Field Experience at Sycamore High School: Lesson Plans and Post Teaching Reflections

University of Cincinnati Visual Arts Education Program

Lesson Plan Format (2014-2015)

Name:Amy Minham & Brian Lewis

Week 1

Unit Title:Creating Dialogue

BIG IDEA:

Exploring Narrative

ARTIST/S:

• Gregory Crewdson

• Cindy Sherman

• Sally Mann

• Lee Miller

• Diane Arbus

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: (not art-specific and/or art-specific)

• How does the subject matter of the photograph represent their particular interests?

• Why did you choose to photograph it this way?

• What do you think could help strengthen your concept?

• What do you think is the strongest aspect of your piece?

• What was successful?

• How did the first two assignments help you strengthen your understanding of photography and narrative/theme?

INTENDED/STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:

UNDERSTANDINGS: Students willuncover these general inferences(developed over time through reflection or study) (not art-specific and/or art-specific):

• Students will imaginatively generate narrative interpretations of each other’s work.

• Students will work collaboratively to curate their photographs in order to create a broader sense of narrative.

• Students will work together to establish a critique manifesto.

• Students will thoughtfully engage in dialogue and critique of their photographs.

• Students will gain understanding about how their work is interpreted differently by their peers.

DISPOSITIONS: Students will strengthen/develop these attitudes or values(not art-specific and/or art-specific):

• Teamwork & Collaboration

• Dialogic engagement

PROCEDURE/SEQUENCING:(performance tasks)

Teacher Presentation

• 5 min: Introduction

• 5 min: Set up student work.

• 10 min: Assign photographs, write narratives

• 10 min: Curate photographs, discuss sequences

• 5 min: Artist presentation, talk about lighting, composition, filter, exposure, balance, angle: How does this affect narrative in a conceptual manor?

• Remainder Class Period: Critique and discuss ways that they can improve, and provide positive, constructive feedback.

Week 1 Reflection:

1) What was the "Big Idea" for the lesson?

The Big Idea for our lesson was "exploring narrative" however, the students didn't have prints of their narrative project so we ended up having to improvise a bit. We did discuss aspects of narrative and how other photographers use narrative in their work. Cole did have a series of prints that we looked at and critiqued in terms of their narrative quality. Despite having to adapt on the fly, I felt that Amy and I handled it well and we ended up having a productive and open dialog/critique.

ILOs:

Students will imaginatively generate narrative interpretations of each other's work.

Students will work collaboratively to curate their photographs in order to create a broader sense of narrative.

Students will work together to establish a critique manifesto.

Students will thoughtfully engage in dialog and critique their photographs.

Students will gain understanding about how their work is interpreted differently by their peers.

2a) What went well?

I think the most successful part of the lesson was definitely the critique. Some of the students had never had another art class and many had never engaged in a critique before the one critique they had during Mr. Griga's Photo class. When Amy and I asked them to describe the their experience of this critique they said it was silent and awkward. I was actually quite impressed with their level of engagement with the critique and insightful contributions to the discussion. Aside from one female student that seemed very shy about articulating her comments and a Colombian student who seemed to struggle a little with translating her ideas into English, the students spoke quite a bit which made me feel that Amy and I had been successful in creating a mood that made them feel comfortable. The other thing that I think was successful was that despite being thrown off by not being to proceed with the lesson as we had planned, we handled it pretty well. I could tell that Amy was a little more flustered by this than I was. I noticed she mentioned as much in her reflection. It made me feel pretty nervous at the time but the fact that I don't think it was too obvious and we got through it smoothly made me feel more confident.

2b) What could have been improved?

I think we definitely could have created a lesson that was more suited to the work they had to show us. However, as I mentioned before, we were able to adapt and talk about the goals they had for the assignments they did have to show. The other thing we could have improved, which we also adapted on the fly was the format for critique. We had originally decided to have each student pick one photograph and write down what they though was working well and one thing that they thought could be improved and then have them share what they wrote. This seemed to work fine, however, a couple students said they would actually like feedback from more than one person. We agreed that they would benefit more by having multiple opinions so we decided to have more of an open dialog about the works.

2c) What would you do differently next time you teach at Sycamore?

I will definitely make sure Amy and I create a lesson more suited to the goals of the work they have to show us. I think Amy is right that we should be prepared with a back up plan.

3) How did you contribute to the overall achievements of your team?

I contributed in a few ways. Together, Amy and I selected five contemporary photographers that use narrative in there work. Peter kept bring over books of the artists we were showing the students and mentioned that theses were photographers that he was going to show in class. That made Amy and I feel like we had done a good job selecting the photographers. I feel like i asked some probing follow up questions to comments during critique. I also felt that Amy and I work well together and I suspect that our approach helped to make the students feel more comfortable. I know it was a little awkward when we realized that the students didn't have any photos that showed narrative when our lesson was focused on narrative, but I think I helped quite a bit in navigating an alternate course. I was feeling it too, but I had a sense that Amy wasn't sure how to proceed. I think the fact that I appeared cool under that pressure helped Amy to feel more at ease. Likewise, Amy's laid back demeanor helps me to feel more relaxed as well.

