Avery Ebbert

ED199

Meaning Making Individual Response

1. Your planning processes.

a. We all met as a group in the library and started by sharing notes. I had

voice-recorded the talk with Dr. Martis so that I didn’t miss anything she

said, and we listened to a little bit of that. Then we started a Canva

presentation, dividing the slides between the four of us. We decided that I

could complete the “Impact Word” and “Connection to Readings” slides.

2. The interactive, participatory, unique qualities of the experience you led.

a. We made the experience interactive by having our peers converse as a

group, or participate in different digital tools throughout the presentation.

I believe that the presentation kept everyone engaged and they put forth

thoughtful answers to the questions we proposed. One thing that made our

presentation unique was the fact that we had a Kahoot, a fun way to learn

about art and connect with our visit. Another unique aspect that we

incorporated was the gift, a tangible art piece, a paper flower with our

class’s impact words, that Dr. Martis can display in one of the classrooms

at Newfields.

3. How your meaning making fit with the experience.

a. Not only was our PowerPoint presentation thematically consistent with

our Meaning Making visit, but we had elements of art education in the

presentation. For example, the Kahoot was to educate our classmates on

 some of the famous artwork they might not have known the name or artist

of. We also created a tangible piece of art that is not only beautiful, but

also meaningful, with the impact words on the petals. Dr. Martis showed

us at Newfields that art can be appreciated in physical or digital form, and

I think we explored that in our activity as well.

4. How your meaning making explored the professional identity and journey of

the educator, and connected to the artifacts and impact word.

a. We delved into Dr Martis’s educational journey and her path to museum

education. We also examined her reasons for being in education and how

her experiences and jobs led her to Newfields. Her artifact was the “10

Lessons the Arts Teach,” a document that explained ten different ways arts

teach children a variety of skills and how to express feelings. Dr. Martis

talked about incorporating experiential learning, hands-on learning, and

the process of discovery to help kids learn in the way they learn best. These

phrases led us to her impact word of “Active Learning.” I read an article

where Dr. Martis had done an interview and stated, “When people learn by

making personal or social connections, or with hands-on manipulatives,

they are more likely to retain that knowledge,” Dr. Martis encourages

everyone in the museum to have a personal experience and connect with

the art. She is passionate about her job and claims there is no substitute

for experiencing physical art. Now at Newfields, Dr. Martis can expose

students and adults alike to art where they can express themselves in

whatever way they wish.

5. How your meaning making integrated connections to at least one of our mentor

texts.

a. Dr. Martis embodied ideas from our new mentor text, “Show Your Work,”

by Austin Kleon. One quote from the section, Be an Amateur, states,

“Sometimes in the process of doing things in an unprofessional way, they

make new discoveries. 'In the beginner's mind, there are many

possibilities.'" Dr. Martis explained how kids tend to see things from

different perspectives than adults, and bring individual memories and

connections to the art work. Sharing connections with others can initiate

meaningful conversations about artwork and life. Another quote from the

section, Don't be a Hoarder, states, "Intangible museums of the heart,

our skulls lined with memories of places we've been, people we've met,

experiences we've accumulated...These mental scrapbooks form our tastes,

and our tastes influence our work." By working at an art museum, Dr.

Martis invites people to bring their personal experiences, interests, and

prior knowledge into the art museum. This way, certain art pieces may

evoke something in guests, and they may discover something new about

themselves. Finally, although not a mentor text, Martis embodies the work

from the Reggio Emilia's, "100 Languages," by integrating art into learning

and using different forms of media to engage learners.

6. How you supported learning using technological tools.

 a. My group used a variety of mediums in our presentation, including PollEv,

Kahoot, Nearpod, and Canva. We used PollEv to collect the class’s answers

to the question, “What is one word that describes our visit with Susan

Martis?” Nearpod was another tool used to record responses to the

question, “What is something that you heard from Susan Martis about her

professional identity that you would want to incorporate into your future

career?” Finally, we utilized Kahoot to quiz the class on famous artwork

and made the PowerPoint presentation on Canva.

7. An overall reflection on how well you led the in-class activity went, worked

together as a meaning making team, and what you would do differently if you

were to do it again.

a. I thought the in-class activity went very well, and the class participation

was excellent. Our group was ready to work and we collaborated well, with

all ideas being taken into consideration. The only thing I wish I could do

differently is to have all of our technological aspects run more smoothly

during the presentation.