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November 14th. Today I was switched to assist Alyssa's and Shannon's Art explorations class. The students were a bit younger than Mary's class but he class size was similar. It surprised me to see a significant shift in group dynamics. Students in this class were more reluctant to sharing and interacting. Some of them would refuse to participate or even answer questions. I wonder if this was because of them not being used to Shannon running the class, having a new assistant (me), or just an off day in general. The leading PP2 student teacher was going through a very rough and difficult moment, so maybe that may have affected her ability to engage the students somehow. Alyssa and I did our best to support the leader student teacher, and tried our hardest to create and maintain a flow during the lesson. Given the circumstances, I think it went well overall. Something I did have an issue with, is the term "DO NOW!" for the first assignment of every session. Maybe because I had never heard it before, but it seemed so authoritarian and demanding in the context of a virtual class. Maybe it was the exclamation mark that made it sound so harsh to me. At first, I thought it was a choice Mary had made, but in this class I realized it was a term being used by all PP2 student teachers. I wish I could changed the name to something more welcoming, playful, or fun. A name that could make students more excited to participate and engage with the class. I would probably call it a "warm-up" or "welcome activity" instead. I felt bad that the kids were not getting the full experience of what Saturday Studios has to offer. I know some of us can adjust better than others. And some truly struggle with remote learning. I think we are all doing the best we can, and it will take some time for everyone to fully learn to manage this new reality.

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November 7th. Students began working on their "Do Now" assignment as soon as I would let them come in. We noticed an unknown account before we took attendance. Mary asked me to get their name and to change it on the screen. The account was not answering our private chats. I decided to contact Gina to get advice on what to do about this situation. It's something that is new to all of us so I think its important that we learn to navigate and manage it properly. A couple of students showed their artwork to the class. Luckily, the student was identified and her name was added to the list. It was shocking to see how many students had their cameras off. A student in the class shared their name and pronouns on the chat, then quickly stated that their pronouns were actually different, yet hadn't come out to their mom yet. I thought that was brave and I wish I could have reached out more. I'm just glad they had the courage and felt comfortable enough to share with us. Spending these past three Saturdays with Mary and her comics class really helped me prepare for my own community-based project I'm organizing for my "Creating Community" class. It also makes me look forward to when I'll be in charge of running my on Saturday Studios Class.

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October 24th. On my first day at Saturday Studios, I was somewhat disappointed because I was switched to a different class. I originally signed up for Art Explorations but due to staff issues, I was moved to Mary's Comics Middle School class. I was able to talk to Mary about the curriculum before class, which was really helpful. Once the class started, I was in charge of letting students into the meeting, take attendance at a specific time, and help students and parents solve technical issues. It was stressful for everyone, since a lot of students weren't able to log in to their accounts. I enjoyed meeting the students. The lesson focused on Vocabulary mainly used in comics, such as illustrate, fictional, non fiction, comic strip, and comic book. I noticed most of them preferred to communicate through the Zoom Chat, which is understandable for their age and given they are just getting to know each other. Students were able to connect and socialize based on video/phone games they play, a popular game named "among us" in particular. They were all pretty passionate about comics and anime, it was great to see them come out of their shells and engage with the class and each other. Some of the students asked Mary if they could show their drawings and I was truly impressed by their artwork.

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Students-at-Work

-Focuses on independent work but in a shared studio space with teacher guidance.
-Learning happens mainly through material experimentation
Teachers roles:
-Informal direction/intervention
-One-on-one consultations
-Brief demonstrations
-Encouragement
-Help students reflect on their work
-continually assesses work process

CONNECTION:

Discovery Learning Model

I see many common goals and formats in the Students-at-Work structure and the Discovery Learning Model. They both focus on independent work specificically. Students-at-Work suggests that students are deeply involved with materials, techniques, and ideas, while the Discovery Learning Model "encourages motivation, active involvement, and creativity".

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October 31st. Halloween. Some of the students were a lot more comfortable and talkative. Some of them even wore costumes. Mary wore a costume as well, which was an awesome way to interact with the kids. Mary begins her class with an assignment called "DO NOW!" I personally think it's a little too impersonal and maybe even unwelcoming. I would probably replace it with an fun icebreaker activity and then have students dive into a more structured assignment. The lesson this week was based on sketching techniques, such as, hatching, cross-hatching, and stippling. Students shared more artwork artwork at the end of class.

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Chapter 20 introduces the concept of Differentiated Instruction and explains what it takes to accomplish this in depth. This way of teaching requires the teacher to get to know each student well, which allows the teacher to analyze what her students need to thrive on an individual basis. I think of it as customized teaching, that meets every unique student’s learning needs. This specific way of teaching has thirteen attributes. The chapter goes into detail as to what these attributes are, why they're important to observe and manage, and how to implement them successfully. The first one has to do with where the sources of what the students are learning come from. The second one talks about the different resources students have to help them learn. Number three explains how children learn best when they can connect with the material being taught. The fourth attribute mentions three types of goal structures: cooperative, competitive, and individualistic. Number five talks about the different levels of supervision the teacher gives students, whether the student is ready to work independently or needs extra guidance or support. The sixth attribute shows how to incorporate students’ ability to express themselves and how this can enhance their learning experience. Number seven explains how to use concrete, representational and abstract learning experiences correctly for specific age groups. Number eight talks about the importance of collecting data of students’ cognitive level from learning experiences in the classroom. The ninth attribute explains the level of structure needed and where is the structure coming from. The tenth attribute mentions the different possible combinations when grouping peers, when this interaction is highly successful, it is referred to as interpersonal complexity. Number eleven focuses on students’ conceptual levels, which is how students process complex information. Number twelve talks about the benefits of movement in the classroom and how teachers can use hands-on activities for students to create and express what they know by using their motor skills. Number thirteen suggests the use of different scales of objects, prints or models to maximize students’ learning.

