Welcome to the Pre-schematic Zoo, formally known as Knapp Hall 204.

If accomplishing preparing and setting up the art show was something to be proud of, actually showing off our hard work was something to be extremely proud of. And I am. Getting our art show together was sometimes difficult, but I think our group really pulled together in the end brought out an amazing show. We had multiple children donate their artwork, information about the stage, four group members who were knowledgeable and comfortable with information about the stage, and a very fun themed and decorated room. Welcome to the pre-schematic zoo. Welcome, indeed.

This project definitely put its fair share of strain on my group, and when it got down to crunch time, I had two students say on separate accounts they didn’t think we were going to get it together. Choosing to use the classroom as our setting for the art show may have been, in retrospect, a bad idea. It was a space that could not be transformed until all classes had let out on Wednesday the third, and left us with last minute changes to be made. I enjoyed using the large space, and would do it again if I thought I could manipulate the room over a period of multiple hours, and not just two or three hours at the very end.

I mentioned wanting to take on more of a leadership role in my last blog, and it was really an intentional prelude to this blog. When reflecting on the experience of the art show, I don’t have hard hitting questions, and I don’t know how it could have gone better, with few exceptions. I did, however, have the hard-hitting question of whether or not I was a good group member for not stepping into action when times got a little iffy on earlier projects. I answered this question for myself with another action: being a leader in the art show. I organized meetings, and made sure everyone was involved in as much as they could or they wanted to be. I sent out emails, and typed up artist statements, and generally “stepped up my game” as far as leadership goes this time around. I am very proud of this, and of myself, and of the accomplishments of my group because of our combined efforts, and no one feeling like they were left out, or pushed around.

I have had few other opportunities in my life where I actually showed the ability to be a leader. I have always had a hard time doing interviews because when the “how have you shown leadership…” question comes up, I never have a real answer that isn’t related to babysitting, or keeping my younger sister from bleeding to death when she cracked her head open when she was nine. I have taken a job this semester that has required me to learn to be a leader. It has made me make friends, and step so far out of my comfort zone that I have no reason to go back. The fear of being a leader, of being outgoing, and of being someone people can look up to is gone. I now know that I can lead, and good things can come from my doing so, and will as long as I am willing to put in the effort and time it takes to bring it up to my standards. Overall, I am very proud of the art show, and my work, as well as my group-mate’s work.

This is a picture of our welcome sign to our art show: Welcome to the Pre-schematic Zoo!!

Homework, Finals, Art Show's, Oh My!

A few weeks ago, as a class in separate groups we started working on an art show. My group was the pre-schematic stage, and we had plenty of children to draw, paint, and craft for us in this stage. We were going to our respective homes or get-away's for Thanksgiving break, and would return with information and artwork galore! We had struggled to make ourselves look like we knew what was going on in the past, and so this task would be a very important one for us to be able to show our true colors. Over the week and a half or so we had to put the art show together (not including the Thanksgiving holiday) we, all of us, worked hard. Coming back from the break, our group-- and others, I'm sure-- kicked it into high gear. We laminated, we cut and cropped, we pasted, we colored, we pasted some more, and we decorated like madmen. I am very proud of the way my group worked together on this project.
I did, however, learn from this project that nothing comes easy, including getting everyone in the same spot at the same time. The only times more than two of us were together was the day of the art show merely hours before. This project on the surface was just an art show-- mat some children's art and some of my own, explain the stage, and hopefully 'wow' people with our setup and general knowledge. On a deeper level, however, this entire project was testing my ability to take a leadership role. I don't feel like I did so in the process of the group teaching project, and I think I suffered for that. I am not one to take the lead, and don't mind taking orders, but it did me more harm than good with the group teaching. I wondered after group teaching was done if I should have spoken up a time or two, or if I should have put more time in-- the obvious answer, now, is yes. At the time, I thought Kaylee had everything under control and if I had been paying closer attention I would have seen that what we thought was top notch was not necessarily. I realized that, and I feel like I put in the time and the effort on this project. I was at every meeting, every painting time, every laminating time possible. And I feel like my group, and my self esteem and pride for my work, is all the better for it.
I have several entries already in this category of learning authentically, but I really feel like this was the ultimate learning experience. Although, not just this project, but this project in comparison with the whole semester. I feel like through this project I learned to be a better listener, a more involved group member, and a leader. I won't take credit for the entirety of the project's success, but I do feel that my input helped it be as successful as it was, even just in the stage of production and not necessarily the show itself. I'm very proud of the work my group did, and I learned a lot from everyone's contributions.





This is a picture of Stephanie and Brittany's bulletin boards, and the painting of a lion cage at the zoo I drew for the art show.

An epiphany of sorts

I was thinking about things to write about in our blogs and one thing kept coming back to me: group teaching. I know it's been written about probably a million times now, but seriously: there is so much to say.
I was considering different things about the group teaching, and one thing I got from each group was that their activities made me think. I had to think like that age group, work like that age group, and attempt to be in the age group's mind set to make the activity work properly. Specifically, group three's activity with the 3-part picture that tells a story, but has no separation between actions. In my painting I had three different sizes of trees to show the growth of a tree over time. My painting coincided with Shannon's painting of a house being built (the tree would have been in the yard somewhere). This lesson stuck with me, and was really fun for me. Shannon and I had fun presenting our pictures too.
In my description of Professional Development, I said it was important to keep up with the times. I think, now, that it is also important to relate to the age group you teach, not necessarily just be qualified to teach them. With each activity in class, I saw just how important it was to show us why this, that, or the other was important for children in their growth physically, mentally, and artistically. I feel like over the course of this class I have learned what I think is important, and have been able to make sense of why I think the things I do.

