pre-assessment

i usually spend the first few days with my students trying to get to know them better...as artists and as people.  i decided awhile ago that fair isn't always equal and that not all students have had the same art training as they might have in english or math. so i try to determine their starting point and assess their learning from there. i give them questionnaires and ask them to do crazy things with little or no instruction. 

on monday i created the still life you see below and asked them to draw it using only lines. i went over how i expected them to behave while working at the easels and what the goals for the exercise was. these posters hung right next to us as we worked so i could point to them when necessary.

as they drew i made notes about what i was seeing so i could use it in my assessment. at the same time i kept a running list of things i was seeing and wish i had put on a checklist to make my note-taking quicker. i am lucky to have a group of only 12 and know that with a larger group a checklist would make a big difference. so i saved those notes and plan to put them on a checklist to be used next term.

when they finished the drawing i asked them to answer these questions on the back of their paper.

here are some of the results...

usually when i teach this class i know all the students from 9th grade but i don't know this group because my 9th grade class was so small last year. they are definitely not used to me and haven't "bought in" yet so getting through this drawing was a little tough for them. in their writing they seemed pretty clear on what would have improved the final outcome. it will be interesting to look back at these at the end of the term.