1. Setting and Context:
The School Community:
Poudre High School is located in Fort Collins, Colorado, and is one of five high schools in the Poudre R-1 School District. The demographics of the school are majority Caucasian males and females with a strong Hispanic background as well. Poudre is unique in the way that it reaches out to many students from many different areas. It has students coming all the way from Wyoming and the Front Range! This is because of the wide variety of programs Poudre has to offer. Such as an International Baccalaureate Program (IB), the Newcomer Academy, the PaCE program, and the Communication Academy, as well as other student-initiated clubs and extra-curricular activities.
The culture of Poudre is geared towards the students and allowing them to be themselves. One will often see a student eating lunch in the hallway with a hat on. A “laid back” environment is accepted as long as the students treat each other with respect and come to school ready to learn. Inappropriate behavior and other discipline issues are dealt with by the wide variety of administration and counselors. The teachers as well, portray great concern for each of their students. Programs like AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) teach students behavior that enables them to advance their learning and prepares them for higher education. Poudre staff lives by the belief that every student should have the necessary skills to advance themselves whether through higher education or guiding them to find a passion.
The wide variety of programs offered at Poudre help students better themselves. Some of those programs include DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), FBLA (Future business leaders of America), Math Club, Poetry Club, National Honor society, Speech and Debate Team, Robotics Team and etc. (For a full list of activities check out Poudre’s website). Students are also allowed to take on the role of the teachers, by creating their own clubs. Some of the student-initiated programs are the Environmental Club, World Diversity Club, Writer’s Club and etc.
Poudre has a wide variety of programs geared towards student success. The ELA (English Language Acquisition) program enables students who speak another language the skills required to thrive in America. The beauty of Poudre is its ability to reach out to every student. Whether you are a genius and need a challenge (IB program) or you’re a new comer from Sweden (Newcomer Academy), the staff at Poudre can help you achieve your goals. Parents are strongly encouraged to be a part of their child’s learning as well. Grades are readily on hand for them to view and teachers are always willing to communicate with parents to help them help their child. “People helping people”! Parent volunteers are also encouraged as well.
Students and Classroom:
Rick Ney’s photography class contains a wide variety of skill levels. Every student I have observed thus far, is able to speak English at a proficient level. Currently, the students have learned all the processes of Black and White photo. That means they can load their camera with traditional film, take photos of compelling images, develop the film into a contact sheet, make rational decisions on which film to print and finally through the processes produce a black and white photo. These lessons are all geared towards the “process of darkroom photography”. If one step is not completed correctly, then the chance for failure increases (ex: film doesn’t develop, too much light exposure, etc.). Whether they are developing a photo in the dark room or displaying their picture for a critique, he urges the students to see the importance of “capturing the moment”. Also, through a wide variety of projects and literacy assessments, he is able to understand his students.
I will be teaching a class of 34 students. Thus far, I have observed that some of the students take Mr. Ney’s class seriously, whereas others use the time to talk with their friends. In the end, it is up to the students to take charge of their learning. Mr. Ney is constantly encouraging those who take the class lightly, the importance of photo. By daily updating his grades, he is able to show students where they stand.
Majority of the students having problems with the class are due to their lack of motivation. They took photo for an “easy A” but if they never complete their assignments then they’ll never get that “A”. The students who take the class seriously, are often ahead of schedule and complete more than one photo. Mr. Ney also allows those students the ability to help their classmates who are struggling. By allowing the students to teach each other, creates better classroom environment and enhances student learning.
Topic and Rationale:
Thus far the students have a varying knowledge of how to take and develop traditional Black and White Photography. Mr. Ney will be entering a new subject of Digital Photography. This is the type of photo commonly used in our society today. With technology, digital photo is much more time efficient and enables the photographer to achieve desired results with much less processes and techniques. I will be teaching how to use Photoshop with their digital images. This will include how to emit or add images to their photo, darken or lighten their photo, sharpen or blur out their image, and other techniques.
