Weekly Reflection #5

Ross Montgomery
Differentiation

This is the 5th week of class teaching at Thompson Valley High School. This

week I am going to be focusing of differentiation in Matt Crawfords painting and

drawing classes. Matts classroom centers around studio work time which allows for

more autonomy.

This week the classroom plan stayed on point for the most part. Tuesday

class ran as a studio workday in both painting and drawing. My painting students

were beginning a project based around collage and color identification. My drawing

students were finishing a printmaking project based on juxtaposition. I noticed

alteration in the lesson when we have our block schedule. The block period allows

for more time and instruction in the classroom. For this reason Matt does a majority

of instruction and demos on block days. Matt had planned for a quick instruction on

composition and balance for the collage project. I think Matt has the content defined

for which he wants to deliver and uses improvising for deliver the information. This

allows for alteration in the planned lesson. Using questioning and formative

assessment to check for understanding is a beneficial way to gauge where

alterations need to be made during the lesson. Teachers need to be flexible and

willing and able to deviate from their lessons in order to correctly meet the needs of

all of their students.

I noticed a few students not necessarily struggling but not getting work done

on their project. Im not sure if this is due to lack or engagement or lack of interest

from the student. One student in particular sits at her desk and doodles or appears
to do other homework. I have inquired with Matt on her ethic and he said she

merely wont work on her project. This reflects as a lack of interest or ownership of

learning on the part of the student. I think questioning the student would be a good

starting point. What are some other steps I can take when have my own classroom?

In both my classes there are student who work very slow and meticulous. I

am seeing a pattern of a couple students not finishing their assignments. Matt has a

policy implemented in which students can re-submit any assignment until the end of

the semester. This strategy is effective in giving all students the chance for an A.

Allowing students continue to work on assignments after critique for a better grader

shifts ownership and opportunity to the students. There is no excuse for them and

they are not happy with their grade at the end of the semester it is on them.