Setting and Context.
This page addresses and describes the students that I worked with and the setting where our meetings occurred. Who? What? Where? When? This page provides a sense of the students; interests, background, age, ambitions. This page also describes the activities the students engage in during the experience, but is addressed in more detail later in the portfolio.
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Art Experiences: Lesson One Link
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Cooper Home and Fossil Ridge offers a class for high school students with disabilities who are unable to live alone but are independent in motion, thought, and creativity. They would attend our class on Monday afternoons, every other week, from 12:30 - 2:00 PM. Alison Cope acted as our supervisor, and provided us with constructive feedback and shared techniques to improve our abilities as teachers. Cooper Home and Fossil Ridge was a small group, with a wide variety of abilities, personalities, aesthetic preferences, and artistic backgrounds. However, they all shared a desire to have a positive experience, and were open to developing personal connections with Anna and I, as well as their classmates. Through this collective effort, they presented an opportunity for us to grow as art teachers and group facilitators, as well as the opportunity to share our passion with them. The students we worked with were:
Student #1: This student had little interest in art, and was generally unsure of what to create. She’d often, and confidently state ""I'm not drawing today." or "No, I don't want to...". At first, I would ask her to "Please give it a try, you might end up liking it...", but as the semester went on I discovered that she would engage in the lesson only when she saw other students having fun with the project. If she felt like she was missing out on a good time she would lock into the activity. Her involvement also depended strongly on the personal relevance of the topic, often just sitting down with her and talking about her and my shared interests was enough to make her feel good about being in the classroom and being involved in the lesson. Although art wasn't her passion, the work she created had an identifiable style that made it unique, and was consistently one of my favorites.
Student #2: This student had clear experience in art. He had specific subject matter that he liked to draw, and established methods that he worked within. He was quiet, reserved, and it was trying for him to stray from his engrained routine. He cared deeply about drawing and the end product. Throughout the semester we learned how important is was to adjust to different artists' working habits, but also to navigate the way people handle stress and new tasks differently. He responded well to positive feedback, and gentle guidance. He was one of the most skilled artists in the class, but if you pushed him too far outside of his comfort zone, he would crumble. Our goal as instructors was to show him the value in taking risks, working in uncharted waters, and discovering all the wonderful surprises that exploration could offer, while also being mindful of his personal needs.
Student #3: This student was non-verbal and had physical ticks that occurred uncontrollably. However, he used art to communicate his thoughts and ideas, and interact with the world around him in a positive way. He was our most skilled art student. While conversing with his aid, we discovered that he chose Cooper Home and Fossil Ridge specifically because they offer art programs. Art making was a source of pride for himself and his family, and the level of care and enthusiasm he worked with showed in his artwork. He was also, always willing to share his artwork during critiques, despite his inability to speak. The class always enjoyed seeing what he created, and he helped foster appreciation for art making among his peers.
Student #4: Did not identify as an artist, but was open to new experiences and curious of what art making could bring into her life. She took this class with her friends, and they all shared a similar identity in regards to their involvement in the course. Through pre-assessment in the introductory lesson, we discovered that she wanted to work with watercolor at some point. The first few lessons were centered on drawing, which caused her to be less enthusiastic about being in the class. However, once we began the third lesson, which introduced watercolor, and started to make a real effort to include personal relevance to each activity, she flourished.
Student #5: Was one of Student #4's friends. They sat together everyday of class, and they conversed appropriately, but were not always excited for each lesson. Like many of the other students, depending on the topic, the type of medium being used, whether or not the subject held personal value, all greatly impacted what kind of student she would be that day. However her active involvement in the lessons mirrored Anna's and my growing abilities as instructors, to create lessons with personal relevance and artistic freedom. She also responded well to activities that were choice based, where she could decide which medium she would use and what subject matter she wanted to create. By the end of the course she was one of the most enthusiastic students in regards to art making, assessment, and studio involvement.
Student #6: Was the third musketeer, of Students #4 & #5. Like them, she did not identify as an artist, but was receptive to having a good time. She was respectful, worked well with her peers, and had strong verbal communication skills. The lesson where she really connected with the course, was lesson #4, which involved the implementation of listening to music while painting. She was so excited to pick song choices, and shared her love of Taylor Swift with everyone. She highlighted to us, that including music into work-time provides entertainment, excitement, personal connection to the activity, and made the classroom environment more pleasant as a whole. She was very inviting to talk to, and it was exciting to see her enthusiasm for art grow throughout the semester.