The instructional strategy I will be doing is a demonstration of the Photoshop techniques. While I’m demonstrating, the students will be following and completing the techniques on their own computers. This demonstration/hand-on interaction will increase the students’ knowledge of Photoshop by addressing solutions/problems as they arise. For instance, in my demo, if there is a person I want to emit from the photo, then I do so. However, the student does that, but through experimentation creates another way of achieving the same results, but are more affective for their learning style; then I let them. I also have the ability of letting the student show what they did differently (if the students have the ability to teach as well, then makes my life easier). I chose to do this lesson, because if the students ever come across a photo they think needs work (Emit an ex-girlfriend from a photo, add dog ears to a Facebook picture, etc.), then they will have the skills to do so. The lesson is relevant and should be exciting for them to learn.
2. Learning Goals, Objectives, and Standards:
Goals:
1. Artists use close observation to understand objective reality.
2. Comprehending the intentions of art leads to understanding how meaning is made.
Objectives:
1. TSWBAT use reflective strategies to understand the creative process. This means students can use specific criteria to discuss and evaluate works of art.
2. TSWBAT understand that photography has inherent characteristics and expressive features. This means the students can utilize the characteristics and expressive features of art and design to communicate meaning.
3. TSWBAT participate and provide input in a group discussion. This means the student can improve upon their communication/thinking skills to construct their own meaning about artistic intent through the use of questions and opinions.
Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson:
Standard 1: Observe and Learn to Comprehend
Standard 2: Envision and Critique to Reflect
3. Pre/Post Assessment:
The Pre and Post Assessments for this lesson plan were developed in the form of short-answer questions. The questions, projected onto the SmartBoard and left up during the first and last 5-8 minutes of class, were:
Pre-Assessment
Write all you know about the critiquing process. What does it involve? Are their specific strategies/ questions used? If so what are they?
Post-Assessment
Write all you know about the critiquing process. What does it involve? Are their specific strategies/ questions used? If so what are they?
To start off, I had the students write down their answers to these questions, then they shared their answers with their table. After that I allowed for volunteers to share what they had. This was to gauge their understanding of the critiquing process thus far. As the lesson progressed, I was able to further assess students by listening and taking notes. For instance, one student talked about shadow in one of his pictures he was critiquing. I mentioned to Nick that shadow was a part of the expressive features and characteristics of art. This provided him with new literacy terms when talking about artwork. If students had questions, I answered them best to my ability without giving them a right answer. It was important to note, that there were no "right or wrong" answers. The lesson was based on participation and their ability to formulate questions of their own when describing, interpreting, analyzing and evaluating a work of art. The grading was either the student participated and showed growth throughout the lesson or they did not participate and/or showed growth. It was a "pass or fail" grading system. The validity and reliability paralleled each other, because "art is in the eye of the beholder". There is no "right or wrong" way of describing, interpreting, analyzing and evaluating a work of art.
4. Preparations, Material, Resources:
Preparation:
It was important for me to get to know my students and come up with a lesson that was relevant to their needs. In art, sometimes the critiquing process gets put on the back-burner but that should not be the case. After I got to know my students (their personalities, beliefs, dreams, etc.) I was able to come up with questions and statement that could get them thinking. Those questions were:
1. What is happening in the picture? How do you know?
2. What caption would you give this image?
3. Imagine a photograph had been taken a few minutes before this one. What might it show?
4. Imagine a photograph had been taken a few minutes after this one. What might it show?
5. Who might have taken this photograph? Why? Where might the photograph have come from?
6. How does this photograph captivate you? How has it been composed to achieve this?
7. What/who is not included in this photograph? Who/what could be present but is excluded/silent?
8. What might lie beyond the frame? If you could see beyond this image, what would you see?
9. If you could ask the person/people in this image some questions, what would you ask?
10. How are you like the person/people in this photo? Is there anything about you, your life or your experience that connects to this photo?
11. How does this image make you feel? Why?
12. What other images/events does this image remind you of?
13. How is loneliness portrayed? Describe that feeling as it relates to the image/
14. How does the artist use the expressive features and characteristics of art (texture, value, tone, contrast, pattern, movement, repetition, form, line etc.) to get your attention?
15. How is rhythm, pattern and or movement displayed?
16. How do the expressive features and characteristics (texture, value, tone, contrast, pattern, movement, repetition, form, line etc.) of artwork together?
