Mr. Jones' STEAM Art class finale

Student artworks from Jones' fall STEAM art class, are now making a bold statement on a wall near the gym at GOPA.  Soon to come will be student artist names and a text for the exhibition.  In the meantime please enjoy these photos below!  See these links for the earlier stages of this project:  LINK and LINK  and LINK. 

Below:  WPU PIR Dina Scacchetti
looks at student STEAM artwork.

Magic Squares at School 2

Math Professor in Residence Paul Odenwelder and Art teacher Beth Porto are working together to do a Magic Square project with students at School 2.  Mr. Odenwelder's work at School 2 is funded by the Garden State Partnership for Teacher Quality.

A Magic Square is an arrangement of numbers in a square grid in which the numbers in each row, in each column, and in the diagonals all add up to the same number. 

Magic Squares have a long history from ancient China to the modern era. A magic square was depicted by Albrecht Durer, a German painter, engraver, and woodcut designer, in his famous work, Melancholia, which was created in 1514.  In the picture below, PIR Odenwelder holds a reproduction of the engraving.  (The magic square is in the upper right part of the engraving.)

In the picture at the left Mr. Odenwelder teaches a lesson to fourth grade students how to create a Magic Square.

Below is a close-up of a student's Magic Square.  Note that the "Magic Number" of this square is 15.

The next step is for Art teacher Porto to take the students’ efforts to another level, assisting them in adding art elements:  line, color, shape, and texture.  Each student's Magic Square will become an individual work of art.  Look for a future post on this project.

Last Year: Team Teaching at School 7

William Paterson University’s Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Grant emphasizes teacher collaboration and cross-curricular teaching.  In the picture below, Art Professor in Residence Myra Winter discusses integrating Art into Math and Science with Science teachers Mary Bertino and Marla Arrington and Math teachers Rosa Kopic and Melissa Bensh.

Later in the school year, this collaboration came to fruition when the seventh grade Math and Science teachers team-taught with Art teacher Vernon Nealy to create “presentation boxes” that integrated Art, Geometry and Biology.  In the picture at the left Mr. Nealy explains the project to students while Ms. Winter assists a student and Ms. Arrington looks on.

In the fifth grade a cross-curricular project focused on liquid volume measurement and conversions among units.  In the picture at the right Ms. Bertino, Ms. Kopic, Mr. Nealy, and Ms. Winter team up to present the lesson.

Exciting things are happening in Mr. Jones' GOPA STEAM Class!

The STEAM project taking place in Mr. Jones’ GOPA class is process-oriented,
having developed through student-generated questions that led to themes:

Industrial Design

Architecture

Found Art

Automotive Design

Textile Design

Painting Techniques

Science of Art

Viscosity and Adherence

 


The themes were supported when Art PIR Triada Samaras taught a two-part lesson that first introduced the difference between STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) and STEAM (Science Technology Engineering ART Math.) 

The lesson then asked students to consider how art provides a vital link among the other
STEAM subjects. In particular, the words “innovation” and “invention” were discussed, and how most inventions are a combination of art and other subjects.  

From the eight themes, eight art media were student-selected:

         Drawing                  

Paint 

Pottery 
Pollack 
Building 
Plasticene 
Stencil 
Graffiti 

The works below illustrate the themes and the art media.  They served as jumping off points to stimulate student creativity and imagination. Now these ideas will be used to move STEAM forward. Mr. Jones will now focus this creativity and imagination through the dual lenses of prior knowledge and specific techniques.

O'Keefe Flowers and Bones Finale!

Above and Below:  Marilyn Simon SOIT Art Teacher

Student artworks from Mrs. Simon's art class, the Georgia O'Keefe Flowers/Bones STEAM project are now hanging in several areas at SOIT.  Please see these links for the earlier stages of this project:  LINK and LINK  and LINK. 

 

Coming Soon: Three-D Zentangles!

WPU Art PIR Triada Samaras is in the midst of developing a new collaborative, student art work for the display boards of GOPA and SOIT entitled:  Three D Zentangle Collaborative Installation.  This intriguing new collaborative student art work will combine art and science using vocabulary words from each discipilne, art materials, and the elements of art and principles of design.  In the photographs left and below, Professor Samaras began recently to explain the project to the students using the art classroom Smartboard.  Students were thrilled to see their work on this Steam EmPOWERment Blog and to imagine a future, hallway art work in the glass enclosed display cases that exist in the schools.  

Pictured left and below:  WPU Art PIR Triada Samaras speaks to STEAM students.

 The project will develop in stages and will take several months.  Professor Samaras aims to involve the students in the creative process demonstrating to them the both the thrills and the setbacks of creative work.  The theme "invention" as been emphasized in all STEAM projects at GOPA and SOIT from the beginning, and students are excited to have a chance to demonstrate some of their creative ideas.

 

A Trip to Power Arts Building!

Art Professor in Residence (PIR) Triada Samaras, and Professor in Residence Dina Scacchetti, went on an interesting 'field trip' to the William Paterson University (WPU) Power Arts Building last Tuesday afternoon where they were met by Professor Michael Rees, a professor and sculptor specializing in three-D technologies.  Professors Samaras and Scacchetti were taken on a tour of the WPU sculpture and digital studios by Professor Rees who will be working with them to implement the Geraldine R. Dodge STEAM Grant.  

 












 













Pictured Above:  Art PIR Triada Samaras and PIR Dina Scacchetti with the 3-D printers.

After the tour, the three professors sat down in Professor Rees's office where they began brainstorming possible connections between the emerging high school STEAM program that is currently developing at SOIT and GOPA, and the WPU Arts Program.

Many possibilities for the future were discussed including professional development for the GOPA and SOIT teachers, as well as workshops for the SOIT and GOPA students to be held at the Powers Arts Building emphasizing 3-D sculpture creation using the latest technologies.

Above: WPU PIR Dina Scacchetti, Art PIR Triada Samaras and Art Professor Michael Rees

Last Year: School 2's Visit to the Newark Museum

One of School 2’s STEAM activities last year was a visit to the Newark Museum.   First and second grade students, accompanied by their teachers, Norma Menchon and Belinda Casais-McBride, by Art Teacher Beth Porto, and by WPU Professor-in-Residence Simone Sandler, participated in special programs that integrated science and art.  In one activity the students viewed works of art that depicted birds, while the museum docent provided information about the characteristics and habits of birds.  Pictured on the right is the docent from the museum speaking about different sizes of birds, while a student demonstrates how big an ostrich is.

The students then toured the museum.  In the picture below, Ms. Porto leads a discussion on the work of famous artist Joseph Stella, while Ms. Menchon looks on.  Joseph Stella often used the geometry of architecture in his work, which often depicted industrial America—hence the STEAM connection!