Monday, November 21, 2011

Tonight's Photos

M45 Pleiades showing blue nebulosity near Merope (right most blue star).

M42 Orion Nebula (large/lower) and M43 Running Man Nebula (small/upper)

Caldwell14 Double Cluster NGC884 & NGC869
The Double Cluster represents the mythological jeweled handle of Perseus’s sword.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Clear November Skies

Here's a photo of Taurus the Bull and Pleiades the Seven Sisters.
This image I captured and added callouts to show the relation of M42 (Orion Nebula) within the constellation Orion.
Here is a photo I captured of M42 the Orion Nebula.
I took all of these photos with my Nikon D60 (and a
Nikkor 70-300mm zoom lens
I borrowed from my friend James) piggybacked on my motor driven Celestron 114EQ telescope.

Lesson Reflection

Last week Jane and I delivered our lesson titled Me vs. Whatever to our Theory and Practice class at SUNY New Paltz. The lesson was developed around the art of painter Jenny Saville and Laurie Lipton. We presented to the class the work of each artist and discussed how each artist deals with issues of confrontation. The goal of our lesson was to have each student deal with/interpret confrontation his or her own way through the use of chalk pastels on 18 x 24 toned paper.

As we introduced the lesson to the class I felt fairly comfortable with the exception of the slight unease I feel when presenting to a group. I don’t get overly nervous or sweaty but I do get concerned about presenting all of the information I have prepared and in the right order. I think Jane was a bit more outwardly nervous than I but she handled it well by taking a walk to collect and organize her thoughts prior to the start of the lesson.

During the introduction I think Jane and I both utilized our “soap box” time effectively and evenly. Prior to the lesson we decided how we would take turns with each section of the lesson intro and what our active roles would be, this was effective for me in lowering the nervousness associated with uncertainty. For me, beginning with an organized plan that I have processed and internalized makes “shooting from the hip” easier and more comfortable. What I mean is by having a solid plan I am more prepared for improvisation, it also allows me to focus more of my attention on the students and less on note cards or scripts. Based on some of the positive feedback during the peer review session I think my system of planning was effective. I think the most effective parts of our lesson intro were the presentation/theme recap and the brainstorm whiteboard. The brainstorming, according to some of our classmates, really helped get ideas rolling toward the work they would create.

After our introduction the class was guided to their supplies (arranged in stacks at each table), which seemed to go smoothly. They started on their work right away. There were a few students that were not sure what to do but I think Jane and I were able to quickly address those students individually and resolve their issues. For the most part the work time went very smooth and most of the class stayed on task. Jane and I were able to interact with students individually and saw some really great work that was right on cue with the goals and objectives of our lesson.

There were a few role players assigned as difficult students during the lesson. Jane and I were able to handle each role player accordingly and somewhat affectively. For instance Nikki was a student that had trouble staying on task and repeatedly left her seat. I helped her get back on task by joining her at her table and brainstorming with her some ideas of confrontation. Regretfully during that time Jane and I totally missed Zach standing in the corner on his phone for almost seven minutes! This proves to me that as a teacher I must be constantly on guard and attentive to the entire class while simultaneously giving my attention to one. I believe that is a learned skill that will develop in time.

We concluded our lesson with a somewhat hectic clean up. It was hectic only in the hustle and bustle of half the class moving at once but every clean up goal was accomplished I think via the clear instruction prior to the activity and the assignment of jobs to particular students. If I were to do this lesson in class again I would shorten the work time so that there could be a same day critique even though the plan calls for a next day critique. We also had five minutes left over because for some strange reason I thought the lesson was forty minutes rather than forty five, I assume this might have been an affect of the slight nervousness I mentioned earlier. During our formative assessment (Donna Kay Beattie’s half minute note cards) most students expressed that they did learn ways of handling confrontation through their work but they would have enjoyed viewing their peer’s work.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Fall in NY-Yet Another Source of Inspiration


Here is a panoramic photograph I took during a hike on Mohonk Mountain with some friends last weekend. The mountain range in the distance is a section of the Catskills. The middle ground is the Roundout Creek Valley. This valley is formed as a result of glacial retreat at the end of the most recent ice-age. It is located between the Shawangunk and Catskill Mountain Ranges of NY.

