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As educators, it will be our responsibility to continually reflect on the effectiveness of our teaching and determine when and how we need to make adjustments. The journal entries I completed after each teaching experience allowed me reflect on the positives and negatives of each session and how I could better my instruction for the next class. Each of my journal entries are provided below to gain insight into this reflective process. |
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Journal Entry 1 - Tissue Paper Experimentation
Experience Narrative:
Monday was our first class session with the Cooper Home students. The students showed up right at 12:30 and things were a little confusing at first, because the Community Connections group also showed up, thinking it was their day to attend. We thought something was a miss, but started working with the students anyways. As everyone showed up, we immediately started with making nametags and having the students decorate them however they pleased. This worked well as a get to know you activity, as we were able to walk around the class, learn everyone’s name, and discuss their nametags with them. After nametags were finished, we quickly introduced ourselves and then jumped right into the lesson. First, we had all the students gather around a table and Emily demonstrated several tissue paper techniques for them. We then set everyone loose to explore and play with the medium.
The three of us naturally split up and each took a table of students to work with. Dakota and Spencer were the two students at my table. Spencer was able to speak, but didn’t seem to like communicating past short statements or yes and no answers. Dakota was completely none verbal. He did have a cell phone like device that would allow him to communicate, but he never chose to use it. Spencer was very methodical and organized in his use of paper. He chose to spread the pieces out over the entire paper and make sure no two pieces were touching. I urged him to try other techniques with the tissue paper, but all he wanted to do was glue them straight down. By trying to show him the resist method with color pastels, he became interested in drawing/scribbling on the paper and this was all he wanted to do for the rest of class. Dakota seemed to be comfortable with me, as he wanted to hold my hand for the majority of the time I worked with him. Like Spencer, he only wanted to glue the pieces down, but he was much less worried about organization. He glued piece after piece, usually picking the same color I had just chosen, and placed them overlapping each other, and even covering another piece completely.
About halfway through the class time, we differentiated the lesson plan that we originally developed. Beth and Emily worked with some of the other students to create an actual piece using the tissue paper techniques while I continued to just explore the tissue paper and pastels with Spencer and Dakota. There were a few times that we rotated around to the different tables, but it didn’t seem like we spent that much time there before migrating back to our original tables. We ended class by gathering a piece of work from each student and displaying them all on one table as the students gathered around. We then went around the room and asked each student to say something about their work. Some were silent, and others were very descriptive of what they made. This seemed like a good way for students to reflect on their work, but only about have the group was engaged while others were sharing.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
The majority of the work I saw being created was from Spencer and Dakota. For them, this activity was all about the doing. They were completely involved in praxis and didn’t transition to the making stage. Also, they never wanted to try a different technique with the tissue paper other than gluing it down. I tried to model other techniques and options for using the paper, but no matter what I did, they only wanted to glue it down. I don’t think this was because they didn’t understand, but maybe that they were already overwhelmed and were more comfortable/pleased with just using the paper with this one method.
Personal Significance:
I enjoyed working with Dakota and Spencer because I could tell they were enjoying themselves by how enthusiastic they were. I also enjoyed working with them because they reminded me that art doesn’t always need to be making something or working towards a final product; sometimes it can just be messing around with a medium. I think this is a very important concept for those who think they’re not good at art, or those who are functioning at a much lower level. The one thing I didn’t enjoy about this experience was that I felt I only worked with two students. I didn’t really get involved with the other tables or interact with those students very much.
Future Actions:
During the next class session, I will make a more deliberate effort to learn about the other students and engage each of them about their art making experience. This should be slightly easier because we’ll only have the Cooper Home students and the class size will be a little smaller.
Monday was our first class session with the Cooper Home students. The students showed up right at 12:30 and things were a little confusing at first, because the Community Connections group also showed up, thinking it was their day to attend. We thought something was a miss, but started working with the students anyways. As everyone showed up, we immediately started with making nametags and having the students decorate them however they pleased. This worked well as a get to know you activity, as we were able to walk around the class, learn everyone’s name, and discuss their nametags with them. After nametags were finished, we quickly introduced ourselves and then jumped right into the lesson. First, we had all the students gather around a table and Emily demonstrated several tissue paper techniques for them. We then set everyone loose to explore and play with the medium.
