4. How did you plan and implement the components of Studio Habits of Mind and/or Teaching for Artistic Behavior in your instructional planning and teaching of these two (2) lessons? 

• To begin this lesson, students engaged in a brief demonstration and dialogue regarding how thick to make their sculptural pieces. This allowed them to develop craft by learning a memorable way to determine if their clay was too thick or too thin to be fired and stay structurally sound. We discussed the “cowabunga” rule, where students would hold up a Y shape with their thumb and pinky as a reference. Clay pieces and walls were supposed to be no thicker than their thumbs but no thinner than their pinkies to allow the pieces to dry and fire properly. Students had to repeat the rule and show me their cowabunga signs before we moved into working. Then, throughout the class, they were seen and reminded to use the sign to help them determine if their clay was an appropriate thickness.

• The majority of the class was dedicated to students practicing the studio habit of mind of stretch and explore as they worked on completing their sculptures. Students referred to techniques discussed in the previous class, including coiling, rolling slabs, and creating pinch pots, and were able to experiment with how to combine these techniques to achieve their desired outcome. Students were seen discovering how to combine pinch pots to make hollow spheres or turn them upside down to add surface decorations to the bottom. They also experimented with flattening coils, cutting out shapes from slabs, building braces to hold clay while it dries, and smoothing joined pieces to create unnoticeable seams.

• The end of class was focused on the studio habit of mind of reflect. Students cleaned up their areas and supplies before engaging in a small group gallery walk around the room to observe the work of their peers. While participating in the gallery walk, students were asked to discuss what they noticed and wondered about their peers’ artwork, and what hand-building techniques they observed being used in the sculpture. Students were able to identify a range of emotions, ideas, and techniques that their peers used and how they used them in their sculptures.

5.  How did you plan and implement Social Emotional Learning (SEL) benchmarks into your two (2) lessons? 

• This lesson implemented the social-emotional learning benchmark of 1C.1a. (Identify and set short-term personal or academic goals). Students at this age understand how to develop short-term personal and academic goals and find ways to complete them. Each student set a goal for what sculpture(s) they wanted to have completed by the end of the class period so that they could dry and be fired over break. Students had to plan which idea they wanted to sculpt, what hand-building techniques they wanted to use and where, and how large they were going to make their sculpture. This process allowed students a chance to problem-solve to meet their goals in time, practice their learned vocabulary and hand-building techniques, and assist other students in meeting their own short-term goals.

6. A. Did your students meet the learning objective(s) of the lessons? 

• My students were able to meet all their learning objectives for this lesson. Following the dialogue/demonstration, students were able to develop craft by considering how the thickness of their clay would affect their final sculpture. Students were observed stretching and exploring during their independent practice, reinforcing their learned hand-building techniques and discovering how to combine them. Finally, students were able to reflect on the techniques used by and ideas of their peers during the gallery walk.

6. B. List the assessments you used to come to that conclusion.  

• I assessed my students’ abilities to develop craft using a question-and-answer technique during our demonstration. Students had to hold up their cowabunga sign and identify which finger was the maximum and which was the minimum thickness. I was further able to assess their understanding during their independent practice as I observed students using the sign and asking questions to make sure they had the right thickness of their clay. I assessed my students’ ability to stretch and explore by watching them work on their sculptures and then analyzing their sculptures at the end of class to check for their hand-building techniques and that their sculptures were free-standing. Finally, I assessed my students’ ability to reflect during the gallery walk by observing and listening to them discuss the artwork of their peers, and asking them prompting questions such as “What hand-building techniques do we see in this sculpture?”

6. C. Analyze and discuss how students met or did not meet the learning objectives by citing evidence from your assessment of student learning.

• During our discussion on clay thickness, I observed students participating in holding up their cowabunga sign and explaining that they would use their thumb to make sure their clay wasn’t too thick, and their pinky to make sure the clay wasn’t too thin. I further observed students using this technique while participating in their independent practice. Students would roll coils or slabs and then hold up their hands next to them to make sure that it wasn’t too thick or too thin. If students were still unsure, they would ask for teacher assistance, and we would check together that the clay thickness met our requirements.

• During our independent practice, I was able to observe and photograph students as they experimented with combining hand-building techniques to make their clay sculptures. Many students constructed slabs as a base for their sculptures and then added details on top using coils or slabs, or by carving into their base slab. Students made coils of varying thicknesses to add facial expressions to their sculptures. One student made multiple flattened coils and attached them to make a star shape. Another student experimented with carving into her slab to add further depth and definition to her coiled letters. There was another student who put two pinch pots together to make a hollow sphere for the head of her sculpture. Another made a pinch pot and then turned it upside down as a round base for her sculpture as opposed to a slab. Finally, one girl discovered how easily clay picks up texture and began using a toothbrush to make a leaf-like texture on her berry bush.

