Elementary Classroom Field Reflection
Following your elementary classroom observation, describe how art materials, visual forms, images, or activities were used in the classroom by answering the following three questions (200 words):
Q1)What form of arts integration or interdisciplinary learning units have you observed? In what ways were the visual forms investigated, learned, discussed, or produced in the classroom?
R1)I am currently spending my field experience this semester in a third grade classroom at Lee Elementary School. In field thus far, I’ve seen a few art integration examples, mostly in the form of drawing. In one example, students were asked to work independently on a worksheet that discussed the components of a healthy diet. Students were asked to draw some of their favorite foods (many included pizza, ice cream, coffee, soda and french fries) inside the lines of an outline of a person using colored pencils and markers. On this same sheet, students were asked to draw what they feel is a healthy and balanced day’s worth of meals. Additionally in my host classroom, students are asked once in awhile to draw pictures to accompany their writing (usually the more creative writing pieces). Lastly, students received a series of lessons about germs. They each then created their own physical models of what germs look like. These models currently hang on the ceiling from pieces of string. The germ models were created using pipe cleaners, tin foil, cotton balls, buttons, googly eyes and glue.
Q2) Was there a Big Idea or theme used? If so describe. Were students working with narrative, observation, imagination, and / or visual thinking?
R2) With regard to the coloring and drawing components of the art integration lessons I’ve seen this semester, I do not feel there was a strong theme or big idea in mind. I do feel in this case though that students were certainly working with narrative, observation (observing facts/thoughts from their story and turning it into a physical representation) , imagination (creating fictional characters and settings) and visual thinking (envisioning their artwork and having a plan for which to create it), which certainly constitutes in my opinion as a quality interdisciplinary learning unit that incorporates art. I believe that the drawings which students create to accompany their writings are used as a way for students to visually represent their thinking during a period where their writing and spelling techniques are still in the developmental stages. As for the physical germ models, I think the Big Idea here was meeting a science standard and learning about germs, what they look like under the microscope and why germs/bacteria are normal and in many cases necessary. Students in this case were likely working with observation (observing pictures and other visual images of germs), imagination (creating their own unique germ with attributes that they want to include) and visual thinking (visualizing and planning germ model before and while creating it).
Q3) What suggestions would you have for integration and interdisciplinary learning for this unit or lesson you observed? Try to think how you could make the learning more meaningful, connected, and deeper. Be specific.
R3) With regard to the germ unit, I think having students create a story to go along with their germ may be a good idea to deepen content knowledge and make the germ models more personally relevant to students. What kind of germ is this? Where did it come from? What’s its main purpose? Creating a story or report about their model may help form more connections for students. With regard to student’s creating pictures to go along with student writing and the health worksheet, I think publishing that artwork with the writing portion is a good way to motivate students to give valiant effort and create something that is memorable and that they are proud of. Another suggestion for improving this activity could be to have students draw a series of pictures that tell a loose story first and then find the correct words to create a written story that reflect the pictures afterward. Students may have an easier time finding their voice and communicating their messages this way.
Q1)What form of arts integration or interdisciplinary learning units have you observed? In what ways were the visual forms investigated, learned, discussed, or produced in the classroom?
R1)I am currently spending my field experience this semester in a third grade classroom at Lee Elementary School. In field thus far, I’ve seen a few art integration examples, mostly in the form of drawing. In one example, students were asked to work independently on a worksheet that discussed the components of a healthy diet. Students were asked to draw some of their favorite foods (many included pizza, ice cream, coffee, soda and french fries) inside the lines of an outline of a person using colored pencils and markers. On this same sheet, students were asked to draw what they feel is a healthy and balanced day’s worth of meals. Additionally in my host classroom, students are asked once in awhile to draw pictures to accompany their writing (usually the more creative writing pieces). Lastly, students received a series of lessons about germs. They each then created their own physical models of what germs look like. These models currently hang on the ceiling from pieces of string. The germ models were created using pipe cleaners, tin foil, cotton balls, buttons, googly eyes and glue.
