Professional Engagement
Sue DeGannaro - An Illustrator Visit
Practice Described
On the 11th of September, Sue DeGannaro came to visit St Albans Heights Primary School to share with the students her wonderful journey as an illustrator/author and to teach a 'reader's masterclass' to help inspire and scaffold student learning abilities in a free presentation. The grade 3/4s, 5/6s and parents gathered in the multipurpose room, welcoming Sue with open arms. Sue discussed with students her life story; who she was as an individual in this ever-changing world, her numerous successes and fails, the books she's written and her goals and aspirations as a writer. The students were in awe of her life choices and career pathways! As time was ticking, she gave students a reader's masterclass; a peek into how professional illustrators and authors imagine stories and how such stories can be penned onto paper. She discussed her thinking processes, describing how she drafts images and stories in a diary full of pictures, clip-ins, stickers; artifacts that would fire her emotions and memories. She also shared with everyone how she drafts and draws characters. Everyone in the room: students, pre-service teachers, teachers and parents all began to imagine and draw. The students thanked Sue for her visit, and headed to class for maths,
Instead of maths, I decided to follow through with an English lesson to further unpack Sue's thinking and drafting processes. I connected her drafting methods to working documents that students use called a 'Memory Canvas' which acts as a diary for students to draw, write and attach artifacts into to encourage memories and emotions. I had the students create a Memory Canvas on what they learned during the visit in order to create a report later in the year. We then discussed her illustrations and how her characters come alive in her stories.
Instead of maths, I decided to follow through with an English lesson to further unpack Sue's thinking and drafting processes. I connected her drafting methods to working documents that students use called a 'Memory Canvas' which acts as a diary for students to draw, write and attach artifacts into to encourage memories and emotions. I had the students create a Memory Canvas on what they learned during the visit in order to create a report later in the year. We then discussed her illustrations and how her characters come alive in her stories.
Practice Explained
The special visit made me realise the potential for students, teachers and parents to extend their knowledge through other people, utilising mediums like incursions and special visits in the school setting. It's important to note that this activity was also free of charge, ensuring that all students have access to a great wealth of knowledge and experience as St Albans Heights Primary School consists primarily of students who are of low socio-economic strata. Sue DeGannaro, a fine illustrator/author, has normalised her career, her illustrating and authoring and her experiences for the students, reminding them that all of the things she's done, they can do too. Her masterclasses had not only influenced and scaffolded the students' learning, but it also elevated my drawing and drafting abilities as a generalist primary school teacher. As all the teachers were taking note, it's clear that everyone had learned something new from the visit. In the classroom, I was successful in linking her activities to current student practice, which further normalised higher order thinking abilities and succeeding aspirations. Engaging with such a professional has allowed students and teachers to engage in professional learning, which will help guide and scaffold our learning experiences.
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Practice Theorised
There are 3 key elements which underpin the learning experience taken from the Sue DeGannaro visit
1) Learning from more knowledgeable others 2) Normalising achievements and higher order thinking 3) Engagement and collaboration The key medium presented in the Sue DeGannaro visit is learning from a more knowledgeable other; guiding and scaffolding new ideas and experiences from someone with more experience and practice (Vygotski, 1987). Students, teachers and parents were given the chance to extend their knowledge, actualising their zone of proximal development and utilising their knowledge in their learning journey. By taking the information given by DeGannaro's 'reader's masterclass' and linking her drafting and reflecting techniques to the students current work, I've actualised higher order thinking, allowing students to "demonstrate their proficiency in retrieving information, forming a broad general understanding of the text, interpreting it, reflecting on the content and form of texts in relation to their own knowledge of the world, and arguing their own point of view" (Forster, 2004). As a teacher, collaboration with a more knowledgeable other "leads not only to individual reflection on instructional practice but also to conversation among collaborators about what they have learned [...] it is a sign that teachers have moved to deprivatise their practices and accept their own vulnerability as learners as well as teachers" (CCSRI, 2010). |
Practice Changed
If I was coordinating a similar incursion, I would use the visit to model and guide future lessons in greater detail. Rather that merely following up with Sue DeGannaro's visit, I could plan a number of lessons to build on her higher order thinking techniques and to share them with the students, normalising its use in active thinking.. The promotion of higher order thinking techniques such as interpreting and reflecting on information is a key medium for students to engage and create work and I would push for high order activity to be prominent in my classrooms.