4) What insights did you gain from this experience?

I think that the biggest insight from this experience was that you have to be prepared to adapt to the situation. Its definitely important to know the material you're teaching and be able to follow your lesson plan but sometimes the situation requires you to think on your feet. I'm glad that we had the fortune of experiencing that this week. Being able to handle that situation pretty successfully should make Amy and I feel more confident in our ability to teach. This experience will definitely help us plan for this coming Friday.

Week 2:

Name:Amy Minham & Brian Lewis

Unit Title:Dramatic Contrast

BIG IDEA:

Exploring Dramatic Contrast Through Lighting and Composition

ARTIST/S:

• Gregory Crewdson

• Cindy Sherman

• Lee Miller

• Diane Arbus

• Kyle Thompson

• Rupert Vandervell

• Andrea Garcia

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: (not art-specific and/or art-specific)

• How does the subject matter of the photograph represent their particular interests?

• Why did you choose to photograph it this way?

• What do you think could help strengthen your concept?

• What do you think is the strongest aspect of your piece?

• What was successful?

• How have previous assignments help you strengthen your current work

• How do the lighting conditions and choice of composition effectthe mood of your photos

INTENDED/STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:

UNDERSTANDINGS: Students willuncover these general inferences(developed over time through reflection or study) (not art-specific and/or art-specific):

• Students will discuss narrative interpretations of each other’s work while focusing on dramatic lighting and composition.

• Students will thoughtfully engage in dialogue and critique of their photographs.

• Students will gain understanding about how their work is interpreted differently by their peers.

DISPOSITIONS: Students will strengthen/develop these attitudes or values(not art-specific and/or art-specific):

• Teamwork & Collaboration

• Dialogic engagement

PROCEDURE/SEQUENCING:(performance tasks)

Teacher Presentation

• 5-10 min: Intro discussion about what they have been working on over the past week.

• 5 min: Set up student work.

• 20 min: Critique of their work. (each student will participate)

• 20 min: Artist presentation, talk about lighting, composition, filter, exposure, balance, and angle: How does this affect narrative in a conceptual manor?

• Remainder Class Period: Discuss how this experience has or has not changed their impression of engaging in critique. Thank them for allowing us into their class and for sharing their work with us.

Resources:

www.smashingmagazine.com

www.petapixel.com

Final Reflection:

The "Big Idea" of the 2nd week was Exploring Dramatic Contrast Through Lighting and Composition. Amy and I hoped to build on the ILOs from the previous week. Most of our lesson plan was focused on critique and dialog about their photographs. We knew that they may have some prints this week from their 3rd assignment which focused on lighting. Our aim was to spend a small portion of the lesson to discuss what they had been working on the last week as well as briefly addressing aesthetics. The 2nd portion of the lesson was basically to continue having an open discussion/critique of the students work. Finally, we wanted to show some contemporary photographers that use dramatic lighting in their work as examples to explore.

I think the lesson went really well based on the fact that every student contributed to the discussions/critique. Not only did every student contribute, but they all seemed to be very engaged in the discussion. Students who seem relatively shy the first week seemed more comfortable and willing to participate. The critique actually went so well that it ate up most of the time we had with the students. We actually had no time to present the artists and website we had intended to show them. Amy and I did a better job this week of planning for what the students might have to show us. I felt that we did a good job last week of adapting to the situation so this week seemed to be pretty natural, as if we were just having a conversation with fellow art students.

Something we could have done better was keeping track of our time and making sure we allowed for the artist examples we intended to show. I think Amy and I lost track of time and the critique was going so well we didn't really want to force it to end. On one hand I feel that we got really lucky with the group we were assigned, on the other hand, I think Amy and I created a comfortable and relaxed forum for the students to share their thoughts and criticisms.

I think Amy and I contributed equally in designing the lesson as well as its implementation. While we could have done a better job of managing our time so that we could have incorporated the PowerPoint Amy had prepared, I felt really good about the way we facilitated the discussion about the students' work. I felt that our preparation helped us to feel more comfortable with the material, however, our ability and willingness to let the conversation flow naturally was key to the success of our lesson. I feel like Amy and I work well together. We have different personality traits that compliment one another in this type of setting and I suspect this played a role in the overall success of our experience at Sycamore.

The biggest insight I have from this experience is that it is very important to be prepared when it comes to lesson planning, but even more important to be prepared to deviate from the original plan. This was the biggest takeaway from the first week where we had to adapt our lesson. It was also evident in our second week, albeit to a lesser degree. This is something that you can really only learn when experiencing it firsthand.