Statements were:
1. The artwork is about…
2. It makes me think about…
3. When the photo was taken the photographer smelled…
4. Then mood/feeling (Calm, violent, sad, joyful, etc) portrayed is:
5. The photograph feels…
6. The artist wants you to think about…
7. The artwork reminds me of…
8. I want to know…
9. The symbols mean…
10. You just got your vision back and chose this spot because…
11. The metaphors of this photo are…
12. This photo takes place in…
13. The people in this photo are…
14. The lighting in the photo means…
15. The photo was taken at this particular angle because…
16. You’re an alien who just landed on a planet, you stopped here because…
These questions and statements were the most important part of the lesson. By going over each one with each different student, it enhanced their understanding of the critiquing process.
Materials:
· Questions and statements students will be asked
· Each student will have one piece of his or her completed photography work.
· Computer with internet access
Resources:
A room that provided sufficient space to be able to critique 30 photos. Moveable display boards that allowed students to pin their artwork next to each other was also important.
Procedures:
See attached document of lesson plan:
The School Community:
Poudre High School is located in Fort Collins, Colorado, and is one of five high schools in the Poudre R-1 School District. The demographics of the school are majority Caucasian males and females with a strong Hispanic background as well. Poudre is unique in the way that it reaches out to many students from many different areas. It has students coming all the way from Wyoming and the Front Range! This is because of the wide variety of programs Poudre has to offer. Such as an International Baccalaureate Program (IB), the Newcomer Academy, the PaCE program, and the Communication Academy, as well as other student-initiated clubs and extra-curricular activities.
The culture of Poudre is geared towards the students and allowing them to be themselves. One will often see a student eating lunch in the hallway with a hat on. A “laid back” environment is accepted as long as the students treat each other with respect and come to school ready to learn. Inappropriate behavior and other discipline issues are dealt with by the wide variety of administration and counselors. The teachers as well, portray great concern for each of their students. Programs like AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) teach students behavior that enables them to advance their learning and prepares them for higher education. Poudre staff lives by the belief that every student should have the necessary skills to advance themselves whether through higher education or guiding them to find a passion.
The wide variety of programs offered at Poudre help students better themselves. Some of those programs include DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), FBLA (Future business leaders of America), Math Club, Poetry Club, National Honor society, Speech and Debate Team, Robotics Team and etc. (For a full list of activities check out Poudre’s website). Students are also allowed to take on the role of the teachers, by creating their own clubs. Some of the student-initiated programs are the Environmental Club, World Diversity Club, Writer’s Club and etc.
Poudre has a wide variety of programs geared towards student success. The ELA (English Language Acquisition) program enables students who speak another language the skills required to thrive in America. The beauty of Poudre is its ability to reach out to every student. Whether you are a genius and need a challenge (IB program) or you’re a new comer from Sweden (Newcomer Academy), the staff at Poudre can help you achieve your goals. Parents are strongly encouraged to be a part of their child’s learning as well. Grades are readily on hand for them to view and teachers are always willing to communicate with parents to help them help their child. “People helping people”! Parent volunteers are also encouraged as well.
Students and Classroom:
Rick Ney’s photography class contains a wide variety of skill levels. Every student I have observed thus far, is able to speak English at a proficient level. Currently, the students have learned all the processes of Black and White photo. That means they can load their camera with traditional film, take photos of compelling images, develop the film into a contact sheet, make rational decisions on which film to print and finally through the processes produce a black and white photo. These lessons are all geared towards the “process of darkroom photography”. If one step is not completed correctly, then the chance for failure increases (ex: film doesn’t develop, too much light exposure, etc.). Whether they are developing a photo in the dark room or displaying their picture for a critique, he urges the students to see the importance of “capturing the moment”. Also, through a wide variety of projects and literacy assessments, he is able to understand his students.
I will be teaching a class of 34 students. Thus far, I have observed that some of the students take Mr. Ney’s class seriously, whereas others use the time to talk with their friends. In the end, it is up to the students to take charge of their learning. Mr. Ney is constantly encouraging those who take the class lightly, the importance of photo. By daily updating his grades, he is able to show students where they stand.
Majority of the students having problems with the class are due to their lack of motivation. They took photo for an “easy A” but if they never complete their assignments then they’ll never get that “A”. The students who take the class seriously, are often ahead of schedule and complete more than one photo. Mr. Ney also allows those students the ability to help their classmates who are struggling. By allowing the students to teach each other, creates better classroom environment and enhances student learning.
