Data Unit 3: Ceramic Burger

Unit Three highlights ceramic art and cultural geography. Culture is very broad and allowed various project ideas to come about such as a ceramic burger. This project provided students to be very creatively not only through art production but through recipe creation. Student worked in groups and made a recipe to illustrate how diet is affected by one’s culture emphasizing location and religion.

Figure 11 Student Work Representing Japan

Assessments in Unit Three are similar to Unit Two in that there are no pre-test given. Only summative assessment average from the unit post-test are provided which can be found in

Table 4. For the art content, the biggest growth seen was in stages and processes of ceramics

though quiz data are not shown for comparison. The summative assessment provided 80.8% of students were able to distinguished green ware, bisque ware, and glaze ware apart from one another. In addition, 88.5% of students were able to identify the chemical and physical changes that takes place during particular ceramic stages. For some students, it was their first time working and learning about ceramics which made it very rewarding to see quantitative data that supports how much they have learned.

Overall, the scores indicated that students completed this unit with a better understanding on cultural geography and ceramics.

A review from Unit Two was included in the post-test to further collect data on several topics: Population, Land use, Push and Pull Factor, Zones. Comparing data from Table 3 and

Table 4 suggested students gained more understanding after the post-test in Unit Two was

elaborated during Unit Three whenever a connection could be found between the two units of study

Table 4 Unit 3 Summative Assessment Average

Assessment Post-test Average

Art Stages and Processes 80.8%

Tools and Techniques 93.9%

Safety and Procedures 90.6%

Elements and Principles of Art 92.1%

Geography Culture 78.2%

Ethnic and Race 78.2%

Cultural Impact 91.8%

Unit 2 Review – Population, Land use, Push and Pull Factor, Zones.

86.15%

STEAM Science (Chemistry) 88.5%

4.3.1 Student Commentary Unit 3

Students loved the burger project for Unit Two, Cultural Geography. Students worked in groups and each created a ceramic burger using knowledge about each country, Figure11 and its culture and traditions per A13. A2 expressed how much fun and educational the project was. The project provided a different experience by working with clay and allowed students to use

“knowledge, creativity, and imagination to create an original burger” (A2). As mentioned before, it was a first time experience for students like A5 and left a positive impact on them while

Students were able to witness the physical changes and chemical changes (A4). In terms of chemical changes, students saw the physical changes in the sub stages of green ware: leather hard and bone dry. Students saw a chemical change from green ware to bisque ware since physical changes could no longer be made. The most impactful visual of chemical change witnessed was the transition from bisque ware to glaze ware. Students were very excited to see how the colors and layers applied to their burger.

Challenges shared by students comprised of one common topic: group work. There were mixed feeling about group work. For example, A13 expressed concerns about different opinions causing difficulty with another participant. A9, liked the exposure different opinions brought to the creation of their burger. It was unanimous upon the benefits of group work includes the reduction of workload. Another advantage A3 states, was improved social skills which may have otherwise not developed under independent projects. Each group member was chosen by

teachers, therefore students had to interact and practice how to speak and respond to peers. Suggestions and project ideas provided by students varied greatly. A13 proposed

“designing and creating an outfit based on cultural landscapes.” Another student, A9, wanted to use language as the main topic to produce a 3D object. This particular student also recommends students should be able to choose their own country rather than be given a country to research. A2 emphasized choice for projects as well by allowing students to include a country’s culture such as food, clothing, and religion. A13 recommended using more sound and video art to educate others on cultural geography of a particular place. Hoping to increase interaction in art projects, B5 proposed developing a board game which would allow people to learn and play about a country’s culture.

4.3.2 Student Sample Unit 3

Two student samples are shown below including a Brazilian and Japanese burger. Many students enjoyed working on the project which kept classroom management under control. Students focusing attention on each ingredient on their burger recipe from the production process to the glazing process. Figure 12 displays two students from the same group working on their individual burgers. Individual burgers from each group were required to look similar with the same ingredients. It was a great collaborative project as students had the opportunity to assemble an idea and help one another to mold it into a certain ingredient.

Figure 13 Student Work Representing Brazil

An example of a Brazillian burger, Figure 13, created by A7 utilized beef and pork, coconut shavings or the white area above the green lettuce and bean sauce. This student

researched burgers created in Brazil and common ingredints used in this country. It resulted in a very unique burger ingredient which will surely surprise everyone’s tastebud!

Another example created by A13, Figure 11, displays a Japanese burger consisting of wasabi ketchup, mocha balls, seaweed, beef patty, soy sauce, and topped with a pink sakura bun. Extensive research was done in order to create this one of a kind burger inspired by KFC’s pink burger. This burger took into account the diet, location, and pop culture of Japan and agreed upon as a group prior to submitting their sketches.