VII. Student Teaching Experience Reflection
What Went Well:
Our third lesson, almost in its entirety, went the best. When
creating the lesson, both Jenna and I had learned so much
more about structuring a lesson plan, the age group, and
how to structure class periods. This improvement in our third lesson really shows our own growth as teachers.
Even though the third lesson went arguably the best, each lesson had good moments and ideas that will be good for future use and instruction.
The mixed media exploration day was immensely successful. The students responded very well to this activity and the stations, they went above and beyond my expectations. Firstly, even though we didn’t require them to incorporate their knowledge of symbolism from the previous lessons many of them incorporated symbolism into their work. They also took risks in mixing materials and really seeing what the materials could do and without being prompted, many of the students took their artwork to each table and used more materials on them to create a more varied mixed media collage. Keeping the structure of the stations was also very successful, it gave students some structure and choice, and also helped in cleanup.
Some things that went well in lesson three were the Mad Scientist Worksheet, Pair Sharing, and the Best Words activity. The Mad scientist worksheet provided a strong connection to the collage project, and had students connect back to their collage project. It also was a great way to teach planning. Having students’ pair-share about their finished sculptures and how they connect with their collage as they finished at different rates turned out to work brilliantly. It gave the students who finished early something engaging and relevant to do, gave them an opportunity to practice talking about art and their artistic decisions, and recognize connections they made. The Best Words activity was great because it kept the kids moving and engaged, and gave each student an opportunity to practice talking about student art.
Another thing that went well over the course of the semester was Jenna’s and my ability to connect with the students. By the end of the semester, I really felt that Jenna and I had built solid relationships and knew each of our students pretty well, even in the short amount of time we had.
What I Learned:
One of the most concrete things I learned is simply how to structure a lesson plan. Going into
this semester I literally knew nothing about using standards, GLE’s, writing objectives, the
difference between an enduring understanding and an objective, nothing. In creating a unit and
lessons I was able to learn by doing, and while I can’t necessarily write “the best lesson plan
ever,” I can definitely write one. Looking back at the first lesson, it feels all blurry, not only
because it was at the beginning of the semester, but simply because we were learning to teach,
learning about our students, and basically just trying to keep everything together.
Another thing I knew going in but really learned this semester is that you have to KNOW YOUR STUDENTS. Getting to know my students was a gift in many ways. One it was just a privilege getting to know them, another, they taught me more about how kids think and learn than I could have made up going in to this semester. Knowing my students better also helped me learn to differentiate more specifically.
Before I began teaching this semester, I was taught to give students choice, and as a student I liked to be given choice. However providing choice as a teacher is a completely different situation. I learned how and when to offer my students choice, and I was able to see how positively it effected their mood and work.
What I would do differently:
There are quite a few things in the lesson that I would do differently.
While the day of mixed media exploration went great, I think it could have been very effective to have two days of mixed media exploration instead of one. The first day could have stayed the same, and then we could have made different prompts at each station incorporating parts of our symbolism lessons, thereby giving them more of an opportunity to practice symbolism in their art.
Also, within our lessons about symbolism, while it wasn’t necessarily lecturing, it was a class discussion, I think incorporating games or activities about symbolism would have been much better. It would have helped promote understanding of symbolism, and helped to develop more of an understanding on how to use symbolism in your own art.
Also, in the first and second lessons I would include more of an emphasis on planning and brainstorming. I would have like to have taught more about why it is important, and taught multiple different ways of planning.
In the collage project, one thing I would change is the requirement of using 2 or more materials, I would like them to use 3 or more materials, and clarify what we mean by “materials.” I would count gluing mixed media pieces as one material, not as each thing you glued on is one material.
Furthermore in assessments, the 3, 2, 1 reflection sheet was an ok idea, but I think it could be more effective. I would change it, maybe have a partner fill it out based on their interpretation, or make it more of an artist statement than list, and have them talk more about the symbolism they used. Also, The gallery walk was very successful, however it had a lot of sitting and listening. We had the students pair up, and take thirty seconds each to talk about the materials they used, their theme, and symbolism. Then we set up all the artwork facing art and each person got a chance to tell the class about their partner’s artwork, based on their own interpretation and what their partner told them. Afterwards, the artist would state anything they missed or answered questions. It may have been more successful to break up into two groups, or only share about a few of them, because while all of them were interested, it ended up being too long a time sitting and listening.
Some things I would change about the lesson three are the vocabulary game and their use of clay. In restructuring the Vocabulary game, I would post the terms on the board, and then have them in groups write what they think the definition is on a notecard, and then give them the real definition and have them write it in their sketchbook. When they use clay I would have Jenna and I MAKE SURE they are making found objects, not just little sculptures. The point is to make Found Object sculptures, and with the clay that idea got a little lost.
