I have the
privilege of working this semester with Mary Franco’s 2nd and 3rd grade
art students at John Ridgeway Elementary School; aka Ridgeway. I will introduce you to her students in a
moment, but I feel that this unique coeducational school community also needs an introduction. Ridgeway
is an autonomous K-5 charter school with it’s own governing board. Parents within the Columbia school district who want their children to attend Ridgeway are placed on a lottery style waiting list. They structure themselves within the IGE
(Individually Guided Education) approach towards education by:
- Combing two grade levels at a time - K/1st, 2nd/3rd, and 4th/5th
- Having there teachers work in teams
- Offering a flexible grouping of students with 3 tracks of varying student needs per paired grade level
There are
nineteen students in Mary’s 2nd/3rd grade art class. She explained to me that there are some “small
behavioral problems within the group,” but in general her students can be categorized
as a “focused group of high achievers.” Excellent! I am very excited to work with them this semester, and I cannot
wait to see how implementing VTS will effect their aesthetic thinking. I feel that students who normally feel stressed about coming up with a correct answer and shy away from raising their hands might benefit greatly from implementing VTS's permission to wonder strategy. I look forward to watching these types of students grow more comfortable in sharing their perceptions out loud. It may also benefit those students who traditionally have a hard time with being patient with their classmates, because they already feel that they have the correct answer. This type of student may have more time to reflect, and will possibly
see their fellow peers in a different light.
It will be interesting to hear about your VTS experiences with Mary's students. I am also using a 3rd grade class so it will be great to see the similarities (and differences).
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteLike you I haven't met my students yet that Mary teaches. I am looking forward to and a little anxious to be working with younger children. Like you said, the students that usually feel stressed about having a 'right answer" should should feel relieved to know that their ideas are valid and all perceptions can be considered.
Based on the pre-VTS writing samples gathered by Kaj and by me, I think you may have pre-assessed the high-flyers; my general impression of Mrs. M's class was that they wrote quite a lot. Mrs. J's, Mrs. S's and Mr. G's classes were not as diligent. Additionally, their spelling and handwriting were much worse, which could account for the shortness of their answers. I'm not a writing teacher, but have witnessed with my boy writers that all of these components seem to be intertwined.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see the preliminary results!