Q2) Was there a Big Idea or theme used? If so describe. Were students working with narrative, observation, imagination, and / or visual thinking?
R2) With regard to the coloring and drawing components of the art integration lessons I’ve seen this semester, I do not feel there was a strong theme or big idea in mind. I do feel in this case though that students were certainly working with narrative, observation (observing facts/thoughts from their story and turning it into a physical representation) , imagination (creating fictional characters and settings) and visual thinking (envisioning their artwork and having a plan for which to create it), which certainly constitutes in my opinion as a quality interdisciplinary learning unit that incorporates art. I believe that the drawings which students create to accompany their writings are used as a way for students to visually represent their thinking during a period where their writing and spelling techniques are still in the developmental stages. As for the physical germ models, I think the Big Idea here was meeting a science standard and learning about germs, what they look like under the microscope and why germs/bacteria are normal and in many cases necessary. Students in this case were likely working with observation (observing pictures and other visual images of germs), imagination (creating their own unique germ with attributes that they want to include) and visual thinking (visualizing and planning germ model before and while creating it).
Q3) What suggestions would you have for integration and interdisciplinary learning for this unit or lesson you observed? Try to think how you could make the learning more meaningful, connected, and deeper. Be specific.
R3) With regard to the germ unit, I think having students create a story to go along with their germ may be a good idea to deepen content knowledge and make the germ models more personally relevant to students. What kind of germ is this? Where did it come from? What’s its main purpose? Creating a story or report about their model may help form more connections for students. With regard to student’s creating pictures to go along with student writing and the health worksheet, I think publishing that artwork with the writing portion is a good way to motivate students to give valiant effort and create something that is memorable and that they are proud of. Another suggestion for improving this activity could be to have students draw a series of pictures that tell a loose story first and then find the correct words to create a written story that reflect the pictures afterward. Students may have an easier time finding their voice and communicating their messages this way.
Art Classroom Field Reflection
Q1) The content of the lesson, written and spoken objectives, and resources used:
R1)The art teacher at Lee focused the particular third grade lesson that I was able to observe on physical form concepts. She began the lesson by reviewing what students had learned during the previous class period about sculptures. She reminded students that sculptures are meant to be viewed from every angle. She explained what “in the round” means to students: either a relief sculpture or free standing sculpture that is meant to be viewed from all sides and is surrounded by space. The teacher asked students to imagine a place where the sculptures that they were in the process of creating would be appropriate to display when finished. She also reviewed the purpose for public sculptures with students: to honor a person, historical event, theme/idea, evoke response, or enrich viewer. The instructor then showed a brief youtube video on the smart board about sculptures. She also showed some google image examples of different sculptures during the lesson to ignite idea and provide examples. She then asked students who had made significant progress in their sculpture creating to show the class their work in progress (which was very exciting for students). The sculptures utilized brightly painted, very solid, firm styrofoam (probably used to ship parts of something or electronics) as the base. One student had created a detailed drive in movie theater. Another had created a space ship. She then allowed students to move from where they were seated at the carpet to seats around the room to continue working on their sculptures until the end of class time.
Q2) The teacher, her / his teaching strategies and format / process of the lesson as presented:
R2) The teacher did a lot of reviewing of information. She seemed to take an approach of quality over quantity. The main concepts were clearly presented multiple times in multiple formats. The teacher asked for student participation either by calling on hands or asking students to stand up and demonstrate. She asked questions and brought up topics during the lesson that fostered critical thinking and class discussions. Students were encouraged and motivated to think independently and outside of the box. The teacher connected the lesson to student’s personal experiences and prior knowledge. I would describe much of what the art teacher did during her lesson as constructivist teaching.
Q3) Student engagement of the lesson, classroom atmosphere, and environment:
R3) Students were, for the most part, extremely interested in the lesson and passionate about the art they were learning about and creating. They were talkative to one another during the lesson but mainly the discussion pertained to the pieces they were creating and their excitement to share their budding ideas with classmates. The classroom atmosphere was one that seemed to foster creative, original thoughts and works. The atmosphere was also a very nonjudgemental space. Students were encouraged to share ideas and the teacher was encouraging of all the input shared. The environment was inviting and vibrant. Pieces of completed as well as developing art were hung and displayed all around the space.