Topic and Rationale:
Thus far the students have a varying knowledge of how to take and develop traditional Black and White Photography. Mr. Ney will be entering a new subject of Digital Photography. This is the type of photo commonly used in our society today. With technology, digital photo is much more time efficient and enables the photographer to achieve desired results with much less processes and techniques. I will be teaching how to use Photoshop with their digital images. This will include how to emit or add images to their photo, darken or lighten their photo, sharpen or blur out their image, and other techniques.
The instructional strategy I will be doing is a demonstration of the Photoshop techniques. While I’m demonstrating, the students will be following and completing the techniques on their own computers. This demonstration/hand-on interaction will increase the students’ knowledge of Photoshop by addressing solutions/problems as they arise. For instance, in my demo, if there is a person I want to emit from the photo, then I do so. However, the student does that, but through experimentation creates another way of achieving the same results, but are more affective for their learning style; then I let them. I also have the ability of letting the student show what they did differently (if the students have the ability to teach as well, then makes my life easier). I chose to do this lesson, because if the students ever come across a photo they think needs work (Emit an ex-girlfriend from a photo, add dog ears to a Facebook picture, etc.), then they will have the skills to do so. The lesson is relevant and should be exciting for them to learn.
2. Learning Goals, Objectives, and Standards:
Goals:
1. Artists use close observation to understand objective reality.
2. Comprehending the intentions of art leads to understanding how meaning is made.
Objectives:
1. TSWBAT use reflective strategies to understand the creative process. This means students can use specific criteria to discuss and evaluate works of art.
2. TSWBAT understand that photography has inherent characteristics and expressive features. This means the students can utilize the characteristics and expressive features of art and design to communicate meaning.
3. TSWBAT participate and provide input in a group discussion. This means the student can improve upon their communication/thinking skills to construct their own meaning about artistic intent through the use of questions and opinions.
Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson:
Standard 1: Observe and Learn to Comprehend
Standard 2: Envision and Critique to Reflect
3. Pre/Post Assessment:
The Pre and Post Assessments for this lesson plan were developed in the form of short-answer questions. The questions, projected onto the SmartBoard and left up during the first and last 5-8 minutes of class, were:
Pre-Assessment
Write all you know about the critiquing process. What does it involve? Are their specific strategies/ questions used? If so what are they?
Post-Assessment
Write all you know about the critiquing process. What does it involve? Are their specific strategies/ questions used? If so what are they?
To start off, I had the students write down their answers to these questions, then they shared their answers with their table. After that I allowed for volunteers to share what they had. This was to gauge their understanding of the critiquing process thus far. As the lesson progressed, I was able to further assess students by listening and taking notes. For instance, one student talked about shadow in one of his pictures he was critiquing. I mentioned to Nick that shadow was a part of the expressive features and characteristics of art. This provided him with new literacy terms when talking about artwork. If students had questions, I answered them best to my ability without giving them a right answer. It was important to note, that there were no "right or wrong" answers. The lesson was based on participation and their ability to formulate questions of their own when describing, interpreting, analyzing and evaluating a work of art. The grading was either the student participated and showed growth throughout the lesson or they did not participate and/or showed growth. It was a "pass or fail" grading system. The validity and reliability paralleled each other, because "art is in the eye of the beholder". There is no "right or wrong" way of describing, interpreting, analyzing and evaluating a work of art.
4. Preparations, Material, Resources:
Preparation:
It was important for me to get to know my students and come up with a lesson that was relevant to their needs. In art, sometimes the critiquing process gets put on the back-burner but that should not be the case. After I got to know my students (their personalities, beliefs, dreams, etc.) I was able to come up with questions and statement that could get them thinking. Those questions were:
1. What is happening in the picture? How do you know?
2. What caption would you give this image?
3. Imagine a photograph had been taken a few minutes before this one. What might it show?
4. Imagine a photograph had been taken a few minutes after this one. What might it show?
5. Who might have taken this photograph? Why? Where might the photograph have come from?
6. How does this photograph captivate you? How has it been composed to achieve this?
7. What/who is not included in this photograph? Who/what could be present but is excluded/silent?
8. What might lie beyond the frame? If you could see beyond this image, what would you see?
9. If you could ask the person/people in this image some questions, what would you ask?
10. How are you like the person/people in this photo? Is there anything about you, your life or your experience that connects to this photo?
