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Thursday 26 April 2012

Do Boys and Girls Learn Differently?

We recently had an inset in our school to which a speaker by the name of Geoff Hannan gave a compelling lecture to students, parents and teaching staff about the differences in how boys and girls learn. He was very entertaining and seemed to capture the students imagination quite quickly. Some of his concepts didn't seem new in anyway but it was very interesting to hear some of the science behind his methods and reasonings. I'm not going to say too much more but I highly recommend reading the sites below and seeing one of his presentations live.

This is an article from the Times Education Supplement (TES) that discusses Geoff and some of his techniques. http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=311424

This is another website that sites Geoff Hannan's work along with others and discusses and suggests ways to improve boys attainment.
http://www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_62212.html

Wednesday 18 April 2012

The powers of water?

Do you let students drink water in your lessons?
I hadn't thought much about this until I read this article posted online in the The Star, a Canadian news network. The reporter, Stephanie Findlay, states that UK researchers have studied university students and have come to the conclusion that students whom take a water bottle into their exams scored 4.8% higher than those that did not.
I found this to be an interesting study. For me this reinforces my view to allow students to drink water (I only allow students to drink water, no juices, if is spills then it won't leave a sticky residue) The article can be read using the link below. Enjoy the read and I would like to here your thoughts on this subject. Do you allow students to drink in your classes?
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1163551--why-taking-a-water-bottle-to-an-exam-could-turn-your-b-into-an-a

Thanks
Mark

Friday 13 April 2012

Silhouette Portraiture

What is a portrait? Traditionally speaking it would seem to be an image of a person drawn, painted or photographed. This was what my students thought when questioned. A more modern approach leads to inanimate objects that describe a persons characteristics. As a teacher this is a humbling thought. Standing at the front of the classroom and letting students know the next scheme of work is going to be portraiture is not always the nicest of feelings. As soon as the words leave my mouth I often see students starting to cringe, diving under desks or blurting out 'I can't draw'. Something about drawing the human form (face) tends to seem 'too dificult' to even attempt.
To try something a bit different

Monday 9 April 2012

Natural Form Drawings

I been getting to grasps with a lot of marking over the Easter break like I'm sure many others teachers have as well. I thought I'd post a little article about my Yr. 9's and the Natural Form project they have just completed.
A little background about this project first of all. At our school the Yr. 9's move to upper site (Yr.10) in June and as a result they have had to make the choices for their GCSE's in March. This means that Yr. 9's that have chosen your subjects to do their GCSE course next will buckle down and start to take my rt lessons a bit more seriously, while the students that have not chosen art as a GSCE subject next year do not see the point in being in the lesson and often goof off or end up being disruptive in lessons.

Friday 6 April 2012

More Perspective Drawings

Over the Easter break I have been marking more of my Yr. 7 students one an two point perspective drawings. I am very proud of them with the outcomes they are producing. I am posting a couple more pictures here to share. I am really looking forward to seeing their larger final pieces.
This is the link to the step by step follow along power point presentation I use to teach two point perspective if you are interested. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Two-Point-Perspective-draw-along-power-point

Tuesday 3 April 2012

An excellent free art resource!

If you don't know about it already, I'm sure you'll hear about it soon from some sort of media outlet. The Google Team have put together an excellent resource that allows you to visit far off art galleries from the comfort of your own home. You can be in Austria walking around an art gallery and then 10 minutes later be in the Louvre in France.
What is cool is that you can actually walk around the museum and go up to the paintings for a closer look. In fact if you zoom right in you can even check out the brush strokes. Trying getting that close in a gallery without being told off from a security guard! Even better is the fact that you can find out the history behind the painting with just a click. It's kind of like having your personal guide. If you haven't had a play on it yet here is the link and go and try it. www.googleartproject.com I warn you though it is a bit addictive and can easily eat up a bunch of your free time.

Sunday 1 April 2012

Making Mistakes and Learning

Having students get things right the first time is what we strive for as teachers.
Yet should it be? Or should it be about the learning process?

John C. Maxwell in his book, 'Failing Forward' illustrates this point quite clearly with a parable about  an art lesson and an experiment an art teacher did. It was a pottery class and the teacher divided the class into half, each with a different goal. One half was to be marked on 'Quantity' and the other on 'Quality'. The quality group got an 'A' for making 50lbs worth of pots, a 'B' for 40lbs etc... The other quality group had to make only 1 clay pot but it had to be the best possible pot they could make to get an 'A' grade. At marking time, Maxwell states, an interesting fact emerged. The highest quality pieces came from the 'Quantity' group.
While the quality group were busy thinking about how they were going to make their pots, the quantity group were learning through their mistakes and learning faster. Maxwell then states, 'The only way you can get ahead is to fail early, fail often, and fail forward.'