Student Teaching: Week 7

My oh my, last week was such a busy week!

I had my first observation and surprise surprise, I was pretty nervous! The observation took place during Sculpture which I presented my new lesson plan.  The students will be creating a sculpture inspired by their doodles I assigned them to create over the long weekend.  Looking back I would have changed a few things but overall I believe the presentation/delivery went well.  I will definitely revise the rubric and explain to the students that they will be highly graded on Sculpture-in-the-Round.  Next time when I introduce this project to my future students I will visually show them the difference between 2D and Sculpture-in-the-Round by showing them different angles of cardboard.

The students seemed to respond really well to the lesson plan (thank goodness because my adviser was there observing the classroom)!  All of the students (but one) are excited to create their sculptures (the one student informed that he thinks it is too challenging---oh well deary, that is the whole point of school)! The students were a little "bummed out" that we didn't have class time to work on their sculptures on Friday.  On the flip side, we went to an awesome admission presentation given by MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) which was PHENOMENAL and the students had a lot of fun with.

The day after my observation Ms. Wager was absent and I was in charge of the two Beginning Ceramic classes (compared to the day before I wasn't flustered at all, typical).  The students were angels and it seemed too good to be true in regards of how smooth everything was going....There were only 15 minutes left in the school day and there just so happened to be a major oops. A student knocked over a container of glaze which spilled all over the cabinet and the floor.  I understand accidents unintentionally happen but I was very upset because who ever knocked over the glaze left it there for me to clean.  I pulled up my big girl pants and gave it to the students.  I informed all of the students to stop what they were doing and to look at what someone did and left for me to clean.  I told the students they were not allowed to leave the class until the glaze was cleaned up.  I said a few other words about how Ms. Wager would be incredibly disappointed in them.  Four students got up from their seats and cleaned up the mess (which I took note of who).  I continued to lecture the students about having a conscience and doing the right thing (as in cleaning up something that you may have accidentally knocked over)! The students seemed a little shocked that I raised my voice but I most certainly earned more respect from them.

On a more positive note, most of the students in Beginning Ceramics finished their coil vessel projects.  The students had to create a vessel using different thicknesses and shapes of coils.  Students were allowed to roll thick or thin coils and form balls, spirals or even braids.  The requirements of the project were simple, the vessel had to be created by coils (or shapes/forms), at least 10 inches tall and the inside of the vessel had to be smooth.

The purpose of smoothing/blending the interior is to add strength to the vessel. One student "forgot" (more like was too lazy) to blend her coils together in the inside and after she completed her vessel she picked it up and the vessel broke in front of everyone's eyes. (Visual proof in regards of WHY you must blend the interior of the vessel.) Sadly, the student had to start over but on the brighter side she won't "forget" to blend the coils.

The students first hated this project (that's what they told me) but when I asked them again after the project they said they really loved it and thought the project was a lot of fun. The coil vessels came out BEAUTIFUL! This project really allowed me to see the students' individual creativity and imagination.  Some students incorporated braids or twists in their vessels.  Some of the vessels were closed while others were open (as if they were lanterns). Above is an image depicting the different executions of the coil project.  I am so so so so proud of the students and their creations...and not to mention it is wonderful to see the students are happy and proud of their own work!

Advance Ceramics: Day 30

YAY! I taught this specific class by myself! I am very happy to say that the class session went extremely well and the students responded great to my project/instructions.

The students in this class were introduced to their current project last week; Portrait Vessel.  However, Ms. Wager and I both have been witnessing that the students have been slacking off on this project and haven't really dived deep into it just yet... Hoping to motivate the students Ms. Wager asked me if I could boast their creative juices and kick the students into gear. Challenge accepted.

As the students walked in I played this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CI-0E_jses. (Glenn Muller- In the Mood). The students really loved this music as they entered class.  The students seemed excited and it was wonderful to see the students smile as they walked into class.  Some of the students added a little pep into their step and even Ms. Wager started dancing a little.

When the music came to a halt I revealed an image on the projector. The students immediately knew what was in store for the class. I informed the students that many seem intimidated by the new project and they are unsure where to start.  I explained to the students that they need some sort of inspiration and I used myself as an example.  I told the students I took this picture of myself and from the picture I could really vision how I would like to create my self-portrait vessel. I explained to the students that everyone needed to have a sketch of their vessel before they could work with clay.

The students did exceptionally well with my instructions.  They immediately went to work on their sketches.  I individually met with the students and we discussed their visions.  Some students took longer than the others but every student established what they wanted to create.

The students were all great and it was wonderful to see the students gain more confidence in themselves.  The students seemed less intimidated because they knew what they wanted to actually create!  I have a feeling we will all face a few bumps here and there but I'm very excited to see the students' final products!

Day 22: Sculpture

This class has been working on a fascinating and whimsical project.  With the random materials of wood, metal wired hangers, panty hoses, power drills, staple gun and acrylic paint the students have been creating beautiful sculptures.  By drilling holes into the block of wood, students were able to secure the metal wire into the wood and then create the 'skeleton' of the sculpture.  The students were instructed to make two sculptures that depicted a dance or a story. The first stage of this project took one whole class (roughly 80 minutes)! I thought it was great that the students had to work with power tools--good for hands on experiences!

The next class the students had to tightly cover their two sculptures with panty hoses.  This step was very important because it showed the true shape of the sculptures. I would walk around to each student and ask them to show me the dance or the story of their sculptures.  Most sculptures were very compatible meanwhile other students had to re-construct the form of their wiring to make the two sculptures more cohesive with each other. After approved, the students then coated their sculptures with a thick acrylic/glue medium. This process was pretty messed and took an entire class session as well.

The next class the students were instructed to choose an acrylic base color to paint their sculptures.  The students were directed that they had to paint the pieces in a gradient technique.  The darkest shade of their chosen color would be at the bottom and the lightest tint would be at the very top of the sculptures.  The base color (red, blue, green, purple, etc.) would be painted on the middle of the pieces.  The students seemed to have a hard time with this because the paint would dry before the could blend the colors or they would have too much paint on their brushes.  I went around to the students and instructed that it is easier to start with the true base color and then slowly add in white for the tint blending and to solely focus on the white before even thinking about shading with black.  After a while the students got the hang out of it and surprisingly the painting portion of this project is taking the longest.  Students have been painting for the past two class sessions and they are still in the process of painting the sculptures.

I spoke with the students about this project regarding if they liked it or not.  I was very happy to hear that the students were really enjoying the project and were eager to start it.  The students are learning through trial and error that blending is a difficult technique to execute especially while painting an abstract and warped sculpture.  I over heard the students and they think it would be "really cool" if we could display the sculptures as a unit by attaching the weird-looking projects onto a wall. (I think we may just have to do that!)