Contextual Factors



Contextual Factors

Community, School and Classroom Factors

Fredericktown is a rural area located on highway 67 and highway 72 about one hundred miles south of St. Louis. The city of Fredericktown is home to approximately 4,042 residents. It is a small retirement community consisting of very few businesses, a Wal-Mart and one factory which dominates the job market in the town. Most of the residents drive to neighboring towns for employment. Although the citizens work out of town they attend one of the three large churches in town, all of which have very active youth groups. Of those not retired, the average salary is only $20,884 and the unemployment rate is over the state average at 6.3%. As a result school tax hikes are often denied, even though the district is in need of major building improvements and technology updates, because the retired and poverty stricken citizens can not afford high tax rates. In the district there are two elementary schools, one middle school, one intermediate, and one high school. The enrollment is about 619 students with an attendance of 93.7%. All of the schools are handicap accessible from every entrance and throughout the school.

The subject and grade levels are being taught by teachers in which 97.4% are considered highly certified teachers. The school as a whole has a student: teacher ratio of 18:1. This ratio is a bit higher than the states ratio of 14:1. The district is maintaining a steady enrollment not changing much throughout the past couple years. Fredericktown High School’s graduation rate is 83.8%, and of those graduates about 55% of the students continue their education through post secondary education like a two year, four year or technical school. Of the 53.2% high school students in which take the ACT, the average composite score is 19.7, well below the state average of 21. The high schools MAP scores are also well below the state with only 26.7% of females and 8.6% of males earning proficient in English and no students scoring at the advanced level. The math MAP scores were poorer with 9.1% of females and 15.2% of males scoring proficient and 2.6% of females and 1.3% of males scoring advanced.

There is not a great diversity of ethnicity in the school with 98.2% of the students being white not Hispanic. Of the students in the school, 48.3% of them qualify for free or reduced lunches. This percent is well above the state average of 41.7% of students on free or reduced lunches.

The technology in the art room consist of a computer for the teacher’s use only, a TV with VCR and DVD, and an overhead projector. Throughout the school, there are 3 students per computer and 5 students per computer with internet connection. In the classroom, there are about thirty Art In Focus text books purchased in 2005. The students are not allowed to remove the text books from the classroom. There is artwork from famous master on the walls and the two large bulletin boards. The supplies for the students are kept inside of the supply closet which is connected to the art room and in the storage trays assigned to the students. The policies for the art room and the high school are displayed in the front and the back of the classroom. The students also have a copy of the school policies in the daily planners. The rules help the students stay on task since the seven class periods are limited to forty two minutes. Each student is also allowed one of the three twenty minute lunches.

Characteristics of Students

The ethnic makeup of this class consists of 100% Caucasians. There are 11 males and 9 females. The class is a beginning level drawing and design class, so the students range in age from 15 to 18 years of age. Of the students in the school within this age group, there is a death rate of 24.1% out of every 100,000. Significantly lower than the state’s 64.6%. Several of the students in this age group are mature for their age and understand the content, but they prefer verbal and visual demonstrations since many of them have not had an art class since middle school. Most of the students are in the class to fulfill a fine arts credit because the state of Missouri requires students to have one fine art credit in order to graduate. There are a couple of students in the class in which further instructions are needed because one is hearing impaired and the other is autistic. Both students have aids who work with the art teacher, the special education department, and the student. There are also a few other students in which require additional one on one help is required. Students’ prior knowledge of Picasso style of painting, and cubism, was very limited when asked verbally to describe his work and style.

Students’ Varied Approach to Learning

As a future teacher, I understand how students differ in their approaches to learning and I will make modifications in the instructional strategies that are appropriate for all students to learn the content of the lesson. I will assess all activities with a pre assessment in order to gain knowledge of each students abilities and how best to accommodate them. I will assist aids, professionals, and parents to ensure students with special needs are accommodated throughout the lesson.

While presenting the lesson there will be various ways in which students learn. They will learn visually through images of Picasso’s work, artists work in the cubist style, and visual demonstrations I will perform in front of the class. I will also have scholastic art journals about Picasso the students can read. This will be a great way for the students to read the information as well as verbally hear me tell them about the artist. The hearing impaired student will also benefit from learning through reading and following along with the information I am talking about. Since he is such a visual learner, he and other visual learners sit in the front of the room in order to see well. For those students in who are auditory learners, they are not only going to hear me talk and present Picasso, they are also allowed to talk and discuss topics in class like verbal critiques. For those students who are kinetic learners, or hands on learners, they will be given a chance to hold Picasso images and create their own using colored pencils. Throughout the lesson, I will keep in mind the various student differences like learning styles, cultural differences, and disabilities and adjust the instructional strategies accordingly.

Student’s Skills and Prior Learning

Students in the art room tend to gather information they have learned throughout their art experiences in school and generate an idea of how well they are going to perform, what they are expected to do, and how the materials are used. In order to better teach them, I will need to get an idea of their prior knowledge of art and the materials used in art along with any other prior knowledge they might relate to throughout the lesson. As a teacher, I can have class discussions and hand out worksheets in order to ignite their thought process and allow them to build on their prior knowledge. By enabling them to think and then respond, the students will subconsciously relate the information to their own life, experiences, culture, values, and community. The new learning will be learned and obtained by relating it to information they are storing and sorting in their own heads. I will try to understand the students and the activities they are interested in order to better relate the information to them. I have noticed most of the students in the class are in the agriculture program at school, so I thought Picasso’s artwork of bull fighting would interest them and relate to their prior knowledge. The students’ skills, interest, and prior knowledge are important to know in order to be able to teach them in the most effective meaningful way.

Implications for Instructional Planning and Assessment

All of the school, community, student and learning factors contributed to my instructional strategies. I will be able to employ a range of instructional strategies such as group discussions and critiques, worksheets, examples of cubism and masters of that style, and productions in which demonstrate knowledge of the style. Throughout the lesson the students will learn about the elements of design, a unique artistic style, and self expression through art. They will use their prior knowledge to understand the cubism style and then create their own unique self portrait in that specific style. The discussions I use will relate to the interest and knowledge of the students and I will also be sure to provide step by step instructions to the class as a whole. Through pre-assessments, formal assessments, and post assessments, I will be able to monitor the students’ progression with each objective. I will also be able to monitor their learning in order to change my teaching strategy. I will tailor the lesson in order to ensure all students are provided the opportunity to learn and complete the cubism unit.

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