Student #7: Loved getting to know about Anna and I. It was sometimes difficult to get her to participate fully in the activity, but after we sat down with her and made personal connections through light-hearted conversation, it would energize her into working on the project again. This became part of our routine, each lesson, but it was really nice to converse with someone who was genuinely interested in us, and had a lot of fun incites to share. She was never distracting or disruptive, instead her conversations added energy to the activity and the culture of the classroom overall. As instructors our self-imposed challenge was to formulate questions and comments that could utilize her quick wit and charisma to enhance critiques and creative problem solving through art making.
Student #8: This student was consistently positive from the first lesson to the last. She was very excited to be involved with the activities and be a part of the group. She helped to bring a kind and caring energy to the classroom. As a teacher, it can be easy to unintentionally pay attention to the students that act out of line, so Anna and I made it a point to make time, to connect with every student, in each lesson. She was a joy to share this experience with.
Throughout the semester we engaged the students in a variety of art experiences; using a range of materials and processes. The mediums used ranged from drawing tools: such as crayons, markers, colored pencils, graphite, and progressed into painting with watercolor and acrylic. We sought to compound their learning by beginning with foundational drawing skills and ideation techniques, and progressed each lesson to expand upon them. Through exploration, students developed unique styles over the course of the semester. They discovered how to express this style in a variety of mediums, and creating art helped them connect with their own personalities and inner thoughts. This connection also helped create a great classroom community, where everyone was respected and appreciated. Students became much more social and comfortable to express themselves as the semester went on, and as the projects lent themselves to a more choice-based curriculum, students began to identify themselves as artists and creators.
In regards to the layout of the room, the class was organized into two distinct halves. One side was the studio, which was specifically designed for art making, and the other half of the room is utilized mostly for lecture and storage. For the most part we stayed on the studio side of the classroom, only using the lecture portion to play music through the overhead speakers. In the studio, we would prepare each table with the necessary tools and equipment to participate in the activity.
As the semester progressed, and the students developed a familiarity with a variety of mediums, we arranged the tables to serve as choice-based work stations that the students could experiment with mixed media, and have the artistic freedom to approach the task in multiple mediums. This improved student involvement and productivity, enhanced intrinsic value, and promoted the exploration of combining techniques. Choice-based opportunities also created a more organic learning environment, that encouraged students to share discoveries and kept them engaged in the activity.
Student #1: This student had little interest in art, and was generally unsure of what to create. She’d often, and confidently state ""I'm not drawing today." or "No, I don't want to...". At first, I would ask her to "Please give it a try, you might end up liking it...", but as the semester went on I discovered that she would engage in the lesson only when she saw other students having fun with the project. If she felt like she was missing out on a good time she would lock into the activity. Her involvement also depended strongly on the personal relevance of the topic, often just sitting down with her and talking about her and my shared interests was enough to make her feel good about being in the classroom and being involved in the lesson. Although art wasn't her passion, the work she created had an identifiable style that made it unique, and was consistently one of my favorites.
Student #2: This student had clear experience in art. He had specific subject matter that he liked to draw, and established methods that he worked within. He was quiet, reserved, and it was trying for him to stray from his engrained routine. He cared deeply about drawing and the end product. Throughout the semester we learned how important is was to adjust to different artists' working habits, but also to navigate the way people handle stress and new tasks differently. He responded well to positive feedback, and gentle guidance. He was one of the most skilled artists in the class, but if you pushed him too far outside of his comfort zone, he would crumble. Our goal as instructors was to show him the value in taking risks, working in uncharted waters, and discovering all the wonderful surprises that exploration could offer, while also being mindful of his personal needs.
Student #3: This student was non-verbal and had physical ticks that occurred uncontrollably. However, he used art to communicate his thoughts and ideas, and interact with the world around him in a positive way. He was our most skilled art student. While conversing with his aid, we discovered that he chose Cooper Home and Fossil Ridge specifically because they offer art programs. Art making was a source of pride for himself and his family, and the level of care and enthusiasm he worked with showed in his artwork. He was also, always willing to share his artwork during critiques, despite his inability to speak. The class always enjoyed seeing what he created, and he helped foster appreciation for art making among his peers.
Student #4: Did not identify as an artist, but was open to new experiences and curious of what art making could bring into her life. She took this class with her friends, and they all shared a similar identity in regards to their involvement in the course. Through pre-assessment in the introductory lesson, we discovered that she wanted to work with watercolor at some point. The first few lessons were centered on drawing, which caused her to be less enthusiastic about being in the class. However, once we began the third lesson, which introduced watercolor, and started to make a real effort to include personal relevance to each activity, she flourished.