"As the climate warmed and ice thinned, the landscape was deglaciated – lobes of the continental ice sheet melted back from the central Catskills in periodic stages (Dineen, 1986). As the ice sheet pulled back (and occasionally re-advanced as distinct “lobes” of flowing ice) alpine glaciers formed on some of the newly exposed peaks (e.g. Hunter and Panther Mountains). Meltwater from the decaying ice left a complex array of stream (outwash plain) and ice-contact (kame) sand and gravel deposits. Pro-glacial lakes (large and small) formed where mountains, recessional moraines (deposits at former glacial margins) and ice impounded water and filled valley floors with thick deposits of layered silt and clay. Locally, “fossil” deltas from meltwater streams pouring into these meltwater impoundments are further evidence for the complex deglaciation of the region (Rich, 1935). As climate fluctuated during the period of deglaciation, temporary re- advances of ice from ice sheet lobes or alpine glaciers would leave till and other meltwater deposits on top of the earlier glacial material, resulting in the complex lateral and vertical distribution of glacial deposits observed today. After the ice fully retreated north, rainfall-runoff returned as the predominant sculptor of the landscape." -http://www.catskillstreams.org/pdfs/RCSMP/7_geology.pdf

Tim Lefens and my Inspirations


Here are a couple of exposures I took via Global Rent-a-Scope. GRAS is a remote observatory network where the individual can access, control, and take photographs with telescopes at different observatories around the globe. I captured these photos with GRAS-003 located in New Mexico.
There is a great bit of difference seeing these things in photographs compared to seeing them in real time through the lens of a telescope, most times the photos do not do the experience justice. When I observe celestial objects I feel so small and insignificant in relation to all that exists. I sometimes get lost in gazing at the sky for hours. There is a quality of true inspiration I get from realizing these objects in fact are real and observable. One night I spent six hours staring at Jupiter surrounded by four visible moons (of 64 moons total). August of 2011 was the first time I had ever observed the night sky through a telescope. Jupiter was so clear and bright that night and I could see its bands and moons. I felt like I had been missing out on something very important by not having this kind of experience until the age of 27, but I think that sort of postponed gratification gave the experience so much impact.
I was reminded of this experience last night at a lecture by Tim Lefens at SUNY New Paltz. Lefens is the developer of Art Realization Technologies and author of Flying Colors. At the lecture he discussed key moments and theories on his inspiration and success as a painter and its relationship to art opportunities for people with disabilities. The inspiration and creative drive that he theorizes about reminded of the feelings I have when I observe the sky. The first moment I saw Jupiter in focus through my scope gave me a feeling much like Tim felt when he climbed a summit near Jackson Hole Wyoming against the odds of no trespassing signs and some level of danger. Much to his surprise upon reaching his head above the peak he found a vastly beautiful view of a large, snow-filled bowl leading to the Grand Teton Mountains. As he described his experience I felt gratification in both understanding the feeling and having the need to express that feeling artistically. I have never been to a lecture where I agreed with the lecturer more. I find Tim Lefens to be a very inspiring individual and such an important contributor to society.
I hope my imagery provides some understanding of what inspires me and I hope that everyone can find their own things that inspire similarly to what Lefens and myself are describing.

NGC2244 The Rosette Nebula
Photo taken at 4:18am 10/30/2011

M81 Bode's Galaxy
Photo taken at 4:00am 10/30/2011

M31 Andromeda Galaxy
Photo taken at 7:56pm 10/30/2011

M27 Dumbbell Nebula
Photo taken at 7:18pm 10/29/2011




More Inspiration


Some photos of the sky I took three nights ago...


Pleiades Star Cluster (The Seven Sisters).


Jupiter showing rings and the Great Red Spot (look close).


A wide angle shot of the Eastern sky.


Some celestial objects near Cassiopeia (please excuse the misspelled callout) and Jupiter

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Development Project

Here are links to pdf versions of my Pre K - 12 Development Project. These documents are helpful in creating lesson objectives and rationales.