Video link

https://youtu.be/8UkJE55CJfU

Video link
https://youtu.be/jwLcThnGgCU

1. Which lesson is shown in the video clip(s)? Identify the lesson(s) by lesson title and
Saturday Art week number.

[ The lesson being depicted in the Saturday Art video clips are from week 3, creating
polymer clay monsters. This was a more challenging lesson for the students considering that
there were two main activities. Additionally, students were required to build, enhance, and
expand their knowledge of different clay materials by building small mythical creatures out of
polymer clay. However, students needed to participate in a 2D collaborative drawing assignment
to brainstorm the features and character possibilities that could be built into their 3D monster
figures.

The 2D assignment showed the students' ability to listen and follow along with complex
directions, as well as their ability to work collaboratively with other young artists. The 3D
assignment demonstrated their ability to scaffold, as well as build their knowledge of similar but
characteristically different materials. ]

2. Promoting a Positive Learning Environment: Refer to scenes in the video clip(s) where
you provided a positive learning environment.
a. How did you demonstrate mutual respect for, rapport with, and responsiveness to
students with varied needs and backgrounds, and challenge students to engage in learning?

[ Throughout developing the skills and strategies necessary to teach art to diverse
students it has been exceptionally important to be deliberative with the choices we make as
teachers in the classroom. A positive learning environment is fostered through a purposeful
space, lessons, as well as interactions. As one of the instructors of Saturday Art, I paid close
attention to how the physical environment was constructed in a clean, presentable, and
accessible way. Tables were pushed together to make the first activity (collaborative drawing)
move more swiftly. All materials are organized at the ‘material table’ for students to access
through the activities. Classroom rules are posted at the front of the room and often referenced
when students are misbehaving or using unkind language. 3 modes of modeling are typically
presented before students start their own activity. First, students are shown an array of
examples (online, student, & instructor examples) projected onto the board. Students are free to
ask questions and discuss the images shown. Then, students are shown a tangible example
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that can be passed around and examined closer. Lastly, students get all steps and challenges of
the activities modeled through the projector camera.

As the teacher, problems solving and responsiveness to students’ diverse needs were
essential. A few select students had trouble working with the stiffness of the clay body. A variety
of solutions were provided. First students were to try softening the clay by breaking it down into
smaller pieces and warming and kneading the polymer clay with their hands. Students were
also given pre-softened polymer clay chunks. Crayola airdry clay was also available from last
Saturday Art lesson for students to use as a backup clay material. All students prevailed with
the polymer clay, however, were not required to continue working with the material if the task
was too challenging or physically straining.

Another way to implement a positive environment is through building positive

relationships and connections with the kids. Listening and responding appropriately to each kid’s
needs. Helping students problem-solve in an engaging way. Allowing the students to lead the
exploration, staying open to student ideas, fostering a space for experimentation with materials,
as well as creating a welcoming persona for questions. Throughout each lesson, I continue to
ensure students to ask questions, and use and share materials with one another! Not only to
foster my own connection with the students but have them build connections with their peers.
Most students in Saturday art already feel comfortable with one another. However, it is important
to continue building those important social relationships and behaviors. For instance, through
sharing materials.

The social skills were also challenged in a safe and positive manner through the first
collaborative activity. Students were challenged with having to collaborate with the entire class
rather than drawing the image by themselves or working with only a few select close friends.
Some students were skeptical of collaborating with those at their table but warmed up to the
idea quickly. The majority of the students ended up enjoying the idea of creating a monster
together and having the end result revealed to them. It was a fun way to keep everyone
engaged in the activity and have the motivation to create an exciting and unique creature.

The role of the teacher is to have a safe environment prepared in correlation with their
diverse group of students. To put in the time to build a solid relationship with each individual
student to correlate and build a foundation of their individual needs. I will strategically work to
build their students' comfort with being vulnerable with their teacher as well as the constructed
content. A student’s work best reflects their abilities when they are comfortable in their learning
environment and able to be their honest and true selves.

