Last day of Fieldwork

Today was my last day at LaGrange Middle School, teaching 6th graders. My time there has gotten stretched out because of sickness, hurricanes and school trips! Luckily, it has been absolutely wonderful.  My mentor teacher is so positive and encouraging, I really enjoyed being in her classroom. From the beginning she was so open, allowing me to be creative with my lesson. She had vocabulary lists for me to incorporate, and suggested I integrate the activity with math or literacy. Other than that, she let me choose what I wanted to do. My lesson took 3 class periods all together, a day for intro and reading/ writing activity, a day for working and a day for sharing and reflection. I am so grateful to my mentor teacher for giving me as much time as I needed to complete all aspects of the project.

When I first got the assignment to work with 6th grade, I was hesitant. Technically, it is still elementary and I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to incorporate the complex ideas from Aaron's class into my fieldwork. With my students, I did approach subject matter from a simpler point of view, however all of the elements of lesson planning were utilized. I had to consider carefully, "what are my objectives?","what do I want them to have?", "how will I assess them?". This is the first time I really gave any thought to assessment. In Beth and Jessica's classes we left that part of the lesson's out. I feel that we have some amazing tools now, with the readings and all the discussion about assessment. It is something that every one of us will need to know how to do, and now we have clear guidelines to consider when grading our students. My 6th graders were so articulate when discussing each other's work! The project was to make watercolor paintings based on haiku poems. Our last class (today) was designated for sharing our work. Each student read their chosen poem and as a class we talked about specific elements of the painting, connecting it to the haiku. Students were so enthusiastic and thoughtful! I expected more of them to be shy, but they were really excited to talk about their work and the art of their classmates! We revisited vocabulary, and they were all thinking technically and conceptually. Throughout the day, I had 5 classes, with a total of 75 students! It is true what Aaron said, as the day goes on you can fine-tune the lesson. Each class is so different, so even with the same subject matter, it never gets boring! I am constantly amazed by the complex thinking and insight of these students. By the second week, I decided I love 6th grade.

I really feel that all of my Art Ed. classes have prepared me for my Fieldwork experiences . I have learned so much from Beth, Jessica, and Aaron. The common thread running through all 3 classes has been the idea of a Constructivist approach to education. No matter what we are teaching, we can use the methods of question-based discussion and allow students to build their own knowledge. It's proven to be so helpful in fieldwork and in Theory and Practice. Students are much more interested when they can participate! In the end, we learn from them too.