Year 11 Art: Taking ownership

Today, I gave back all the exams, art essays and practical art making results for my senior class. I went through how I marked each section and I made sure the class knew it was cross checked by my co-worker. Most of the marks were very similar between two teachers. When there were 1-4 marks differences, we averaged the mark so that the student could get a fair grade.

I also stapled the marking criteria and teacher sample (made by myself) to each section of the exam. I also gave them verbal tips on how to answer questions and other ways to improve on their responses.

I kept reminding them that HARD WORK PAYS OFF. A hard worker can always do better than a naturally talented or 'genius' student. This is because a talented student or a genius student can still be lazy and not produce high quality work. One MUST invest enough time and effort to do well. 

Students were reminded to start work earlier and to COMMIT and show passion. They are not to leave things till the last minute. 

This time around, I asked students to take a photo per lesson. The photos show progress and allows them to reflect on their work. The class uses 'Remind' (a free app) to communicate outside of school. Remind is a safe classroom friendly communication tool. It allows the teacher to send mass messages or to target messages. Students have been using Remind to send me their ideas and designs. Here are some examples.