T3W7 - P1 Art
This week's art class with the P1s reminded me again that lesson planning is really important as it guides us in structuring the flow of our lesson and preparing the materials needed. At the same time, its' implementation still requires some quick thinking and flexibility!
The agenda for this week was for the P1s to continue learning some new paper sculptures techniques. I had intended for them to continue using the pieces of paper leftover from their previous lessons. Hence, I did not specially prepare any papers before class for the first P1 class I took on Tuesday as I'd thought that I could ask the students to cut the papers into shapes if needed. However, it took a long time for the P1s to cut out the shapes as students received paper scraps of various sizes, and I found it difficult to give out specific instructions for the cutting! This was when I realized that I could have better planned my lesson with a more thorough consideration of the limited abilities of my P1s. If I had ensured that the paper scraps handed out were of the same size, the instructions on how to cut the paper into the shapes required would have been clearer and the lesson would flow better. For the remaining P1 classes, I made sure to prepare the pieces of paper before class, and to think about the specific instructions needed to make the cutting more efficient.
Of the 3 new cutting techniques that were introduced to the P1s this week, the rectangular prism was more complex than the ones they'd learn before. I had initially envisioned them to be able to use the visual cues on my slides to guide them along step-by-step after going through the steps verbally. However, I realized that the P1s found it difficult to follow the visual cues on the slides, and so I decided to demonstrate the folding instead. Even though the students were able to complete the folding and add it to their paper sculpture eventually, I realized that demonstrating with a larger piece of paper would have allowed all of them to see how the folding and sticking was done clearly.
Additionally, I noticed that they were not that good at remembering the steps, and so I decided to let them try out each step after I had demonstrated, rather than going along with my initial plan of demonstrating all the steps at once and then having them complete the prism!
I am definitely still learning more about the students even as I teach them everyday!
The agenda for this week was for the P1s to continue learning some new paper sculptures techniques. I had intended for them to continue using the pieces of paper leftover from their previous lessons. Hence, I did not specially prepare any papers before class for the first P1 class I took on Tuesday as I'd thought that I could ask the students to cut the papers into shapes if needed. However, it took a long time for the P1s to cut out the shapes as students received paper scraps of various sizes, and I found it difficult to give out specific instructions for the cutting! This was when I realized that I could have better planned my lesson with a more thorough consideration of the limited abilities of my P1s. If I had ensured that the paper scraps handed out were of the same size, the instructions on how to cut the paper into the shapes required would have been clearer and the lesson would flow better. For the remaining P1 classes, I made sure to prepare the pieces of paper before class, and to think about the specific instructions needed to make the cutting more efficient.
Of the 3 new cutting techniques that were introduced to the P1s this week, the rectangular prism was more complex than the ones they'd learn before. I had initially envisioned them to be able to use the visual cues on my slides to guide them along step-by-step after going through the steps verbally. However, I realized that the P1s found it difficult to follow the visual cues on the slides, and so I decided to demonstrate the folding instead. Even though the students were able to complete the folding and add it to their paper sculpture eventually, I realized that demonstrating with a larger piece of paper would have allowed all of them to see how the folding and sticking was done clearly.
Additionally, I noticed that they were not that good at remembering the steps, and so I decided to let them try out each step after I had demonstrated, rather than going along with my initial plan of demonstrating all the steps at once and then having them complete the prism!
I am definitely still learning more about the students even as I teach them everyday!
I agree with you, every day we are learning from our interactions with the students more about who we are as teachers, honing our skills and expanding our perspectives. Inasmuch as we think we are teaching the students, we are really learning alongside them too. I would like to suggest that instead of considering the students as having limited abilities because they had difficulties following through with the instructions, we could examine if they were developmentally appropriate. The concept of developmentally appropriate practices refers to providing an environment, offering content, materials, activities and approaches that are coordinated with a child's level of development and readiness. I am sure that you are aware from your studies in psychology that child development follows general, sequential patterns and is interrelated across cognitive, physical, social and emotional domains. Have a read of these articles and consider how the information can further inform our practices.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.albert.io/blog/how-to-implement-developmentally-appropriate-practice/
https://www.informalscience.org/sites/default/files/Handout_Introducing_your_preschool_audiences.pdf
Additionally, kudos to you for being able to adapt and adjust your lessons to facilitate and scaffold learning. Well done! Don't you agree just as much as we are teaching the students, they are teaching us too?
Cheers! Have a great week ahead!