Month: December 2019

For our final dance workshop, we combined all our routines together to make one big collaborative performance. I was slightly nervous as I knew our final performance was being recorded. This made me feel slightly anxious as I was still struggling to remember the sequence of the dance. However, I was put at ease when we were given time to go into out groups and go over our routines. Watching the recording back, I was really proud of myself as dancing is completely out of my comfort zone. I also realised that the most important thing is to just have fun with it and to not take yourself too seriously. After watching the recording, we then gave ourselves two stars and a wish.  This allowed me to reflect on my time in dance and to see how far I have come since the first session. In the first session the thought of doing a dance routine in front of the whole class would have really terrified me. I was really proud of myself as I was able to dance confidently in front of my peers and was able to turn something I used to dread into something that was fun. One thing I would work on for next time would be timing. This would come with practise and repetition.

This exercise also highlighted that the teacher does not always need to take leadership and that young people themselves need to be encouraged to take creative ownership of their own performances.

The value of expressive arts such as dance cannot be underestimated. It has the ability to stimulate artistic processes of creating, performing and critical analysis. It requires students to read symbols, develop nonverbal communication skills and exploring ideas together (NDEO, n.d). Dance education also encourages social relationships. In an evaluation of Dancing Classrooms in New York City, ninety-five percent of teachers said dancing together resulted in improved cooperation and collaboration between students (Robinson and Aronica, 2018). 

In this weeks music workshop we were learning how to play the ukulele. I had never played the ukulele however, after todays session I managed to play five different cords and learned to play along to different music such as Last Christmas. I thought playing along to famous music was a good idea as the pupils would already know what the music sounds like and what they should expect to hear when they are playing the instruments. I also thought this would be a good idea to introduce a couple months before christmas. The pupils would have time to learn various christmas songs and put on a christmas performance for other pupils, teachers and parents. 

Learning a musical instrument also has many benefits such as-

• Increases memory skills
• Teaches perseverance 
• Improves coordination
• Improves math and reading skills
• Creates responsibility
• Exposes the student to culture and history
• Nurtures self-expressions
• Improves listening and social skills

I have enjoyed pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and testing myself to be more free. These sessions have allowed me to bring my creative thoughts to life through dance and music.

The benefits of the creative arts in an early childhood education have been well documented. It provides an outlet for young children to explore and gain control over their emotions (Chen, 2016). I am excited to in the future incorporate all my learning into the classroom.

References 

Chen, S. (2016). The Importance of Creative Arts in Early Childhood Education. [online] Novak Djokovic Foundation. Available at: https://novakdjokovicfoundation.org/importance-creative-arts-ece/ [Accessed 6 Dec. 2019].

Curriculum for Excellence: Expressive arts Experiences and outcomes. (n.d.). [ebook] Scotland: Education Scotland, pp.1,5. Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf [Accessed 11 Dec. 2019].

Ndeo.org. (n.d.). About Dance Education – National Dance Education Organization. [online] Available at: https://www.ndeo.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=893257&module_id=194704 [Accessed 7 Dec. 2019].

Robinson, S. and Aronica, L. (2018). Why dance is just as important as math in school. [online] ideas.ted.com. Available at: https://ideas.ted.com/why-dance-is-just-as-important-as-math-in-school/ [Accessed 5 Dec. 2019].

This week’s dance session was about how dance can be integrated with other subjects. At first, I was unsure of how this would work effectively as dance is a very physical and expressive subject, so integrating any other subject in an educational yet creative way seemed unlikely. However, I was very much proved wrong when Zara introduced to us a maths sheet in which there were a set of mathematical problems. Upon solving them I realised the answered equated from a number from 1-10, corresponding to the 10 basic moves that was had developed last week. Each group was provided with a different set of mathematical equations and as such every group had a series of different answers, meaning our routines were different.

Math skills often occurred in the module such as making shapes with our bodies, having the dance routine being symmetrical and being able to count on beat with the music. This type of learning through dance encourages pupils to have freedom, be creative, feel inspired and enjoy themselves (CFE, n.d.)

