I conducted my classroom observation at Pittsburghs Creative and Performing Arts school (CAPA).

I
spent the majority of the time observing Heather Whites tenth grade printmaking class. I also observed
Shannon Pultz sixth grade art class.
On my first observation day, Ms. White planned to take her students to the Andy Warhol Museum to
view a special exhibit, Andy Warhols 13 Most Wanted Men. The exhibit focuses on an installation
Warhol did for the 1964-65 Worlds Fair in New York featuring pictures of thirteen men from the most
wanted list. The students were to tour the exhibit to learn about Warhols inspiration, process, and
technique in creating the installation. They would also spend time in the museums interactive art
studio to learn other processes that Andy Warhol used and to have their picture taken in a mug shot
interactive photo station in the studio. These photos would be used as part of a self-portrait type
composition that the students had begun working on in a previous class.
Ms. White has two classes of tenth graders in the afternoon and coordinator with another teacher to be
able to take both classes to the museum at the same time. CAPA is located in downtown Pittsburgh and
in walking distance from the Andy Warhol Museum. When the students arrived in Ms. Whites class, she
informed them of the plan to walk to the museum and explained the logistics of getting there and back.
She also reviewed the goal of the trip and reminded each student that they must have their picture
taken at the museum. She provided brief feedback on the students progress in the project so far. As
this was a Friday, the students would continue work on the project the following week. This portrait
would be the second half of a composition the students had begun earlier that week. Ms. White also
reminded the students of museum policy. The students then lined up and departed the school for the
museum.
Upon arriving at the museum, Ms. White divided the group in half so that some students were touring
the exhibit while others were spending time in the studio. Ms. White gave the students in the gallery a
tour of the exhibit, explaining the background and context of the artwork as well as the Worlds Fair.
She then allowed the students to use the remaining time to read material displayed in the exhibit, take
notes, or sketch. The students in the studio were photographed in the interactive mug shot station by
one of the Artist/Educators at the museum one at a time. While they waited or when they finished,
they were able to participate in other interactive stations in the studio like silkscreen printing,
watercolor painting, or blotted line drawings. They were also given the option to return to the gallery
exhibit for further study and reflection.
Once all the students were photographed, Ms. White gathered the students and returned to school.
Once there she had the students recount their experiences and then allowed them to work
independently until the end of the class period.
I appreciated being able to observe this type of lesson. As an Artist/Educator at the Andy Warhol
Museum, I lead many school groups of all ages and education levels on tours of the museum. It was
really interesting to see how a teacher relates that experience to a specific class lesson and project. All
of the students were very excited to visit the museum and it was a visit for many of them. Most of the
students were very interested in the exhibit and spent the majority of their exploring the gallery as
opposed to spending time in the studio. There were a good number of students who enjoyed the
activities of the studio and spent a large portion of their time experimenting with the projects that were
offered there. All of the students achieved a deeper understanding of Andy Warhols style and
technique and were excited to apply that knowledge to their project.
I think this lesson was very successful overall. Ms. White seems to receive a great amount of respect
and attention from her students. If I were to change something, I might have all the students bring
notebooks to take notes and record something of interest while exploring the museum. Some of the
students in the class did this, but it was not required. I think it would be a nice addition to an already
very engaging activity.
I returned to observe Ms. Whites class the following week. Ms. White had uploaded all the students
mug shot photographs on several laptops. The students were to take turns using the laptops to alter
their photograph using Adobe Photoshop to make their image into a suitable image for making a screen
for printing. The students would use a process explained in an earlier lesson. Ms. White reviewed this
lesson with the class and then instructed the students to refer to their notes and she would be available
to help if they needed her.
This lesson allowed students to experiment within the confines of a lesson to work toward a specific
completed project. This is a great way for students to become familiar with a new style or technique,
especially something as complex as Photoshop because it gives students a clear direction and requires a
certain outcome. If I had to do something differently, I might ask the students to keep a written record
of their experiments with Photoshop. This might help them better commit the processes in the program
to memory. This would be beneficial as they will continue to use Photoshop to manipulate images for
class projects.
I asked Ms. White about what kinds of reading assignments she gives to her students. She explained
that she does not typically give reading assignments as her class is a more advanced studio art class than
offered at most traditional high schools and is deeply rooted in practice and the making of art. She does
offer reference material for her students to use at times and she is happy to recommend texts if her
students wish to pursue a subject more in depth or out of class. I performed a Cloze procedure on a
Warhol text she had called Warhol by David Bourdon. It contains a lot of pictures of Andy Warhols
artwork that is supplemented with contextual information about Warhols life and the current events
surrounding the time he was creating the work. It also describes some of the processes Warhol used to
complete the works included. The author was a close friend of Andy Warhol and writes a lot of first
hand, narrative style accounts in cooperation with Warhol himself. The text is easy to read, but contains
a lot of proper nouns, like important places and people in the New York art scene. The Cloze procedures
rate the text at a college reading level, but the text has been successfully utilized and understood by
middle and high school students for years in Ms. Whites class and at the Andy Warhol Museum.
