One of the biggest issues surrounding expressive arts education that I have identified throughout the module is the reluctance of practitioners to teach art lessons. Some cite a lack of confidence as the reason for this (Mills, 2008; Russell-Bowie, 2013). However, others believe time constraints are a large part of the issue (Hay, 2004) due to pressure felt to cover syllabuses and curricula. One way of overcoming this issue is to bundle Experiences and Outcomes and cover several in one lesson. This also provides ample opportunity for inter-disciplinary learning.

I greatly enjoyed this week’s inputs, particularly its direct links to classroom practice. Each of the tasks used in today’s inputs linked expressive arts Experiences and Outcomes to those in other curricular areas, including numeracy, literacy, health and wellbeing and science.

Music
This week, we were visited by P7 pupils from Bellsbank Primary School. These children have been receiving weekly music lessons in school and are learning to play a strings instrument. This week, these children were tasked with teaching us students how to play their instruments. I feel I benefitted from seeing the children’s reactions to this lesson first-hand. It was clear they engaged very well with music lessons in general and enjoyed the opportunity to play the teacher today.

The first opportunity for cross-curricular learning encompasses both music and maths. Children can complete simple maths calculations using musical notation (see right). This not only develops their knowledge of written music but also reinforces teaching points raised in maths. In today’s input, we were split into two groups and asked to complete some of these calculations and shout out the answer. The children engaged well with this and the competitive nature of the game ensured that everyone was paying close attention and participating in the task. However, some of the louder children overshadowed those who were less confident. This was disheartening for these children who also knew the answer but did not have the opportunity to share it. This is something practitioners must be aware of when using tasks like these in the classroom.

The next opportunity for cross-curricular learning involved music and literacy. Similarly to one of the lessons in session 6’s music input, the children used syllabication to help them hear how different beats would sound. The music teacher named little stuffed animals and the children said their names, e.g. Kermit the Frog, and played along to the beat. I feel the use of stuffed animals would be particularly effective in younger classes. However, the P7 pupils also enjoyed this task and it clearly made the concepts easier for children to understand.

Dance
Today was the first of our dance inputs which was greatly enjoyed by all participants.

Dance has very explicit links to Experiences and Outcomes in both science and health and wellbeing (Scottish Government, n.d.). Teaching dance to children lends itself to teaching children about their bodies and anatomy simultaneously. In today’s workshop, we worked in groups and were tasked with identifying different bones, muscles and organs and placing them in the correct place on the body. Some people who had studied PE or human biology in secondary school excelled in this task whilst others struggled. As such, I believe children may find this task too challenging. Thus, in the classroom, I would use this activity as either a revision task or a task identifying prior knowledge. This task allowed us to develop our collaborative working skills (in conjunction with the UWS (2018) Graduate Attributes).

Dance links to Es and Os in both expressive arts and health and wellbeing. We took part in many tasks throughout today’s dance workshop that could be adapted for classroom use. One involved children introducing themselves using a dance move whilst another was a twist on the classic game ‘Follow the Leader.’ We made a line and had to copy the dance move of whoever was at the front. When the song changed, we moved onto the next person.

These tasks were received very well by all participants and everyone remained engaged throughout the lesson. Students left the workshop in high spirits, excited for the input next week. This supports the view of Shainna et al (2017) who believe dance not only improves physical health but also mental health. As such, dance can be used to cover Experiences and Outcomes regarding emotional wellbeing as well as those that encompass physical activity.

I believe many children would enjoy these activities. They provide opportunities for collaborative, creative and active learning. However, while some pupils may excel in this type of environment, quieter, more reserved children may find these activities challenging. It is important that children are never made to feel uncomfortable by being pressured into these tasks. Nevertheless, dance lessons can also be used to build confidence. Many members of the cohort felt shy and embarrassed at the start of the lesson but these feelings faded as we progressed through the tasks. Teachers must be aware of the challenges these activities can cause for some learners and understand how they can build their confidence without making them feel uncomfortable.

Overall, this input was extremely helpful in allowing us to avoid the problems outlined above. Making connections between several curricular areas, alleviates the pressure teachers feel to cover syllabuses. This means expressive art is not neglected in favour of other subjects. Furthermore, the lesson ideas gained from this input (and throughout the module) has built our confidence in teaching expressive arts.

Reference List
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: 6 November 2019]

Mills, J. (2008) The Generalist Primary Teacher of Music: a Problem of Confidence. British Journal of Music Education. [Online] Vol.6(2), pp. 125-138. Available: Cambridge University Press. [Accessed: 6 November 2019]

Russell-Bowie, D. E. (2013) A Tale of Five Countries: Background and Confidence in Preservice Primary Teachers in Drama Education across Five Countries. Australian Journal of Teacher Education. [Online] Vol.38(7), pp.59-74. Available: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1016005.pdf [Accessed: 25 September 2019]

Scottish Government. (n.d.) Curriculum for Excellence. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/All-experiencesoutcomes18.pdf [Accessed: 5 November 2019]

Shainna, A, Cushey, K. and Siddiqui, A. (2017) Diversity and Dance: Exploring the Therapeutic Implications of World Dance. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health. [Online] Vol.12(1), pp. 31-47. Available: EBSCOhost SocINDEX with Full Text. [Accessed: 5 November 2019]

University of the West of Scotland (UWS). (2018) UWS Graduate Attributes. [Online] Available: https://www.uws.ac.uk/current-students/your-graduate-attributes/ [Accessed: 6 November 2019]