M8U5A1

Thu Nguyen

Cohort 01/2016

M8U5A1

REFLECTION ON INTASC STANDARD 4

The two INTasc standard four and five were intentionally combined in one lesson called Digital versus Symmetrical Portrait. Portrait is one of the most popular topics in Visual Arts and there are many ways to introduce artist’s portraits to elementary students. Knowing that my third graders were in the middle of the ratio unit in mathematics, I developed this lesson in order to help them make connection between math and art, and to apply math concept in art.

Referring to AERO Visual Art standard

Standard reference is critical in developing a lesson. For this group age, AERO standard emphasizes the connections between the studies of art and art careers, in this particular case, photographer. On the other hand, students should understand and use principles of design, and one of these is symmetry. I’d like to bring my students to that level, to show them why they need some art skills in their real life and for their future. I didn’t want to burden students, especially those who struggled with math, by repeating the same concept. Using the different approach to address the ultimate purpose, it was to help them understand how symmetry concept is used in art.

Meaningful learning experience

To create a hook and an exciting learning experience, we spent the first period to explore about the digital portrait. Students took turn to take portraits of peers, to edit portraits, and to get ready for the printing these portraits. The motivation was that students knew they were working on their own portraits and therefore they were carefully in tiny details like how they looked, what their expressions were, and how to shoot a high quality portrait.

Accessible learning using mobile devices

Thanks to the currently convenient technology, my students explored digital portraits using the most up-to-date mobile devices of this age such as Ipad and Iphone. Unfortunately, the school I worked with had no such facility for teachers and students. Nevertheless, I really wanted to see it possible in my classroom by providing my own devices. There were, however, some concerns before hand if I violated the school policy or if the IT teacher should approach this skill. I still went ahead and tried this lesson with a belief that technology makes learning more personal and meaningful.

Teaching strategies

Tools of learning

In order to facilitate the concept and the skill, I used Ipad and Iphone as a tool of learning. Understanding the nature of the students in the digital age, I took this advantage to launch a lesson with mobile devices. It was evident that technology could transform the classroom dramatically. Experiencing a new way of learning, students became more exciting, more active, and therefore, they found learning interesting, even those who didn’t show their fill attention in this subject.

Considering Ratio 1:7

I was thinking about the ratio between devices and students but still confident to go ahead with this ratio. Ideally should it be 1:2. However, I didn’t have that luxury dream and my students understood our situation, so they showed their commitment by respecting turns and worked rather well together. There was only one case, as videoed, when student refused to participate in either group because he used to or liked to have one device for him. When being convinced that device was for learning, he finally chose to work with one group and it was him who shared at the end of the next lesson that working together was better for his learning.

Group-work-share

It turned out to be a good method when working under a restriction condition, 1:7, to nourish the teamwork and the collaboration among group members. The class was divided into two groups and each group worked with one device at their own pace. Students who had experience with the device helped those who had less or even no experience using smart devices. But everyone did like touching it, using it, and learning with it. I enjoyed seeing my students vote for the group leader and helped each other adjust the hair, the shoulders, the eyes, and even the smiles.

Tapping into the prior knowledge by using questions - Right is right strategy

As shown in the video, I began the lesson by announcing the topic of the day, and then asked students questions to check their prior knowledge. It was the moment I could estimate how interesting students would be for the rest of the period. I also explained the definition of key terms, asked students to repeat terms, and encouraged questions if any.

Clear instruction and expectations

As per my experience, even though there were ninety percent of students in the class understood the concept, it was necessary for the teacher to cover again for the rest ten percent who was still out of nowhere. My instruction began with the final product and expectations. Then I made clear the time and work to reach that end by providing working steps with the new application, hints for do and don’t, as well as rules of working.                   

In short, what I enjoyed in this lesson was not only how I could show my mastery of the content taught but also how my students show their mastery in a fun, meaningful, and engaging learning experience. The following part of this lesson will be demonstrated in the next week’s video.