The three of us naturally split up and each took a table of students to work with. Dakota and Spencer were the two students at my table. Spencer was able to speak, but didn’t seem to like communicating past short statements or yes and no answers. Dakota was completely none verbal. He did have a cell phone like device that would allow him to communicate, but he never chose to use it. Spencer was very methodical and organized in his use of paper. He chose to spread the pieces out over the entire paper and make sure no two pieces were touching. I urged him to try other techniques with the tissue paper, but all he wanted to do was glue them straight down. By trying to show him the resist method with color pastels, he became interested in drawing/scribbling on the paper and this was all he wanted to do for the rest of class. Dakota seemed to be comfortable with me, as he wanted to hold my hand for the majority of the time I worked with him. Like Spencer, he only wanted to glue the pieces down, but he was much less worried about organization. He glued piece after piece, usually picking the same color I had just chosen, and placed them overlapping each other, and even covering another piece completely.
About halfway through the class time, we differentiated the lesson plan that we originally developed. Beth and Emily worked with some of the other students to create an actual piece using the tissue paper techniques while I continued to just explore the tissue paper and pastels with Spencer and Dakota. There were a few times that we rotated around to the different tables, but it didn’t seem like we spent that much time there before migrating back to our original tables. We ended class by gathering a piece of work from each student and displaying them all on one table as the students gathered around. We then went around the room and asked each student to say something about their work. Some were silent, and others were very descriptive of what they made. This seemed like a good way for students to reflect on their work, but only about have the group was engaged while others were sharing.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
The majority of the work I saw being created was from Spencer and Dakota. For them, this activity was all about the doing. They were completely involved in praxis and didn’t transition to the making stage. Also, they never wanted to try a different technique with the tissue paper other than gluing it down. I tried to model other techniques and options for using the paper, but no matter what I did, they only wanted to glue it down. I don’t think this was because they didn’t understand, but maybe that they were already overwhelmed and were more comfortable/pleased with just using the paper with this one method.
Personal Significance:
I enjoyed working with Dakota and Spencer because I could tell they were enjoying themselves by how enthusiastic they were. I also enjoyed working with them because they reminded me that art doesn’t always need to be making something or working towards a final product; sometimes it can just be messing around with a medium. I think this is a very important concept for those who think they’re not good at art, or those who are functioning at a much lower level. The one thing I didn’t enjoy about this experience was that I felt I only worked with two students. I didn’t really get involved with the other tables or interact with those students very much.
Future Actions:
During the next class session, I will make a more deliberate effort to learn about the other students and engage each of them about their art making experience. This should be slightly easier because we’ll only have the Cooper Home students and the class size will be a little smaller.
Journal Entry 2 - Zentangles
Experience Narrative:
For our second class, we decided to have the students work with repetition and pattern to create art. Once all the students were seated and ready to go, we started class by talking about pattern and observing the art room for any patterns or repetition we could find. We encouraged the students to get out of their seats and walk around the room to make sure everyone was engaged. It was interesting to see what the students noticed and how their views opened up once we started helping them identify things around the room. We then brought everyone back together to share what they found around the room. After everyone shared, we spent a little more time discussing pattern, how/why artists use pattern, and showing the students some examples. For this lesson, we also decided to give the students freedom to choose which medium they wanted to work in. They could create designs with paper and markers or use tools on a slab of clay. Four of the six students wanted to work with clay while Caitlin and Scott worked with paper. It was fun to see how excited the students were for working with clay. They ran right over to the table and immediately began experimenting with the various tools to determine what kind of mark they could leave. I floated back and forth between the drawing table and the clay table so that I could interact and get to know all of the students al little this time. At the end of class, we again brought everyone back together so that we could discuss the artwork they created. This time, it seemed like more of the class was engaged in the sharing and listening to the others talk about how they used pattern and repetition in their work.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
During this class, there were really two students that stood out to me during the activity. The first was Spencer. I had work with him last class and it was hard for him to stay engaged with the activity for the entire class. It also seemed as though he only worked with the tissue paper because we asked him to. I don’t think he liked it very much as he quickly switched to pastels only. During this lesson, however, he worked with clay and I got the impression that he was really enjoying himself. He wanted to start right away, and every time I checked in on him, he was working and engaged with the material. I also thought it was interesting how he was working with the clay. He would try out each tool, making patterns and repetition in the slab, and then “erase” his work and start over again. This made me think about the last class when he was so involved in the praxis aspect of the work. Again this time, he wasn’t trying to make a final piece, he just wanted to experiment and play with the material. The other student that interested me was Caitlin. She was at the drawing table working with Emily. Her work was interesting because I saw clear progression in her work. She started by just copying some of the example patterns with a black marker. This evolved into making her own patterns. She then took another step and started adding color to her own patterns. Finally, she started finding objects around her to create repetition in her designs. It felt like the first few designs she copied in black was her “doing”, and then as soon as she branched into color and her own designs, she was clearly “making” with much more intent. I was also interested that she realized that common objects around us could be used as templates to create repetition. I think this was her way of solving her own problem of how to make something the same over and over.
