3A Reflective Essay

3a. Selecting learning activities based on prior knowledge and other assets

As an art teacher, I teach in ways that students are interested and engaged in the lesson. I also make the projects where students feel a sense of accomplishment. I teach two Art Fundamentals classes, one of which is the class with the Multiple Disabilities program. Although both classes are learning the same material, I make accommodations or modifications to the assignment so that all students can show that they learn the material. I differentiate instruction so that all students can learn. For students who struggle with the creative process, I explore the student’s interests to see if there is something that they are interesting in, and develop the idea in a way

The first informal assessment that I use is that I ask the class for their own understanding of the word ‘space’. Students have varying definitions of the word. This gives me an idea of what the students know. At the end of lesson 1, I give the students a worksheet that is collected and graded as a formative assessment. This shows me if the students are able to apply what they learned to complete the worksheet. At the beginning of lesson 3, I give the students an index card in which they write down something that they know or understood from the previous lessons, or write down what they do not know. Students can display what they know, or do not know, in any way they can. This gives the students the opportunity to show what they know or ask any questions anonymously. This is helpful for students who are shy and passively engage in lessons. They can write down what they know to show show that they understand the concepts. If a student is too shy to ask questions, this is also a way for students to ask the questions about anything that they may not fully understand. This is a student performed self-evaluation on how well they understand a concept, and lets me know what students know and which students may be need help. Throughout all of the lessons, I walk around and monitor the progress of the students. If they are working on a worksheet, I look at which activity the student is on and

I want to give all students the opportunity to display their knowledge through a creative piece of art. However, many of the students in the Multiple Disabilities program lack the ability to think on their own. For example, the students can use any letter that they want and any object that they want for their project. Many of the non-disabled students are able to get started right away, but those in the Multiple Disabilities program struggle with just starting an idea. When given too much freedom, they do not know where to begin their project. In an art class, I want students to be able to freely choose what they want as the focus of their project, but these students struggle when given freedom. To address this, I have printed the do’s and do not’s of the project where students can see the requirements for the project. I also give suggestion for the students for the