Prior to this activity I was very sceptical of how any subject could be integrated into art. This has highlighted that I have still a lot to learn in terms of thinking out the box. A teacher’s job shouldn’t be limited to just teaching, it should stretch beyond that and allow children to learn in an environment that is rich in creativity and imagination. This will allow them to transfer skills they have learned in one subject and apply it in many other subjects. I understand that I need to think more creatively, as it is through activities such as today that children will be interested and eager to learn as it breaks the routine of sitting at desks and learning from workbooks. It allows children to work together, developing essential skills such as collaboration, teamwork and communication skills which can’t be gained from sitting at a desk.

In addition to integrating maths into dance we also explored the use of visual aids. For this, each group was provided with a picture of a Scottish landmark and as a group we were to come up with a dance move that we thought represented the landmark. We were given stimulus such as Glenfinnan Viaduct, which helped us think outside-of-the-box and to choreograph unique pieces. We all got the chance to choreograph a part of the performance which required a great deal of imagination and creativity. This was interesting as everyone had their own intake as to a  dance move that would best represent the landmarks. However, in order to come to a consensus, we attempted to combine two moves together.

In music today, we looked at figure notes on the ‘Drake Music Scotland’ website. Figure notes is a system that simplifies how we read music and makes reading music easier for beginners. Each music note has a coloured symbol that matches. Stickers are put on the instrument to allow learners to play what they see. At the end of today’s session, I was able to play along to ‘Jingle Bells’. The figure notes allowed me to learn to play along to music really quickly as I was just matching the colours. Maths was also incorporated into this as we had to count how long we held the notes for.

I think this is a great tool to use in the future as it allows students to identify the notes in an easier way. This would be a good way to introduce music notes to the class before moving on to the more technical terms. This tool allows anyone to be able to play music, as if you can match, you will be able to play.

After today’s workshops, I was able to see how we can incorporate different subjects into the arts. Creativity features prominently in the Scottish Government’s policy. It is embedded in the values of Education Scotland and in the supporting literature and materials relating to Curriculum for Excellence (Creativity Across Learning 3-18, 2013). Incorporating the arts into different subjects can also make topics such as maths and english more engaging for young people.

References 

Creativity Across Learning 3-18. (2013). [ebook] Scotland: Education Scotland, p.6. Available at: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/cre39-impact-report.pdf [Accessed 6 Dec. 2019].

Curriculum for Excellence: Expressive arts Experiences and outcomes. (n.d.). [ebook] Scotland: Education Scotland, pp.1,5. Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf [Accessed 11 Dec. 2019].

In today’s music session, Primary 7 pupils came in to teach us how to use string instruments. This session was very engaging as it was completely pupil led. I thought this could be a great task for pupils at school. They could go around different classes and teach other students about what they learned. 

I realised, as a future teacher it is important we step back and allow students to take control and use their knowledge to teach others. If you know that a pupil in your class is able to play an instrument, allow them to take part in the teacher. This will also give students confidence. This will also show that you as a teacher take interest in their creative skills and will make them feel valued.

When doing student-led activities, we should ask our pupils what they are interested in and what they would like to learn. If they are passionate about a particular topic, they will enjoy being able to share their learnings with other pupils.

The pupils used visual aids and props to help us learn to play the violin. On the violin, they marked each string with a different colour sticker. On the board the music matched the stickers on the violin, this allowed us to read and play the music as it was easy to follow. This is something I would use in the future as I struggle with reading music notes. I think this would be beneficial for begginers like myself. 

In dance, we all began by standing in a circle, one person at a time would go into the middle of the circle and tell their name and do a pose. This allowed us to all feel more comfortable in front of one another and can help relieve anxiety. Ice breakers for pupils can allow the students to all feel more comfortable in front of each other and help to break down barriers. 

I also learned the importance of ice-breakers for teachers. The first day of meeting your pupils and trying to remember everyone names and the correct pronunciations can be daunting, especially when it is a big class. But using ice-breakers can help. An example of this can be sitting in a circle, the teacher beginning by telling their name and one of their favourite hobbies. The first pupil can then repeat the teachers name and hobby and then add their own, this cycle repeats with all of the pupils stating the previous information and then adding their own. By the end of this, the teacher has been able to listen to the names of the pupils repeatedly. It also allows the teacher to listen to the hobbies of the pupils, which you can then incorporate into your lessons.