11. How does this image make you feel? Why?
12. What other images/events does this image remind you of?
13. How is loneliness portrayed? Describe that feeling as it relates to the image/
14. How does the artist use the expressive features and characteristics of art (texture, value, tone, contrast, pattern, movement, repetition, form, line etc.) to get your attention?
15. How is rhythm, pattern and or movement displayed?
16. How do the expressive features and characteristics (texture, value, tone, contrast, pattern, movement, repetition, form, line etc.) of artwork together?
Statements were:
1. The artwork is about…
2. It makes me think about…
3. When the photo was taken the photographer smelled…
4. Then mood/feeling (Calm, violent, sad, joyful, etc) portrayed is:
5. The photograph feels…
6. The artist wants you to think about…
7. The artwork reminds me of…
8. I want to know…
9. The symbols mean…
10. You just got your vision back and chose this spot because…
11. The metaphors of this photo are…
12. This photo takes place in…
13. The people in this photo are…
14. The lighting in the photo means…
15. The photo was taken at this particular angle because…
16. You’re an alien who just landed on a planet, you stopped here because…
These questions and statements were the most important part of the lesson. By going over each one with each different student, it enhanced their understanding of the critiquing process.
Materials:
· Questions and statements students will be asked
· Each student will have one piece of his or her completed photography work.
· Computer with internet access
Resources:
A room that provided sufficient space to be able to critique 30 photos. Moveable display boards that allowed students to pin their artwork next to each other was also important.
Procedures:
See attached document of lesson plan:
6. On-Going Lesson Assessment
In terms of student assessment, I looked for active engagement and participation during the critique time. While students were working independently, I walked around and checked their pre-assessments, ensuring that they had answered all of the questions, but also gauging the level of understanding that students had in regards to what a critique entails. "Good" or "active" engagement that I was looking for during the lesson meant that students were following instructions, asking each other questions about their artwork and coming up with questions of their own as it relates to the work of art.
The only formal assessments were the Pre and Post Assessment questions at the beginning and end of the lesson. The rest of the class period consisted of students talking about artwork one at a time. I tried to create a comfortable atmosphere that was more focused on getting their opinions compared to "right or wrong". Some students were nervous to begin with and this activity challenged them. I took into consideration that this "nervousness" was because of public speeking. The lesson was a success because every student participated and provided feedback.
7. Modifications, Adaptations, Accommodations:
Going into the lesson, I was trying to think about myself when I was their age (15-17 years old). Now, I am able to give critiques and public speak but when I was their age, I had difficulties. Public speaking was a life skill I had to evolve (and will continue to evolve) throughout the years. So this "nervousness" was something to consider when changing the lesson plan. In the future I would give them the opportunity to share their ideas with a peer or in groups of two. If they didn't like that option, I would allow them to write down their question and then the teacher could read it out loud to the class. Four students had problems expressing their opinions/beliefs due to nervousness. The first critique process I could tell this, so I adapted half-way through the lesson by letting them come up with their own questions/statements. As time progressed through the lesson and I was able to witness which students had "nervous" problems when speaking to the class. I tried to alleviate those feelings by directing the focus away from them and to myself. I would say "goofy" things like "looks like that door could be leading up to a castle where they dump hot oil on you then throw feathers down". This "goofiness" showed them their was no right answer and that this lesson was meant to be fun and engaging.
I tried to reach out to all different levels of intelligence by providing a wide variety of questions and statements to use. One student had a problem with the question "How is rhythm, pattern, and/or movement displayed?". I gave her the option to switch her question with another student. Also, during this time, a student took the initiative and pulled up an example of rhythm from her computer. I then allowed the student to show her peers what rhythm was as it relates to photography. When a teacher can have his/her students do some of the teaching then it makes life easier and students are better able to relate, because the information is coming from someone who is close to their cognitive level (if not that then their age as well).
8. Pre/Post Assessment Results:
* The names provided are aliases of actual students. Also the pre/post assessment is based off of participation and pass/fail. Two points for participation and another two points for whether or not students display an understanding of the critique process. A total of 4 points all together.
