AE 4200 GUIDED OBSERVATION

Natalie Hyde

The school I observed is Karrer Middle School, in Dublin Ohio. This school has a

population of 814 students with a 17.5 to 1 teacher ratio. The main student body is

Caucasian, making up 63%. Asian students make up 31.4% and students with two or more

races make up 3.2%. This is a very wealthy school district, with not a lot of diversity in the

student population. Only 2.7% of students receive a free or discounted lunch.

This day we observed two 6th grade classes making paper machete pumpkins. Its

almost Halloween so the kids really seemed to enjoy this project. When we got there, we

saw the final steps of this project. The students had already done the paper machete and

painted the pumpkins orange. This day we watched them finish the faces on their

pumpkins and add in a yellow shadow to make them look like they are glowing.

For this day, a possible learning objective could have been, make a flat object look

three dimensional, and how to mix paint. The yellow paint was too transparent to show up

on the yellow so they had to mix in white to make a light yellow that will show up on the

pumpkin. Possible learning objectives for the whole project could be, students will learn how to

paper machete, students will learn how to create a basic sculpture with newspaper and tape, and

students will learn paint an object to look realistic. I can infer this about the day because he did a

demo and explicitly explained what he wanted them to accomplish that day and how to paint in a

way that will give the pumpkin depth.

There are a lot of possible standards that could tie into this lesson. The first one is 1PR

Demonstrate technical skill and craftsmanship in the use of materials, tools and technology to

solve an artistic problem The pumpkins faces are flat so to solve the problem the students had to

learn how to make the flat surface have depth. The next standard that it covers is 2PR
AE 4200 GUIDED OBSERVATION
Experiment with a variety of techniques and working methods when creating an original work of

art. For these pumpkins they had to use newspaper, tape, paper machete, paint and glue. They

used many different materials and techniques to create one work of art. Another standard

covered was 4PR Transform perceptions and processes into two- and three dimensional

artworks. They took flat news paper and made three-dimensional pumpkins and then painted

them and used a painting technique that made the flat paint have depth. They used both two and

three dimensions to create this project. The last standard that I think was touched on was 5RE

Assess personal progress to improve craftsmanship and refine and complete works of art. They

were at the end of the project so when they finished adding the yellow to their pumpkin, they

showed it to the teacher and he pointed out areas that needed cleaned up and fixed to make the

pumpkins as perfect as they could be.

To assess this project, I would make a rubric. I would make sure they hit all of the

learning objectives in the rubric. A lot of the pumpkins were crafted well, but some of them were

just thrown together, so I would definitely include an area for neatness on the rubric. I also

would have an area for the 3D component. He did a demo of how to make the face look three

dimensional, so if he took time of out class to really demonstrate that, it is important. Most of the

students understood the concept, but you could tell some of them didnt understand or care to do

it right. I dont really think that this teacher uses any type of assessment. I think as long as the

students do the project, then he is happy and lets them pass the class.