Reflection
What went well? What did you learn? During my experience at my elementary placement student engagement was most successful. When planning my lessons I was really trying to find an interesting material students would be excited about working with and that’s when I decided on paper maché. I was also trying to work in a way for them to be reflective about what they had already learned that year about how artists get inspiration and making sure they were able to make the connections between the topics. When I finally came up with the graphic organizer that students used to ideate I felt that they were going to be able to see those connections and be able to clearly make them for themselves. As the students worked I was able to see that this was a good decision and that they were making connections from themselves to the world or their community and they ended up coming up with great ideas on how to connect two different ideas. Also while at my elementary placement I learned it is important to have systems in place for the students. That means having a way of getting their attention through counting down or a bell as well as a clean-up system for the end of the class time. Having these systems in place made it so that students were able to get the most out of their art time by being able to work on their artwork and create something they were proud of.
What would you do differently? Something I would have done differently was finding a way to get the students attention. During my time in the elementary schools I used a counting down system that my cooperating teacher had put in place and for the most part it worked but sometimes if they students couldn’t hear me or chose to raise their voice when I started talking then it didn’t. I feel that using a bell system where students are more able to hear the bell and have an indication that when the bell goes off that their mouths are closed might be a better way to get their attention. I had also, while working with my cooperating teacher, discussed some type of music system that would result in a reward for the students and it sounded like something that would be worth trying. As I go on in my teaching career I know that there are many resources for me to look into so that I can continue to work with a way to get students’ attention and that will lead to find that one that works for me best.
What would you do differently? Something I would have done differently was finding a way to get the students attention. During my time in the elementary schools I used a counting down system that my cooperating teacher had put in place and for the most part it worked but sometimes if they students couldn’t hear me or chose to raise their voice when I started talking then it didn’t. I feel that using a bell system where students are more able to hear the bell and have an indication that when the bell goes off that their mouths are closed might be a better way to get their attention. I had also, while working with my cooperating teacher, discussed some type of music system that would result in a reward for the students and it sounded like something that would be worth trying. As I go on in my teaching career I know that there are many resources for me to look into so that I can continue to work with a way to get students’ attention and that will lead to find that one that works for me best.