Instruction
Of all the instructional methods I took from PSII, by far the most important was scaffolding. My university consultant John Poulsen instilled in us the importance of 'baby steps' and how to translate any skill into these components. In this regard, the teach's job is to dissect the skills and then present them in manageable chunks. This approach helps to remove the fear of failure so important to the study of the arts.
From my teacher mentor, Richard Grafton, I learned the indispensable skill of reflection. He showed me how I already knew the skills to adapt the lesson on the fly to solve problems, a skill I learned in PSI. He challenged me to envision the problems and then solve them before the start of the lesson. As such, I became a proactive, rather than reactive teacher in PSII. Assessment In PSII I experimented with a number of assessment strategies, ranging from written work, video creation, live performance, tangible products, sheet work, group discussion, debate, and quizzes just to name a few. This allowed me to determine what methods worked best for myself and my students. As well, it allowed my students to represent their learning in a multitude of ways, depending on personal preference. For example, in English, students were allowed to create fake advertisements as posters, videos, and so on. A hilarious video from one group is attached below.
Assessment can also take the form of outside judgement. the photo to the right is of the best actor award, given to one of the students in the play I directed and produced with the class for the one act festival. For this festival, an adjudicator was brought in to give feedback on the performances, and this gave a form of assessment perhaps more concrete than one's own teacher can provide. As well, live audiences of peers were present, which give feedback in a way artists desire most - applause and laughter.
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