The student's role is to be accepting and kind to their peers and instructor. Try their best
to learn and be present in the classroom. Be honest and vulnerable with the teacher about their
own personal battles and how they would like their teacher to aid in their personal and academic
success and overall well-being.

“Hospitality in the Classroom” chapter by Kearney and Fitzpatrick, promptly addresses

feelings all too familiar. Crippling anxiety,
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the constant state of fight or flight, as well as the dread of a vacant day. As mentioned,
perfection is our greatest enemy, enabling us to take risks and perform on an average scale.
However, the paralyzing fear of achieving lower than our own expectations can inadvertently
make our desired achievements suffer. This vicious cycle is in fact the nature of our current
generation. Feeding into the stressor response, staying home instead of completing a
daunting task, makes the brain think, “We are safe, we should do this every time we are scared
and/or in a state of survival mode”. After taking the Gallup strengths assessment, listing my top
strengths as an achiever, deliberate, learner, responsible, and focus, I have determined that my
strengths have been shaped by my own fear of failure and my own stressor responses. I hope
to learn from these fears to build a more flexible environment for students to make mistakes and
learn from them.

This idea of turning hostility into hospitality in the learning environment directly correlates
with another great resource for teachers I lately read in a special education course completed
for my Disability Studies Thematic Sequence, “Fostering Resilient Learners, Strategies for
Creating a Trauma-Sensitive Classroom” By Kristin Souers with Pete Hall. I strongly related to
this book as well as the radical hospitality chapter due to my personal trauma experiences.
More specifically, making connections to the school shooting I was in, and how it has affected
my decisions over the last 6 years.

Classroom environments must be considered in correlation with the diversity in the classroom. A
teacher must consider their students’ hostility and other behaviors as possible trauma
responses. Bouncing off of the Socratic model of learning, and aspects of philosophy for kids
(P4C) pedagogy, as teachers we must dismantle our expectations of our students and
reconsider the expectations we have for ourselves as educators. Students should be given
power to their voices and experiences. Feel open to exploring their abilities, risk-taking, sharing
their thoughts, and building community. ]

3. Engaging Students in Learning: Refer to examples from the video clip(s) in your responses
to the prompts.
a. Explain how your instruction engaged students to create meaning through interpreting art,
developing works of art/design, AND/OR relating art to context as they applied their knowledge
and skills to create, present, or respond to visual art.

[For this activity, students were challenged to make a sculpture that had as much
personality as possible. They were encouraged to think about what they will add to their
creatures, and what will their personality be. What will they be doing and possibly interacting
with? and so on. Students were challenged to think critically about all components of their
sculpture and what their monster would be expressing. Would their monster have crazy hair,
sharp teeth, a goofy smile? Is their monster mad or happy? Is their monster wearing clothes,
swimming, or getting groceries?

Many students didn’t particularly like the idea of creating their collaborative monster
drawing out of clay. Most students already had ideas for their monsters coming into class and
were excited to explore those personal ideas through this activity. Therefore, we made the
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decision to open up the criteria of the assignment. Students were allowed to use their 2D
collaborative image to create a 3D version or were allowed to create another monster of equal
quality and interest that was more personal to them. This change in the criteria opened even
more questions to discuss in our class discussion. In what ways is collaborative art different
from personal art? How did the 2D monsters change or take a new life when other students
added to the image? ]

b. Describe how your instruction linked students’ prior academic learning and personal,
cultural, and community assets with new learning.

[ One of the main objectives to this assignment was to link prior learning experiences,
such as their experiences with airdry clay (Week 2 lesson) to learn polymer clay material. When
explaining the properties of polymer clay, it was easier to compare and contrast with the Air dry
material that they recently worked with. Making comparisons is a useful strategy to learn new
material. Polymer clay and air-dry clay have drastically different properties but use similar
techniques when hand-building. Therefore, making them good correlating lessons.

