Tag: Integrated Arts

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Integrated Arts Week 9

This week we did not have a lecture and instead the second part of the day was a drop-in session for the assignment if people wanted to ask questions etc.

For my weekly blog this week I wanted to present my learning and connections in a more creative way to show that there are more ways other than just text to present information. This is the same for children in school, children learn differently and present their learning different. I have attached a mind map bellow of my connections I made in the music workshop.

The second task in the music workshop was we were to make a banjo out of a paper plate and elastic bands and then make a harmonica out of lollipop sticks, straws and elastic bands. i have attached bellow pictures of my creations. An experience and outcome that could be associated with doing this task with a class to do with the music side of it would be “Inspired by a range of stimuli, and working on my own and/or with others, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through musical activities. EXA 0-18a / EXA 1-18a / EXA 2-18a,” Another to do with the art side of the activity would be “I have the opportunity to choose and explore a range of media and technologies to create images and objects, discovering their effects and suitability for specific tasks. EXA 1-02a.” i think i would definetly use these activities with a class in the future.

For the art workshop we focused on watching a video all to do with the importance of using STEAM in schools rather than STEM showing the importance of incorporating art into school activities. The video was Tim Ingold’s conference at UWS. I feel like from watching this video it has helped confirm with me that their is a high importance for using art in all ways in school class rooms.

Overall the link between the two workshops in my eyes was confirming the importance of integrating art into the curriculum in primary schools and in my mind they have done so. I am sure that when i have a class of my own I am going to try my hardest to do this as much as i can for every subject.

References

• Education Scotland (2004) – Curriculum for Excellence; Experiences and Outcomes, Available: [Online] https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/Experiences%20and%20outcomes [Accessed on 6th November 2018]
• Tim Ingold Walking and Talking (2013) – Prof Tim Ingold’s keynote at the Thinking Dangerously in Teacher Education Conference at UWS, Available: [Online] https://vimeo.com/77119799

 

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Integrated Arts Week 8

This week the two inputs we completed were drama and music. The first being drama where we looked at another five drama conventions. One of the conventions we acted out was mime. This was where we created a piece of drama without using any words just movement and sounds. The next one we looked at was voices in the head, we did this one by reading a story called tunnel, which included a brother and sister so voices in the head is made up of different characters in a drama speaking their thoughts in turn normally about the other person or of a joined situation, they speak in turn but the two characters don’t hear what the other is saying. The next we looked at was monologue which is similar to voices in the head as the character is speaking their mind but in the case it is only one person speaking. I feel that these conventions would be good to look at with children as they are a bit more challenging than the ones we have looked at weeks previous so could be done as a progression as the children go up the school.

During the music workshop we looked at garage band on the macs. We explored the app, and were told to try and create an eight-bar song using the different tools on the app. My song wasn’t very good but for the first time using the app it wasn’t too bad. We then went onto adding a short video that has no sound and tried to add different songs and sound effects that would go with and match the video to make a short clip. I think that these activities would be really effective to do with children probably in the upper school. It brings together the subjects of technology and music. Allows the children to explore the app and experiment with different combinations and different timings of the video. Allowing the children to figure out for themselves what sounds good together and what sounds they think can be put to the video to make it flow well. One experience and outcome that could be associated with using garage band in schools is “I can use my voice, musical instruments and music technology to discover and enjoy playing with sound, rhythm, pitch and dynamics. EXA 1-17a”

Overall, the key themes of the children exploring things for themselves and creativity in their learning runs through both the topics and the workshops we completed today. In both workshops the activities we completed could be put into a series of lessons for an upper primary school class. In both lessons the children could direct their leaning themselves there was an area o choice in the music lessons on garage band and in the drama workshop the children can direct what themes their drama goes towards. Also, in both lessons, as has in every week in integrated arts the theme of creativity runs through as the children get to express themselves through the arts in ways they may not be able to do in other subjects. “when headteachers and teachers were asked to tick five most important reasons for teaching arts in their school, the most highly endorsed category was ‘to develop creativity.” (Fleming 2012, p13). I feel that the survey done for this book and the results back up my opinion that creativity is one of the most important aspects of teaching the arts.

References

• Education Scotland (2004) – Curriculum for Excellence; Experiences and Outcomes [Online] https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/Experiences%20and%20outcomes [Accessed on 4th November 2018]
• Fleming, M. (2012) The arts in education: an introduction to aesthetics, theory and pedagogy. London : Routledge.

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Integrated Arts Week 7

This week’s lecture was based on looking at the assignment briefing and looking into what we have to do for it and the blogs. Also, we got any questions about this modules assessment that we had answered by the lecturers.