• During the gallery walk, students were very engaged in observing and reflecting on the artwork of their peers. They were very interested in seeing what everyone else made besides their neighbors at their original table. I asked students to think back to our notice and wonder activity a few classes ago and use that idea as a jumping-off point. I heard multiple students say they enjoyed the cat sculpture one girl made. Students theorized over whether one sculpture was a dog or a clown. I also asked students if they could identify what hand-building techniques were used in the sculpture. Many students were easily able to find coils being used for mouths, eyebrows, bows, and added decorations.

 6. D. Based upon this analysis and discussion of student learning, what will you do next with your students (i.e., reteaching needs, next steps, how to move forward, etc.)?

• Everyone was able to complete their sculptures and had interesting observations on everyone’s sculptures. I feel confident that next class we will be able to move on to discussing different finishing processes for ceramics and then paint our sculptures. I plan on doing at least one more gallery walk before the end of the semester and will reassert the expectations of a gallery walk when the time comes. I noticed lots of students getting very close to or actually touching the artwork of their peers. While no major damage was done, I know many students were concerned about their artwork following the gallery walk and were not happy with their peers touching their sculptures. I briefly addressed this at the end of class and apologized for not setting some ground rules before we started our gallery walk. Next gallery walk, I will be sure to clearly set ground rules for students, including not touching the artwork in front of them and making sure they stay with their groups.

7. A. In what ways did you provide feedback, both planned and in-the-moment, that supported students’ learning and encouraged active participation? Provide specific examples. 

• I went into the lesson knowing I would want to give lots of feedback on scratching and scoring with students. I had one student who was very efficient with his scratching and scoring and I made sure to comment that I knew his pieces would be securely attached to his sculpture. Many students did a great job smoothing out their seams when attaching pieces, and I commented that I could tell they took their time when attaching their pieces because I couldn’t even tell that they were originally 2 separate parts. I noticed that while some students were scratching and scoring, many were forgetting to. I decided to do a quick unplanned demo for the class with some clay to show them the importance of scratching and scoring so that their sculptures do not fall apart. The class was very receptive, and I saw lots of improvement afterward. As independent practice was coming to an end, I had one student who was worried that she wouldn’t be able to attach all the apples to her tree. I told her she could use that to build a story around her tree like maybe some of the apples fell off or someone came and picked them. I had another girl who was having trouble getting the wings of her bird to stay up. She took some clay and tried building crutches to help hold them up. She didn’t feel confident that it was working, so she changed her design and made it so the duck was holding a donut in his lap instead. I told her those were two thoughtful solutions and that she did a great job problem-solving and adapting to the challenge she was facing.

7. B. How did you ensure that this feedback was helpful, constructive, and meaningful to students?

• To ensure feedback was meaningful to students, I made sure to elaborate on why I was giving them that feedback. This allowed students a deeper understanding of what they were doing and served as a reminder to their neighbors on how they could be working. For example, when I complimented one student on his slipping and scoring, I made sure to tell him that this meant his pieces would be securely attached and not fall off.  His peers at his table seemed to take notice and worked on improving how much they were slipping and scoring their pieces as well. When I complimented one girl on her problem-solving with her duck wings, I also made sure to mention how making braces is a common practice for sculptors. Sometimes pieces won’t stay up until they dry and become more stiff, so sculptors will use clay like she did or other objects and create a support under those pieces until they are sturdy enough to support themselves.

8. How did you address the following principles of culturally responsive and sustaining education in your planning and instruction [see also: your lesson plans in Section 2: Designing Two (2) Consecutive Lessons]:

1. Welcoming and Affirming Environment:

• To create a welcoming and affirming environment. I focused on having students “create opportunities for others to join the conversation.” During the small group gallery walk, students discussed the artwork of their peers respectfully and practiced active listening skills. Students were able to make observations of their peers’ artwork, ask questions about it, and collaboratively brainstorm possible answers to those questions without directly asking the artist. All students were engaged and provided multiple opportunities to share their thoughts and opinions.

2. Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment:

• Inclusive curriculum and assessment were represented in this lesson through “multiple ways of assessing in-classroom learning that allow all students to demonstrate their knowledge and growth over time and align to the varied learning styles and interests of those in the class community.” This was done by using a written/drawn trickle-in activity, independent work time, large group instruction, a small group gallery walk, and a turn-and-talk closure. This allowed students to demonstrate their knowledge verbally, in a written manner, through hands-on work, and in large group, small group, partner-based, and independent settings.

3. High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction:

• High expectations and rigorous instruction were shown as students “promote[d] the group’s success and support[ed] the participation of everyone in the learning task.” During their small group gallery walk, students held their peers accountable for the group discussion and provided feedback on the sculptures in front of them. Everyone shared their notices and wonders on the sculpture and then provided different theories to answer their groupmates’ questions. When students were asked about what techniques they saw used in the sculpture, they were able to ask their groupmates for help if they were having trouble identifying a technique or where to find it.