Journal Entry #17

Blog 17: What does learning in a community-based setting afford children? What are they able to learn in a community-based setting that they would not be able to learn in a school setting? What does teaching in a community-based setting afford the educator? What can one do in a community-based setting that one could not do in a school?

A community based approach can be really important. As an instructor, you can take on a different role than the one you take in the classroom as a teacher. For example, I work with a children’s theatre, stage managing and assistant directing. Often, in a classroom, I would be more concerned with what the kids are learning. In this setting, I am often more concerned with the songs or the choreography the kids are doing, and it results in the kids learning differently than they might in a classroom setting.

I also find that in a community-based setting, kids feel that they are able to talk to you and share more with you than they do when they see you as a teacher. Kids feel that since you are spending time with them outside of school, although you are still something of an authority figure, you are someone they can talk to.

As an instructor, you can specialize more to the specific activity that you are teaching, instead of integrating the lesson into the curriculum for that level. For example, with the children’s theatre, I can work with the kids on music, dance, and acting instead of trying to keep it consistent with what their curriculum is. I probably don’t even know what they’re learning in school; sometimes I don’t know what grade the child is in. This has the potential to make that particular part of their learning even above their grade level, if the child is capable, and that is awesome.

This teaching helps me see a wider age and ability range of kids than I might get to in the classroom. It also is good practice for running an extra-curricular program. I think it’s a great experience to get to know different levels and ages of children through community-based learning experiences not only for the instructor, but also for the kids.

Journal Entry #16

Blog 16: Describe your most meaningful learning experience in a museum or art gallery. What elements made it so. Relate this experience to Dewey’s notion of a “good” experience.

My most meaningful gallery experience happened this past summer when I took the kids of the camp I was running to the Barr Colony Museum in Lloydminster. The Barr Colony is a small museum, but the two other instructors and I took the kids there for a tour. The tour guide was excited to teach a large group of kids about local art.

In terms of Dewey’s criteria, the kids were given structure but were still allowed to experiment. We allowed the kids to have free time to look around at paintings by a local artist after the museum tour guide had given them a short history lesson. The kids loved this part of the experience because they found that they were able to apply their own interpretation to the art. The other instructors and I wandered with the kids, going from group to group and pointing out things that they may not have noticed (color scheme, shadow, etc.).

The next part of the tour was a taxidermy wing. Again, this was not a very structured activity, but the kids loved it. They were so excited to see different animals (and, of course, the boys were psyched about insects). They had a lot of fun learning about how large the animals were (particularly bears and cougars). This was successful in terms of Dewey because we used our insight into what the kids were interested in to help them learn things about animals and about how this was art.

The last part of the tour was a wing on the local history of the settlers who had come to Lloydminster as pioneers. The kids were split into groups with an instructor to each group and led around the wing. The tour guide explained to them the history of the pioneers and the technical aspects of a few of the more foreign objects (for example, an iron lung). The kids had a lot of fun exploring the artifacts and asking questions about the history of the city they lived in. There was a lot of collaborating, where one kid would ask a question and another would try to answer it. Since one instructor stayed with each group, the experience was led by the instructors but allowed the kids to make discoveries on their own.

Jounral Entry #15

Blog 15: What issues arose as you tested your lesson plans? Why did these issues arise? Can you ever fully anticipate every detail of the situation you will be working in? What role does planning play in a responsive teaching approach?

I missed class the day we tested out our lesson plans and did not get to test mine. However, I had already run the lesson plan by the parent and I also had done some preliminary work with the child.

You can never anticipate every detail of the situation you will be working in. Planning plays a very important role in keep the lesson running smoothly. It should be an open enough plan that the child can collaborate, but of course the teacher should control it. I’ve found lesson planning to be vital over my years teaching swimming lessons, running summer camp, etc. Without a plan for the lesson, I would be completely lost. I find that even the best laid plans are subject to changes when you deal with children. They tend to keep you on your toes.

I find test-driving better with kids than with adults. Adults don’t have the same reactions or the same problems with materials as children do. If it’s possible to test-drive your lesson with other children, even if it’s a smaller number of children that you will really be teaching, this is the best way to test-drive. Kids see problems or have issues with materials, concepts, etc. that adults simply do not have. If you can’t test-drive your lesson with kids, it’s a great idea to test-drive it with either a parent or someone with a lot of experience with children. I like to run lesson plans by people I know with children, because they have enough experience and insight to have some idea of what may cause problems.

Journal Entry #14: Part Two

Write out the questions you will ask your parent about his/her child's learning characteristics (based on readings you have done); the programme they are working on; areas the parent might like you to explore with his/her child.

