For my Second week the teachers up in the art department thought it would be good if I helped in the art department, helping all years from year 7-13. I think it will be a challenge working in the different departments, having to adjust to the different learning styles, how the pupils behaviour changes and the different teaching styles for the class.
Lesson One – Year 7 – textiles:
- This class is the one I will be teaching on the Wednesday, they are very mixed learners and some really struggle with this material process, needing a lot of help and one on one support.
- In this lesson the pupils are sewing using the sewing machines, they are creating a pillow cover and in this lesson are sewing all of the edges together, the lesson is still very independent getting the children to work together and to work through problems themselves.
- There are three main lesson objects for the lesson which are on the board:
- Thread the sewing machine,
- Sew the pillow case together,
- Practice sewing against an edge of scrap fabric taking time to make sure its neat and tidy.
- Lots of the students needed lots of help with threading machines and getting started sewing, I spent a lot of time helping one student with the sewing part as he really struggled and no other students were helping him because they were also getting on with their own work. The problem with helping one student so much tho is that some will fall in the cracks and not do anything.
- I found this was the case in this lesson, on of the pupils didn’t know what to do, didn’t ask for help, and spent the whole lesson say not trying to do any work. When I tried encouraging the pupil to work they wanted me to do everything for them and needed lots of one on one support.
- I found this lesson very hard because there were so many students who didn’t know how to use a sewing machine and those that could got the work completed in the time frame without much help. I tried getting some of the more capable students to help some of the weaker but the stronger students just wanted to move onto the next thing.
Reflection- Seeing the difference in working styles has really prepared me for my lesson on Wednesday, I can see how others will work with a task and I have seen the more capable students in the class, and those who are weaker and need more help. I can change my lesson plan around by breaking the lesson into smaller chunks and keep asking questions, “have you reached this stage” “have you come up with a design” I think if I keep asking questions I can see how is falling behind and the questions prompt them to keep working harder and to reach the next goal.
Lesson Two- Year 8 Art:
- Â This lesson is the first time I have been in the art department and it is run very smoothly and practically, all of the year follow the same lesson plan, for example this week all of the classes are working on gridded portraits, I think because the lesson is the same over the different years not a lot of planning needs to go into the lesson, it because more about classroom control and management.
- The year 8 class that I am with has some pupils that are very disruptive and refuse to get on with the work that they need to do. The start of the lesson is self assessment of the work they have been working on so far, this is a struggle as the class would rather get on an make art than have to write about it.
- The starter task took almost 20 minutes from a 60 minute lesson meaning there is less time for pupils to get on and do work, but as I was walking and with the students I found that lots of them are very capable and only needed help with technical techniques like crosshatching and shading.
- There was one pupil who was at the back of the class not doing anything, when I went over to talk to him he said “Miss I’ve Failed.” I asked him what he meant and he said that he couldn’t draw, that it will look bad and he will fail. I told him that he cant fail in art and asked to see his work. It was really well done and I told him this but he didn’t believe me, so I asked him what he didn’t like about his work. He said he didn’t like how it looked, so I gave him tips of shading, adding tone and texture, and I told him that if he keeps working and trying his work will get better and better, and he did try and I kept going back and encouraging him. At the end of the lesson the teacher in charge of the class told me that he usually doesn’t do any work and just sits there doing nothing. I found this interesting because all the pupil needed was someone to encourage him and push him and he started working.
Reflection- I think working with a student that didn’t think he could do anything has given me ideas on how I can work with students who are very defeated and how I can encourage them to keep working and creating art without talking down to them and making them further stressed and uncomfortable. Working with a pupil who thinks they can’t is also really rewarding, seeing them try and keep working was really rewarding for myself because I felt like I was making a difference.
Lesson Three – Year 11 Art:
- I was up in the art department again for third lesson, they wanted me to be very hands on with the pupils and to get an idea of the learning environment. The year 11’s have been working using acrylic paint to paint objects of their choice, for example; a deodorant can and a plumb.
- This class is very advanced and all of the students were very capable using the paint, they have been going through their sketch books and preparing for their exams in the summer, the main mains for the lesson was to fill in any gaps in their books, annotate where needed and carry on painting with acrylic.
- The class was very skilled and didn’t need much technical help from me but I gave the pupils encouragement when needed and gave them advice if they asked.
Reflection- Working with this type of class was really nice to just relax and not worry about the behaviour, but it was almost too easy with the class. They needed little help with work, got on without much fuss, and left me feeling like a spare part.
Lesson Four – Year 8 Art:
- Again I was with a year 8 class, earlier in the morning I was working with another year 8 class and they were a little difficult to work with, but before the class came in the teacher told me this class was different to the morning class, and that they are polar opposite.
- The class came in, sat down, and got books out waiting to be told what to do next. Again this class is doing self assessments on their own work, and are also completing gridded portraits. All of the students were able to get on with the self assessments task and were ready to get on and finish their work.
- Walking around the class I could see that a lot of the pupils have a lot of talent, and they were all really excited for me to talk to them, give them advice, and help them with shading and tone.
- This class was very clam and at some points there was only quite chatter in the room, I could tell that all the students loved being in the room, and even some of the weaker students were really excited to be given tips and help on how to improve.
Reflection- I think working with the type of class was really interesting, because everyone was so quite and getting on it would be easy for struggling pupils to not do anything and would be easy for them not to ask for help. I think something I can do when working with type of class is to make sure I’m walking around the class room, the students know where I am, and to sit with tables and see how everyone is getting on with the task. I think this approach would allow even shy students the opportunity to ask for help without drawing too much attention to themselves.
Lesson Five – Lesson Planning for Wednesday
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