Week 1 - Creating with Recycled Materials

For this week we created art using recycled materials.  Our work was supposed to represent us and be used as a piece we would use to introduce ourselves to the class.

Reflection:  I really enjoyed this assignment.  However, I think with adult learners we were all a little self-conscious and would have benefited from having some time to get to know one another first.  On the other hand, as adult learners perhaps we also took the assignment too seriously, thinking we were being asked to bear our souls.  I think children would be able to take this assignment and run with it more by: 1. Being more authentic to being with (without fear) and 2. Finding ways themselves to adapt what they create to show what they are comfortable showing.

Adaptations:  I would adapt this by having some community building activities before.  I think this is very valuable for encouraging students to be genuine and be able to engage fully in the activity.  In a grade one class, I wonder about only putting out the recycled materials and not providing crayons or markers.  My rationale for this would be that in a classroom setting students are always given time to colour, so creating the restriction of only using the recycled materials would be a good way to really encourage them to use found pictures and artifacts to create art.  In fact, I may adapt it further by not making it an assignment where they need to “represent” themselves. 

Assessment:  Watching your students while they are working is a great way to do “on the spot” assessment.  Are they connecting with the materials?  When finished I would speak with each student about their piece to allow them time to explain what they did.  I think this would be a good way to assess the students.