EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THROUGH LOST WAX CASTING
A Project
Presented to the faculty of the Graduate and Professional Studies in Education
California State University, Sacramento
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
Education
(Curriculum and Instruction)
by
Lenore Maureen Devereux
SPRING
2014
© 2014
Lenore Maureen Devereux
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ii
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THROUGH LOST WAX CASTING
A Project
by
Lenore Maureen Devereux
Approved by:
__________________________________, Committee Chair
Crystal Olson, Ed.D.
____________________________
Date
iii
Student: Lenore Maureen Devereux
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the
University format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library
and credit is to be awarded for the project.
__________________________, Graduate Coordinator
Albert S. Lozano, Ph.D.
Graduate and Professional Studies in Education
iv
___________________
Date
Abstract
of
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THROUGH LOST WAX CASTING
by
Lenore Maureen Devereux
This project is an experiential learning curriculum though lost wax casting for a
Master Arts in Education: Curriculum and Instruction. It is a curriculum to be
followed by secondary art teachers to teach lost wax casting using the experiential
learning pedagogy. The path of the study included research of state testing impacts on
the way students learn. The research includes why the arts are taught in schools and
why experiential learning is an important pedagogy. Finally this project includes a
curriculum for a potential teacher to teach lost wax casting including historical and
cultural references.
_______________________, Committee Chair
Crystal Olson, Ed.D.
_______________________
Date
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To Dr. Crystal Olson, my deep gratitude for your extreme patience and
guidance. It is an inspiration to listen to you talk about arts education. I am truly
fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with you.
To Dr. Sherrie Carinci, thank you for your continuous guidance.
To Andy Morinaga, thank you for the many hours you helped my class with
casting. I hope this curriculum inspires other teachers to keep the lost wax casting
process alive.
To my mother Melinda, my foundation, thank you for your contagious passion
for learning and for your continued love and support. I am blessed to have you as a
mother and role model. I love you.
To my sister Pauline, my best friend, thank you for our long conversations, my
brothers Russell for your technology support, Michael for your dependability, Liam
for your amazing smile.
To my son Charlie, thank you for being so sure of me. You are my pride and
joy.
To my husband Matt, your love, encouragement and support during this
process made my thesis possible.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... vi
List of Figures.............................................................................................................. ix
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1
Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................... 3
Significance of the Study.................................................................................. 4
Methodology..................................................................................................... 5
Theoretical Basis .............................................................................................. 9
Definition of Terms ........................................................................................ 10
Limitations and Delimitations ........................................................................ 11
Organization of the Study ............................................................................... 12
2. REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE ......................................................... 14
State of Education with an Emphasis on Testing ........................................... 14
Why the Arts? ................................................................................................. 18
Experiential Learning ..................................................................................... 22
Lost Wax Process: Historical and Cultural Perspective ................................. 28
vii
3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................... 30
Introduction .................................................................................................... 30
Purpose ........................................................................................................... 33
Instruments ..................................................................................................... 33
Setting ............................................................................................................. 34
Participants ..................................................................................................... 34
Design/Procedure ........................................................................................... 34
4. DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS,
AND REFLECTIONS ......................................................................................... 36
Discussion....................................................................................................... 36
Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 38
Limitations ...................................................................................................... 39
Recommendations .......................................................................................... 39
Reflections ...................................................................................................... 39
Appendix A. Visual and Performing Arts Framework Standards for
California Public Schools ............................................................................... 42
Appendix B. Alcohol Lamp Safety Test .................................................................. 46
Appendix C. Lost Wax Casting Introductory Power Point ..................................... 49
Appendix. D Lost Wax Casting in India ................................................................... 75
Appendix. E Student Assessment and Rubric ........................................................... 81
References .................................................................................................................. 85
viii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figures
1.
Page
Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle ................................................................ 23
ix
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
An interesting fictional movie released in 2008 was “Slumdog Millionaire,” a
story about an 18-year-old orphan who grew up in the slums of Mumbai. The miracle
of the movie is that an 18-year-old boy with no education is, after a series of
questions, one question away from winning a game show that is based on knowledge.
How plausible is this movie?
Learning by experience is extremely important for a person’s educational
growth. Experiential learning is a teaching method “dedicated to the proposition that
students can learn from experience” (Gentry, 1990, p. 9). As Confucius stated “ I hear
and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand” (Confucius, 551 B.C.).
Experiential learning is a valuable tool for students to discover and understand
concepts for themselves. Experiential learning is essential in creating a life-long
learner who can connect the classroom to the world.
“Experiences occurring without guidance and adequate academic preparation
may yield little insight into the general processes taking place. Experiences will not
qualify as applied experiential learning without having the expected educational
outcomes articulated and related to the curriculum” (Gentry, 1990, p. 15). The goal of
this project is to create a curriculum that develops students’ prior knowledge, builds
academic preparation with expected objectives for the students while also creating an
experiential learning component within the unit. For example, students learn about
different types of clay, the processes of cleaning and recycling clay, and students build
2
a vocabulary of clay methods and terms. Students will understand the complexity of
clay as a natural resource. Then after an introduction to the basics of clay, students
will take a fieldtrip to a manufacturing company that digs, cleans, bags, and distributes
clay. At the manufacturing site students will see that the clay is dug from layers of the
earth, taken through a cleaning process, bagged, and shipped. Students will be
allowed to participate in the process while, also, building understanding of the process
through guided questions and discussion.
Experiential learning is more prevalent in elementary grades with fieldtrips,
but in the high school level experiential learning is rarely utilized for the general
classroom. This is possibly because of budget cuts but experiential learning is so
crucial to the development of the academic student that it should become a priority.
Experiential learning does not need to be expensive. It can be a walk to the local pond
in a biology class, or a walk to a Mexican restaurant in a Spanish class.
There are various types of learners in a diverse public school with many
different backgrounds. It is impossible to utilize all modalities and try to tap
everyone’s prior knowledge in a lesson. It is important as an educator to give students
skills and allow students to discover some understanding by doing. The teacher can
then build that understanding into the objectives of the curriculum.
In building this curriculum, the researcher would like to create a curriculum for
an educator to teach a unit using experiential learning. The educator would teach the
history of the lost wax casting, give a demonstration, and advise on safety and proper
use of the tools. However, students will have the opportunity to discover the methods
3
and materials individually and in groups. The goal is that students use their own prior
knowledge combined with new experiences to understand the lost wax casting
process. The researcher would hypothesize that the “Slumdog Millionaire” character is
possible with guided skills and questions for deeper understanding.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this project is to create a curriculum that uses experiential
learning to encourage students to think more creatively and analytically in a high
school 3D art classroom. This research project uses the scientific method and
experiential learning techniques in a curriculum to be used inside an art classroom.
The end of the unit will achieve four main objectives:
1. students recognize their own unique and creative capabilities and become
independent thinkers,
2. students become creative problem solvers,
3. students evaluate the lost wax casting process and think of other materials
or ways of creating a lost wax casted project. This will be done through
creating the same project multiple times, and
4. students understand key concepts of the lost wax casting process by being
guided, by analyzing, and by experiencing the process in creating their own
lost wax cast objects.
Significance of the Study
4
The impact of state testing is changing the way students and teachers think about
learning and education. State tests test for a low level thinking ability as well as right
and wrong answers. Students’ and teachers’ priorities have been changed through the
testing. Students now look for the right answer instead of seeking to understand and
analyzing the process.
High-Stakes testing development is so myopic in its construction and
interpretation of resulting scores, that it does not concern itself with the
uniqueness of the individual student and how to best extract their knowledge
and skills. Its focus is to produce a number that can then be claimed as the
truth. Meanwhile without realizing it kids are being horribly misjudged,
educators are drawing irrelevant conclusions and parents are being sold
disinformation (Cody, 2012, para. 3).