What is your art experience?

She is very artistically experienced. She showed me a mask she made at school with clay and kilne. She showed me a portrait she drew of her mom. She showed me examples of pictures she’d drawn and talked about different crafts.

I asked different questions to figure out what type of learner she is.

She is mostly an auditory and kinesthetic learner.

I asked her about extra-curricular activities.

She likes gymnastics. She likes to paint and draw, etc. She is also into music and drama. She plays in the bell choir (which is really cool). She is really into recycling; she and her friends even have a recycling website.

What Paula (the parent) wants her to learn?

Well, she told me she wanted Tianna to be the next Picasso, but I hope she was joking. She said it might be fun if Tianna worked with clay a little bit. She’s pretty easy going. Mostly, she just wanted for Tianna and I to make artwork together, because she is very interested in encouraging Tianna’s artistic development.

Journal Entry #14: Part One

Blog 14: What is your drawing history? Where have your notions of the role of drawing in art come from? How do you manage your “drawing anxiety?” After reading Kalin’s chapter, describe how you might mentor an anxious draw-er into the joy of mark-making.

I do not have much drawing history, but I sure have a lot of drawing anxiety. I’m learning that I am a very abstract artist more than a realistic one. As a younger person, throughout elementary and high school, I thought this meant I was not artistic at all, because when I looked at the other kid’s pictures and my pictures, mine weren’t as good. For example, I cannot draw a straight line to save my life, but I am very good at drawing abstract pictures, particularly at mixing colors and making backgrounds. I’ve learned to manage my drawing anxiety in two ways. Firstly, I have practiced drawing enough that I feel confident that I am a decent artist. Secondly, I have realized that I, like everyone, have strengths and weaknesses, and that being better at abstractism than realism does not make me a bad artist.

I think this knowledge is something I could express to children who think they aren’t good artists. Everyone is good at some aspect of art, it’s just that some of us aren’t good at realistic art and therefore have to look a little harder to find what we’re good at. I hope that I could use a holistic approach to discover what a child who is an anxious draw-er is good at, and help them to become more developed in that area of art, whatever it may be.

Journal Entry #13

Blog 13: What were the benefits of the peer teaching events? How would you incorporate peer teaching in an elementary classroom?

The peer teaching project was really hard for me but it was beneficial in terms of feedback. It’s better to get feedback from your peers, who are knowledgeable, than from children.

It would be cool to let kids peer teach in an elementary classroom because they would be able to give each other advice and feedback. The instructor would have to be sure that the criticism stayed constructive and never became cruel or destructive. Depending on what developmental level they’re at, children have lots of new ideas. They can often relate these ideas to their peers more easily than to an adult. They can help each other in their own language, which is great.

When I was in the sixth grade, we did peer teaching with a math unit. It was a helpful way to learn because my friend and I could help each other with things that we didn’t understand. By that age we were developmentally capable of attempting the things we didn’t understand and it was easier because there were two of us to work through the difficult stuff.

I think peer teaching in an art class could be extremely beneficial. It would be fun to let the kids give each other feedback, as long as the teacher mediated the discussion. I especially think this could be a useful practice in a drama class. Often, kids see aspects of other kids’ skits (or plays, scenes, etc.) that adults don’t see because we focus on the bigger picture. The only risk with kids giving feedback is that sometimes kids can be pretty nasty to each other. However, if as a teacher, you set clear guidelines, I think it could be a very valuable exercise.

Journal Entry #12

Blog 12: Discuss the importance of documentation to teaching and to a child's learning. What are the challenges of documentation to the classroom teacher? What are some strategies that would help address these challenges?

Documentation helps the kids and the parents see that you are paying attention. It reminds us as instructors to listen to the students. It puts more emphasis on the process than the product. I think to document well, you need to have a good idea of what you want to achieve.

I like the idea of keeping notes. It doesn’t take that long to scribble down a bit of information on what the kids are doing. I like the digital camera idea, but with small children, that could go wrong quickly. Particularly if the camera is on a tripod, it could get damaged quite easily. The audio idea (a tape recorder) is a good one, but it limits you to only audio information. If the camera can be kept safe, video recording would be the best way to go.

I like the idea of child artifacts; keeping their work to document from it. Especially as a teacher, this would be a good way to evaluate and mark the project, and then give it back to the child. I think getting another person to document is probably the best idea of all. If there is a teacher’s aide or parent helper, that would be the best way to document because they could take pictures or video, there would be no risk to the equipment.