Student #5: Was one of Student #4's friends. They sat together everyday of class, and they conversed appropriately, but were not always excited for each lesson. Like many of the other students, depending on the topic, the type of medium being used, whether or not the subject held personal value, all greatly impacted what kind of student she would be that day. However her active involvement in the lessons mirrored Anna's and my growing abilities as instructors, to create lessons with personal relevance and artistic freedom. She also responded well to activities that were choice based, where she could decide which medium she would use and what subject matter she wanted to create. By the end of the course she was one of the most enthusiastic students in regards to art making, assessment, and studio involvement.
Student #6: Was the third musketeer, of Students #4 & #5. Like them, she did not identify as an artist, but was receptive to having a good time. She was respectful, worked well with her peers, and had strong verbal communication skills. The lesson where she really connected with the course, was lesson #4, which involved the implementation of listening to music while painting. She was so excited to pick song choices, and shared her love of Taylor Swift with everyone. She highlighted to us, that including music into work-time provides entertainment, excitement, personal connection to the activity, and made the classroom environment more pleasant as a whole. She was very inviting to talk to, and it was exciting to see her enthusiasm for art grow throughout the semester.
Student #7: Loved getting to know about Anna and I. It was sometimes difficult to get her to participate fully in the activity, but after we sat down with her and made personal connections through light-hearted conversation, it would energize her into working on the project again. This became part of our routine, each lesson, but it was really nice to converse with someone who was genuinely interested in us, and had a lot of fun incites to share. She was never distracting or disruptive, instead her conversations added energy to the activity and the culture of the classroom overall. As instructors our self-imposed challenge was to formulate questions and comments that could utilize her quick wit and charisma to enhance critiques and creative problem solving through art making.
Student #8: This student was consistently positive from the first lesson to the last. She was very excited to be involved with the activities and be a part of the group. She helped to bring a kind and caring energy to the classroom. As a teacher, it can be easy to unintentionally pay attention to the students that act out of line, so Anna and I made it a point to make time, to connect with every student, in each lesson. She was a joy to share this experience with.
Throughout the semester we engaged the students in a variety of art experiences; using a range of materials and processes. The mediums used ranged from drawing tools: such as crayons, markers, colored pencils, graphite, and progressed into painting with watercolor and acrylic. We sought to compound their learning by beginning with foundational drawing skills and ideation techniques, and progressed each lesson to expand upon them. Through exploration, students developed unique styles over the course of the semester. They discovered how to express this style in a variety of mediums, and creating art helped them connect with their own personalities and inner thoughts. This connection also helped create a great classroom community, where everyone was respected and appreciated. Students became much more social and comfortable to express themselves as the semester went on, and as the projects lent themselves to a more choice-based curriculum, students began to identify themselves as artists and creators.
In regards to the layout of the room, the class was organized into two distinct halves. One side was the studio, which was specifically designed for art making, and the other half of the room is utilized mostly for lecture and storage. For the most part we stayed on the studio side of the classroom, only using the lecture portion to play music through the overhead speakers. In the studio, we would prepare each table with the necessary tools and equipment to participate in the activity.
As the semester progressed, and the students developed a familiarity with a variety of mediums, we arranged the tables to serve as choice-based work stations that the students could experiment with mixed media, and have the artistic freedom to approach the task in multiple mediums. This improved student involvement and productivity, enhanced intrinsic value, and promoted the exploration of combining techniques. Choice-based opportunities also created a more organic learning environment, that encouraged students to share discoveries and kept them engaged in the activity.
Overall, I was so impressed with the students willingness to invest their efforts, and time with us, regardless of the skill-level they entered the course with, there was a clear desire to gain something from sharing themselves with us, and each other. As teachers, and students in our own right, we sought to uncover in what ways they were inspired to pursue this course. What preconceived notions of art did they have, what deeper understandings could be uncovered, and how could these skills apply to other aspects of their lives? I know as first time teachers, Anna and I had our fair share of mistakes, and awkwardness due to inexperience, but the students all made an honest effort to support us as teachers, as we also made a clear effort to support them. Far and away, my favorite part of teaching this class, was getting to know the students personally. They all had so much to give, in their own unique ways, and it was such a blessing to be a part of their lives'. We all grew together, learned from our mistakes together, took chances, shared stories, hopes, goals, and shared discoveries. Through the course we all became much more effective about interacting with each other, and the world we share, with art making as the engine. I was so proud to be their instructor, and hope that they had a positive experience with the course and art making, and that they continue to engage with creative thinking, and partake in the joys art has to offer.