. Things aren’t always going to go the way we plan, and adapting to them is paramount. Releasing anxieties due to fear of the unknown has also been a takeaway for me. I was pretty nervous before the first class and looking back on it, none of my pre-lesson fears came true. I will take this experience with me for the rest of my life and apply it to future teaching.
Future Actions:
This was our last class and I am planning to use the tools I have learned in my future teaching. Being able and willing to adapt with lesson planning is very important. As well, I am going to continue to practice patience. It was really fun getting to know all our students and seeing them open themselves up to us after getting comfortable was an amazing experience.
Journal Entry #5
April 18, 2017
Artistic Abilities 3D
Experience Narrative:
This was the last class session for the Artistic Abilities 3-D class. The session went well and every student was able to create something, which showed us that they understood the overarching idea for the project. This was a positive learning experience for me and I gained some beneficial insights. At the beginning of the last class we had to differentiate the room a bit because students were at different points in the project. Adding this, work speeds and attention span of students can make things a bit difficult. We introduced and began the hand casting mini lesson last week. There were about five students who casted hands and worked on coloring them for the last meeting. For the other four students who didn’t cast hands this meant that they didn’t have much else to do for the last lesson after their interaction project was finished. We created another mini one-day lesson so the students who didn’t want to hand cast would have something to work on. This lesson didn’t build off the previous project and is meant to challenge the students in construction and painting. We had them make a flowers out of paper plates and paint the final product. In the end every student had completed their projects and were able to take them home. This was a very accomplished feeling.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
This class was very productive. There was a moment where the room as completely silent because all the students were working so hard. The differentiation in our lesson worked pretty well. Because the students were at different points in their projects this was beneficial in allowing them to work at different paces and complete their work. Jared has been very challenging to help because he has a very short attention span. There was a wonderful moment during this class when I was taking a cast hand out of the wax mold. He was really interested in what I was doing, and he continually tried to assist me. I realized at this moment that Jared really enjoys helping others.
Personal Significance:
Working with Jared really showed me diversity in learning and working. I had difficulties in getting him engaged with his own work and he seemed to get bored after 5 minutes. His willingness to help others transferred into cleanup as well. We stopped 10 minutes before time was over to clean the studio. I was sweeping the floor and Jared came over to me and hinted to take to broom out of my hands. I gave him the broom and he began sweeping. I took away from this that there are many different types of learners and interests. For example Jared really enjoyed helping others with their work. This can be difficult sometimes because he had work that needed to be finished but he wanted to help others. There are workers like Paul, who is very tedious and methodical with his work. He has many ideas and takes on maybe a little more that he can handle. Students like Chris, who are very intelligent and have particular things they want to do. For Chris we had to create a new mini lesson so he would have something to do the last day because he had finished his interaction project. I think my largest overall takeaway from this experience is patience. Teaching requires not only patience by flexibility also. This experience taught me that expectations are not everything. Things aren’t always going to go the way we plan, and adapting to them is paramount. Releasing anxieties due to fear of the unknown has also been a takeaway for me. I was pretty nervous before the first class and looking back on it, none of my pre-lesson fears came true. I will take this experience with me for the rest of my life and apply it to future teaching.
Future Actions:
This was our last class and I am planning to use the tools I have learned in my future teaching. Being able and willing to adapt with lesson planning is very important. As well, I am going to continue to practice patience. It was really fun getting to know all our students and seeing them open themselves up to us after getting comfortable was an amazing experience.