Observation of Art

I recently did two observations of the same class for art, with two different teachers.  Art has never been my strong suit (making it, I mean) and I wanted to get some ideas from some other teachers.

Both observations helped me in various ways, and not just with art ideas.  The first started off with the children very interested. The teacher used a lot of expression in her voice and even though children were calling out (things that were relevant) she accepted their ideas. She had a nice balance between managing behaviour and managing interest.

The lesson was actually part two of an earlier lesson, so she had to review what the class had done earlier. She did a lot of leading questions, such as: "Mrs x said you had to....?" and they finished the sentence. After they had reviewed the techniques that they were to use, they looked at a few of the pieces and went through them, seeing if they had used the techniques. This was a really good strategy as it made the children a) evaluate the work in a meaningful way and b) ensure that the children actually know what they are meant to do. When children were working, she also continued to ask them if questions such as: "Are you drawing a beak on your bird? Are you colouring in the middle?" to focus their work. She didn't tell them what to do, she made them think about it. During work, she stopped the class to hold up an example of a child who was doing the right thing. She fully explained what the child was doing and how that fit her criteria.

Afterwards I spoke with the teacher about where she gets her ideas. She gave me a few suggestions (pinterest was a big one). She also talked about a project (or curriculum, I guess) that had to do with Picasso and teaching different techniques (as opposed to making something). I'm hoping to find activities in the future where I can focus on the process instead of the final product.

The second observation was similarly helpful. I saw several teaching techniques as well as things that helped with art.  One thing I saw that I really liked was that the teacher talked through her teaching. She was having difficulty writing from one side of the board so she moved. But she explained it to her students. It was very quick but it was good modelling for how to solve problems.

She had a really good technique of getting children to do what she wanted without telling them. They were making rain scenes and she was asking children: "Could you use.... to make a puddle?" until she got the answers she wanted. But the children had ownership of it because they actually made the decision.

When children showed her their work, she asked a lot of questions, such as: "Does yours look amazing or could it look better?" and "What can you do to make it look better?" She was constantly moving around the classroom giving praise and listening to children. Often the children would come up with an idea and ask and she would say yes - and even suggest it to others.  Children's voices were definitely being heard. Even when she wanted to say no, she'd phrase it in a positive way so that it didn't seem like she was saying no.

All in all, these two observations were rather helpful in making me feel confident with teaching art to my class. I look forward to using these techniques and ideas.