To engage student learning, we usually start our lessons with a visual cultural and/or
personal component. This lesson’s visual component was a discussion of popular clay-animated
movies. We went through the photos asking for the titles of the movies and how these movies
relate to the activity we will be doing in class. This was an easy way to hook the students into
the lesson and motivate them to start the activity. Also, these visual components opened the
conversation about the wide variety of uses clay has and how it is integrated into other
components of our lives. ]

4. Deepening Student Learning during Instruction: Refer to examples from the video clip(s)
in your explanations.
a. Explain how you elicited student responses to promote thinking and develop their abilities
to express or understand meaning through interpreting art, developing works of art/design,
AND/OR relating art to context.

[Over the course of every lesson taught in Saturday art, we have discussed the
importance of “intentionality”. What does the term intentional mean? How is this term associated
with art? Students were introduced to this term at the beginning of week 1, and have grown to
understand the meaning of the term and how to integrate it into their art practice. Before starting
each lesson, we re-introduce the term, asking who remembers its meaning. Many of the
students associate the term “intentional” with the term “purpose” and “think”. This practice has
been a key component of developing their ability to create meaning and develop works they are
proud of.]
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2. Explain how you provided students with opportunities for student choice (e.g., of content,
methods, or style) in ways that deepened their understanding of visual art
concepts/contexts as students created, presented, or responded to visual art.

[ Student choice, voice, and exploration are essential to each of our Saturday art
lessons. For week 3, the 2D & 3D activities were all about making your own dynamic character
based on personal choice and artistic decision. Students had full control over what their
monsters looked like and how they wanted to interpret that in 3D form. Our instructional
demonstration was carefully crafted to give the students multiple examples and choices, For
instance, making a flattened or rounded figure, using coils & slabs, and even creating entirely
different monsters than the one drawn in 2D.

Throughout my Saturday art experiences, students have felt comfortable asking us to

explore and choose a different approach to the assignment. For example, one student wanted to
collaborate with another student, combining their two monsters. Many students preferred to
create their own personal monster ideas than replicating the collaborative 2D drawing, which I
felt was a student’s personal decision to make. Either way, promotes a challenging and
rewarding learning experience.]

5. Analyzing Teaching: Refer to examples from the video clip(s) in your responses to the
prompts
a. What changes would you make to your instruction - for the whole class and/or for
students who need greater support or challenge - better support student learning or the central
focus (e.g., missed opportunities)?

Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different
strategies/support (e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners,
struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge,
and/or gifted students).

[Overall, there is very little I would alter to the Saturday art instruction. Each lesson was
carefully considered to fit the needs of every intersectional learner. Diverse needs and
experiences were our top considerations. However, because of our age group, it has been
difficult to manage certain classroom behaviors and expectations. Students have now reached a
point in their Saturday Art experience, where they are all comfortable with their peers and their
instructors, which is great! However, Certain students in response think they can raise their
voices, run in the classroom, and sometimes say inappropriate things. In response to this, we
have considered talking to certain students after class about their poor statements and behavior
to stress the seriousness of their behavior without embarrassing them in front of their other
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classmates. Also, being more firm and responsive to the misbehaviors as they are presenting
themselves. Shutting them down before they escalate.

As a whole class, students have difficulty cleaning up when told. The majority of the kids
have no motivation to clean up and want to continue working. Additionally, some students clean
up their area poorly leaving a mess for the other instructor and I to clean up. In response to this,
we have discussed and have recently implemented a reward system. Whoever cleans up first,
no running gets to pick the game we play at the end of class. This worked pretty well for our first
trial run. ]

2. Why do you think these changes would improve student learning? Support your
explanation with evidence of student learning AND principles from theory and/or
research.

[ Overall, younger students need more rules and structure to keep misbehaviors from
escalating and reoccurring. It is better to set these rules and expectations from the very
beginning. However, not readdressing these rules can lead to students forgetting these
important classroom expectations. Rewards systems are an easy way to strike motivation in
students. Having one student pick the classroom game as their reward, is just enough to
motivate a better cleanup. Improving behaviors and classroom management, will in turn improve
student learning. Having a few misbehaviors during class time can distract the rest of the class
and set the mood of the day’s activity. Incorporating ways for students to build their behavioral
and social skills will help their academic success.