It is important for students to value creative thinking and to value constructive success
and failed attempts. According to Kolb (1984), concrete experience provides the
information that serves as a basis for reflection. From these reflections, we assimilate
the information and form abstract concepts. We then use these concepts to develop
new theories about the world, which we then actively test. Through the testing of our
ideas, we once again gather information through experience, cycling back to the
beginning of the process. The students will do this cycle with the lost wax-casting
project. They will be introduced to the history of lost wax. Students will be shown
one way to create a lost wax casted object. This demonstrated process will give them
the opportunity to reflect both individually and in groups. The students will
5
brainstorm other materials or methods that they think might work better. Additionally,
group collaboration and reflection will impact the students to have more tolerance
toward diverse ideas and use the assets of group efforts in order to come up with a
common solution. As a project is made the students get the concrete experience
needed in order to properly reflect and gain a better understanding of the content.
Methodology
The purpose of this project is to create an experiential learning curriculum for
lost wax casting. In order to fulfill the purpose of this project the researcher created
several instruments that will assess the students. A rubric was created for grading the
first assignment, which was for students to use the scientific method to analyze the lost
wax casting process. Next, the researcher will create a discussion dialogue for the
teacher to hold during the class discussion. This dialogue will include informal
observations that the teacher will make during the discussion. The researcher also
created a reflection in the form of a survey for the students to fill out at the end of the
unit. This survey looked for student attitudes toward the project and looked for a
value system that deals with failures and successes while exploring new avenues.
Lastly, the researcher created a rubric that will grade the students’ final lost wax
casted object based on creativity and skill of the process.
The teacher used class discussion and small group discussion to talk about
these questions so that students can get creative ideas and solutions from one another.
This is important because the students can add to each other’s ideas while also being
able to defend their own ideas.
6
Instructional strategies that the researcher created includes some individually
answered thought provoking questions designed to prompt students to think about why
certain steps of the lost wax casting are used. How individual steps are used? What
other materials can be used? Would another material be more efficient or create a
better product? What possible problems might the student run into and how can the
student prevent these problems?
As the research portion of the lost wax casted project progresses into creating
the lost wax object the teacher has the students create hypotheses on how the complete
project will turn out. This will have the students’ thoughts presented in a sequential or
logical manner in order to eliminate unnecessary mistakes during the process. For
example, a student might decide that they will use organic material to cast such as a
leaf. If the student plans each step of the cast during the weighing session they will
need to understand that the ratio of mass to weight is not the same when switching the
wax for a leaf. So brainstorming ideas on the new method in identifying how much
liquid metal will be need to fill the cast will be crucial in creating a successful cast.
During the project the teacher will also allow the students to work in small groups in
order to use the assets of group efforts. The students will be expected to communicate
and incorporate ideas, solutions, and skills in order to create one product.
The last instructional strategy would be to complete a self-reflection on the
process. This self-reflection is in two parts. One part is a written reflection on the
process. The other self and group reflection is oral and done through a guided class
discussion. Through this reflection the researcher expects the students to think about
7
their process from research to hypothesis to final project and to think about the
struggles and thought process during the entire experience. Finally, the students
should cyclically think about another attempt at this project and what could be done
better or differently than their last attempt.
Data Sources
The students of the high school art classroom, the teacher, and the author’s
curriculum, which will include written instruction, rubrics, discussion guides.
Assumptions
The researcher is assuming that this project will be completed by a high school
art teacher who will teach a unit on the lost wax casting process.
Preliminary Steps
Obtaining permission. The researcher created a project that consists of a
curriculum unit that teachers could use in his or her classrooms with their students.
The potential group members will be from a high school art classroom in California.
These characteristics will be chosen because the curriculum is created for a population
of high school art students.
Developing tools. The researcher developed instruments including surveys,
guided discussion questions, rubrics, quizzes, tests, and informal note taking
guidelines for teachers to administer to their students.
Obtaining data. Teachers will record data using the tools to determine the
effectiveness for their class populations.
8
Analyzing Data
Mixed-methods. This curriculum will use a mixed-methods research
approach. With this type of research question being somewhat subjective, there will be
triangulation to validate the findings of the students’ work. Qualitative research in this
case will be important because the growth of students’ personal value systems is
extremely important. This value system will be assessed both by the students and the
teachers. Quantitative research in this project will be equally important because the
creativity and skill level needs to be assessed as well. Both the qualitative and
quantitative research will be helpful to the teachers and are not intended to support
each other but rather to gather and triangulate more information for the teachers.
Qualitative. The qualitative research in this curriculum will consist of surveys
that are answered by the students. The survey will be considered a reflection for each
student and will not be anonymous but will be credit no credit. Students will be more
invested in their answers if it is an assignment not a survey; however, by stating the
grading is credit or no credit students will be more honest. In addition, there will be
observations done by the teachers both while students are working and in-group
discussions.
Quantitative. The quantitative research in this curriculum consists of small
assignments, tests, and the final projects. The teacher will compare student
understanding with that of the previous project which was also a lost wax casting.
Validity and reliability. Creating a curriculum that triangulates several
research methods including quantitative and qualitative methods ensures validity and
9
reliability. The researcher will create a guideline for the teacher to follow which will
include questions to ask during discussions and aspects to observe during class
individual and group work time.
Theoretical Basis
Cognition and Curriculum “Reconsidered” (Eisner, 1994) addresses the
importance of art in education. Eisner, the author, also has the idea of developing the
student as a whole person and to become a lifelong learner. The author also teaches
through experiences and stresses the importance of the student expressing these
experiences through many representations, not just written language.
Experiential Learning (Kolb, 1984) explains the four-stage learning cycle,
which is a cycle of experiential learning that applies to us all. The author uses
immediate or concrete experiences that provide a basis for observations and
reflections. These observations and reflections are absorbed into abstract concepts,
which produce an action, which can be actively tested, which in turn create new
experiences.
“The Concept of Experiential Learning and John Dewey’s Theory of
Reflective Thought and Action” (Miettinen, 2000) uses several of Kolb’s research
theories and synthesizes them with John Dewey’s research. Specifically, Kolb’s four
stage model of experiential learning and Dewey’s concepts of reflective thought and
action.
Dewey’s approach is a naturalistic one. On the basis of Darwinian biological
theory of evolution, it takes the adaptation of the organism to its environment
10
as its starting point. In adapting to the environment, individuals form habitsroutine ways of doing things. When these things do not function, a problem,
uncertainty and a crisis emerges and calls for reflective thought and
investigation into the conditions of the situation (Miettinen, 2000, p. 65).
This approach was developed for adult education but the researcher thinks it can be
adapted to be useful toward high school students as well because the population in
California is so diverse. Miettinen (2000) also uses the theoretical frame that
experiential learning has diverse sources of inspiration, learning technology,
humanistic psychology, and critical social theory. Without the teacher guiding the
students through the lesson objectives empirical thinking alone may have some
failings. For example, the student may not understand the correct meaning of
concepts, “concepts and meanings are not constructed in the head alone. They are
generalizations of the interactions between humans and the entities of environment, in
practical activity” (Miettinen, 2000, p. 68).
Definition of Terms
Accommodation “occurs when we adapt our view of the world to new sensory
information. We see something new. This new experience is brought into the set of
information that we previously held, and we adjust our internal notions to
accommodate this new information” (Fuller, 2006, p. 3).
Assimilation “occurs when a new stimulus fits into already established mental
constructs. We experience a beautiful sunrise and file it into the mental category of
11
beautiful experiences” (Fuller, 2006, p. 3).
Empirical thinking is relying on or derived from observation or experiment
(Collins English Dictionary, n.d.).
Experiential learning is “the process whereby knowledge is created through
the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combinations of
grasping and transforming experience” (Kolb, 1984, p. 26).
