Ross Montgomery

EDUC 350 Instruction 1

Setting and Context

The School Community

School community and culture has been introduced as a main

topic for the semester. We have discussed the underlying importance

of community and culture in the classroom. This idea does not only

apply during school hours but stretches well beyond the hours of 8-3.

Webber Middle School has a wonderful culture set in place. This is

created not only by the teachers and students, but parents, other

faculty and community members as well. Each day the students walk

into their classrooms they receive daily expectations, rules, and

regulations. Miss Thomass art classrooms have the rules and

expectations posted on the walls. This is a constant reminder for how

the students are expected to act and behave in the classroom. The

students have many different programs, resources, and activities. The

students are able to pick from a wide variety of unique and engaging

electives such as family and computer sciences, outdoor education,

performing arts, visual arts, and technology education. Along with

these electives are clubs like Math Counts, WAVE, Science Bowl, and

the Science Olympiad. Parents are encouraged to participate in the

students schooling and add to the community and culture of Webber.

The average student GPA is 3.2 as well the school has scored high or

excellent in state tests. Programs like Parent Teacher Organization

(PTO) and the School Accountability Committee (SAC) are ways parents

can engage with teachers and staff. Parents are encouraged to

volunteer though book talk programs, tutor programs, help in the

library, and sponsor in various events. Webber provides counseling

services for students and parents in order to support appropriate

student behavior. The learning climate is very successful and

engaging. Webber emphasizes the 6 Ps, prompt, polite, positive,

productive, persistence, and proud. This is apparent in visiting the

school during the school day. Webber Middle School is made up of 805

enrolled students with 41.6 full-time teachers. This equates to a 19:1

students to teacher ratio. Webber Middle Schools mission is to

support and challenge all students to learn and grow to their highest

potential.

Students and Classroom

In the time we have been at Webber I really havent really been

able to fully teach many of the students. In the classroom I have made

my way around and engaged with some of them discussing project

plans and ideas. I sat down with 7th grade student Allie R and

discussed her sculpture project. Allie is a very sharp student and

excels in art. It seems as if many of the students in Miss. Thomass

photography class dont feel as engaged in the subject. The first day

we were in class it took three times stopping and starting over the

attendance due to students misbehaving. The classrooms are pretty

evenly mixed with boys and girls and are comprised of 7th and 8th grade

students. There are two special needs students in the photography

class. The rooms are made up of clusters of four desks with assigned

seats due to poor behavior. I feel as if some of the boys in the class act

out poor behavior to get a rise out or Miss Thomas, whose usual

rebuttal to send these students into the hallway.

Topic and Rational

The instructional strategy in the

classroom is worked into a project-

based curriculum. Both classes

get a majority of the class-time to

use for studio work, with a small

portion dedicated to lecture and

demo. This type of differentiated education works well in the

arts and allows for students to develop and execute their projects. As

for the class so far I dont believe there are any assessments or tests in

Miss Thomass art classroom. I am interested to see if there is any type

of critique for the students projects.