We looked at different parts of the body and where different muscles were. I learned about the importance of warming up before starting dance, as it prevents injury and fatigue. As future teachers it is vital to be aware young people are different and each will respond differently to physical dance practise, however the basic principles of learning apply to all (Stanyer, 2011).

These two sessions highlighted to me that the teacher does not always need to be the one teaching the class. We should take to our advantage if we have pupils in the classroom that have skills in the arts and allow them to take part in teaching the other students.

References

Stanyer, L. (2011). The Importance of Cardiovascular Endurance for the Dancer. [online] Laurastanyer.blogspot.com. Available at: http://laurastanyer.blogspot.com/2011/07/importance-of-cardiovascular-endurance.html [Accessed 20 Dec. 2019].

In today’s art workshop we were introduced to multiple images that had short descriptions on the back of them. In groups, we discussed what we thought the pictures meant and discussed if we thought they had a deeper meaning behind them (discussion in video below). We used the Taylors Model of Assessment as a guidance to discuss our thoughts on the pictures.

To start of the day we received an input from the Norwegian students. I found it very interesting and informative listening to how their education system is different from ours and how much they value the creative arts in schools. I learned that outdoor learning is very common in Norway and schools very much utilise the outdoors.

In our art workshop, we looked at how artists Andy Goldsworthy and Richard Long used natural resources to create land art. We then went outdoors in groups to create our own artwork using natural resources. This exercise highlighted how teachers can use a variety of methods such as the outdoors to teach creative arts. 

Outdoor settings encourage children to immerse themselves in a sensory experience. They can feel inspired by the trees, flowers, stones, pebbles which can help to fuel and kick start their imagination. Tactile experiences and manipulative skills develop at an early stage; wet and dry sand, paint, water, clay can be used for touch, smell and sound. The school pond or flower bed itself can lend itself to learning about water life such as frogs, fish, different species and plants. The outdoors allows for freedom of expression and creativity as the smallest fragment of land has the potential to deliver exploration and discovery opportunities. Creativity is a process where new ideas are discovered (Teachingtimes.com, n.d.). 

Outdoor learning experiences are found to be more successful than classroom-based learning to improve cognitive skills (Eaton, 2000). Adapting creative process can help develop individual learning styles.  Children who struggle in the classroom or indoors may accomplish more outdoors. It may encourage them to concentrate more efficiently when they return indoors, putting into practise their new knowledge (Manning, 2019).

As future teacher we should consider the pedagogical delivery methods and learning environments. Play outside the classroom offers pupils the chance to take part in individual and interactive learning (Teachingtimes.com, n.d.). Play that is self-initiated is crucial to a child’s development as it challenges them to make decisions about what they want to do, the resources they will need, where they will get them from and who else to involve.  Play is not just about having fun, it provides opportunities for sharing and respecting others, developing citizenship and communication skills, as well as having an opinion and voice.

In music today we were in the Mac Lab and got the chance to learn about the Garage Band App. After exploring the app and familiarising ourselves with the website we got to make our own music.  I decided to take inspiration from the outdoor session and decided to create a winer themed song. We also discovered a website called ‘Dirpy’ which allows you to use clips from youtube and insert them into Garage band. With this, I decided to use the sound of a fire cackling, the sound of wind and snow falling. I think this was be a great task do to in the classroom.  We can encourage pupils to take inspiration from their favourite songs, favourite books or favourer films such as being inspired by the movie ‘Frozen’. After creating the music, we can then tie this into different topics such as writing. Pupils can create story boards to set the scene which allows them to be creative and use their imagination. For example the music may sound magical so they decide to write a story about a fairy land. Another creative task you could do is allow your pupils to create a short film to go with the soundtrack using digital media, they could film the scenes and then edit them on iMovie. This would tie art, music, drama and digital technologies altogether.