Lost wax casting or Cire perdue are terms for a process where, “the figure is
molded in clay, then covered in wax and linked to an outer mold by chaplets, so that
wax can be melted away and replaced by liquid bronze, the chaplets being sawn off
when the bronze cools” (Hunt, 1980, p. 64).
Scientific Method a method of research in which a problem is identified,
relevant data are gathered, a hypothesis is formulated from these data, and the
hypothesis is empirically tested (Collins English Dictionary, n.d.).
Sprues or chaplets are terms for an opening through which molten metal is
poured into a mold.
Theoretical thinking is based on theory and ideas, while practical ones are
based on practice (Collins English Dictionary, n.d.).
Limitations and Delimitations
Limitations
A limitation of this project is that the researcher does not know the teacher or
the students for whom this curriculum is being created. The researcher created a
curriculum based on personal research and personal experiences as a high school art
12
teacher.
Delimitations
Some delimitations are that the author created the curriculum for the unit but
did not implement this project with a group of students. Another delimitation is that
the researcher only researched experiential learning rather than a number of teaching
strategies that could also meet the same objectives in this research project.
Organization of the Study
Instructional strategies that the teachers used are individually answered
questions that prompt students to think about why methods and materials are used in
lost wax casting. For example, why certain steps are used? What other materials can
be used? Would another material be more efficient or create a better product? What
possible problems might you run into and how can you prevent those problems?
The teacher also used class discussion and small group discussion to address
these questions aloud so that students can have access to creative ideas and solutions
from one another. This is important because the students can listen to each other’s
ideas while also being able to present and defend their own ideas.
As the research portion of the project progresses into creating the project, the
teacher will have the students create hypotheses on how the complete project will
develop. This will have the student’s thoughts be completely presented in writing in
order to eliminate unnecessary mistakes during the process. During the project the
teacher will also allow the students to work in small groups in order to use the assets
of group efforts. The students will be expected to communicate and incorporate ideas,
13
solutions, and skills in order to create one group product.
The last instructional strategy would be to complete a self-reflection on the
process. This self-reflection will be in two parts. One part would be a written
reflection on the process. The other self and group reflection will be orally and done
through a guided class discussion. Through this reflection the teacher will expect the
students to think about their process from research to hypotheses to final project and
think about the struggles and thought process through the experience. Finally, the
students should cyclically think about another attempt at these projects and conceive
what could be done better or differently from their last attempt.
14
Chapter 2
REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE
State of Education with an Emphasis on Testing
A third layer of testing arises on the national level and includes the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and President Bush's plan to
require states to test third- through eighth-grade students in Title I schools
annually in reading and mathematics, with state results verified against NAEP
or a commercial test such as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. (Boston, 2001, para.
1)
Instructional explanations in the disciplines by (Stein & Kucan, 2010)
discusses the realities of policy makers in current times. With recent testing and
accountability schemes the nation has become unrealistically focused on the teachers
proximal cause of student learning and not necessarily looking at the process of what
we teach. Policy makers seemingly do not understand the heart of instruction. This
study explored the idea of what varies in instruction between high performing
classrooms and non-performing classrooms in humanities, science, and math. Stein
focused on families in an art museum that showed a large amount of criticism in the
families but they failed to make much conversation about the other three categories
including personal, creative, and context.
The researcher used this information in the curriculum by reinforcing the
importance of a personal connection with artwork and talk about how a work might be
created. What the context of the artwork might be when formally critiquing artwork
15
as a class might change the viewers’ initial opinion about the work of art. The
objective of this type of lesson would be that students do not automatically like or
dislike a work of art like the study showed most families did in a museum. Students
should analyze the work of art better rounded with the idea that there are more steps to
a critique than to like or to dislike. The artwork is not wrong or right. This type of
thinking is a result of the education policy makers giving high stakes testing such
importance. Artwork has purpose, historical value, creative expression, and
exploration. Although an artist may use several elements and principles of art to
create certain affects, artwork is not always interpreted in the same way.
It’s clear to virtually everyone that we appeal to expressive form to say what
literal language can never say. We build shrines to express our gratitude to the
heroes of 9/11 because somehow we find our words inadequate. We appeal to
poetry when we bury and when we marry. We situate our most profound
religious practices within compositions we have choreographed. What does our
need for such practices say to us about the sources of our understanding and
what do they mean for how we educate? At a time when we seem to want to
package performance into standardized measurable skill sets questions such as
these seem to me to be especially important. The more we feel the pressure to
standardize, the more we need to remind ourselves of what we should not try to
standardize (Eisner, 2002, para. 35).
Although art is not a subject on the standardized test, standardized tests negatively
impact creativity and confidence in students and teachers in an art classroom.
16
Many staff described how schools created a range of strategies to boost test
scores…We were told about the use of zero tolerance discipline policies to rid
schools of low-achieving students, expulsion for attendance problems, and
students being counseled out, and encouraged to enroll in GED programs, or
transferred to non-traditional settings (Darling-Hammond, 2010, p. 89).
These consequences make it impossible to “fail” or think differently about a topic.
Students only look for the right answer and if they don’t know it they may just
completely shut down.
A growing body of research has linked increases in dropout rates in California,
Georgia, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, Texas, and
elsewhere to the effects of grade retention, student discouragement, and school
exclusion stimulated by high-stakes testing (Darling-Hammond, 2010, p. 74).
Later, Darling-Hammond explained that the dropouts of diverse students are especially
high. This does not value our students’ diversity because it is not embracing our
students’ prior knowledge. Using a scripted curriculum to teach from, does not allow
the teachers nor the students to trust in what they know and what they have
experienced.
The Chicago study noted that the failure to invest in improved teaching was a
central problem in the city’s reform strategy, which had tried to rely on a
highly scripted curriculum and grade retention as its major tools (DarlingHammond, 2010, p. 75).
17
Policy makers need to trust that teachers know their students and subjects well
enough to teach. Standard testing has the possibility to be a valuable tool in assessing
students. Testing has the opportunity of redirecting educators toward teaching subject
matter in another way until students understand. High stakes testing has been given
such power and only has widened the achievement gap.
They argue that until there is truly equal opportunity to learn for all students
(with equal access to technology, highly qualified teachers, good facilities, and other
learning inputs), testing is an empty exercise (Boston, 2001, para. 5).
Students need to know that they will not be shut down if they think differently.
It is important for people to have similar knowledge in order to function as a society.
However there is not only one right answer to every problem. Art is an amazing
subject to show individuality and creativity.
How something is said is part and parcel of what is said. The message is in the
form-content relationship, a relationship that is most vivid in the arts. To
recognize the relationship of form and content in the arts is not to deny that for
some operations in some fields form and content can be separated. I think of
beginning arithmetic, say the addition of two numbers such as 4+ 4. The sum
of the numerals 4+4 can be expressed in literally an infinite number of ways: 8,
eight, //// ////, VIII, 300,000- 299,992 and so forth. In all of these examples the
arithmetic conclusion, 8, is the same regardless of the form used to represent it.
But for most of what we do form-content relations do matter (Eisner, 2002,
para. 30).
18
Why the Arts
Art as a Basic Human Need
Why we make art: And why it is taught (Hickman, 2005) talks about why we
need art as human beings. It is not a luxury to our lives but a basic human need. It
allows a person to become aware of their own uniqueness of the way they see things
and the way they do things. It allows a human being to fail, to be curious, to express
and to see others respond to their creativity. It allows beings to appreciate one another
and to see their own contribution to the world.
It is important as a teacher to also have a humanistic approach to art. As a
human my vocation is to promote the love of life. So, as a human and educator my
goal is to create a “biophilist culture” making happier and more human students
(Mark, 2007). But what does it mean to be more human? Paolo Friere (1970) in the
book Pedagogy of the Oppressed describes our current education system as a banking
system where teachers think and students follow. Existing knowledge makes students
accept things as they are. He explains that the problem is that students don’t exhibit
critical consciousness when they are not able to develop a critical understanding of the
world. When our students are taught to be silent and not critically view the world the
students are being oppressed. Meaning that the teachers are the subjects and the
students are the objects, in turn dehumanizing our students. Education can oppress or
liberate so the challenge is to promote a liberating education. We need to humanize
our students. Paolo Freire suggests changing the student, teacher relationship where
19
teachers and students are both subjects. Our pedagogy should be based on the reality
of the oppressed.