The first workshop my section went to was the drama workshop. We focused on looking at some drama conventions such as teacher in role, hot seating and Vox pox. Teacher in role is when the teacher takes part in the drama by changing their character and being able to lead and try to direct the drama subtly by directing questions and answers. One key point to this way of learning is that the teacher has a clear way of showing that they are in role and the drama has started compared to when they are the teacher and need the children’s focus. “In drama, teacher involvement is fundamental.” (Booth, D. 1985). The second convention we looked at was hot seating. This is when one person in the class becomes the main part of the drama and is questioned with everything the rest of the class ants to know. This is like teacher in role, but it doesn’t have to be the teacher who is in the hot seat it can be anyone in the class. The third one was Vox pox which is where the children are in groups and one person goes around acting as a sort of reporter asking the individual people questions about what’s going on and how they feel about it. I think that all the conventions from last week and the three new ones we learnt this week could be used over a term o a year in one topic doing drama. I especially think that teacher in role seems effective as the teacher has a wee bit more control over the direction the drama goes in and the tone of the questions and answers without being the teacher. I also feel that the other conventions are effective too as they allow the children to be creative and expressive themselves through their drama lesions, but the teachers need to feel comfortable enough to allow the children to take their learning in their own direction. On experience and Outcome that could be completed doing a series of lessons including a few of these different conventions on drama could be “I have developed confidence and skills in creating and presenting drama which explores real and imaginary situations, using improvisation and script. EXA 1-14a”

The second input my section completed was the music workshop. First, we presented our mind maps that we were to complete from the year before which was about the links between music and other subjects in school. We then went onto looking at figure notes. How they can be used in schools and what they are. I learnt that figure notes have a few stages before the children can learn the conventional way of reading music. It starts with colors and shapes that also have corresponding stickers to stick to the instrument to make it easier for the children to match them up and begin to play. I think this is a very effective way to introduce musical instruments to beginners. As I’ve never played music before I felt this was very helpful and less daunting to start with. We then had a shot at using the figure notes our self. We were using the glockenspiel, my partner and I tried playing super trooper by Abba and jingle bells. One experience and outcome that could be achieved by doing this activity with a primary class would be “I can sing and play music from a range of styles and cultures, showing skill and using performance directions, and/or musical notation. EXA 2-16a” as the children could use the musical notation of figure notes in order to play musical instruments. I found using the figure note reasonably easy especially since it was the first time I have ever used them. If I was given proper music to try and read and play I would not have done as well and would have been really overwhelmed.

Overall, the theme of creativity and self-directed and paced learning runs through both the subjects of music and drama. In both the workshops we explored, the theme of creative learning runs through both as the figure notes allow the children to learn pieces of music they may never have thought they would have before and in the drama lesson the children are able to let go and become someone else, to let their imagination run wild and have fun. Also, in both subjects the theme of self-direction goes with both. In drama the children can control what direction the theme of their piece of drama goes and in music the children can decide and judge what pace their learning goes at depending on how fast they are picking up the current learning. Overall, I feel that both the workshops today have been very helpful, and I would feel a lot more comfortable teaching either of these subjects now.

 

References

• Booth, D. (1985) Imaginary Gardens with Real Toads: Reading and drama in education, Theory Into Practice.
• Education Scotland (2004) – Curriculum for Excellence; Experiences and Outcomes [Online] https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/Experiences%20and%20outcomes [Accessed on 23rd October 2018]

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Integrated Arts Week 6

This week’s lecture we looked at two documents and the importance they have to teachers when they are teaching the arts in primary schools. The first being “Creativity Across Learning 3-18” which talks in depth about creativity and all the different aspects of it. The first section is the definition of creativity, “Creativity is a complex concept which can impact on children and young people in many ways.” I feel that this explain creativity well as it doesn’t give you a clear definition because there isn’t really a clear definition of what creativity I it is too complex to put into a statement as it can mean a lot of different things to different people. This document aims to talk through the many different meanings and features of creativity and mainly it in school. The second document was “Creativity Money Love” which is many mini essays combined into a book/document. Each essay talks about a aspect of creativity and different ways they can be shown. During the lecture we looked over these two documents but since the lecture I have started to read through them for further study.

The first workshop my section completed was for visual arts. We were focusing on imagination and the way your eye sees things, we did this by finger/hand painting with ink. We were to print with different parts of our hands/fingers, then look at the shape and see what we saw, like when you look at the clouds and you see shapes. Some shapes I saw were a dog and some bugs for example. I think this would be a really good activity to complete with children as it lets them get messy and children love to make a mess and get creative and it allows them to let their imagination run wild and then explain what they see. I have attached pictures of some of mine and my peer’s creations.

The second workshop we went to was, our first drama lesson. We started by discussing the six ways to complete a drama lesson, role play and improvisation being very similar and basically meaning to act. Then there still image and thought tracking which consists of the people standing in a single frozen position and one person coming out of the image to explain what was happening. Then there was flashback and flash forward, where you dramatise a period of time before the present image and then again for a period of time after to show the significant changes from before, present and future. We were to base our performances on the idea that we lived in a room in the “Windows on the West” by Avril Paton. I have attached bellow a drawing I have completed showing the story we represented in our group’s drama performance.

Reference

• Education Scotland (2013) Creativity Across Learning 3-18