The teacher calls attention to the materials and techniques used in the creation of each of the masks, suggesting implicitly that students might integrate some of them in their own work. She also emphasizes that the masks were not originally considered as art in the sense that they are today as they appear in art galleries and museum collections. The teacher estimates that approximately 10 to 15 percent of class time is devoted to the types of activities seen in this video, and she believes that this amount of attention to the skills of impression, contexts surrounding art, and the understanding of art has resulted in marked improvement in the quality of her students' work. The teacher presents the mask production assignment to students, again providing her rationale for the assignment in terms students can understand. She provides students with several themes for their work from which they can choose.
All themes relate well to students' own experiences and interests.
Students are given a great deal of freedom within the broad themes of the assignment and are encouraged to use a range of materials. Not shown in this brief video, but very much a part of the ceramics course is the technical instruction students receive from this teacher. One reason for the high quality of student work is the attention paid to ceramic forming, decorating, and firing techniques. Students are given extensive class handouts with ceramics terms and illustrations of processes. The other primary reason for students' success in making art is the attention paid to conceptual and contextual issues that provide students with ideas for their work.