The oppressor creates oppression. Oppressors are selfish and have egotistic
interests where their perspective is dominated. People who believe they know what is
for the greater good possibly cause this pedagogy of the oppressor. However, this is
unjust to others around because is devalues other peoples experiences and they
become objects. When people are seen and see themselves as objects they’re
exploited, oppressed, and become victims of violence of the oppressors. “Violence is
initiated by those who oppress, who exploit, who fail to recognize others as personsnot by those who are oppressed, exploited, and unrecognized” (Freire, 1970, p. 41).
Oppression can also lead to self-depreciation, which derives from people’s
internalization of the opinion the oppressors’ hold of them. They are convinced of
their own unfitness. They do not trust themselves or “realize that they, too, ‘know
things’ they have learned in their relations with the world and with other men” (Freire,
1970, p. 50). This can lead to drugs and alcohol caused by devalued, dehumanized
feelings and realty. Another initial stage of the struggle of the oppressed is; instead of
striving for liberation tend themselves to become the oppressors, or sub-oppressors.
This is because they follow the “role models” they have had. Instead the researcher
will strive to promote liberated humans and students that can reflect on their
oppression and the world they live in.
In order to create a yearning for freedom and justice and yearning to recover
their lost humanity the researcher must promote dialogue. One way the researcher
20
created dialogue was to show a picture of something. Then have the students talk
about what they see. The students should be the subjects where they use their
experience to view the picture. The students use their own critical consciousness to
develop understanding for the picture. Realization that they, too, know things they
have learned in their relations with the world and with other men or women. This will
hopefully break the culture of silence in order to create action.
Action will be taken by the oppressed only after reflection in order to restore
humanity for both oppressors and the oppressed. Liberate the oppressed. Action
needs to be taken by experiencing the world at first hand. Students need to go to
museums, experience other cultures, communicate and experience people in a realistic
setting. The researcher incorporated travel and cultural experiences with the teacher
and students. The students can then reflect on our experiences as subjects, whose
experience is knowledge, then use their knowledge to promote dialogue among
students in order to continually develop, compare and contrast and spiral into a higher
thinking. With this experience they can take action. “Human hands that work and;
working transform the world. Destroy the causes which nourish false charity” (Friere,
1970, p. 29). We will make the world our reality and be involved with reality, criticize
reality, and have the desire to change it. This will lead our oppression into Freedom.
By having freedom, our students become happier humans.
Freedom is acquired by conquest, not by gift. It must be pursued constantly
and responsibly. Freedom is not an ideal located outside of man; nor is it an
21
idea which becomes myth, it is rather the indispensable condition for the quest
for human completion (Freire, 1970, p. 31).
Once students have freedom they need to constantly pursue it by continuing their
education.
Developing Students’ Voices
People need to continue to learn, to be involved in dialogue, to continue to
criticize reality. This comes from the desire to be free but not without the love of a
liberating education. But traditional education is not the route for everyone. Creating
a curriculum for a new type of education is necessary in order to create that love of
learning. This curriculum recreates learning in reality. The researchers’ goal was to
create a curriculum for Art that reintroduces the world as our classroom. Students’
experiences are the means of dialogue. The unique experiences of the students give
them a voice. The researcher used images from current villages using similar
techniques that they will use. The researcher has a history component that shows the
same project done in another culture and another time period. The students will think
about their own experiences at museums, monuments, political structures, churches,
parks, cafes, animals, and cultures, which become the basis of their project. Their
voice and reflections become our dialogue. Their voice is the subject of our class
learning. The world is our classroom because our experiences matter and become our
voice. When students have the perspective that their learning can happen anywhere
students have a liberated education, a love of learning, a love of life, and are more
human.
22
Math and science have rules. There are sequential steps in order to come to a
conclusion. However, when there are no rules students need to learn to trust their
intuition.
The arts teach students to act and to judge in the absence of rule, to rely on
feel, to pay attention to nuance, to act and appraise the consequences of one’s
choices and to revise and then to make other choices (Eisner, 2002, para. 22)
This is a significant quality in a human being. Being able to trust your instinct is
important. It means that a person can observe, reflect, and analyze their environment
and then choose to react. It is a quality that can be transferred to many situations since
many experiences do have specific equations. It is also important to note Eisner said
the arts give students the chance to evaluate ones choices and also revise those
choices. Students learn that “failures” are just part of the process and are able to cope
with making other choices in order to move on or create a better product.
Experiential Learning
History
Several authors have pointed out that experiential learning dates back beyond
recorded history and remains in current society, whether in schools or
informally in day-to-day life. Experiential learning is not an alternative
approach, but the most traditional and fundamental method of human learning
(Neill, 2006, para. 7).
Experiential learning is “ the process whereby knowledge is created through
the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combinations of
23
grasping and transforming experience” (Kolb, 1984, p. 23). There are five
overlapping instructional strategies for teaching through experiential learning, which
include: active learning, problem-based learning, project-based learning, service
learning, and place-based learning. All of these teaching strategies contain similar
steps where Kolb describes in cyclical stages.
David Kolb first used the term experiential learning. He created a four-stage
cycle and is shown below (Kolb, 1984, p. 21).
Active experimenting
Concrete experience
Abstract
conceptualizing
Reflective observing
Figure 1. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle.
This image represents Kolb’s cycle of experiencing, reflecting, thinking, and acting.
This cycle was the combination of Dewey, Lewin, and Piaget (Kolb, 1984, p. 20).
…Growth is seen to be facilitated best by an integrated process that begins
with here-and-now experience followed by collection of data and observations
24
about that experience. The data are then analyzed and the conclusions of this
analysis are fed back to the actors in the experience for their use in the
modification of their behavior and choice of new experiences (Kolb, 1984, p.
21).
The research of Quinn, which focuses on the learning of cultural norms,
validates the principles of experiential learning in significant ways. Their work builds
on the scholarship of cognitive anthropology and the ‘connectionist’ theories of
cognition, which explore how thought patterns trigger behavior and how behavior can
shape thought patterns. A new direction in the study of cognition provides a
neurological model for how human beings process experiences and construct meaning
(Strauss & Quinn, 1997). They explain the development of schemas, or networks of
connected cognitive elements, which one could also name as assumptions or theories
or understandings. In their model, one forms schemas through a complex process of
taking in data from an experience, comparing the data to similar experiences and to
stored interpretations of past experiences, and analyzing discrepancies or
correspondences. The results of the analysis generate neurological pathways in the
brain so that another similar experience will trigger a series of associations, which
become, in effect, meaning. This process illuminates at a physiological level the
dialectic between theory and practice.
The purpose of bringing experiential learning to an art class is so that students
question the process of creating. In doing so the students will:
25
1. students recognize their own unique and creative capabilities and become
independent thinkers,
2. students become creative problem solvers,
3. students evaluate the lost wax casting process and think of other materials
or ways of creating a lost wax casted project. This will be done through
creating the same project multiple times, and
4. students understand key concepts of the lost wax casting process by being
guided, analyzing, and experiencing the process in creating their own lost
wax cast object.