In terms of student assessment, I looked for active engagement and participation during the critique time. While students were working independently, I walked around and checked their pre-assessments, ensuring that they had answered all of the questions, but also gauging the level of understanding that students had in regards to what a critique entails. "Good" or "active" engagement that I was looking for during the lesson meant that students were following instructions, asking each other questions about their artwork and coming up with questions of their own as it relates to the work of art.
The only formal assessments were the Pre and Post Assessment questions at the beginning and end of the lesson. The rest of the class period consisted of students talking about artwork one at a time. I tried to create a comfortable atmosphere that was more focused on getting their opinions compared to "right or wrong". Some students were nervous to begin with and this activity challenged them. I took into consideration that this "nervousness" was because of public speeking. The lesson was a success because every student participated and provided feedback.
7. Modifications, Adaptations, Accommodations:
Going into the lesson, I was trying to think about myself when I was their age (15-17 years old). Now, I am able to give critiques and public speak but when I was their age, I had difficulties. Public speaking was a life skill I had to evolve (and will continue to evolve) throughout the years. So this "nervousness" was something to consider when changing the lesson plan. In the future I would give them the opportunity to share their ideas with a peer or in groups of two. If they didn't like that option, I would allow them to write down their question and then the teacher could read it out loud to the class. Four students had problems expressing their opinions/beliefs due to nervousness. The first critique process I could tell this, so I adapted half-way through the lesson by letting them come up with their own questions/statements. As time progressed through the lesson and I was able to witness which students had "nervous" problems when speaking to the class. I tried to alleviate those feelings by directing the focus away from them and to myself. I would say "goofy" things like "looks like that door could be leading up to a castle where they dump hot oil on you then throw feathers down". This "goofiness" showed them their was no right answer and that this lesson was meant to be fun and engaging.
I tried to reach out to all different levels of intelligence by providing a wide variety of questions and statements to use. One student had a problem with the question "How is rhythm, pattern, and/or movement displayed?". I gave her the option to switch her question with another student. Also, during this time, a student took the initiative and pulled up an example of rhythm from her computer. I then allowed the student to show her peers what rhythm was as it relates to photography. When a teacher can have his/her students do some of the teaching then it makes life easier and students are better able to relate, because the information is coming from someone who is close to their cognitive level (if not that then their age as well).
8. Pre/Post Assessment Results:
* The names provided are aliases of actual students. Also the pre/post assessment is based off of participation and pass/fail. Two points for participation and another two points for whether or not students display an understanding of the critique process. A total of 4 points all together.
For table of information click here to download:
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Pre/Post assessment Discussion:
The results from the pre and post test indicated there was learning happening. In the pre test many of the students said critique was to talk about artwork. That was the extent of their answers. However after the lesson was complete and we returned to that same question/s, they went more in depth by saying a critique involved describing, interpreting, analyzing and evaluating a work of art. Some students took it further and went more in depth with those terms. There were only two students that had the answers to what I was looking for in the pre test. That was where some of the problems could arise. Problems like: critique is a vague word and there is no definitive answer. However I was looking that students involved three of the four verbs: to describe, to interpret, to analyze and/or to evaluate. Many of the students included 3 of the four for the post test answers and that was suffiecnt enough to receive the maximum of two points. If they only had one or two, I gave them one point. Participation was the other half of the score. Some students started off slow then towards the end actively started participating. Once they realized participation was one of the main assessments then they took it more seriously. In the future I would bring it to attention at the beginning of class that their participation was half their grade.
Things that went well were students began to formulate their own ideas and describe, interpret, analyze and evaluate work without me forcing it upon them. The more examples they got the more they began to understand. The biggest teacher of the lesson was in fact their peers because they were the ones up front describing, analyzing, interpreting or and or evaluating a work of art.
As far as the data goes, the boys (who are roughly 1/4th of the class total) had lower pre-test scores than the girls but higher gain scores than the girls. The girls had both higher pre/post assessment scores and that is most likely due to their increase in participation. Some of the male students started off slowly then picked up as the lesson progressed. It is obvious that learning did occur or the gain scores would remain at zero. Participation is hard to evaluate learning but the more one participates, the more one is enabled to learn (that and participation is a life skill).
