2/5/2019
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Andrea Obenland
|
I had a highly functional autistic student in ceramics wheel class last spring. I found what worked best for them was to be on a wheel that was closer to where I could easily get close to them for help. Sitting down with them and having them go through the steps one by one also helped them to understand the steps. For example--they had to trim their pots so I would walk them through how to do it, they then had access to a visual laminated card that also went through the steps if I was busy with another student. As the semester progressed I provided the student with a checklist of assignments done at this point as well as what was coming up. I found that the student worked best from a hands-on approach and with visuals whether they be as videos or "flash cards". Breaking the steps down and related them to why this or that happened also helped the student to learn and be more confident on the wheel. |
2/5/2019
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Andrea Obenland
|
1. Students struggling to organize their thoughts when planning their piece from research to studio work would first create a Semantic Map in their sketchbook (mind map) and begin with the overarching idea in the center. From what they have researched on the artist they will begin writing ideas off that main idea of how best to create their finished piece. This could include media used, symbolism, images for research, etc.
2. I could also use the Learning Contract with various students in hopes that this could help in organizing their work based on skills that they will use, content that they will include, what timeline they will need for the entire process, and come to an agreement between them and myself. |
2/6/2019
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Andrea Obenland
|
One of my past ceramics students has Aspergers and had a hard time remembering day to day instruction. The class was a mix of wheel and hand-building, which made it hard for any of my students to master the wheel due to the fact that they were also creating hand-built pieces. I had all of my students explore the wheel (create one cylinder) as well as creating hand-built pieces (one pinch pot, one coil pot, and one slab pot) and by the middle of the semester were able to determine what suited them best for the remainder of the assignments. This student did try the wheel over a two week period but found that he was not a fan of how dirty his hands got and would often get frustrated. I felt that he would benefit more from concentrating on hand-building and modified some of the wheel work in to hand-built pieces. I found that when he started his coil pot he really enjoyed the process and that it was more structured than the wheel and less messy. I modified the height requirement as he was very meticulous with the construction. He was also more comfortable away from the other students while he was working so often he would choose to sit away from the other students, we only have two large tables in our room, so he would not get distracted. He had a tendency to want to fall asleep so I had to stay near him, on occasion, to make sure he stayed on task. |