1. In Ms. Waite's art class students must use skills specific to Piaget's Formal Operational Stage. They must think abstractly, envisioning multiple solutions to a problem or assignment that does not have a single correct right answer. To complete the class they must have checked off a number of skills on a checklist. Because no-one dictates which skills they must master it is up to each individual to problem-solve, to negotiate just how they will complete the course.
I saw several students reviewing their checklist and deciding what kind of project to complete as their open-ended final project. They based this on skills they already had along with new skills they would need to complete the list and successfully create a new type of work.
2. Ms. Waite employs Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development by balancing direct instruction and personal assistance with the eventual expectation that student will gain competency in a given area. Then the student can build on that base to reach for another task that would have been previously unattainable.
In order to complete a ceramic relief assignment many students needed assistance as to applying additional clay to a surface in a way that would fire well. However they could successfully complete the first stage of making a slab for the base layer because they had already worked on that skill for a previous assignment.
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