Q4) Classroom behavior management:
R4) Students were fairly respectful of the art teacher and there was not too much misbehavior and side conversations going on during the class. The art teacher asked students to move away from the group in a specified, isolated spot if they misbehaved during her mini lesson. Students had specified seats on the carpet during the mini lesson but once students were permitted to get out materials and work on their art pieces, students were given the opportunity to sit wherever they wanted and freely walk around the room selecting materials unmonitored and chatting with friends. While this certainly allowed for students to work freely and creatively with minimal restrictions, the room became a bit chaotic. Materials were scattered about, students were grabbing too many materials in order to ensure they’d have enough, talking was loud and students got a bit rambunctious at times. I liked that there was an element of freedom and expression and unrestricted creativity but there certainly could have been more of a management element going on that perhaps would have made the work time more structured and productive.
Q5) Compare the art classroom to the regular classroom in regards to the teaching strategies, lesson presentation, student engagement, classroom atmosphere, environment, and behavior management.
R5) Teaching strategies in the art classroom were fairly similar to how they are implemented in the regular classroom. Both strategies rely on prior knowledge, making connections to life experiences, drawing on resources for examples, allowing for structured classroom discussion, repetition of information and making the material as interesting and relevant for students as possible. The presentation was also quite similar in both scenarios. The students receive a semi-structured lesson in the beginning and then are given the opportunity to work independently on what the lesson covered. On engagement, students seemed more engaged during the art lesson than they typically do during a regular classroom lesson. Perhaps the fact that art lessons are more rare makes the material more interesting for students or the fact that students were perhaps more excited about the idea to create their own sculpture than they typically are about a math or science lesson and it's implementation. The classroom atmosphere in art allows for more freedom and acceptance of thoughts, ideas and opinions. The regular classroom isn’t quite as accepting. Students are taught in the regular classroom to find the “right” answer for the most part, while in art, the right answer is whatever the student wants it to be. The environment of the art classroom is a lot less structured. Materials are scattered and students have more freedom of choice to do what they want when they want. The regular classroom is far more structured. Materials are much more organized, students sit where they've been assigned and side discussions are not allowed. What makes the environment of these two classes similar is that while the art class displayed art around the room, the regular classroom displays things like writing samples, spelling words, math facts and such around the room. Both (via the environment) utilize the space to express what’s being focused on in said space. Behavior management in the regular classroom is much more detailed, defined, structured and enforced. Students are threatened with the loss of recess as punishment and are reprimanded verbally for misbehavior and side conversations. Students also often gain or lose points throughout the day for various behavioral reasons. In art, the behavior management was minimal. Virtually no threats were made and no points were added or deducted for misbehavior. If a student misbehaved, they were asked to stop. If it continued, they were asked to move away from the group.
R1)The art teacher at Lee focused the particular third grade lesson that I was able to observe on physical form concepts. She began the lesson by reviewing what students had learned during the previous class period about sculptures. She reminded students that sculptures are meant to be viewed from every angle. She explained what “in the round” means to students: either a relief sculpture or free standing sculpture that is meant to be viewed from all sides and is surrounded by space. The teacher asked students to imagine a place where the sculptures that they were in the process of creating would be appropriate to display when finished. She also reviewed the purpose for public sculptures with students: to honor a person, historical event, theme/idea, evoke response, or enrich viewer. The instructor then showed a brief youtube video on the smart board about sculptures. She also showed some google image examples of different sculptures during the lesson to ignite idea and provide examples. She then asked students who had made significant progress in their sculpture creating to show the class their work in progress (which was very exciting for students). The sculptures utilized brightly painted, very solid, firm styrofoam (probably used to ship parts of something or electronics) as the base. One student had created a detailed drive in movie theater. Another had created a space ship. She then allowed students to move from where they were seated at the carpet to seats around the room to continue working on their sculptures until the end of class time.
