Introduction
I still remember the joy and excitement of making my first paper airplane. My Grandmother used to be a fan of traditional handicrafts. And she brought me into the magic garden of origami arts. I got indulged in paper folding and started to present it as an art form in my recent works. My graduation exhibition contained a large paper craft made out of 2000 origami pieces. I was deeply attracted by the potential of paper folding.
Significance
Traditional craft like origami, has a significant cultural background and is reserved strictly for religious purposes due to the high price of paper. Reflected in the Japan term, shibumi (渋味), refers to the beauty of simplicity. Part of what makes origami unique is the fact that it simply requires a piece of paper and a creative imagination. Like life, paper is fragile and temporary, but origami artists attempt to transform those unassuming lives in hopes of creating something with a sense of permanence. Hence, Japanese origami is mainly associated with natural objects, such as flora and fauna.
Aim
The goal of the lesson is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques. Students will work with patients and creativity, developing fine motor skills throughout the process.
Process & Reflections
- The lesson plan acts as the backbone of my presentation. I started by brainstorming the purpose of conducting such a lesson. It was challenging to demonstrate my ideas effectively given such a limited time. I initially spent a quarter of the lesson trying to include every cultural and historical significance of the skill. It
was not sufficient as I find learners lose patience and are unengaged with the contents. As a result, I shrunk the background to 5 minutes on interesting historical facts. Also, I provided a 2 minutes section for learners to share their own experiences with origami. The teaching section grounded pretty well. Although it exceeded my schedule a bit, the outcome was satisfactory. I found myself doing well with constructing the rest of the lesson plan since I was excited about the skill I teach. In addition, another experience I gained with the lesson plan is thinking forward is significant. It made me organized and precise throughout the process.
- Considering the form of presentation, it took me a hard time to make the decision. Origami focuses on fine motor skills, which presents better with a video. However, time is a limitation and video is less interactive. My plan B was making a slideshow, in which I ended up putting too much information to make it look like an essay. As a result, I had several talks with my fellow mates about what they find is the most interesting way of teaching. It was so inspiring. I chose to present my lesson with a slide show but begin with a question to create interactions with learners.
- Reflection on the actual skill exchange, reorganisation, and individual differences were the biggest challenge. In terms of preparation, I prepared origami papers with a minimum size of 6 inches. Although large size is easy to fold, the product ends up a little odd. Hence I spend time cutting papers during the lesson. In the future, rehearsing the activities beforehand will help with the problem. I was teaching at the university making centre. It is easy to operate with those wide and flare tables. However, I did not expect it to be so noisy during
- my lesson. I should pre-consider the real-time change of the location that I chose rather than stick to the moment. During teaching, I went slower than the schedule on my lesson plan as students are working at a different pace. I work with each learner individually as a solution, but this can be hard when more learners are in the lesson. How to make sure everyone is involved is worth considering in the future. Last but not least, I loved the final individual working time, I allowed the learners to make the best of their understanding, and it allows me to assess the outcomes of my teaching. It is amazing to see constructions with a unique use of colour, a combination with their cultural background.
- Overall, the lesson was successfully conducted in a logically clear structure, engaging content, good time management, and the outcomes showcased by the students. Origami is a traditional handcraft with important cultural aspects, which we all find relative to our Chinese background, and shared interesting stories of our childhood memories of paper folding. However, students got excited with sharing; I appreciated their engagement so much. Hence, this part took a little longer than expected. The rest of the lesson flowed smoothly other than not fitting to my preplanned schedule. Learner-wise, the Kusudama flower ball requires a long working time. As a future improvement, I could set break times for relief and conduct interactions; such as games, quizzes, and competitions. As a reflection of the group collaboration. Effective communication is going on between the members. I teach with continuous observation of their working progress and engagement. However, I realize that several conversations are going in circles. It can be improved by making more engagement. Other than the challenge mentioned that can be adjusted in the future, I have gained the skill to work with people in collaboration and had an excellent experience of knowledge sharing from individuals to the community.
Conclusion
- I always appreciate unexpected errors; they contribute to valuable experiences. Taking from this experience, I gained important skills such as time management, location selection, and reorganisation. Other than the experiences I have taken, I also learned the most valuable use of a skill is to present and share it with the larger community. Talking about origami; the research and teaching process gave me a deeper understanding of its history. I also gained excellent ideas from my learners, which are inspiring for my future works. For instance, A learner created a combination of the Kusudama flower and the traditional paper cutting. The beauty of such a combination is not the work itself, but the chemist that your skills make with the community. Just by sharing, it creates something unexpectedly. For me, that is what makes our society going forward.
