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Mcguire Observation Assignment 4 Revised
Mcguire Observation Assignment 4 Revised
Mcguire Observation Assignment 4 Revised
Observation Assignment 4
3/27/2018
One example of how Mrs. Nunn is “student centered,” is the ‘Map of Your Heart’ project
she does with her kindergarteners. In this project, students paint large watercolor hearts, and then
using oil pastels, they write and illustrate the things that they love. This project is intended for
students to put their interests into their art, and share who, and what they love. Another example
of a “student centered” project, is her Basquiat inspired paintings that she does with her 3rd
graders. In this project, after learning about Basquiat and his work, Mrs. Nunn asks her students
to paint a symbol that means something to them, or their environment. This is a very open ended
project, where students have a lot of freedom to explore personal subjects, and identity. On the
other hand, two examples of “content driven” projects that Mrs. Nunn does are a weaving
project, and pinch pots. For both of these projects, Mrs. Nunn is more concerned that students
learn and master a specific skill, rather than students expressing themselves.
After reading Mrs. Nunn’s personal teaching philosophy, it is evident that she believes
the exploration of art history, and contemporary works is “essential content,” as well as the
collaboration with different subject areas. Mrs. Nunn introduces her students to prehistoric cave
paintings, as well as the work of Sandy Skoglund. Mrs. Nunn says that by having students
engage with images and artifacts from our history, they can gain a rich understanding of the
development of different ideas and values. Mrs. Nunn also explains that the collaboration of
different subjects can offer students ways to take ownership of their learning. Mrs. Nunn has
found that students who aren’t particularly interested in art, will become excited about a project
that has integrated another area, of which they enjoy, such as math or science. This is something
I believe that because Mrs. Nunn is constantly giving her students opportunities to
express themselves in their projects, I would identify Mrs. Nunn as an Existentialist teacher. I
feel as though Nunn really considers her students’ interests in her classroom, and wants to give
them the opportunity to make their own artistic decisions. I feel as though my teaching
philosophy is very similar to Mrs. Nunn’s in that we both will strive to make art class enjoyable
for all students, even those who don’t have a particular interest in the arts.