Personal Significance:
For me, this lesson highlighted a few aspects of art making. The first was that we can and do draw inspiration from our surroundings. The students seemed to open up once they started seeing all these examples of pattern and repetition around the classroom. Sometimes I forget that ideas are all around us, all the time, and this class helped remind me of that fact. The other big take away for me was the students excitement for using clay and their ability to choose how they created art. I think it was a good way to highlight the possibilities for the emergent curriculum we have been discussing.
Future Actions:
Noticing how engaged the students were with clay, we asked them at the end of class what they would like to do next. Just about everyone immediately said they wanted to work more with clay, so we’re going to let them guide their own learning and create another lesson centered around using their hands to create something from clay.
For our second class, we decided to have the students work with repetition and pattern to create art. Once all the students were seated and ready to go, we started class by talking about pattern and observing the art room for any patterns or repetition we could find. We encouraged the students to get out of their seats and walk around the room to make sure everyone was engaged. It was interesting to see what the students noticed and how their views opened up once we started helping them identify things around the room. We then brought everyone back together to share what they found around the room. After everyone shared, we spent a little more time discussing pattern, how/why artists use pattern, and showing the students some examples. For this lesson, we also decided to give the students freedom to choose which medium they wanted to work in. They could create designs with paper and markers or use tools on a slab of clay. Four of the six students wanted to work with clay while Caitlin and Scott worked with paper. It was fun to see how excited the students were for working with clay. They ran right over to the table and immediately began experimenting with the various tools to determine what kind of mark they could leave. I floated back and forth between the drawing table and the clay table so that I could interact and get to know all of the students al little this time. At the end of class, we again brought everyone back together so that we could discuss the artwork they created. This time, it seemed like more of the class was engaged in the sharing and listening to the others talk about how they used pattern and repetition in their work.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
During this class, there were really two students that stood out to me during the activity. The first was Spencer. I had work with him last class and it was hard for him to stay engaged with the activity for the entire class. It also seemed as though he only worked with the tissue paper because we asked him to. I don’t think he liked it very much as he quickly switched to pastels only. During this lesson, however, he worked with clay and I got the impression that he was really enjoying himself. He wanted to start right away, and every time I checked in on him, he was working and engaged with the material. I also thought it was interesting how he was working with the clay. He would try out each tool, making patterns and repetition in the slab, and then “erase” his work and start over again. This made me think about the last class when he was so involved in the praxis aspect of the work. Again this time, he wasn’t trying to make a final piece, he just wanted to experiment and play with the material. The other student that interested me was Caitlin. She was at the drawing table working with Emily. Her work was interesting because I saw clear progression in her work. She started by just copying some of the example patterns with a black marker. This evolved into making her own patterns. She then took another step and started adding color to her own patterns. Finally, she started finding objects around her to create repetition in her designs. It felt like the first few designs she copied in black was her “doing”, and then as soon as she branched into color and her own designs, she was clearly “making” with much more intent. I was also interested that she realized that common objects around us could be used as templates to create repetition. I think this was her way of solving her own problem of how to make something the same over and over.
Personal Significance:
For me, this lesson highlighted a few aspects of art making. The first was that we can and do draw inspiration from our surroundings. The students seemed to open up once they started seeing all these examples of pattern and repetition around the classroom. Sometimes I forget that ideas are all around us, all the time, and this class helped remind me of that fact. The other big take away for me was the students excitement for using clay and their ability to choose how they created art. I think it was a good way to highlight the possibilities for the emergent curriculum we have been discussing.
Future Actions:
Noticing how engaged the students were with clay, we asked them at the end of class what they would like to do next. Just about everyone immediately said they wanted to work more with clay, so we’re going to let them guide their own learning and create another lesson centered around using their hands to create something from clay.
Journal Entry 3 - Form and Function
Unfortunately, I was out of town and unable to participate in the third class session on form and function.
