Memo 3

Brette

I’m trying to develop a self- guided curriculum for four, individual students where the role of the teacher (ME) takes on more of the role as a co- learner and collaborator. Reading about the philosophy of the Reggio Emilia approach has really motivated my research as well.  Currently, I am forming lessons based on my students’ interests but also trying to developing long term projects as vehicles for future teaching within this specific population…  I’ve been carrying out lesson plans with selected students, moving towards individual IEP goals, while also developing specific objectives. Im also looking to present, clear and adaptive devices for my students through exploration of materials I have available and also allowing for more of choice based learning. It can be  really difficult trying to realize the countertransferences and being able to recognize when my kids need emotional support in class. Before beginning these lessons, I really researched and assessed the characteristics of the disabilities and also am trying to form  extensions that continue to challenge this population. I have also been keeping a behavior journal documenting difficulties I encounter on a daily basis.

With my ED student ( as Wexler suggested in her book) I asked him to write about a memory in his sketchbook, specifically a place … and then connect the memory to a sensory experience by making an identity box. He did not want to do this- he drew a picture and then wanted to work with the scratch boards and hatching tools. I did present him with some visual examples of the identity boxes but he completely dismissed the idea. The end result was a contoured drawing of a girl, his sister, who had committed suicide. I feel that he did however identify himself aesthetically although he chose another material to work with …. The end result was an emotional manifestation but he is very proud of this work. I am planning on continuing working more with this student through drawing exercises that exhibit personal outcomes that are meaningful to him.

My ADHD student is working on printmaking currently-  he was not in school today so hopefully we can continue the carving tomorrow.  He has become obsessed with celebrities lately, so I am doing a pop culture/ andy warhol independent project with him. ( More pictures to come, there is a Danny Devito piece that is actually really hilarious.) He will be using individual print blocks to create portraits and also learn about the pop art movement while integrating elements of color theory.

I have been struggling with my AS student for most of the semester. Wexler suggest “ shadow drawing”… and I tried to introduce a sign language lesson where you draw the contours of your hands overlapped, cropped etc…I pulled up the sign language alphabet on the smartboard and tried the guided release of responsibility. I completely lost him….  

In science that day, students were examining a deer heart together… he really expressed that we wanted to leave and go to see it, so I allowed him. Then, something clicked in my head,  Da Vinci’s early works, his medical journals especially.  The next day we researched some facts about Leonardo in class, such as he designed the first drawings for airplanes, submarines etc, we looked at drawings of fetuses.  I think this really got his attention, he actually put his phone away for the first time all year when I asked! I also presented a short video about Leonardo, I had his full attention right there.

This particular student is fascinated with anatomy… and the only subject he actually seems remotely interested in science. I borrowed the science teachers skeleton that week and asked that he design a composition using bones as the subject matter. I let him pick the media, he chose to use charcoal. What happened next was pretty intense, over a three day period he produced a organized composition, very realistic and included his thought process within the artwork! He chose to incorporate some facts he had learned around the contours… 

I have researched and found that many autistic individuals are usually non-verbal, however this does not mean that they are incapable of communicating. Hopefully, I can continue to reach him through a creative outlet that allows him to facilitate his own choices within his artworks…. I must say I am really pleased with the outcome.

More writing to come later.. Need to discuss my LD lessons…
“ All knowledge emerges in the process of self and social construction” – Rinaldi