November 12, 2013
Mel's Lesson
Big Idea - Imagination
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A Brief Overview
Reflections
6
Mel was able to structure around the class and got everyone to be involved in the lesson. Although she chose people to participate rather than having people volunteer, she got the class to respond to one another. She also found interesting ways to present her lesson. She incorporated small activities and personal photos, creating an interesting and exciting learning environment. The fact that there were supplies set out and even damp rags for the students to clean their hands while they were working was not only considerate but possibly necessary with perhaps a child with OCD. Mel did have an excellent, caring tone of voice that was comforting, yet the way she presented herself may have been more appropriate for younger elementary classes. Being in fifth grade, I think some students might be offended or just annoyed by some of the remarks, such as "Now all eyes on Ms. Mel". I believe addressing them more like adults would not negatively affect the learning environment. Explaining that they are growing up and have responsibilities would better their behavior. It would show that you believe in them and, with higher expectations, decrease the amount of wasted time.
7
As I said before, bringing in personal photos and having small activities extremely engage children, and adults for that matter. When an individual knows that you have been somewhere, chances are they will have more questions. Seeing pictures of random subject matter from random places will most likely not mean much to a child. When they see their teacher in the picture next to that subject matter, they will be much more likely to become engaged, possibly thinking "I wonder what she did there." or "I wish I could go there.". The place becomes real and they are more able to visualize it something real. Likewise, If they see something from their own community, they will become more engaged. Creating lesson material that is relatable is important because it is one of the best ways to link new information.
8
Mel gave great examples how there are different types of architecture, not only cross-culturally but within their own community. Not only were these examples relatable, she went over all the different structures and had the class compare them to one another to visualize the variety in which architecture can be constructed. There were several terms that were brought up during the lesson that would have made it more difficult to grasp. Spiral, color, nature, lines, and shape were brought up during the instruction. Although it was good to describe the architecture in depth, it would have been more successful to focus in on fewer vocabulary words on different levels. Perhaps focusing only on shapes and color, Mel could have led the students to explain that Hundertwasser was devoted to incorporating nature in to his architecture. With fewer vocabulary words, she still would have been able to explain that point, and she would have been able to explain that by adding certain colors, greens, browns, and blues, Hundertwasser was able to express his passion for nature. This would have deepened their understanding of color and how it is able to affect the meaning of an artwork.
9
Because there were so many vocabulary words, it was difficult to understand what was being taught. We were learning about imagination, then architecture, then spirals, shapes, and lines, then nature and color. Because we focused on so many things, the objectives were unclear. There was a heavy focus on shape and imagination was carried throughout the lesson and revisited at various times, however the activity did not incorporate some of the information that we were discussing during the instruction, like nature. Likewise, the concepts were not revisited or pointed out and there was no feedback among the students about the works made in class. There was only a description of the piece from the creator of the piece and feedback from the teacher. Like I said before, cutting down on the vocabulary and focusing just on "shape and color and how they could be used to convey our thoughts and express our imagination, as Hundertwasser did". In doing this, there would be clear objectives. The class should know exactly what they should be learning and what should be incorporated in to their artworks. Cutting down would also allow more time to either go more in depth with the instruction or give more time for feedback. With a deeper understanding of just two concepts, they would more than likely be brought up in critique.
Mel was able to structure around the class and got everyone to be involved in the lesson. Although she chose people to participate rather than having people volunteer, she got the class to respond to one another. She also found interesting ways to present her lesson. She incorporated small activities and personal photos, creating an interesting and exciting learning environment. The fact that there were supplies set out and even damp rags for the students to clean their hands while they were working was not only considerate but possibly necessary with perhaps a child with OCD. Mel did have an excellent, caring tone of voice that was comforting, yet the way she presented herself may have been more appropriate for younger elementary classes. Being in fifth grade, I think some students might be offended or just annoyed by some of the remarks, such as "Now all eyes on Ms. Mel". I believe addressing them more like adults would not negatively affect the learning environment. Explaining that they are growing up and have responsibilities would better their behavior. It would show that you believe in them and, with higher expectations, decrease the amount of wasted time.
7
As I said before, bringing in personal photos and having small activities extremely engage children, and adults for that matter. When an individual knows that you have been somewhere, chances are they will have more questions. Seeing pictures of random subject matter from random places will most likely not mean much to a child. When they see their teacher in the picture next to that subject matter, they will be much more likely to become engaged, possibly thinking "I wonder what she did there." or "I wish I could go there.". The place becomes real and they are more able to visualize it something real. Likewise, If they see something from their own community, they will become more engaged. Creating lesson material that is relatable is important because it is one of the best ways to link new information.
8
Mel gave great examples how there are different types of architecture, not only cross-culturally but within their own community. Not only were these examples relatable, she went over all the different structures and had the class compare them to one another to visualize the variety in which architecture can be constructed. There were several terms that were brought up during the lesson that would have made it more difficult to grasp. Spiral, color, nature, lines, and shape were brought up during the instruction. Although it was good to describe the architecture in depth, it would have been more successful to focus in on fewer vocabulary words on different levels. Perhaps focusing only on shapes and color, Mel could have led the students to explain that Hundertwasser was devoted to incorporating nature in to his architecture. With fewer vocabulary words, she still would have been able to explain that point, and she would have been able to explain that by adding certain colors, greens, browns, and blues, Hundertwasser was able to express his passion for nature. This would have deepened their understanding of color and how it is able to affect the meaning of an artwork.
9
Because there were so many vocabulary words, it was difficult to understand what was being taught. We were learning about imagination, then architecture, then spirals, shapes, and lines, then nature and color. Because we focused on so many things, the objectives were unclear. There was a heavy focus on shape and imagination was carried throughout the lesson and revisited at various times, however the activity did not incorporate some of the information that we were discussing during the instruction, like nature. Likewise, the concepts were not revisited or pointed out and there was no feedback among the students about the works made in class. There was only a description of the piece from the creator of the piece and feedback from the teacher. Like I said before, cutting down on the vocabulary and focusing just on "shape and color and how they could be used to convey our thoughts and express our imagination, as Hundertwasser did". In doing this, there would be clear objectives. The class should know exactly what they should be learning and what should be incorporated in to their artworks. Cutting down would also allow more time to either go more in depth with the instruction or give more time for feedback. With a deeper understanding of just two concepts, they would more than likely be brought up in critique.