Overall these two sessions highlighted that inspiration can come from anywhere. After being outside, I was simply inspired by the cold, frosty weather which inspired my music. One of the main reasons teachers leave their job is because  it can become so routinised. It is important we be creative so pupils and ourselves are excited to learn. I learned that we can use seasonal pedagogy. For example in winter for creative arts we could go outside and make snowmen and snow sculptures. We could inspire the pupils by showing them famous snow sculptures from around the world. When it is autumn pupils can go outside and create outdoor art by using twigs and leaves. 

References

Eaton, D. (2000) Cognitive and affective learning in outdoor education. Dissertation Abstracts International – Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 60, 10-A, 3595.

Teachingtimes.com. (n.d.). Creativity thrives in the outdoor classroom. [online] Available at: https://www.teachingtimes.com/articles/creativity-outdoor-classroom.htm [Accessed 9 Dec. 2019].

Towards the end of the drama module, to put all our learning together, we each in groups presented a micro-teaching lesson in front of the class. A micro-teaching lesson allows teachers in training to teach a lesson and receive feedback (Remesh, 2013). Teamwork and communication was critical for this task. We had to ensure we were meeting the criteria of the task and were making it as enjoyable as possible for the students to take part in.

Our group decided to base the lesson on the movie ‘Inside Out,’  this would allow the pupils to discuss and show their emotions using a range of drama conventions. We chose this movie because the characters demonstrate good communication, compassion and empathy towards one another. This can encourage young people to open up about their feelings. This film is also very relatable, as children have to go through different changes and experience different emotions when growing up. The movie is also very current, so young people would be engaged.  We began by showing the trailer to the class to allow them to recap or familiarise themselves with the movie. The General Teaching Council (2019) reveals that discussing children’s emotions is important to the growth of their emotional and mental well-being.

Our first task was for the class to get in groups and do a mime. Each group were given one of the characters such as Anger, Disgust, Fear, Sadness and Joy. The groups then performed their mime to the class, and they had to guess which character they were given. This task would allow children to focus on their movement and facial expressions. This task would also be good for quieter pupils that do not feel comfortable speaking out.

The second task was to focus on narration. The groups were to create a scene of a fond childhood memory that they have. One person would then then out of the scene and explain what is happening and the emotions the characters are feeling. This task allowed the class to further develop their character and allowed them to use inspiration from their own childhood. It was interesting to see how varied the scenes were, such as one group decided to do a scene of Christmas day and one group decided to do a scene of when their mum told her she was having a baby. I think this would be an interesting task do in a primary setting as it allows pupils to task inspiration from their own past and allows them to recreate an enjoyable memory they have had with the class.

Lastly, we focused on voices in the head. The scene was about the parents wanting to move to a new house, but little girl does not want to. It was interesting to watch how the groups were able to describe their feelings and emotions and show all the conflicting feelings the characters would be feeling.

Today we had our first music input. Music is extremely important as it can lead to better brain development and help to relieve stress. Private music lessons can be very expensive, it is important as teachers we implement music into our classrooms (The Inspired Classroom, 2017). Music strongly contributes to developing skills, attributes and attitude that can help support leaning in other subjects. These include-

• Concentration skills
• Being creative
• Being able to work in a group
• Have self confidence
• Listening skills
• Perseverance

(Phillips, 2012)

I also learned that there is a lack of music lessons in primary schools. The issues appear to be that teachers lack confidence in their musical ability, there is not enough resources and space, and verbal and written analysis is over-weighted as the preferred teaching strategy (Zeserson et al., 2014). As I do not have a musical background, I would feel nervous about teaching a music lesson. However, it was interesting to find out that there is so many online resources that we can use in the classroom such as Charanga and GarageBand. This helped to put me at ease as I know I can always refer back to these websites.

References

Phillips, L. (2012). The Top 10 Skills Children Learn From the Arts. [online] ARTS Blog. Available at: https://blog.americansforthearts.org/2019/05/15/the-top-10-skills-children-learn-from-the-arts [Accessed 17 Dec. 2019].