It was interesting to read about situations that can go wrong when it comes to grouping. The amount of interpersonal complexity in a classroom could be off. These are called mismatches, and the symptoms can include disruptive behavior or inattention. I'm pretty sure I experienced some mismatches throughout my school years. There were classes where any group activity was either not taken seriously or the result was chaotic. Even more interesting, the same class with the same students would behave differently in classrooms run by different teachers. This makes me wonder what type of decisions were made or what was their thought process in grouping situations.

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Attention

-Most fundamental area of management in education.
-Motivation to learn won't happen if we aren't paying attention.
-Attention repertoire: set of effective ways (strategies/techniques/format) used to capture the attention of students.
-Repetition of any of these methods can turn into habituation, which is "the natural tendency of the brain to ignore a stimulus once it has become familiar."
-teachers must be mindful of learners with auditory, visual, kinetic, and kinesthetic strengths

Balancing the level of challenge for optimal learning
anxiety vs. boredom

students won't learn if the content is so hard that it gives them anxiety
students won't learn if the content is too easy that it makes them bored
-pre-assessment activities, analysis of data, and differentiating the learning experience can help teachers balance the level of challenge appropriate for each student

Educators should NEVER use sarcasm in their classroom.
sarcasm can build distrust and does not support the over psychological and emotional climate we should aim for our students.

Alerting moves keep students "on their toes"
I found these really interesting and would love to use them in the future
5. Unison: the whiteboard method sounds fun and engaging
8. Equal Opportunity: ways to keep track of who has answered and what students haven't been called on yet

Momentum

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Goal setting: Speed, Quantity, Quality

-this allows students to be actively involved in their own learning process and growth.
-they encourage students to make personal commitments, also helps them learn about self-regulation and self-evaluation.
-should be recorded and evaluated.
-specific, challenging but attainable.

Short-term vs. long-term goals:
-short-term goals work better.
-long-term goals should be broken down into short-term goals or subgoals.

As a future educator, I want to focus on goal settings in my classroom. I think it is crucial to involve students in setting both general and individual goals. This will not only help my students find their own intrinsic reinforcement and motivation but it will also help me track their overall performance and know their strengths and weaknesses better.

Knowledge of Results (Feedback)

In school, I always appreciated the teachers that were committed to giving constructive feedback in a timely manner. It would defintiely push me to try my best and to stay engaged in the material. Personally, it was a bit frustrating to do an assignment and get feedback weeks later, when your mind is already focused on the next lesson. It often made me doubt myself and my ability to continue learning at a consistent pace. I really wish I will be able to stay organized enough to be able to provide my students the feedback they need.

Similarity of Environment

-actions, feelings, formats, routines that can trigger the mindset of the learners
example: students in a science class are expected to put on their lab coats and take a seat. lab coats can signal a change of mindset in students = they are now scientists.

I want to create this type of change in my students when they come into our art classroom. I think I would use music and/or meditation. Or I would just give them 5 minutes at the beginning of class to just free-sketch, just like students free-write in english language classes.

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The chapter mainly emphasizes on a series of beliefs about teaching and learning, the use of repertoires and matching for different situations and scenarios in a classroom setting, and the key concepts of the skillful teacher framework which includes: the foundation of essential beliefs, management, instructional strategies, motivation, and a detailed focus on curriculum.

I personally connected with Chapter 3, on different levels. The idea of how crucial it is to build a positive learning environment with students, their families but especially with colleagues. As a parent, I’ve witnessed all three of these relationships throughout the years yet it is so interesting to see if from an educator’s perspective.

Chapter 18 goes into detail about lesson objectives and how to successfully reach them. It was very useful to have a step by step guide to really understand this process. The importance to communicate a clear objective to students in a language they can fully understand and be engaged by. Also the powerful effect these steps can have on a student’s learning experience.

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Rethinking ideas

-Rethink education/educational system
example:
School prepares young people for "the world of work."
What if the school prepared young people for "the world of play" instead.

Shifting arrangement

-shift the structure or the way we learn
example:
What are some alternative settings or environments we learn in, other than on a "chair" in a "classroom"?
i.e. in a garden, at gym class, at a museum, etc.

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"Ideas are embedded within social arrangement, which in turn produce effects"

This concept helped me realize how much of what we do on a daily basis comes from arrangements put in place to shape our everyday lives. I think it's important to know and understand where these arrangements come from and why they were set up in the first place. The I-A-E framework gives us the opportunity to make and assess change, whether it is based on big or small ideas. As a mother and future educator, it encouraged me to analize on the type of arrangements I have power or control over, and to think about how to utilize them in a way they can produce positive effects both in my household and my classroom.