When Piaget worked as an assistant to, Alfred Binet, the creator of the first
intelligence test, exploring the reasoning process children used to select answers to the
test questions fascinated Piaget. Eventually this led to the development of new
theories of cognitive development, which illuminate stages of reasoning and making
sense of the world through interactions with the environment. As Kolb explains,
“Stated most simply, Piaget’s theory describes how intelligence is shaped by
experience” (Fuller, 2006, p. 3). Two of the processes studied by Piaget have
particular relevance to understanding the ways in which experience informs thinking
(Fuller, 2006, p. 3):
Accommodation occurs when we adapt our view of the world to new sensory
information. We see something new. This new experience is brought into the
set of information that we previously held, and we adjust our internal notions
to accommodate this new information (Jacobson & Ruddy, 2004, p. 13).
26
Assimilation occurs when a new stimulus fits into already established mental
constructs. We experience a beautiful sunrise and file it into the mental
category of beautiful experiences (Jacobson & Ruddy, 2004, p. 13).
Requiring learners simply to engage in experience is not enough. Experiences,
whether field-based, simulated, or on the job, must be processed through reflection
and debriefing in order to maximize their value.
…The art room can become a zone dedicated to the exercise of curiosity, a
place where the instincts of questioning can find their own paths to language.
What happens when I mix this with that? How does what happens affect
me/how does it affect others? There is an implicit injunction in the art room to
take responsibility for the experiments you make because you have chosen to
make them, and when that focusing on response is sharpened by the sharing of
the intentions of the maker and the perceptions of peer perceivers, the
individual can both give form to and again an appreciation of the value of their
unique contribution to the world, allowing them to become active makers of a
living culture, rather than passive consumers. It does not matter whether the
individual ends up becoming a professional artist: the important this is that the
direct experience of art makes the individual (Hickman, 2005, p. 5).
In the 1960s Kurt Lewin and a team of researchers developed a center in
Bethel, Maine for the study of how adults learn and the dynamics among learners in
groups. One of their findings was that when instructors designed activities based on
learning through doing the learners retained 75% of the material and when the learners
27
practiced the material through teaching others they retained 90%. In contrast,
activities based on reading or lecture formats resulted in 5-10% retention rates (Fuller,
2006. p. 3).
To instruct someone…is not a matter of getting him to commit results to mind.
Rather, it is to teach him to participate in the process that makes possible the
establishment of knowledge. We teach a subject not to produce little living
libraries on that subject, but rather to get a student to think mathematically for
himself, to consider matters as an historian does, to take part in the process of
knowledge-getting. Knowing is a process not a product (Bruner, 1966, p. 72).
Characteristics of ‘discipline-based art education’ (DBAE) were outlined by
Dwaine Greer, who asserted that a curriculum based on DBAE:

Focuses on the intrinsic value of art study;

Operates within the larger context of aesthetic education;

Draws form and content form the four professional roles, i.e. art historian,
art critic, aesthetician and artist;

Is systematically and sequentially structured;

Interrelates components from the four role sources for an integrated
understanding of art;

Provides time for a regular and systematic instruction;

Specifies learner outcomes (Hickman, 2005, p. 13).
28
Experiential learning still needs to follow a curriculum and include the CA Content
Standards for Visual and Performing Arts, but that should include the opportunity to
create a learner-centered environment. The learning does not need to be sequential
learning in order to meet student and teacher objectives.
Lost Wax Process: Historical and Cultural Perspective
Historical Perspective
Lost wax casting or Cire perdue was a technique discovered sometime before
4000 B.C. and independently in several different regions including: Anatolia, Iran,
Syria, Palestine, and Thailand.
Either a potter or a metal worker, or more probably the two working together,
conceived the brilliant idea of taking a model carved in beeswax, coating this
with clay, heating the composite structure both to harden the clay and to melt
out the wax, and then using the mold so formed to produce a more complex
casting with every detail carved or built up in the wax (Hunt, 1980, p. 64).
The final product was a tool or figure with great detail and was better than any other
material at the time. It was stronger than clay and less intensive to create the object
than in stone. The early lost wax was done in copper, then in tin bronze and finally in
gold.
The purpose for the figurines was for symbolic sacrifice to the gods of early
religions. Tools were also made during this time, which include a sort of stamp that
was used as a signature even before written language existed. Hunt (1980) stated
these were all signs of the beginning of civilization.
29
There are literatures referencing the lost wax casting process and method but it
wasn’t until the “Abhilashitarthachintamani, an encyclopaedic work by the Western
Chalukya King Somesvara Bhulokamalla of the twelfth century, that gives an
elaborate description of the process” (Krishnan, 1976, p. VII).
Cultural Perspective
Today the traditional Indian craftsmen in this art are facing great economic
distress due to dwindling of their traditional patrons. Dire poverty often drives
some of them to take up other vocations of profit. This might result in the
extinction of this traditional art (Krishnan, 1976, p. IX).
30
Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
During the second semester of student teaching, the author used experiential
learning with the diverse high school art students. Being a minority and struggling
with finding her own confident voice in the world, the author saw herself in many of
her students. Art is a basic humanistic need and one that many rely on to express
themselves. Allowing adolescents to express themselves through art was the author’s
goal and yet many students struggled to use the artistic process to their advantage.
Students’ feared failure, lacked confidence in their creativity, and quickly and harshly
judged other students art process. The author reflected on her own journey with art
and realized her voice was found through experiential learning. In this experiential
learning process the author realized it was similar to the scientific method in that a
problem was identified, relevant data was gathered, a hypothesis was formulated from
these data, and the hypothesis was empirically tested. So, in response to her students’
struggle the author geared a unit toward experiential learning with the emphasis of the
grade on the process not the product. With the process being the importance it
protected the students’ fear of “failure.”
The author used the lost wax casting process with an experiential learning
curriculum. For safety reasons and because very few students had prior knowledge to
build from with lost wax casting, the author took the students through each step of the
lost wax casting project.
31
1. The first step was to design a pendant by sketching several onto paper.
2. Then choose one sketch and create that sketch into wax by melting away or
adding wax to a larger mass.
3. Weigh the wax and multiply it by .20oz in order to find its mass in metal.
4. Weigh out a mixture of brass and copper in order to melt.
5. Sprue the wax pendant and surround with plaster.
6. Melt the wax so that only the plaster surround is left.
7. Melt the brass copper mix and pour into the space inside the plaster.
8. Break away the plaster.
9. Saw off the sprues.
10. File, sand, and polish the remaining pendant.
These steps were first initially fully presented so that the students not only had
a history on PowerPoint but also a demonstration that they were a part of. The teacher
and students went through this in a very straightforward manner with a demonstration
and then created one on their own. The problem like many other projects is that there
was little thought that went into why each step was done beyond “because we need to
melt it to get the wax out.” So because there was little high order-thinking students
would forget steps. High order-thinking according to Bloom’s Taxonomy (Pohl,
2000) shows that creating is the highest order of thinking. Allowing the students to
work through the problem and evaluate, which is the second highest order of thinking
will allow the students to demonstrate their understanding of the subject. It also gives
them confidence and a sense of humanity that they are important and have a creative
32
and intelligent mind. Another problem was that in a class of 35 students there would
be 15 hearts, five crosses, a few letters, and four stars created. Very few students
created something original and that did not do justice to my students’ voices. The
author wanted students to trust and not to hesitate to utilize their own creativity.
The experiential learning style is rewarding to both the students and teachers.
Also, giving the students a chance to repeat a project after having experienced the
method and materials is gratifying to the students. The author started again with the
history of lost wax casting showing pictures of the processes that were done by ancient
Greeks. Since the students now have some common background due to the previous
project the author was able to ask why the Greeks used clay and bronze? By doing so
the students began thinking about the materials being used and possibly what other
materials could be used? “Why do we use wax,” the author asked the class. One
student answers, “Because it is smooth.” Yes, the students are thinking about the detail
you can get when you carve into the wax. “Why else do we use wax,” the author asks
the class. “Because it melts,” said another student. The students started to get excited
and engaged about the process. “Could we use another material that melts that might
have a different product?” “Clay,” one students said. Another student says, “Clay
hardens when it’s heated.” Now the students started a discussion, so the teacher was
not the focus of the lesson. The teacher was no longer the person with the right and
wrong answer. The students were gaining confidence in their own prior knowledge
and getting excited about the process of lost wax casting. Through these experiences,
the author saw a greater need for experiential learning in the high school art classroom
33
and knew she needed to develop a curriculum for other educators to use. During the
author’s teaching lost wax casting, the students’ experiential learning informed the
development of these lessons because she saw students increase their voices, more
creativity, and acquired a better understanding of the lost wax casting processes.
