EPSE 307/308 Assignment - Theory to Practice

Theory to Practice Addendum

Christine Grippo

EPSE 307/308

October 21^st/13

The first theorist that is identified in the form of the Language Arts & Fine Arts lesson plan is Plato. His philosophy suggested that children should be taught by experts, and therefore not to be educated by merely their parents and family members (Woolfolk and Perry 2012, p.33). This lesson plan includes a teacher facilitating in a modern, North American classroom, instead of the home-school method. Therefore this lesson plan is on par with Plato’s philosophy that children should not necessarily be taught by their parents, but rather by experts such as teachers who have graduated from a specified program such as the Bachelor of Education.

The second theorist that is notable in the Fine Arts lesson plan is Conrad Lorenz. Lorenz was the person most associated with ethology, specifically the idea of imprinting (Woolfolk and Perry, 2012, p.34). The art portion of the lesson plan is clear that the student’s work should not be a copy of the illustrations from the storybook, but rather an adaptation into their own expression. The students are not to imprint on the storybook, however tempting it may be, rather to use the story as inspiration for their own artistic project. This aspect of the lesson plan is important and also up for interpretation. Often children are curious to explore in an art period because there are less restrictions than in say a Math lesson. Some children, however, do not bode well with the open-endedness and creativity that is desired in an art lesson. It can be difficult for children when there are fewer criteria or loser structures than they are used to. Because of this, children can sometimes copy instead of make an original work during an art lesson. This is why the lesson specifies that the illustrations from the book be for inspiration only, and not to be copied directly. I believe this to be along the lines of what Lorenz was saying in his description of imprinting. The worry is that students will copy whatever the teacher tells them to, because they become so attached to the teacher as a guardian figure.

Vygotsky’s theory of sociocultural theory and human activities taking place in cultural settings is key in an art lesson (Woolfolk and Perry, 2012, p.51). Students cannot be artistic if there are too many rules and restrictions. However, a classroom will turn to chaos in a matter of seconds if teachers do not designate an appropriate social setting. It is key that the art lesson is not to be done silently, but rather quietly. Students are allowed to talk and discuss, so long as they do not inhibit the teacher from teaching or the fellow students from learning. This is to allow for the children to use “private speech” as Vygotsky said was important (Woolfolk and Perry, 2012, p.213). Private speech is important in cognitive development, which may not be as relevant in this lesson since it is aimed at a grade 3 classroom, but I still believe it should be noted that students are allowed to speak to themselves and one another to create a collaborative atmosphere.  The cultural tools used in this assignment are examples of Vygotsky’s belief that tools play important roles in cognitive development (Woolfolk and Perry, 2012, p.51). Fine arts play a role in fine motor skills development. Students are expected to scaffold from their partners work, and not to copy from one another but just borrow ideas to inspire their own work. This concept of scaffolding but not copying is emphasized throughout the lesson as well as addendum.

The cultural tools used in the lesson plan are less apparent, in my opinion, as having a large impact on the students learning. The use of construction paper, pastels, tissue paper and glue is not out of the ordinary for a British Columbia elementary classroom. The zone of proximal development, however, is more apparent in the lesson plan. I believe the ZPD should always be apparent in lesson plans, no matter the subject. It is important that the teacher instructing the “Fletcher and the Falling Leaves” lesson is aware of the students current development level, and the level of potential development (Woolfolk and Perry, 2012, p.216). The language arts aspect of the lesson plan is below what a grade three’s reading comprehension should be at, as set out by the British Columbia Ministry of Education. However, the ability to listen to the story and then remember and reflect upon it later in the day for a different activity is more in the grade three range. Fine arts development is especially difficult to measure, in my opinion.

It is important that the oil pastel drawing is challenging for the students, as well as stimulating and inspiring. My hope would be that the students think outside the box and are able to smudge their colours and use artistic license without having to be prompted to do so. Scaffolding is imperative in any classroom, no matter if the teaching style is a Reggio Emilia approach, or a strict scheduled private school, there will always be adult assistance and peer review that affects students learning. The scaffolding that is relevant in this particular lesson plan is mainly at the beginning with the teacher lead direct-instruction, and at the end of the lesson during the gallery walk. The gallery walk is intended for the students to be able to scaffold off of one another’s work. It is a silent process, with the opportunity at the end to make additions and edits to each students artwork if they saw something they liked and want to make their own interpretation on it and add it to their original piece.  I think the most difficult aspect of the lesson will be the lack of structure in it. I expect that throwing a wrench into the student’s routine will most affect them and make this lesson challenging and therefore at a good range in the ZPD.

The purpose of having the read aloud for the story instead of having each student have his/her own copy to use is so that the students are challenged to engage in listening comprehension. The students must rely on the read aloud and their memory for the information necessary to do the assignment later. Students must rely on their syntax to be able to piece the story together after they have heard it, in order to draw their picture. As Piaget noted, students must be past the sensorimotor stage and carry out operations, so they can mentally account the story.

The lesson plan shows areas of assisted learning and guided participation throughout, as Vygotsky emphasized is important in education environments (Woolfolk and Perry, 2012, p.215). The sociocultural theory of Vygotsky’s is definitely relevant throughout my fine arts lesson plan. History and culture play a huge role in art, and are the core guides in the learning and development of this art lesson (Woolfolk and Perry, 2012).  

One of the main aspects I try to emphasize in my fine arts lesson is Ester Thelen’s self-organization from her dynamic systems theory. With self-organization students can change themselves and evolve their learning through activity (Woolfolk and Perry, 2012, p.55). I believe this is very important in the fine arts, because it is a subject that is always better learned through experience rather than lecture. The read aloud and instructions parts of the lesson plan are necessary for the students to be able to self-organize without being overwhelmed by the possibilities. It is important to set up boundaries and then allow the students to explore, on their own, within them.  

References

McDevitt, T., Ormrod, J. (2013). Child Development and Education. Pearson Education.

Woolfolk, A., Perry, N. (2012). Child and Adolescent Development. Pearson Education. New Jersey: USA.