Classroom Observations
Teaching Activity Observation
Teaching Activity the day of observation
Students had the option to either work on their shadow puppet characters and scenery or they could create wooden frames to be used as a stage for their show.
How did the teacher plan this activity?
The teacher planned this activity based on what they will be doing for their drama art classes next year. They will be learning about Shakespear and will be able to take their project made now for visual arts and use it later to develop their knowledge on theater.
Activity Objective
Making stages for a shadow puppet show, made of wood using table saws, drills, and screws.
Activity Outcomes
A square frame will be made with support from behind. It will be large enough that their puppets will appear nicely, and sturdy enough that it will stay still during their show.
What teaching methods were used to instruct?
Demonstration with verbal instructions were done at the beginning of class for students creating characters and settings. Hands on step by step instructions were done by me for the students working to make stages.
How was learning or success measured?
Success with this project can be viewed with casting light on characters to see how their results came out. When students put their shadow puppets in front of the screen they can see what they may still want to change or they may feel they have done a great job. For stages, students who had a stable, even wooden frame were those who successfully completed the assignment.
Describe the level of class engagement.
Students seemed more engaged outside with the woodworking. I believe this was because they had the option to try something new. All students had previously spent time cutting out characters and chose to try out a new thing. I find that when students are forced to do the same thing for too long some of them will loose interest.
Other Observations
Students wanted to play around with the tools, and I had to remind them that they could not. Students inside with the characters were less likely to be fooling around, and also were using less dangerous tools.
Vapa Standards Addressed
Identify scale
Identify the illusion of space
Develope skills in at least three different media
Interpret reality and fantasy
Compare art of different time periods
How were they met?
Learning about the illusion of space, with how depth from the light source will change how the characters and setting of the play. Working with multimedia sources to create one overall project. Interpreting reality and fantasy with coming up with story telling narratives, and connecting their interpretations with the history of storytelling and Shakespearean theater.
Did lesson go beyond Vapa Standards. If so, Describe
This lesson went over many VAPA standards and integrated them in an interesting way to cover many areas of focus into one larger project, which I feel is very successful in its efficency with time and curriculum.
Social Responsibility and Arts Equity Observation
California’s statewide arts education coalition Create CA states that all students deserve equal access to a high quality arts education regardless of race, culture, language, religion, national origin, place of residence, socioeconomic or legal states and gender. I began interning at Santa Monica Alternative School House, also known as SMASH, two weeks ago and I have been focused on observing how bias can unconsciously find its way into our classrooms. SMASH is a K-8 public school in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. They used project based learning to come to conclusion’s as opposed to most schools who use inquiry based learning. This allows them to gain knowledge through the exploration of working as opposed to working towards a clear goal to answer a question. Through creating their projects students come to their own conclusions’ about things and some believe this method will stick with the students stronger then clear cut memorization. In my few weeks at SMASH I have began to take notice of what bias is and how it impacts the classroom. Rachel Watts, a multidisciplinary arts educator, wrote an article called “Interrupting Bias in Arts Education” and explained how bias is something we as humans can not avoid all together, but we can become aware of how it affects leadership and working with diverse students. Our brains filter data and make decisions based on importance and correctness to determine what we need to focus on. Most biases are unconscious or implicit, meaning we are unaware that we are even doing it. I have noticed in my classroom that my teacher seems to always be rushing. Rushing is something that leads into bias because it is causing our brains to need to focus on only the most important things. At times my teacher will simplify the assignment or quickly come up with material in order to give a short lecture to the class before they begin working. This does not allow the teacher enough time to carefully look at what she is really presenting to the class. In our class discussion today I noticed that each student was able to identify some kind of bias in their classrooms. Some students focused on gender, punishment, ignoring certain students, Western art focus, and ableness. These things made me reflect back on my own experiences with a new understanding as I try and identify biases in my own classroom.
Classroom Observation/First Impressions
Sounds: Children talking and yelling while on their break as I arrived. Lots of dialogue between students and teachers with students.
Smell: Glue, artsupplies, books
Faculty Body Language: Welcoming and comfortable
Student Body Language: Some more shy then others, all seemed relatively comfortable
Classroom Furnishing: Several tables with chairs and a large rug in the middle. Also different boards and projectors to watch videos, write and do demonstrations on.
Interactions: Children spoke among each other and played around with each other.
Collaboration: Students were expected to all listen and have dialogue about the projects as they are intorduced the topics.
Behavior: Student behavior varied, some were more and less responsive to directions and others.
Media: Videos played to talk about different artists.
Interdisciplinary: Students worked with the idea of size and scale mixed with semiotic ideas like color and composition.
Making Materials: Glue, yarn, oil pastels, exacto knifes, cardstock, etc.
Individuality: Students were allowed to work alone or with a partner, and more rarely a group of three.
Instruction: Every class started off with instructions form the moment students walked in the door, and were explained all the rules and supplies and then were realeased to work and be assisted as needed.
Questions: How do you manage to work in cleaning time?
Failure: I did not see any examples of failure as I worked with the students the first time.
Competition: Some students are eager to begin and work to do their best but they did not seem to be competing with each other but simply enjoying their time.
Art Display: Students and famous artists work displayed on walls.
Rigor: Not very difficult, urged to work on projects but most students are easy to inspire to work.