Purpose
The purpose of this project was to create a curriculum using lost wax casting
with experiential learning as the primary teaching strategy. This curriculum was
created as a guide for other educators for lessons in lost wax casting with experiential
learning as the primary teaching method so that students gain a better understanding of
the lost wax casting process, became more confident in their own creativity, and more
accepting of other students’ work. This curriculum was included in Appendix C.
Instruments
In developing the curriculum for this project the author used the teaching
methods taught in her teaching credential program that emphasized experiential
learning. In reading about experiential learning the author put words, techniques, and
theory to the learning style that combines several modalities. The author also saw the
lack of confidence in her students and decided to go about teaching art in a way where
the students learn to trust their prior knowledge and the teacher becomes more of a
guide.
The author also used several resources to become more familiar with the lost
wax-casting project in order to create PowerPoint presentations, lessons,
34
demonstrations, and rubrics. These resources include going to museums, videos,
books, Internet, other teachers, and artists.
The California Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards are also an
important tool in creating this curriculum. The author designed these lessons to follow
these standards in order for students to develop academic language with art objectives
while using the experiential teaching method.
Setting
This unit of instruction is designed to meet California’s high school art content
standards, and should be taught to high school art students. There are modification
suggestions included so that the educator can make accommodations in accordance to
the needs of the students in the class.
Participants
The contents of these lessons are specific to a high school art classroom that
teaches the lost wax casting project, but can be tailored to other projects that would
like to integrate experiential learning. The curriculum can be adapted to any project
by the educator making the intended audience all educators who intend to use
experiential learning.
Design and Procedure
Prior to teaching the lessons to the students, the educator must familiarize her
or himself with the content of the material, tools, and history of the lost wax casting
process. It is necessary that the educator scroll through the PowerPoint, which talks
35
about the history of the project so that they can think of some possible answers in
order to direct the students thinking toward the project objectives.
The pace of this unit can be adjusted to the choosing of the educator based on
the needs of the students and accessibility to the equipment needed for each student. It
would be ideal that there is a demonstration and class discussion every three days.
This will allow time for each step of the process until the completion. Students will
have additional time as needed with informal teacher-to-student evaluations as the
emphasis is on the process not the product. The demonstrations and discussions are to
be taught sequentially because each process builds on another.
It is important for the educator to evaluate and assess the students regularly.
The formal and informal assessments are provided in the Appendix E, which contain
rubrics and evaluation guidelines. These evaluations will be administered toward
individual students and as a class in order to record progress and also redirect
teaching. There are several self-reflective response questions for the students to
answer in order to show higher order thinking and to record their thinking about the
process they are working through. These self-reflective responses should be assessed
on a regular basis in order for students to transfer and synthesize their unique
understanding of the process.
36
Chapter 4
DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND
REFLECTIONS
Discussion
Curriculum Training Lecture
Survey questions.
1. How effective was the message?
2. What points in the presentation really worked?
3. What points were lacking or confusing or clumsily conveyed?
4. What could the presentation use more of?
5. What could the presentation use less of?
Participants. The participants of this curriculum presentation include other art
teachers of the Sacramento area. Participant A is a middle school art teacher in the
Sacramento Area who has taught for 3 years. Participant B is the retired art teacher
who taught the lost wax casting process at C.K. McClatchy high school.
Setting. The setting of the presentation is one on one in a local coffee shop.
Also, some feedback was conducted through emails.
Survey results.
How effective was the message?
Participant A: “Very clearly presented. I [participant A] liked the portion that
expresses the impacts of state testing on the arts.”
37
Participant B: “Your [the author’s] message was very clear. I [participant B]
think using the quote of Confucius was appropriate and pretty much summed it
all up.”
What points in the presentation really worked?
Participant A: “I [participant A] enjoyed the cultural aspect of the PowerPoint
in order to introduce the project. I think the student would get a kick out of
seeing the project being done in another country and in the actual setting.”
What points were lacking or confusing or clumsily conveyed?
Participant A: “I [participant A] think it would be beneficial to have more
history about the methods of the process.”
Participant B: “You [the author] may want to clarify a bit more the process
of making a pattern or model to be cast as opposed to making a mold of an
existing item.”
What could the presentation use more of?
Participant A: “It would be helpful to include actual teacher lesson plans in
the appendix. Also, include some modifications for students with disabilities.”
Participant B: “Citing actual conversation among students. Show
involvement of the students in problem solving and thinking in general.”
What could the presentation use less of?
Any other comments?
Participant B: “Over the years we regularly put up displays of the casting
process along with actual projects in the [school] hallway. At the end of the
38
state fair we [the class] also showed off ribbons and other awards that students
had earned. Often when I [participant B] walked by I'd see students looking at
the display and several times I [participant B] observed students enrolled in the
class explaining the process to their friends. It was very satisfying to see that
students fully understood the process and taking pride in the knowledge and
sharing with others.
We [the class] also sculpted in soapstone. It is much less technical but a very
good way of teaching 3-D art.
I [participant B] hope that eventually you [the author] have the
opportunity to teach and will incorporate some of these things in your [the
author’s] program.”
Conclusion
The lost wax casting project was brought to C.K. McClatchy High School with
the vision to keep the art alive. This is the only high school within California that has
the equipment to hold a lost wax casting lab. Under the teacher it was a great success
and the students won many awards for their artwork. This lab has been set aside
because there are not enough funds for the lab and the teacher who ran the program
has retired. The potential to keep the lost wax casting lab running is still possible with
a curriculum that a teacher could follow.
Every high school needs something that students can be proud of. Students
were excited about lost wax casting and their artwork showed that with all the awards
they won for the artwork. The potential that C.K. McClatchy High School has to
39
shine in something unique is available with the proper curriculum. It is the researchers
goal to create this curriculum. Using experiential learning as pedagogy will allow the
students to create lost wax castings in a way that will challenge their creativity.
Limitations
Some limitations of this curriculum are that it was only presented to a couple
of art teachers in the Sacramento area. This curriculum includes materials needed that
would prepare a teacher in order to teach the class; however, a teacher would need
training to operate the machinery and develop specific techniques in order to complete
all aspects of the lost wax casting project.
Recommendations
The researcher recommends this curriculum be used for the lost wax casting
lab. The researcher also recommends an art teacher would use this curriculum to
continue the vision that was already started at C.K. McClatchy High School and to
create a unique program that students can be proud of.
Reflections
When the author started student teaching there was a certain expectation of
being apart of something very special. As a student teacher at C.K. McClatchy High
School, the author did not know that the author would be a part of California Art
History. This is the only lost wax casting lab in a California High School and it was
important that when the author taught this class that she incorporated the lost wax
casting lab into the three dimensional art curriculum.
40
The author used this curriculum in teaching lost wax casting at C.K.
McClatchy High School and it was very strong portion of the three-dimensional art
class. The students enjoyed learning about the process and were extremely
enthusiastic about the history and cultural aspects of casting. The experiential
pedagogy guided the students to think on a higher order of thinking. They analyzed
the process and thought about other materials they could cast such as organic materials
like dead insects, leafs, or flowers. The students appreciated the process almost more
that the final product. The students were enthusiastic about new ideas when the lost
wax casting process final product did not turn out as planned.
