Reflection 3

My third reflection concerns my year nine and ten graphics class. The unit they were covering involves cabinet drawing both through hand drafting and computer aided design. The students previously had a brief introduction to both orthogonal and pictorial drawing. Thankfully before I commenced my internship I was able to produce a booklet guiding the students through the process of cabinetwork drawing. The booklet contained drawing exercises and information from the basics through to more advanced techniques and skills.

This booklet proved to be extremely helpful both to the students and myself (as most work for the unit was already prepared it made life a lot easier). The booklet only proved to be a hassle when it was time to mark it. A 35 page booklet times 25 students equals a lot of time marking. The drawing booklets provided a good opportunity for student to see how they were progressing from basic techniques to more advanced drawings.

If I were to run this unit again I would definitely break the booklet into two or three parts. This would make it a lot more manageable to mark. Another strategy would be peer assessment where appropriate. This allows students to evaluate each others work according to a marking criteria; saving precious time and developing students critiquing skills.

Another time consuming feedback method was marking students technical drawings. The drawings are to be produced to AS1100 standards. Often in students work there are many minor standard errors which take a long time to correct in individuals works. Although quite time consuming I found often mistakes were not repeated in the same students next drawing.

Further into the term I found that group feedback of common mistakes was a lot quicker than individual feedback. Although faster I found that it didn’t always register to particular students that these were the mistakes that they were making. In reflection I believe both methods have their place and that consideration needs to be taken to as to situation, student makeup and time constraints as to which method is appropriate. I believe that through my comprehensive feedback the students made great improvement in their skills and knowledge of graphical communication.

Associated teaching element: 3.1.7 Give helpful and timely oral and written feedback

Practicum reflection 2

During the middle section of my internship I had an interesting experience with the introduction of an ICT to my year eight skate park class. Following safety tests, explanation of previous classes skate park models and an excursion to the local skate park students started to design their own parks. The classes started with scale exercises and moved onto drawing their designs onto grid paper in an appropriate scale. A lot of students struggled with the concept of scale along with visualising what their drawing of a skate park would look like in real life. I believe the workshop also had a detrimental effect on the students drawing as it is not the best environment to facilitate graphics.

It became apparent that the resources being used were not adequate for good quality results. With some inquiry I managed to book a couple of computer lab lessons. This new environment was well equipped with the necessary tools for students to complete their designs. The students difficulty in drafting by hand motivated me to try a new approach incorporating a free program called Google Sketchup. The software is extremely easy to use and is able to produce great results in a small amount of time. Sketchup can be used for both orthogonal and pictorial drawing. It has a fly over feature which is great for students to get a real life perspective of their creations. The drawing templates used incorporates a person to give the designer a feel for scale and proportion in the drawing.

The class picked up the use of the software quickly and were able to produce far better designs than using the traditional paper and pen. I do however think it is of great importance that the students learn the concepts behind the tools and features that they are using for a holistic understanding of the process. All students were well engaged and enthusiastic about using the software. I find that the next generations attraction to technology is like a moth to the light. This fascination is definitely beneficial to engage and motivate student education.

Associated teaching element: 4.1.5 use a range of teaching strategies and resources including ICT to foster interest and support learning