Journal Entry 4 - Glazing and Mask Making
Experience Narrative:
For the fourth class with Cooper Home, the students focused on glazing and finishing the clay vessels/pieces they created during the previous class. We started this class with a discussion about glaze and asked the students several questions to access their prior knowledge. Because their understanding of the subject seemed rather limited, I gave a broad overview of what glaze is and how it works, and then focused in on its application and techniques to be aware of. After showing some examples and finishing our discussion, the students were asked to brainstorm/plan the surface design for their pieces. Most of the students already knew what they wanted and were able to describe their ideas. Caitlin struggled slightly until I asked her a few questions that got her ideation rolling. Once everyone had developed a design, or at least chosen colors, we distributed the glazes as the students asked for them. We continued to float around the room, asking students about their designs and providing assistance where necessary. Eventually, Robert and a few other students wanted to experiment with mixing several different glazes. I thought this was great, except they ended up wasting a fair amount of glaze when mixing different colors together. As each student finished glazing, they were directed over to another table where Beth demonstrated how to make paper ache masks. I worked with Abby because it was hard for her to determine if the strips were wet enough and where the remaining openings on the mask were.This activity was done until the end of class when students were released.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
The most interesting thing about this class for me was the students’ willingness to experiment with glaze. After thinking about this for a while, two ideas began to surface. The first was that it seemed like the students had little, if any, experience with glazing pottery prior to this class. As such, the students may have been a little less pressured or expected to create something “great”. If we had never used this technique before, how could they expect to be good at it? The second idea was that glazing is an inherently ambiguous task/step in the pottery process. During application, the glaze bares little resemblance to the finished product. Without the students getting immediate feedback on the colors they had chosen, it seemed like they were more open to experimentation with layering of glazes and applying random mixtures.
Personal Significance:
I really enjoyed watching the students experiment with glaze and being reminded that the act of glazing is an unpredictable part of the pottery process. No matter how much panning or testing is done, the glaze still may not turn out the way you hoped it would. I think this is a very important lesson for new students to understand. Rather than picking a color and then trying to match it perfectly, they need to just experiment as much as they can until they start to get results they are interested by.
Future Actions:
Next time I allow students to glaze, I will do a better job of classroom management to preserve resources. The students did a pretty decent job with this until they started mixing their own glazes. Before I knew it, the students had each poured out a decent amount of glaze, mixed it up, and only used a small portion of it. I think this problem can be solved by not allowing the students free range over the glazes. I would be the sole person allowed to distribute glaze, and each student would need to get glaze from me.
For the fourth class with Cooper Home, the students focused on glazing and finishing the clay vessels/pieces they created during the previous class. We started this class with a discussion about glaze and asked the students several questions to access their prior knowledge. Because their understanding of the subject seemed rather limited, I gave a broad overview of what glaze is and how it works, and then focused in on its application and techniques to be aware of. After showing some examples and finishing our discussion, the students were asked to brainstorm/plan the surface design for their pieces. Most of the students already knew what they wanted and were able to describe their ideas. Caitlin struggled slightly until I asked her a few questions that got her ideation rolling. Once everyone had developed a design, or at least chosen colors, we distributed the glazes as the students asked for them. We continued to float around the room, asking students about their designs and providing assistance where necessary. Eventually, Robert and a few other students wanted to experiment with mixing several different glazes. I thought this was great, except they ended up wasting a fair amount of glaze when mixing different colors together. As each student finished glazing, they were directed over to another table where Beth demonstrated how to make paper ache masks. I worked with Abby because it was hard for her to determine if the strips were wet enough and where the remaining openings on the mask were.This activity was done until the end of class when students were released.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
The most interesting thing about this class for me was the students’ willingness to experiment with glaze. After thinking about this for a while, two ideas began to surface. The first was that it seemed like the students had little, if any, experience with glazing pottery prior to this class. As such, the students may have been a little less pressured or expected to create something “great”. If we had never used this technique before, how could they expect to be good at it? The second idea was that glazing is an inherently ambiguous task/step in the pottery process. During application, the glaze bares little resemblance to the finished product. Without the students getting immediate feedback on the colors they had chosen, it seemed like they were more open to experimentation with layering of glazes and applying random mixtures.
Personal Significance:
I really enjoyed watching the students experiment with glaze and being reminded that the act of glazing is an unpredictable part of the pottery process. No matter how much panning or testing is done, the glaze still may not turn out the way you hoped it would. I think this is a very important lesson for new students to understand. Rather than picking a color and then trying to match it perfectly, they need to just experiment as much as they can until they start to get results they are interested by.
Future Actions:
Next time I allow students to glaze, I will do a better job of classroom management to preserve resources. The students did a pretty decent job with this until they started mixing their own glazes. Before I knew it, the students had each poured out a decent amount of glaze, mixed it up, and only used a small portion of it. I think this problem can be solved by not allowing the students free range over the glazes. I would be the sole person allowed to distribute glaze, and each student would need to get glaze from me.