As the next couple of years moved on and the author changed teaching
positions, the author realized that there was no written curriculum for the lab. The
lack of a written curriculum prompted the author to write this project. As the verbal
communication may one day be lost through retired teachers or teachers moving
around, the author realized that a written curriculum would be a unique resource for
the lab in order to keep the process alive.
It was valuable to get feedback from other art teachers in the Sacramento area
in order to see if this curriculum was clear and thorough enough to follow. It was also
appreciated to get the opinion of the founder of the lost wax casting lab and former
teacher at C.K. McClatchy High School. Some of the advice was to show more
elaboration of the process of model making in wax. The author recommends using
demonstrations to show each phase of the process. These demonstrations should
emphasize safety and some techniques. The demonstrations should include an open
41
discussion using students’ ideas. These demonstrations should allow the students to
safely experiment in the model making process as well. The author hopes to contribute
this curriculum to the lab in order to keep the lab and the lost wax casting process
successful at C.K. McClatchy High School.
42
APPENDIX A
Visual and Performing Arts Framework Standards for California Public Schools
43
Visual and Performing Arts Framework Standards for California Public Schools
1.0 ARTISTIC PERCEPTION
Processing, Analyzing, and Responding to Sensory Information Through the
Language and Skills Unique to the Visual Arts
Students perceive and respond to works of art, objects in nature, events, and the
environment. They also use the vocabulary of the visual arts to express their
observations.
Develop Perceptual Skills and Visual Arts Vocabulary
•
1.1 Identify and use the principles of design to discuss, analyze, and write
about visual aspects in the environment and in works of art, including their
own.
•
1.2 Describe the principles of design as used in works of art, focusing on
dominance and subordination.
Analyze Art Elements and Principles of Design
•
1.3 Research and analyze the work of an artist and write about the artist's
distinctive style and its contribution to the meaning of the work.
•
1.4 Analyze and describe how the composition of a work of art is affected by
the use of a particular principle of design.
Impact of Media Choice
•
1.5 Analyze the material used by a given artist and describe how its use
influences the meaning of the work.
•
1.6 Compare and contrast similar styles of works of art done in electronic
media with those done with materials traditionally used in the visual arts.
2.0 CREATIVE EXPRESSION
Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Visual Arts
Students apply artistic processes and skills, using a variety of media to communicate
meaning and intent in original works of art.
Skills, Processes, Materials, and Tools
•
2.1 Solve a visual arts problem that involves the effective use of the elements
of art and the principles of design.
•
2.2 Prepare a portfolio of original two-and three-dimensional works of art that
reflects refined craftsmanship and technical skills.
44
•
2.3 Develop and refine skill in the manipulation of digital imagery (either still
or video).
•
2.4 Review and refine observational drawing skills.
Communication and Expression Through Original Works of Art
•
2.5 Create an expressive composition, focusing on dominance and
subordination.
•
2.6 Create a two or three-dimensional work of art that addresses a social issue.
3.0 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of the Visual
Arts
Students analyze the role and development of the visual arts in past and present
cultures throughout the world, noting human diversity as it relates to the visual arts
and artists.
Role and Development of the Visual Arts
• 3.1 Identify similarities and differences in the purposes of art created in
selected cultures.
• 3.2 Identify and describe the role and influence of new technologies on
contemporary works of art.
Diversity of the Visual Arts
• 3.3 Identify and describe trends in the visual arts and discuss how the issues of
time, place, and cultural influence are reflected in selected works of art.
• 3.4 Discuss the purposes of art in selected contemporary cultures.
4.0 AESTHETIC VALUING
Responding to, Analyzing, and Making Judgments About Works in the Visual Arts
Students analyze, assess, and derive meaning from works of art, including their own,
according to the elements of art, the principles of design, and aesthetic qualities.
Derive Meaning
• 4.1 Articulate how personal beliefs, cultural traditions, and current social,
economic, and political contexts influence the interpretation of the
meaning or message in a work of art.
• 4.2 Compare the ways in which the meaning of a specific work of art has been
affected over time because of changes in interpretation and context.
45
Make Informed Judgments
• 4.3 Formulate and support a position regarding the aesthetic value of a specific
work of art and change or defend that position after considering the
views of others.
• 4.4 Articulate the process and rationale for refining and reworking one of their
own works of art.
• 4.5 Employ the conventions of art criticism in writing and speaking about
works of art.
5.0 CONNECTIONS, RELATIONSHIPS, APPLICATIONS
Connecting and Applying What Is Learned in the Visual Arts to Other Art Forms and
Subject Areas and to Careers
Students apply what they learn in the visual arts across subject areas. They develop
competencies and creative skills in problem solving, communication, and management
of time and resources that contribute to lifelong learning and career skills. They also
learn about careers in and related to the visual arts.
•
•
•
•
Connections and Applications
5.1 Design an advertising campaign for a theatre or dance production held at a
school, creating images that represent characters and major events in the
production.
5.2 Create a work of art that communicates a cross-cultural or universal theme
taken from literature or history.
Visual Literacy
5.3 Compare and contrast the ways in which different media (television,
newspapers, magazines) cover the same art exhibition.
Careers and Career-Related Skills
5.4 Demonstrate an understanding of the various skills of an artist, art critic, art
historian, art collector, art gallery owner, and philosopher of art
(aesthetician).
(Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission, 2004,
“Visual and Performing Arts Framework for California Public Schools,” pp. 117-121)
46
APPENDIX B
Alcohol Lamp Safety Test
47
Alcohol Lamp Safety Test
Name:________________
True False Loose sleeves must be rolled above the elbows.
True False If you see fellow students violating safety rules, it is none of your
business.
True False In the interest of safety, the floor must be kept clean.
True False An alcohol lamp may be left lit if you are going to return in a moment.
True False Lighting and refilling alcohol lamps may be made by experienced shop
students without the teacher’s permission.
True False Slight injuries do not have to be reported.
True False Playing around in the classroom is all right if you do not get too rough.
True False All tools should be returned to their proper place when you are through
with them.
True False When you have your materials in front of you, you are ready to raise
your hand for an alcohol lamp.
True False Experimenting with the equipment can be dangerous to you and to the
equipment.
True False Throwing objects across the room is ok if it makes it into the trash.
True False Running is all right if the aisles are clear.
True False Long hair can be dangerous around flames.
True False Alcohol flames may be invisible.
True False It is ok to light an alcohol lamp by using the flame of another alcohol
lamp.
True False Ingestion of alcohol can cause blindness and death.
True False Eating in the classroom is ok if you’re not handling the alcohol lamps.
48
Safety Pledge
This is to certify that I have received safety instruction in the above areas. I promise
to observe all safety precautions and if ever in doubt regarding any operations, I will
get the necessary information from my teacher.
Signed:________________________________ Date:__________________
(Morinaga, 2003)
49
APPENDIX C
Lost Wax Casting Introductory PowerPoint
50
(FVStore, 2014)
51
52
53
(Devereux, 2010)
54
(Devereux, 2010)
55
56
(Cranston Casting, 2014)
57
(American School of Jewelry, 2014)
58
59
(Harris, 2011)
60
(Cranston Casting, 2014)
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
(Devereux, 2011)
75
APPENDIX D
Lost Wax Casting in India
76
Casting in Tamil Nadu, India
Investment:
Surrounding
model with
plaster.
Investment:
Wax object is
surrounded by
plaster. Must
wait 24 hours
for plaster to
cure.
77
Burn out:
Man is
melting
wax out
of plaster
which
will leave
the
negative
space of
the
design
inside the
plaster.
Peanuts
were also
roasted
during
the
burnout
stage.
Casting:
78
Casting:
Metal is
heated and
poured into
plaster
hollow.
Casting:
Plaster is
broken
away and
hot cast is
left.
Finishing:
Casted
object
needs
sprues
sawed off
and flaws
filed
smooth.
Then entire
object
polished.
79
Final
Project
(out of
order
Object
must be
polished
after
casting)
Finishing:
Object
getting
sprues
sawed off.