Remesh, A. (2013). Microteaching, an efficient technique for learning effective teaching. – PubMed – NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23914219 [Accessed 15 Dec. 2019].

The Inspired Classroom. (2017). Why is Music Education in Schools Important? – The Inspired Classroom. [online] Available at: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/2017/05/why-is-music-education-in-schools-important/ [Accessed 15 Dec. 2019].

Zeserson, K., Welch, G., Burn, S., Saunders, J. and Himonides, E. (2014). Inspiring Music for All. 1st ed. [ebook] London: Paul Hamlyn Foundation, p.20. Available at: https://www.phf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Inspiring-Music-for-All.pdf [Accessed 10 Dec. 2019].

In today’s music workshop we looked at drumming with a focus on rhythm. We each got handed out drumsticks and got told the correct way on how to hold them. Instead of talking about quavers and crochets we discussed circles and squares. I found this extremely helpful as I find it difficult to read music. This allowed me to follow along to the music easier. I think this would be a good way to teach beginners as it really breaks the steps down.

The drums can be a creative outlet for quieter students in the class as the loud instrument allows the pupils to have a bigger voice. Drumming can also be a great outlet for energy, CalorieLab states that a 150-pound adult drums amounts to an average of 200 calories per hour (Landa, n.d.). The link between drumming and academic performance has been recorded many times, especially when it comes to mathematics. Music allows pupils to learn times tables and math formulas in an easier way (Proctor, 2015).

In today’s art workshop we discussed that paintings always have deeper meaning behind them. We looked at the famous painting ‘The Scream’ and discussed how the painting conveys a deeper meaning of mental illness. As a future teacher, I think it is important we discuss the meaning behind art as it allows students to have to think critically and allows them to look at the world with more depth.

We then decided to link this theory to our artwork. We then were given a demonstration on how make art prints and were told to incorporate text into the painting. In our group, we decided we wanted to print a message that was important to us. We had decided to print ‘you are not your illness’. However, our print came out totally wrong and printed back to front. I thought this was a great lesson as it required trial and error. Even though there was three of us working on the design, we still managed to make a mistake. This taught me that art requires patience as you will not always get the outcome you wanted.

I thought this would be a great activity to do in the classroom as it allows children to realise that art is more than a pretty picture and that art can be anything. It also allows pupils to share a message the feel passionate about. Displaying the child’s artwork would then show you appreciate their views and opinions and lets them know that they have a voice and that they are heard.

References

Landa, S. (n.d.). 5 Reasons Why Kids Should Play Drums. [online] The Drumeo Beat: Drumming Blog With Free Drum Lessons, Videos, and Articles. Available at: https://www.drumeo.com/beat/5-reasons-why-kids-should-play-drums/ [Accessed 16 Dec. 2019].

Proctor, M. (2015). The Top 10 Benefits of Learning Drums [Infographic]. [online] TakeLessons Blog. Available at: https://takelessons.com/blog/learning-drums-benefits-z07 [Accessed 20 Dec. 2019].

This week during drama we watched other groups deliver their micro teaching. I found myself at an advantage point as my group is delivering next week. It meant that I was able to see how different groups went on about their lessons. Our group was still deciding on a topic to base our lesson on and so I thought watching other people’s lessons first would give some inspiration. One thing I noticed was that two groups had their lesson based on the children’s book “going on a bare hunt”.

At first when I found out they had the same topic I thought I would be delivered with the same lesson twice. However, it was interesting as the lesson were very much different and apart from the fact they were based on the same book, nothing about the two lessons was similar. Both groups took a very different approach which made both lesson interesting different. The micro-teaching was a very helpful task assigned by Andrew as it allowed me to experience what it feels like to plan a lesson. Listening to groups reactions to presenting reassured me that not everyone in this course feels comfortable presenting and delivering lessons. A lot of the groups commented that standing at the front of the class was a daunting experience.

