The three core curricular areas identified by Education Scotland (2019) are numeracy, literacy and health and wellbeing. As such, the fundamental need for teachers to cover syllabuses and curricula, particularly in these three areas, mean there is a lack of focus on expressive arts education in Scottish schools and many teachers say time constraints are the primary reason that they do not teach lessons in that expressive arts regularly (Hay, 2004). This is an issue I identified after the first input of this module. One of the easiest ways to overcome this problem is by making very explicit links between the arts and other curricular areas. Fleming (2012) puts forward the view that integrated lessons between art and other curricular areas can enhance both attainment and pedagogy while Marshall (2014, p. 104) believes art could be “a pedagogy of fusion”. In conjunction with the GTCS (2012) Standards for Registration, both today’s music and visual arts inputs provided ample opportunities for inter-disciplinary learning.
Music
In this week’s music input, we focused on teaching children about basic music theory. This included differentiating between beats and pulses and learning about written musical notes. We looked at lessons that could be used at early, first and second level.
For early and first year pupils, we used the song ‘The Wee Man from Skye’ to teach children to ‘keep the beat’ and basic musical notation. Crotchets represent one beat and quavers represent half a beat. We can use the syllables in words to allow children to hear the difference between how these notes will sound in music. For example, the word ‘square’ has one syllable and the word ‘circle’ has two. The use of shapes and words in this lesson links expressive arts to mathematics and literacy.
Children first ‘keep the beat’ by chanting aloud the shapes that they see, then clapping along to the beat before finally using drumsticks to play the music. As children progress through lessons, musical notation can be introduced alongside the shapes. Eventually, when children enter second level, the shapes can be taken away entirely. This progression can be seen below.
When children reach second level, more complex musical notation is introduced. This includes rests, repetition signs and varied time signatures as well as additional note values. The introduction of these additional values means connections can be made to aspects of mathematics, e.g. fractions. Fraction tables are effective ways of teaching children the concept of equivalence. Tables of this style can be created using music notes (see below). For example, a crotchet is played for one beat, a quaver is played for half a beat, therefore two quavers are equal to one crotchet. I would expect children to readily make connections between these concepts. This estimation can be supported by Silverstein and Layne (2010) who claim the concepts taught in one subject can be reinforced in another.
I haven’t studied music in four years and thus, my knowledge of musical notation is very limited. Going through this process in today’s input allowed me to revise my own knowledge as well as giving me ideas as to how music could be taught in the classroom. As a practitioner, I believe this process is a very effective way of teaching musical notation. The process is easy to follow and has a very clear progression from stage to stage.
I believe children will engage well with these lessons. The lessons are very practical but also develop written skills, allowing children to increase their knowledge of written music while actively playing along. When I was in primary school, the use of musical instruments in lessons was always exciting. Thus, the excitement that comes along with actively playing music can be challenging to deal with as a practitioner. Children must be reminded of the responsibility they have to behave sensibly and use instruments appropriately.
Visual Arts
In this week’s arts lesson we focused on the process of print making and studied the work of contemporary artist Bob and Roberta Smith. In the classroom, children will respond well to the use of contemporary artists in arts lessons as they can relate to them and the issues raised through their work. Modern artists and modern art will explore modern issues. Bob and Roberta Smith is an activist who uses his art to make bold statements about current, topical socio-economic and political issues. Some examples of his work can be seen to the right. We then created some inspirational quotes of our own in the style of Bob and Roberta Smith. Many groups, including my own, focused on creating a quote that would inspire and positively influence our pupils (see below). This can be linked to the UWS (2018) Graduate Attribute of being influential. Working with other members of the cohort also allowed us to develop our collaborative working skills.
This task has very clear links to two other curricular areas: literacy and social subjects. In teaching about the process of print making, children can also learn about the print press, i.e. mass production of books and newspapers. It is the concept of the print press that has made the world literate. Linking to social subjects, children can explore the socio-economic issues surrounding illiteracy and how, although it exists to a lesser extent in the UK nowadays, the issue persists, particularly in the developing world. Furthermore, teachers can use Bob and Roberta Smith’s work to initiate conversations with children surrounding current social issues and deal with these sensitively.
Overall, these inputs demonstrated the ease with which the arts can be connected to core curricular areas. They can be used to enhance and reinforce knowledge gained in other subjects as well as providing children with a creative outlet. As such, teachers cannot claim to “have no time” for the arts as they can be used very effectively in conjunction with core curricular areas and give many opportunities for inter-disciplinary learning.
Reference List
Education Scotland. (2019) What is Curriculum for Excellence? [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/What%20is%20Curriculum%20for%20Excellence [Accessed: 20 October 2019]
Fleming, M. (2012) The Arts in Education: An introduction to aesthetics, theory and pedagogy. London: Routledge.
General Teaching Council for Scotland, The (GTCS). (2012) The Standards for Registration: mandatory requirements for Registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland. [Online] Available: http://www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/the-standards/standards-for-registration-1212.pdf [Accessed: 20 October 2019]
Hay, S. (2004) Generalists or Specialists for the P4 Expressive Arts Curriculum: A Comparative Study of Models of Delivery. [Online] Available: www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/FormUploads/generalists-or-specialists-for-the-p4-expressive-arts-curriculum1778_339.pdf [Accessed: 20 October 2019]
Marshall, J. (2014) Transdisciplinarity and Art Integration: Toward a New Understanding of Art-Based Learning Across the Curriculum. Studies in Art Education. [Online] Vol.55(2), pp. 104-127. Available: Education Source. [Accessed: 20 October 2019]
Silverstein, L.B. and Layne, S. (2010) What is arts integration? Washington, DC: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