Me painting for group three's activity.

MMM, Pancakes!

I thoroughly enjoyed this group’s presentation. I feel like they did an exceptional job of presenting themselves and their ideas to the class. I also feel like this group had a very good understanding of what they were teaching, which is why this entry falls under understanding of subject matter.

During this presentation, the first thing we did was make pancakes. They explained that through this process we had to read, follow specific directions, use math, and use science. And caution with the hot stove! (Our group burnt a couple… several… pancakes ha ha.) Then, afterward we were asked to draw our experience and write a story about it. Jenna drew each of us at different points during the experience, and her story explained her excitement throughout the whole process, and all of our reactions and additions to the group.
Afterwards, they discussed the different types of the schematic stage of drawings and went through their entire lesson without flaw or fail. The only suggestion I might have had would have been to slow down. It was very obvious they knew what they were talking about: their activities and their entire lesson had a nice flow to it, and their assessments made sense and showed me that I had understood what they had been teaching.
I think their lesson made me think a lot about good qualities of a young teacher. Their ability to work together as a team was probably the best I saw through all the groups. I think that working with your teammates and/or colleagues is extremely important and being able to mesh well, even if you aren’t friends is more important than
anything. I think this group exemplified what it is to be a team, and their understanding of their material really came across in the way they worked together and they way they presented their activities.

Jenna (me in the background) drawing
about our pancake experience.

Technology is part of our lives today, even if we don't always like that fact. I'd like to see less television and video games in the stores and more books and music, personally. I chose these pictures just as a reminder of some of the things I think that were positive about several of the groups presentations- technology that enhanced our learning! If I remember correctly, two groups played music... I specifically remember group four's music however, because it was N*SYNC and the Spice Girls! Which, embarrassingly enough, I requested. I feel like the music from group four is half the reason I was so into their presentation. I was awake and kicking around spice girl tracks from back in the fourth grade. I don't necessarily despise technology, but sometimes I think it hinders more than helps the learning process. I worked with CELTS a while back, and my tutee only wanted to play computer games. He was willing to play the ones to help him learn how to read, but he would only play the parts with the words he recognized, or had activities he had already memorized so he didn't have to read at all. I do think the power points used in the presentations were helpful though, so not always is technology a hindrance... just sometimes when it is used improperly.

Because of my groups failure to reach the top of the aforementioned pedestal, I am going to devote a blog to tips for writing lesson plans! Yay! I picked the picture above because sometimes that is how I feel when I'm writing a paper or a lesson plan or a poem or anything... I feel like I'm mucking it up for the sake of looking like I know what I'm talking about. I felt like we got all our stuff straightened out for our lesson plan this time, but that wasn't necessarily the case, obviously, so I thought the cartoon was appropriate. So, here are some tips I found...

1. Develop what you want to teach- and be sure to watch the grade level the lesson is for! Also, think in terms of units and projects, not just one lesson. Tying things together helps kids hold information better.

2. HAVE CLEAR, SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES. These objectives should not be activities, but instead the outcomes of learning the material.

3. Make clear what materials will be used. This way, if someone else uses your lesson plan, they will be able to be prepared for it easily.

4. The lesson plan should include a step-by-step process of what will happen. Granted, it won't be able to say everything you want to say, but it can cover as much as possible to make the lesson go that much smoother.

5. Allow plenty of activity/independent practice time!

6. There should be some sort of overview/closure to the lesson so that all bases are covered. Also, time allowed for questions should be figured in, in case some part of a lesson isn't as clear to a student as it could have been.

7. Some sort of assessment should be provided at the end. This serves as a gauge for what was a learned, and an outlet for feedback for both the students and the teacher. Connections can often be made here too to other activities or lessons the kids have learned before.

8. A good lesson plan should also be malleable so as to suit all levels of children within the classroom.

These are some of the main tips I found, but if anyone has any they'd like to add or share, please, feel free!

These two pictures are from two different groups activities. One was an activity to build stick people and act out a scene, while the other was to use directions to form a dance to show spatial relationships. I think one major element of authentic learning is learning in more than one style or with more than one method of thinking on the table. I feel like over the course of the four groups that presented these past several weeks, we have experienced many different kinds of activities. We have made pancakes, we made stick figures, we danced, we created our own games, we colored, we painted, we crafted; we've done it all. I think each group had the strength of bringing a new type, or new style to a regular activity that helped each of us retain some of, if not most of, the information presented to us. I think the best class I ever had was one in which no two days activities were the same, even if the topic of the class was. It was my English class my junior year in high school. We read "The Great Gatsby" and each day there was a new activity to go along with the chapters we had read. Sometimes it was a work sheet, one day it was coloring, one day it was a song that went along with the reading, one day it was acting... the list goes on. Although I couldn't recite the book from memory, I could give you the gist of it, and point out the major symbols and hidden meanings in things. I think to run a classroom effectively, and to give students the best opportunity to excel, there needs to be multiple kinds of activities, and a variety of learning environments, such as groups, and individual work, and pair work. I think that is one strength of all the groups was a diversity of activities that helped keep the learning process on track.