Journal Entry 5 - Mask Decorating
Experience Narrative:
For the final class, students decorated the plaster masks they created during the fourth lesson. At the beginning of class, we re-introduced the students to the mask project and reminded them of the ideas they had based their masks off of the class prior. After showing them all the materials available for decoration, the students got to work on their masks. Both Aaron and Robert came to class with very specific ideas of how they wanted to finish their masks. Robert wanted to continue the dragon theme and give his mask the appearance of teeth and scales. After looking at all the options for material, he decided to create the scales by cutting up small pieces of aluminum foil and gluing each one on individually. Aaron had decided he wanted to re-create the design of his family crest on the face of his mask. He brought reference images with him and began by drawing the crest on his mask with marker. He then added color and texture to complete the design. Abby, Caitlyn and Spencer had less of a plan and were more interested in exploring the different options available. Abby settled on paint and chose to cover her rabbit mask with reddish/orange and pink colors. Caitlyn really enjoyed the tactile experience and randomness she found with feathers. She glued one on top of another until the whole mask was covered. Spencer, like Abby, was most interested in finishing his mask with paint. He chose to color his mask a deep reddish brown and blue color. At the end of class, we gathered everyone around to discuss their masks and what they had enjoyed most about the class.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
I thought it was very interesting that each student approached his or her mask from a different perspective. Robert was trying to make a representational form, Aaron was trying to re-create a specific design, Abby was trying to use the specific colors of an object, Spencer was just using colors that he enjoyed, and Caitlyn just wanted to use feathers because she liked the way they felt. Even though the students had such a varied motivation/approach, they all were engaged and learned something about the process of decorating plaster masks.
Personal Significance:
As I alluded to in the content meaning, this lesson highlighted how successful differentiation can make an activity or project. Had we placed requirements on the materials used, and dictated only paint or markers, the creativity and engagement of both Robert and Caitlyn may have been stifled. Likewise, if we had dictated that the masks be either representational or not, we may have stifled half of the students in the class. By allowing the students to choose how they wanted to finish their masks, they all remained engaged and found something that was interesting to them.
Future Actions:
In my future lessons, I will really try to keep differentiation in the forethought of my mind. I’ll work to make each lesson adaptable so that every student in the class will be interested and engaged in the project.
For the final class, students decorated the plaster masks they created during the fourth lesson. At the beginning of class, we re-introduced the students to the mask project and reminded them of the ideas they had based their masks off of the class prior. After showing them all the materials available for decoration, the students got to work on their masks. Both Aaron and Robert came to class with very specific ideas of how they wanted to finish their masks. Robert wanted to continue the dragon theme and give his mask the appearance of teeth and scales. After looking at all the options for material, he decided to create the scales by cutting up small pieces of aluminum foil and gluing each one on individually. Aaron had decided he wanted to re-create the design of his family crest on the face of his mask. He brought reference images with him and began by drawing the crest on his mask with marker. He then added color and texture to complete the design. Abby, Caitlyn and Spencer had less of a plan and were more interested in exploring the different options available. Abby settled on paint and chose to cover her rabbit mask with reddish/orange and pink colors. Caitlyn really enjoyed the tactile experience and randomness she found with feathers. She glued one on top of another until the whole mask was covered. Spencer, like Abby, was most interested in finishing his mask with paint. He chose to color his mask a deep reddish brown and blue color. At the end of class, we gathered everyone around to discuss their masks and what they had enjoyed most about the class.
Interpretation/Content Meaning:
I thought it was very interesting that each student approached his or her mask from a different perspective. Robert was trying to make a representational form, Aaron was trying to re-create a specific design, Abby was trying to use the specific colors of an object, Spencer was just using colors that he enjoyed, and Caitlyn just wanted to use feathers because she liked the way they felt. Even though the students had such a varied motivation/approach, they all were engaged and learned something about the process of decorating plaster masks.
Personal Significance:
As I alluded to in the content meaning, this lesson highlighted how successful differentiation can make an activity or project. Had we placed requirements on the materials used, and dictated only paint or markers, the creativity and engagement of both Robert and Caitlyn may have been stifled. Likewise, if we had dictated that the masks be either representational or not, we may have stifled half of the students in the class. By allowing the students to choose how they wanted to finish their masks, they all remained engaged and found something that was interesting to them.
Future Actions:
In my future lessons, I will really try to keep differentiation in the forethought of my mind. I’ll work to make each lesson adaptable so that every student in the class will be interested and engaged in the project.