Finishing:
Flaws
being filed
off and
object
polished.
80
Lost Wax Casting
of an elephant
before and after
filing and
polishing
More elaborate
Castings
(Olson, 2013)
81
APPENDIX E
Student Assessment and Rubric
82
Rubric: Lost Wax Casting
This project will be graded on the following criteria:
CATEGORY
5
4
Craftsmanship Sophisticated The design
and refined
design and
construction.
Extreme
attention to
detail. The
item is neat
(free of
unwanted
bumps, drips,
marks and
tears.
and
construction
look carefully
planned. The
item is neat
(free of
unwanted
bumps, drips,
marks, and
tears).
3
2
1
The design
and
construction
look planned.
The item has a
few flaws
(unwanted
bumps, drips,
marks, tears),
but these do
not detract
from the
overall look.
The design
and
construction
were planned.
The item has
several flaws
(unwanted
bumps, drips,
marks, tears),
that detract
from the
overall look.
The sculpture
looks thrown
together at the
last minute. It
appears that
little design or
planning was
done.
Craftsmanship
is poor.
Time and
Effort
Class time
A great deal of
was used
time is evident
wisely. Much in the product.
time and effort
went into the
planning and
design of the
casting.
Effort seems
appropriate for
the project, but
some potential
is
undeveloped.
Amount of
Amount of
effort is
effort barely
inadequate for apparent.
this project.
Looks like a
sketch, not a
finished
product.
Creativity
Totally original
design, no
element is an
exact copy of
designs seen
in source
material.
Most of the
sculptural
elements are
unique, but 1
element may
be copied from
source
material.
Good design,
however not
entirely
unique.
Some aspects
of the
sculpture are
unique, but
several
elements are
copied from
source
materials or
other students.
The sculpture
is a copy seen
in source
material or one
made by
another
student (80%
or more of
elements are
copied).
Use of
elements
Knowledge
and
consideration
of the principle
of contrast is
extremely
evident in
casting.
Knowledge
and
consideration
of the principle
of contrast is
very evident in
casting.
Knowledge
and
consideration
of the principle
of contrast is
evident in
casting.
Knowledge
and
consideration
of the principle
of contrast is
barely evident
casting
sculpture.
Knowledge
and
consideration
of the principle
of contrast is
missing in
casting.
Reflection
Paragraph
Excellent
description of
the artistic
process using
knowledge of
elements and
principles.
Above
average
description of
the artistic
process using
knowledge of
elements and
principles.
Average
description of
the artistic
process using
knowledge of
elements and
principles.
Below
Average
description of
the artistic
process using
knowledge of
elements and
principles.
Did not meet
expectations
with regards to
use of media.
83
Teacher’s Notes:
Reflection: The focus of making the lost wax casting was creating and
understanding space. How do you use positive and negative space to create an
interesting composition?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Does your lost wax casting show any type of space through nonlinear perspective?
Using what illusion method did you create depth using nonlinear perspective?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
84
Does your lost wax casting show linear perspective and if so what type of linear
perspective did you use?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
(Devereux, 2012)
85
REFERENCES
American School of Jewelry. (2014). Lost Wax Casting [Photograph]. Retrieved from
http://www.jewelryschool.net/waxdesign.htm
Boston, C. (2001). The debate over national testing. Washington, DC: Eric Digest.
Retrieved from http://www.ericdigests.org/2002-2/testing.htm
Bruner, J. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Cody, A. (2012). Rog Lucido: How do high stakes tests affect our students? Education
Week Teacher. Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-indialogue/2012/09/rog_lucido_how_do_high_stakes_.html
Cranston Casting Company Inc. (2014). Lost Wax Casting [Photograph]. Retrieved
from http://www.cranstoncasting.com/index.htm
Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission. (2004). Visual
and Performing Arts Framework for California Public Schools. Sacramento,
CA: California Department of Education. Retrieved from
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/documents/vpaframewrk.pdf
Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education: How America’s
commitment to Equity will determine our future. New York, NY: Teachers
College Press.
Devereux, L. (2010). Six phases of Re-Casting the Bronze Statuette of Zeus from
Dondona [Photographs]. Berlin, German History Museum
86
Devereux, L. (2011). Lost Wax Casting Introductory Power Point. Unpublished
Manuscript.
Devereux, L. (2012). Rubric: Lost Waxt Casting. Unpublished Manuscript.
Eisner, E. (1994). Cognition and curriculum reconsidered. New York, NY: Teachers
College Press.
Eisner, E. (2002). What can education learn from the arts about the practice of
education? The encyclopedia of informal education Retrieved from
http://www.infed.org/biblio/eisner_arts_and_the_practice_of_education.htm
Empirical thinking. (n.d.). Collins English Dictinoary- Complete & Unabridged 10th
Edition. Retrieved September 28, 2013, from Dictionary.com website:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/empirical?s=t
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, NY: Herder and Herder
Fuller, T. (2006). History of experiential learning as a teaching pedagogy. Waltham,
MA: Brandies University
FVStore. (2014). Lost Wax Casting [Photograph]. Retrieved from
http://www.fvstore.com/VINTAGE-VIENNA-AUSTRIAN-BRONZEBUNNY-RABBIT-HARE-STATUE-SCULPTURE-ANIMALGARDEN/p195.html
Gentry, J. (1990). Guide to business gaming and experiential learning (Unpublished
master’s thesis). University of Michigan. Retrieved from
http://www.wmich.edu/casp/servicelearning/files/What%20is%20Experiential
%20Learning.pdf
87
Harris, L. (2011). The Beading Gem’s Journal [Photograph]. Retrieved from
http://www.beadinggem.com/2011/02/lost-wax-casting-doing-it-on-yourown.html
Hickman, R. (2005). Why we make art and why it is taught. Chicago, IL: Intellect Ltd.
Hunt, L. B. (1980). The long history of lost wax casting. E-Journal of Gold Bulletin,
13(2), 63-79. Retrieved from
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF03215456
Jacobson, M., & Ruddy, M. (2004). Open to outcome. Oklahoma City, OK:
Wood’n’Barnes.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and
development. Englewood Cliffs: NJ, Prentice-Hall.
Krishnan. M. V. (1976). Cire Perdue Casting in India. New Delhi, India: Jayant Baxi
for Kanak Publications.
Mark. (2007, December 3). Hi! [Web log post]. Retrieved from
http://biophilist.blogspot.com
Miettinen, R. (2000). The concept of experiential learning and John Dewey’s theory of
reflective thought and action. International Journal of Lifelong Education,
19(1), 54-72.
Morinaga, A. (2003). Alcohol lamp safety test. Unpublished manuscript.
Neill, J. (2006). Experiential learning & experiential education: Philosophy, theory,
practice & resources. Retrieved from http://www.wilderdom.com/experiential/
88
Olson, C. (2013). Tamil Nadu, India Lost Wax Casting [Photographs]. Unpublished
manuscript.
Pohl, M. (2000). Bloom’s (1956) revised taxonomy. Retrieved from
http://web.archive.org/web/20080415182320/http://eprentice.sdsu.edu/J03OJ/
miles/Bloomtaxonomy(revised)1.htm
Scientific Method. (n.d.). Collins English Dictinoary- Complete & Unabridged 10th
Edition. Retrieved September 28, 2013, from Dictionary.com website:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scientific+method?s=t
Stein, M. K., & Kucan L. (2010). Instructional explanations in the disciplines.
Pittsburgh, PA: Springer Science+Business Media.
Strauss, C., & Quinn, N. (1997). A cognitive theory of cultural meaning. Cambridge
University Press.
Theoretical thinking. (n.d.). Collins English Dictinoary- Complete & Unabridged 10th
Edition. Retrieved September 28, 2013, from Dictionary.com website:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/theoretical?&o=100074&s=t