Q2) The teacher, her / his teaching strategies and format / process of the lesson as presented:
R2) The teacher did a lot of reviewing of information. She seemed to take an approach of quality over quantity. The main concepts were clearly presented multiple times in multiple formats. The teacher asked for student participation either by calling on hands or asking students to stand up and demonstrate. She asked questions and brought up topics during the lesson that fostered critical thinking and class discussions. Students were encouraged and motivated to think independently and outside of the box. The teacher connected the lesson to student’s personal experiences and prior knowledge. I would describe much of what the art teacher did during her lesson as constructivist teaching.
Q3) Student engagement of the lesson, classroom atmosphere, and environment:
R3) Students were, for the most part, extremely interested in the lesson and passionate about the art they were learning about and creating. They were talkative to one another during the lesson but mainly the discussion pertained to the pieces they were creating and their excitement to share their budding ideas with classmates. The classroom atmosphere was one that seemed to foster creative, original thoughts and works. The atmosphere was also a very nonjudgemental space. Students were encouraged to share ideas and the teacher was encouraging of all the input shared. The environment was inviting and vibrant. Pieces of completed as well as developing art were hung and displayed all around the space.
Q4) Classroom behavior management:
R4) Students were fairly respectful of the art teacher and there was not too much misbehavior and side conversations going on during the class. The art teacher asked students to move away from the group in a specified, isolated spot if they misbehaved during her mini lesson. Students had specified seats on the carpet during the mini lesson but once students were permitted to get out materials and work on their art pieces, students were given the opportunity to sit wherever they wanted and freely walk around the room selecting materials unmonitored and chatting with friends. While this certainly allowed for students to work freely and creatively with minimal restrictions, the room became a bit chaotic. Materials were scattered about, students were grabbing too many materials in order to ensure they’d have enough, talking was loud and students got a bit rambunctious at times. I liked that there was an element of freedom and expression and unrestricted creativity but there certainly could have been more of a management element going on that perhaps would have made the work time more structured and productive.
Q5) Compare the art classroom to the regular classroom in regards to the teaching strategies, lesson presentation, student engagement, classroom atmosphere, environment, and behavior management.
R5) Teaching strategies in the art classroom were fairly similar to how they are implemented in the regular classroom. Both strategies rely on prior knowledge, making connections to life experiences, drawing on resources for examples, allowing for structured classroom discussion, repetition of information and making the material as interesting and relevant for students as possible. The presentation was also quite similar in both scenarios. The students receive a semi-structured lesson in the beginning and then are given the opportunity to work independently on what the lesson covered. On engagement, students seemed more engaged during the art lesson than they typically do during a regular classroom lesson. Perhaps the fact that art lessons are more rare makes the material more interesting for students or the fact that students were perhaps more excited about the idea to create their own sculpture than they typically are about a math or science lesson and it's implementation. The classroom atmosphere in art allows for more freedom and acceptance of thoughts, ideas and opinions. The regular classroom isn’t quite as accepting. Students are taught in the regular classroom to find the “right” answer for the most part, while in art, the right answer is whatever the student wants it to be. The environment of the art classroom is a lot less structured. Materials are scattered and students have more freedom of choice to do what they want when they want. The regular classroom is far more structured. Materials are much more organized, students sit where they've been assigned and side discussions are not allowed. What makes the environment of these two classes similar is that while the art class displayed art around the room, the regular classroom displays things like writing samples, spelling words, math facts and such around the room. Both (via the environment) utilize the space to express what’s being focused on in said space. Behavior management in the regular classroom is much more detailed, defined, structured and enforced. Students are threatened with the loss of recess as punishment and are reprimanded verbally for misbehavior and side conversations. Students also often gain or lose points throughout the day for various behavioral reasons. In art, the behavior management was minimal. Virtually no threats were made and no points were added or deducted for misbehavior. If a student misbehaved, they were asked to stop. If it continued, they were asked to move away from the group.