FIELD 614 RATIONALE

Background
My field lesson for 612 was done in a behavioral reassignment school called
Southeastern Education Center (SEC). The student body of this school
consists of middle school students that are expelled from other Milwaukee
Public Schools. The students are referred to SEC once they are expelled. In
the beginning of the year the schools attendance starts low, about 30
students, by the end of the year the attendance is at its highest of 100
students. The amount of students identified as needing special education
services is much higher here than other school because of the significant
behavior problems we attract and the small amount of students compared to
other schools. The percentage of special education students is
approximately 30-45%. The students who are not identified still experience
delays in academics, maturity, and self-control.
The lesson was a nonacademic lesson developed to instruct students with
disabilities in no-academic standards. In this lesson I taught an art class
where I instructed students to write their name in graffiti letters. This begin
this lesson I gave the students the difference between graffiti and vandalism,
as to not give anyone illegal ideas. I then gave instructions and
demonstrations on how to write graffiti letters and different styles of letters.
From there students are given examples and instructed to try on their own,
while I come around and provided individual and small group support.
During this individual work time students are instructed to speak with their
group members to discuss the different types of graffiti they see, what is
their favorite, and how can they make their work better. Speaking to each
other opens the students up for positive dialog and develop relationships.
While I am giving individual and small group instructions I also demonstrate
to the students how to start a conversation with one another so students are
able to converse in a positive manner and develop new relationships.
Rationale
The purpose for this lesson was to instruct a nonacademic activity with a
diverse group of students. I pulled a group of students together and started
instructing an art activity. I implemented a graffiti activity that focused on
the art aspect, because art is therapeutic and relaxing. The other aspect of
the lesson was the socialization skills I was trying to implement. I developed
the lesson to focus on a socializing piece to help students develop
appropriate socialization skills, especially for students who struggle
developing relationships. The art piece was the activity to bring the students
together and give them common ground to discuss.
Teaching Standards
 FIELD 614 RATIONALE

Standard #5: The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group

motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages
positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-
motivation. In this lesson I demonstrated this standard by fostering the
conversation development of students to produce meaningful positive
conversations between one another. In this lesson I gave the students
multiple examples visually, verbally and written instructions. I understand
my students need as many example and explanations when trying new
activities. I provided them with a visual example, a demonstration, written
instruction, and individual support. I provided the students with positive
encouragement and fostered positive discussion between students.
Standard #6: The teacher uses knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal,
and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration,
and supportive interaction in the classroom. In this lesson I provided the
students with a power point presentation of different graffiti examples and
definitions. After the presentation I left the slide show going displaying the
different graffiti works and letter styles so students could refer to and be
inspired. This also assisted the student in the development of conversation
between peers. The media presentation gave the students opportunities to
develop conversations about the art work, collaborate with peers, and
support their development of their art work. The students used the media to
start conversations about which was their favorite, and how they can get
their pieces to be more similar.
CEC Standard
Standard 5: Learning Environments and Social Interactions. In this lesson I
set up my classroom to help set my students up for a successful learning
environment with minimal disturbances. I set the desks together in small
groups of 4 to minimize the amount of disturbances and negative
interactions. The small groups help keep volume levels down and behaviors
under control. The groups help build collaboration amongst students and
develop conversations amongst each other. As a teacher I am constantly
monitoring different groups engaging in conversations guiding them to be
positive, productive, and on task with the art assignment. In this lesson I left
the slide show playing in the class while the students worked to help foster
conversation and social interactions amongst one another. The learning
environment is calm while students are working peacefully with each other.

Standard 6: Language. In this lesson I purposefully selected the language I

wanted to teach during my class presentation of graffiti. This lesson was
about graffiti and the difference it has from vandalism. I displayed different
examples of vandalism and graffiti showing the art content between each,
and one is legal while the other is illegal. The language I used informed the
 FIELD 614 RATIONALE

students on the type of art we are doing, artists who complete the graffiti
style are, and gave them opportunities to practice the language during
discussions through interactions with peers.
Standard 8: Assessment. In this lesson I assessed the students abilities to
follow directions, complete the assignment, and engage with one another.
The students were informed on what they would be graded on and was given
a rubric to follow as they complete the assignment. In this lesson I assessed
the student through formative and summative assessments. The formative
assessments were done through a formal rubric and grading of the students
art work depending on their efforts in the assignment. The summative
assessment was done by observation and informal notes based on the
conversations and engagement in the lesson.

Education Theory
The educational theory this lesson supported was John Deweys theory of
experiential learning. Students learn how to draw their graffiti letters
through doing. Students learn how to converse with each other about the art
work by talking. This lesson was developed for students to work while they
learn and develop appropriate social interaction with peers developing stunt
not only academically but foster appropriate socialization skills.