Focus Groups Report
Teacher Feedback
The idea of implementing Art in Science was looked upon very favorably. The Drama teacher who was also a Science major felt that using aspects of drama in Science was a helpful tool to clarify and deepen understanding. The Art teacher has long believed that many of the aspects of Art that are key underlying principles are essential to work both in Science and Math. These principles include observation, problem solving, learning how to deal with unknowns and questions that do not have an immediate or known answer, innovation, and determination.
They both work with the diverse learners in our school and deal with a range of needs and abilities. They found that all students can rise to meet expectations but grades should be based on individual abilities and artistic forms of expression may make these modifications easier to apply. They expressed how often they were surprised at the kids who had I.E.P.s since they often excel at non-traditional forms of expression. They felt that many of the supports students needed were ones that helped all students. Breaking down individual skills before being expected to perform them worked for all students. The time factor could be helped by pushing kids to work hard and fast and giving them deadlines which helped motivate kids to tackle difficult projects and ideas. Identifying key markers in learning and planning with the big picture mind as to where you want to be by a certain time could also help to make curriculum choices.
The final dilemma is how to deal with students who misuse technology. One solution was to make the project engaging so students don’t even think about misusing it. Another possible solution was to only use technology in the classrooms so that it is easier to monitor. Finally, try to work out consequences for individuals in a way that is fair and acceptable to every stake holder.
Student Feedback
When I discussed my ImagineIT project with my students they were very excited and thoughtful. I opened up the focus group to volunteers and ended up with a very diverse group of 14 students who gave up their free time to participate. They loved the idea of Art in Science. “It is a great idea, we are a Fine Arts school after all,” one student quipped.
We started the discussion with videos because that was a part of the demonstration lesson. They all agreed that videos were a form of artistic expression since, in their words, a video or movie is really a set of moving pictures. They felt that making videos was a good way to express their learning and that it made all group members contribute. It allowed them to exchange ideas and communicate with others. Some stated that it made them think more and helped them to stay on task since there was a limit to time allowed and other people were going to view their work. They had to focus on what they were going to say and make sure it was clear and understandable. This involved revisions but didn’t seem as hard as when they were doing it in writing. Video making allowed them to express themselves and add humor. Altogether, it made Science fun and enjoyable. A number of them stated that they were visual learners and seeing videos of Science concepts that were being taught and read about really helped them to understand the concept better. They also mentioned that for some students, they might not understand at all if it weren’t for the videos we used to supplement other class work.
The conversation then moved to other forms of art and how that might help Science learning. They thought that music should be included because they knew huge amounts of songs and were able to remember all of them since the words were set to a melody. They also believed that dance might be better for little kids but that some Science concepts, i.e., molecule motion, lent themselves to dance/movement. One dance student said how she heard that dance activates all parts of the brain and might help people remember more. They also felt strongly that choice in how to express their learning helped with motivation. They gave suggestions like creating games also as a form of Art. Some students really wanted to incorporate photography. They even brought up aesthetic learning without calling it that. They said that being able to interact with Science and seeing how it connected to things in the real world made them think about it more. They liked it when Science was interactive.
They suggested giving longer period of time for projects so that some of the work could be done at home. The kids also thought that devoting the majority of the lesson time to information and giving specific chunks to creating would help with the time aspect. They felt like artistic tasks engaged all students more and that everyone should be graded on their participation levels.
Summary
Overall, the students and teachers confirmed what I already felt as a result of my research and observations. From both students and teachers, the consensus was that creating Art helped them to grow as learners and individuals who were able to analyze and synthesize knowledge in deeper ways. I was surprised by how excited the students were in regards to choice, creative problem solving and creating varied expressions of their learning. They also mentioned numerous times how much they liked being free to express themselves and the ability to work with others. Being able to do this made Science learning seem less like drudgery and more like what they do in real life.
Their solutions to the dilemmas are practical ones that I will try and see how they work. I would like to keep the places we use technology more open but will need to come up with an acceptable solution for school use. If the students are more excited about learning and understanding is deeper, then I expect the time in planning and implementation trade-offs to be worthwhile.