I also observed Ms. Pultz sixth grade visual art class. The lesson was about value in art composition.
Value in this context refers to the relationship between light and dark. Ms. Pultzs project is designed to
teach students how to represent this in a two dimensional piece. In a previous class, the students
practiced effective presentation of value using pencils. Once they were finished trying that medium, Ms.
Pultz had them begin another project concerning value using acrylic paint. This is what the students
were working on when I was there.
The students were given black and white acrylic paint and were asked to reproduce first a painting of a
cube and then a painting of a sphere. Ms. Pultz gave each student a paper copy of a painted cube and
sphere (they were all the same). She first had the students map out the compositions in pencil. She
gave the students rulers and instructed them to make their dimensions identical to the ones in the
examples. She monitored the students accuracy and had them make adjustments when necessary.
When multiple students seemed to struggle with the same thing, Ms. Pultz asked for all of the students
attention and did an example demonstration of how to fix the particular error. In the classes I observed,
some students were finishing painting their cubes, some were beginning to draw their spheres, and a
few were beginning to paint their spheres. Allowing students to work at their own pace gives them a
greater opportunity to achieve a deeper understanding of the lesson. When introduced to a new
concept, in art as well as other subjects, a student can become frustrated when unable to master a
concept by a deadline or as quickly as a classmate. It can be helpful to allow students to work
independently without a lot of intermediate deadlines. If they are instead working toward an ultimate
comprehensive deadline, students have more freedom to experiment and learn with the lesson. I think
this is especially successful when multiple classes are devoted to the same comprehensive project.
Before class started, Ms. Pultz taped a piece of paper to the right side of each students workspace that
said The skills, techniques, elements, and principles of art can be: learned, studied, refined, practiced.
After the students began working, Ms. Pultz asked if they noticed or read the paper and if they
understood what it meant. She related the statement to the current lesson and asked the students to
recall what they had been doing in previous classes. MLs. Pultz also referenced lessons those students
were learning in another class with a different teach that week. She called on students individually to
contribute to discussion, asking questions like Do these activities seem repetitive? then reminding the
students that artists must practice techniques over and over again if they hope to master those
techniques. Even then, an artist must continue to practice to hone and maintain their skill set.
Some of the students in Ms. Pultz first class were a little louder and more distracted from working than
the other students. While it is acceptable to talk quietly and share ideas as they are painting,, students
must remain respectful to the classroom dynamic and stay on task. Ms. Pultz reminded these students
of her expectations of their behavior. She did have to speak to some of the same students more than
once and ultimately suggested that if they could not change their behavior on their own, then shoe
would need to separate them. She did not have to raise her voice or speak to the students in an
overbearing or condescending manner and there were minimal interruptions after that.
While the students worked on their paintings, Ms. Pultz walked around and monitored the students
progress. She continued to provide one-on-one instruction and demonstration. She also encouraged
the students to experiment with things like the texture of the paint and the use of water. This allowed
the students to come to their own conclusions about what techniques worked well for the project and
what processes were ideal for them as individual artists. The students finished at different rates and
Ms. Pultz evaluated the compositions based on her knowledge of each students individual skill level and
degree of improvement. I thought the lesson overall was very successfully executed and contained and
laid a great foundation for a lot of important concepts in art. Ms. Pultz employed a lot of great
classroom management techniques to keep her students on task and to assist them in successfully
completing the lesson. I like the idea of given students a painted cube and sphere instead of a physical
cube and sphere as a still life. Giving each student the exact same original image makes evaluating their
progress easier. Also, as it is many of the students first experience painting in this way, it is understood
that the lesson will continue over multiple class periods. Having a paper example provides a solution to
problems with variables such as consistent lighting and placement. It is also easier for students at this
level to replicate a painting through painting rather than try to represent a real object through painting.
Learning the techniques this way will assist later when they try to complete more complex assignments.
My experience at CAPA was very rewarding. The Visual Arts Department is made up of mostly practicing
artists who teach students different practices from an artists perspective. The students curriculum is
supplemented by their chosen concentration, which results in the majority of the students coming to
class excited to learn. I am looking forward to more opportunities to be involved in this school.