Before the project began, I was walking down the hall of my school and watched a class reciting the "Pledge of Allegiance". It occurred to me this was an everyday event and the children did it as part of their routine. However, I wondered at that moment how many really understood what it meant to be an American. That is how I decided to do this unit. I wanted to teach the students about America and what it means to them to be citizens of the United States of America.
Curriculum Definition:
I would have to describe my definition of curriculum using Posner's explanation of the Latin root "currere" means "the running" and the travel metaphor which equates education as a journey with a planned destination. The destination I have in mind for my students is to become individuals with a rich background of diverse knowledge who with strong critical thinking skills will go into adulthood ready to meet the challenges of their own life situations. As an art educator, I have a definitive scope and sequence, which can be used as a guideline to obtain the desired state outcomes. I do pay attention to this framework. However on any given day, I deviate from that structure to include skills and content that my not have anything to do with art curriculum. I see curriculum as all the knowledge and information we need to possess in order to be vital, productive human beings.
Curriculum Purpose:
Technology is here to stay. Every job in the future, regardless of level or status will involve technology in some way. It is becoming commonplace for districts to require technology skills as part of their exit requirements. It is a societal goal for students with disabilities to become well-rounded, employable citizens. For this reason, technology integration in all subject areas is imperative. The purpose of art and technology related projects are two-fold. First, technology skills are introduced and strengthened. Second, technology can be used as a new, fresh media within the art room to achieve the aims, goals, and objectives of the art curriculum.
Curriculum Perspectives:
My work with students reflects aspects of the experiential curriculum perspective. Posner states, "…an experiential view is based on the assumption that everything that happens to students influences their lives, and that, therefore, the curriculum must be considered extremely broadly…" (Posner, p. 49) Other perspectives such as the traditional or structure of disciplines approaches abound in most educational systems. The visual arts curriculum allows for the opportunity to deviate from those expected perspectives. Implementing an experiential approach to education allows students to prepare for their life situations in school and beyond.
Vertical and Horizontal Articulation:
Horizontal organization is the content that is taught simultaneously or in conjunction with the subject material being taught at a given time. For example, as an art educator I might integrate aspects of social studies content into a multicultural art project or facets of geometry into a drawing unit. These lessons would be taught concurrently within a given time frame. In this unit, there is a horizontal organization in that I am simultaneously teaching art and technology skills, as well as concepts about the country America, which could fall into the social studies subject area.
Social, Economic, and Educational Challenges:
Issues pertaining to my student population relate to social, economic, political, and educational challenges. Due to their disabilities, many lack social skills and have difficulty working together. Units such as the "I am an American" project help to develop the ability to collaborate and work in unison with others to complete a common goal. Although my students have the potential to achieve at or above grade level, their disabilities have impeded their educational progress. Behavior problems and emotional disabilities have interfered with their progress in academic subject areas, which has had an impact on their overall achievement levels. It is important that my students get every opportunity to bolster their educational skills in all subject areas. Integrating the arts with instructional material related to social studies, as in this case, or math, science, reading, and writing helps to achieve this goal.
Quality Issues:
Included in the book Developing the Quality Curriculum by Allan Glattthorn is a questionnaire to determine the quality of a given curriculum guide or unit. Some of the questions posed can be used to address this art and technology curriculum unit. For example, is the curriculum based on research? It is evident within my goals and objectives documents that I rely on Florida state standards, National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), and International Society of Technoloy Educators (ISTE) standards. All of these institutions base the standards they promote on educational research. This project is an attempt to reflect the excellence expected by all those sets of standards.
Factors Affecting Implementation:
Of course, one of the most difficult and challenging factors affecting implementation of this project is student behavior. At any given time, my students present negative attitudes, hostility, and lack of motivation. This personal frame is an absolute when working with severely emotionally disturbed students. When these factors interfere, it is time to pull from the teacher's bag of "magic tricks". I don't mean to perform, but use your experience and understanding of this population of students to quickly move to "Plan B". For example, if the student scheduled to use the computer is noncompliant, go to the next student on the list. For those unmotivated students, it may be as simple as helping them to start the first few portions of the project. Also, the greatest of the magic tricks is humor. Many times, I have found a simple, little laugh will help to dissipate the moodiness of my students.
Weaknesses of the Curriculum Unit:
At first glance, this project seems very complicated. It is true there are many components to this unit. It is necessary to cover a lot of ground trying to accomplish all the goals and objectives and ending with a cohesive final work product too. Also, due to the lack of equipment in many art rooms, this may be a limitation. I have been a teacher for many years. I have learned to juggle. With time and experience, any teacher can learn to be ambidextrous in the implementation of projects and deal successfully with the realities of their teaching situation.
Strengths of the Curriculum Unit:
The most prominent strength of this unit is that is addresses the needs of my students. I spend a great deal of time creating lessons that are tailor-made to the unique traits and skills of my student population.
Conclusion:
My students actually did this project this year. After the project was over, I was extremely happy with the outcome of the project. The most important thing that happened is all of the students were motivated and tried to complete their work. This is a rare occurrence when working with severely emotionally disturbed. The students were interested in making their Hyperstudio slides and were very proud of the finished collaborative work. Ironically, this project was started a few weeks before September 11th, 2001. I realize now, how timely the information learned in this project was for my students.
References:
English, F. W. (2000) Deciding what to teach and test. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin Press, Inc.
Glatthorn, A. (1994) Developing a quality curriculum. Alexandria, VA.
Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Posner, G. (1992) Analyzing the curriculum. New York: Mcgraw-Hill
When you work with special education students, particularly those with severe handicaps, there are no guarantees. In my case, possible behavior difficulties, low self-esteem, poor attendance, and general lack of motivation are major challenges when planning lessons. This project was no different. However knowing there will be obstacles, I design projects and work around the problems that occur. Moving forward with great energy, contagious enthusiasm, and confidence, projects like the one described here are possible to complete successfully with special education students.
Our finished slide show is proof of this. Not only were standards, goals, and objectives met, the students now are THINKING about the meaning of America and have more confidence using technology.
Instruction is the teaching process. Instruction is how you teach what needs to be learned. The English text describes instruction as being "…systematized teaching which includes a single teacher but links all teachers together in some form of common purpose or curriculum..." (English, p. 22) I agree with this definition. This explanation is broad and inclusive. It leaves the door open to educators to devise the strategies and methodologies that suit their own teaching needs and style.
I am an advocate of educational experiences that hold a component of reality for students. I am a proponent of innovative, progressive methods of instruction. I also respect the need for curriculum guidelines developed by institutional hierarchies. I see this as an opportunity to meld the components of curriculum and instruction into a creative, meaningful, and activity called TEACHING.
Using my own creativity, I come to an instructional compromise using technology media to satisfy the Sunshine State Standards, the arts curriculum guidelines, art curriculum scope and sequence, and the need for my students to learn technology in one big swoop.
I am one to believe with passion that we learn by doing. Education should be relevant to our lives and should reflect not only the formal aspects of our educational system, but include "…the thoughts, feelings, and tendencies to action that the situation engenders in those individuals experiencing it. (Posner, p. 49) We should gear our teaching to what is pertinent to their lives as individuals, rather that making blanket decisions about what everyone should learn. It is important that students hone the ability to be autonomous and be able to guide their own educational experiences throughout their lives. If a teacher gives them the freedom to experiment and experience while taking charge of their own learning, these attributes will take hold.
Vertical organization is the progression of subject area material from one level to the next. Vertical organization reflects the sequence of the lessons. If the technology and art scope and sequence document were examined, you would see the vertical organization of all levels of art and technology curriculum. Students at beginning levels would learn simple keyboarding and use of fundamental software programs. Gradually, the student would rise to a level to be able to learn high-level skills such as those used in this Hyperstudio unit.
Another reason working with technology is so important for my students relates to their social-economic status. A low percentage of my students have access to computers at home. Working with technology at school offers the opportunity to learn vital skills at school. It is necessary for them to learn and become proficient with technology basics because jobs of the future will be utilizing many facets of technology.
Another question of quality asks if the program offers a meaningful sequence of developmentally appropriate set of goals and objectives. This art and technology unit was created specifically for my unique students. As indicated by my art and technology scope and sequence document, the aims and goals of my entire program considers the special needs of my students. This document also verifies that the information and skills being taught are sequential and congruent.
Another quality question is whether the unit promotes the integration of knowledge, appreciation of diversity, or helps students develop a common heritage. All of these issues are addressed within this Hyperstudio project. While discussing the material pertinent to this assignment, it is important for students to begin to understand their heritage as American citizens. The diversity of our culture is a pivotal part of that dialogue.
The temporal issue of time is an extreme factor affecting implementation of every project presented in the art room. Most of my students have less than an hour a week of art. Also, they work very slowly! The only way to rectify this problem is to accept it as a fact and work around it. A project such as this could take up to a month or two to complete. It is for the art educator to decide whether a long-term project will benefit the students. One advantage is the need to share computers. Although this could be seen as a negative component within the project, the lack of a computer for every student can be seen as an asset. In art, another project can be underway while technology projects are being completed simultaneously. Some student can be working with other media while some students complete their portion of the slide show. This takes a bit of juggling on the part of the teacher, but it is doable.
One of the most frustrating factors of working with my student population is the vast differences of skill level and variations of ability. I have addressed this challenge by sticking to my sequence of skills. It may seem childish to do a project like this with a high school student. However, it works well with my high school students who do not have the sequence of experiences of the average teenager. I do not hesitate to teach the students in upper grade levels very fundamental material. However, I do try to develop lessons in which the topic has relevance to an older child. They have to create a foundation on which to build their skills.
Another weakness of this unit is the time required. I am constantly frustrated by the lack of time allotted to visual art. This project takes a great deal of time. Not only does it require a relatively large portion of the art schedule, it does not weigh in the factors of such issues as the transient nature of some special education students. During projects such as this, students come and go. Again it is necessary to be resilient and flexible as an educator.
Another strength is that I have tried very hard to base my unit on sound educational issues and research. In the process of organizing my art curriculum, I attempt to be thorough and precise. Issues such as developing lessons which address the multiple intelligences is important especially to those students who have not been successful in traditional classroom settings.
The greatest strength this unit has to offer is that it is motivational and fun. Even the least productive students will be intrigued by the opportunity to create on the computer. Those students with poor attendance will come to school when work on projects such as this are being completed. It is during projects like this that some of my students experience the joy of learning for the first time.
Looking back on this project, I cannot express how my students continue to surprise me. They did so well! The only thing I regret and would do differently if I could is to have more computers available for student use. A schedule of computer rotation can be workable, as seen here. However, it is a challenge to divide your time between those students on the computer(s) and those working on other things in your classroom. This is especially true in my classroom because I have the computers in an adjoining room. Therefore, you have to be active, quick, and know how to juggle while teaching two classes at a time.