Teacher Feedback
The idea of implementing Art in Science was looked upon very favorably. The Drama teacher who was also a Science major felt that using aspects of drama in Science was a helpful tool to clarify and deepen understanding. The Art teacher has long believed that many of the aspects of Art that are key underlying principles are essential to work both in Science and Math. These principles include observation, problem solving, learning how to deal with unknowns and questions that do not have an immediate or known answer, innovation, and determination.
They both work with the diverse learners in our school and deal with a range of needs and abilities. They found that all students can rise to meet expectations but grades should be based on individual abilities and artistic forms of expression may make these modifications easier to apply. They expressed how often they were surprised at the kids who had I.E.P.s since they often excel at non-traditional forms of expression. They felt that many of the supports students needed were ones that helped all students. Breaking down individual skills before being expected to perform them worked for all students. The time factor could be helped by pushing kids to work hard and fast and giving them deadlines which helped motivate kids to tackle difficult projects and ideas. Identifying key markers in learning and planning with the big picture mind as to where you want to be by a certain time could also help to make curriculum choices.
The final dilemma is how to deal with students who misuse technology. One solution was to make the project engaging so students don’t even think about misusing it. Another possible solution was to only use technology in the classrooms so that it is easier to monitor. Finally, try to work out consequences for individuals in a way that is fair and acceptable to every stake holder.
Student Feedback
When I discussed my ImagineIT project with my students they were very excited and thoughtful. I opened up the focus group to volunteers and ended up with a very diverse group of 14 students who gave up their free time to participate. They loved the idea of Art in Science. “It is a great idea, we are a Fine Arts school after all,” one student quipped.
We started the discussion with videos because that was a part of the demonstration lesson. They all agreed that videos were a form of artistic expression since, in their words, a video or movie is really a set of moving pictures. They felt that making videos was a good way to express their learning and that it made all group members contribute. It allowed them to exchange ideas and communicate with others. Some stated that it made them think more and helped them to stay on task since there was a limit to time allowed and other people were going to view their work. They had to focus on what they were going to say and make sure it was clear and understandable. This involved revisions but didn’t seem as hard as when they were doing it in writing. Video making allowed them to express themselves and add humor. Altogether, it made Science fun and enjoyable. A number of them stated that they were visual learners and seeing videos of Science concepts that were being taught and read about really helped them to understand the concept better. They also mentioned that for some students, they might not understand at all if it weren’t for the videos we used to supplement other class work.
The conversation then moved to other forms of art and how that might help Science learning. They thought that music should be included because they knew huge amounts of songs and were able to remember all of them since the words were set to a melody. They also believed that dance might be better for little kids but that some Science concepts, i.e., molecule motion, lent themselves to dance/movement. One dance student said how she heard that dance activates all parts of the brain and might help people remember more. They also felt strongly that choice in how to express their learning helped with motivation. They gave suggestions like creating games also as a form of Art. Some students really wanted to incorporate photography. They even brought up aesthetic learning without calling it that. They said that being able to interact with Science and seeing how it connected to things in the real world made them think about it more. They liked it when Science was interactive.
They suggested giving longer period of time for projects so that some of the work could be done at home. The kids also thought that devoting the majority of the lesson time to information and giving specific chunks to creating would help with the time aspect. They felt like artistic tasks engaged all students more and that everyone should be graded on their participation levels.
Summary
Overall, the students and teachers confirmed what I already felt as a result of my research and observations. From both students and teachers, the consensus was that creating Art helped them to grow as learners and individuals who were able to analyze and synthesize knowledge in deeper ways. I was surprised by how excited the students were in regards to choice, creative problem solving and creating varied expressions of their learning. They also mentioned numerous times how much they liked being free to express themselves and the ability to work with others. Being able to do this made Science learning seem less like drudgery and more like what they do in real life.
Their solutions to the dilemmas are practical ones that I will try and see how they work. I would like to keep the places we use technology more open but will need to come up with an acceptable solution for school use. If the students are more excited about learning and understanding is deeper, then I expect the time in planning and implementation trade-offs to be worthwhile.