During our Visual Arts input Diarmuid presented us with our paintings from last week and explained that we were to develop them further by adding in literacy. Pupils should also be able to create and present work that demonstrates the ability to develop the visual elements and concepts (EXA 2-03a). We had to think back to a time we experienced Scottish Highlands or think about a movie or song that made us think of the highlands. We were then to incorporate short phrases into our paintings using coloured pencils. This was an attempt of integrating literacy into arts, by combining words and images. I decided to write down words that came to my mind when looking at the picture such as ‘peaceful’ and tranquil’.

I also thought it was really interesting to see everyones different approaches. Some people had decided to write down song lyrics, some had decided to turn the words into creative pieces by turning the words into pictures and some outlined their artwork with the writing. I think this would be an interesting task to do in the classroom as it allows the pupils to showcase their individuality.

In a classroom it is important to be able to integrate the arts into other subjects such as literacy. This shows the importance of the arts as skills can be transferred from one subject to another, allowing a cross-curricular approach.

References 

Curriculum for Excellence: Expressive arts Experiences and outcomes. (n.d.). [ebook] Scotland: Education Scotland, pp.1,5. Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf [Accessed 11 Dec. 2019].

Week 1 10.09.19!

An essential element within education is to build the foundation for an ambiguous way of thinking in order to expand curriculum providing a wide opportunity for all children to connect to creativity and the meaning it has to their life. As Csikszentmihalyi argues just those who appear to make it happen cannot just understand creativity, everyone’s creative process must be validated. (Csikszentmihalyi ,1996). Going into the first session of the module Csikszentmihalyi statement could not be more relevant or valuable as the two arts intrinsically linked the importance of taking all work seriously and fostering the value of children’s work is essential when considering my pedagogy approach when implementing arts within the classroom.

Entering the first workshop of drama I didn’t know what to expect but felt open to the unknown and excited to delve deeper into this integrated arts as it is something that has never been something of a great interest in mine. We explored a story about a dragon attacking a village in today’s workshop and used these drama conventions:

• Thought Tunnel is where a child depicts the thoughts and feelings of the character that is being discussed.
• Freeze Frame, where the children stopped, not moving or speaking representing a critical moment in their drama.
• Finally, teacher in Role When the teacher takes part in the drama alongside the children, within the workshop we were guiding by the tutor to reach the eventuality that the tutor predicted for the group.

This guidance was highlighted by the tutor and provoked the feeling that he had taken something away from our learning by not letting us choice the direction that the drama was going to take however through discussion and reflection I understood why. This displayed the power that we hold within providing positive opportunities to creativity and children imagination can take learning in unexpected directions and as a future teacher I must be will to allow for the children to direct learning.

My second workshop involved viewing the artwork of children from primary one up to primary 6, displaying a variety of work, creativity, expression and this is how many young children communicate (McAuliffe, 2007) This workshop motivated me to question what creativity means and how expectations change throughout the years. The work represented children in the earlier years to display free flowing art that did not resemble a specific idea however the work of the children in the higher years displayed restricted and hesitation. A gradual development is display below:

Considering children’s potential and not what they present is what lies at the heart of sustaining the creative process. It also displayed the empowerment, which can be provided through the use of the arts exhibiting an unpredictable outcome, which is beyond an adult’s imagination. Depicting that it is about considering children’s potential and not what they present is what lies at the heart of sustaining the creative process. It also displayed the empowerment, which can be provided through the use of the arts exhibiting an unpredictable outcome, which is beyond an adult’s imagination.

On reflection regarding my own experience of viewing art displayed within a classroom as an adult was in my local school, when entering the environment of the class I witness all the art on the wall was identical to the other ten on the wall, the picture of Martin Luther King connecting to their topic work. I had never truly considered that this is not displaying creativity however I have never been challenged on the meaning of creativity, forcing me to consider what it means to me and children. Empowerment does not come for being told what art looks like weather that is in Drama or Art but how it is how a child views it.

References 

McAuliffe, D (2007) Foundation and Primary Settings in Teaching Art and Design 3-11 (Edited by Sue Cox, Robert Watts, Judy Grahame, Steve Herne and Diarmuid McAuliffe) London: Continuum.

TED (2007). Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. (2013). Chapter 14. In: Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention. London: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition. p346.