9. Reflection and Critique:
This lesson taught me many things. One of the most important is to "not judge a book by it's cover". Meaning throughout the year I have witnessed Mr. Ney's 4th hour photo class and have come to know which students take it seriously and which one's really don't care. It is disappointing to say that but it is the truth. However with my lesson, every student was engaged and provided input. Perhaps it was due to the "differentness" of the lesson or the "differentness" of myself, I don't really know but it was great to be a part of. Even Mr. Ney told me "I believe they opened up to you more than they would've for me"( I slightly doubt that because Rick is a great teacher but it was exciting to see).
My type of teaching in the future as far as art goes, will be choice based. I hope to provide a wide variety of choice where the student has the opportunity to express their passions in their work. This will also include extensive experimentation and the ability to work with others. It is my goal as a teacher to never stop learning as well. I believe life is about learning and building relationships that blossom and that is what I will encompass in my teaching. I am not meant to be the students friend, but I can be a role model that they look up too. Things I will have to work on as a beginning teacher are my management skills and using a louder voice. I will also have to evolve my lesson plans and figure out who my students are before I delve right in. In a perfect classroom environment, I would spend the first week just building relationships and getting to know my students, so I can make my lessons relevant to their life and their dreams. As I continue to learn as a teacher I will have to enhance my skills at reaching out to different learners. Concrete minds focused on right answers could be a difficulty for me and I will have to learn how to break down those barriers so learning is fun and engaging for them.
The results from the pre and post test indicated there was learning happening. In the pre test many of the students said critique was to talk about artwork. That was the extent of their answers. However after the lesson was complete and we returned to that same question/s, they went more in depth by saying a critique involved describing, interpreting, analyzing and evaluating a work of art. Some students took it further and went more in depth with those terms. There were only two students that had the answers to what I was looking for in the pre test. That was where some of the problems could arise. Problems like: critique is a vague word and there is no definitive answer. However I was looking that students involved three of the four verbs: to describe, to interpret, to analyze and/or to evaluate. Many of the students included 3 of the four for the post test answers and that was suffiecnt enough to receive the maximum of two points. If they only had one or two, I gave them one point. Participation was the other half of the score. Some students started off slow then towards the end actively started participating. Once they realized participation was one of the main assessments then they took it more seriously. In the future I would bring it to attention at the beginning of class that their participation was half their grade.
Things that went well were students began to formulate their own ideas and describe, interpret, analyze and evaluate work without me forcing it upon them. The more examples they got the more they began to understand. The biggest teacher of the lesson was in fact their peers because they were the ones up front describing, analyzing, interpreting or and or evaluating a work of art.
As far as the data goes, the boys (who are roughly 1/4th of the class total) had lower pre-test scores than the girls but higher gain scores than the girls. The girls had both higher pre/post assessment scores and that is most likely due to their increase in participation. Some of the male students started off slowly then picked up as the lesson progressed. It is obvious that learning did occur or the gain scores would remain at zero. Participation is hard to evaluate learning but the more one participates, the more one is enabled to learn (that and participation is a life skill).
9. Reflection and Critique:
This lesson taught me many things. One of the most important is to "not judge a book by it's cover". Meaning throughout the year I have witnessed Mr. Ney's 4th hour photo class and have come to know which students take it seriously and which one's really don't care. It is disappointing to say that but it is the truth. However with my lesson, every student was engaged and provided input. Perhaps it was due to the "differentness" of the lesson or the "differentness" of myself, I don't really know but it was great to be a part of. Even Mr. Ney told me "I believe they opened up to you more than they would've for me"( I slightly doubt that because Rick is a great teacher but it was exciting to see).
My type of teaching in the future as far as art goes, will be choice based. I hope to provide a wide variety of choice where the student has the opportunity to express their passions in their work. This will also include extensive experimentation and the ability to work with others. It is my goal as a teacher to never stop learning as well. I believe life is about learning and building relationships that blossom and that is what I will encompass in my teaching. I am not meant to be the students friend, but I can be a role model that they look up too. Things I will have to work on as a beginning teacher are my management skills and using a louder voice. I will also have to evolve my lesson plans and figure out who my students are before I delve right in. In a perfect classroom environment, I would spend the first week just building relationships and getting to know my students, so I can make my lessons relevant to their life and their dreams. As I continue to learn as a teacher I will have to enhance my skills at reaching out to different learners. Concrete minds focused on right answers could be a difficulty for me and I will have to learn how to break down those barriers so learning is fun and engaging for them.