This week in Integrated Arts we focused on visual arts and drama. We discussed the importance of encouraging creativity and involvement within expressive arts within the classroom. Personally, I am keen on improving my drama and art skills as these are subjects I do not currently feel are my strong points and are out-with my comfort zone, however, I am hopeful that by the end of this module I will have the confidence and strategies to feel more able to teach them.
In art we explored art work from different age ranges. One piece that stood out to me was done by a middle school pupil who had created a picture of a sunset. I believe that pastels had been used and smudged in order to blend and mix the different colours, creating the art work to appear bold and bright. It was obvious that this art work had been done over a longer period of time and had not been rushed, therefore, this suggested to me the importance of planning art lessons to allow children to continue on with their work progressively instead of rushing a lesson in order to allow them to see the progression of their work. Some children thrive within expressive arts and I think that it is important that they should be given an opportunity to experiment within the arts, and allow them the resources to do so.
In addition to this, the drama workshop made me realise how important it is to come out of your comfort zone when participating within different expressive arts, both as a pupil and a teacher. ‘Teaching Art and Design 3-11’ , states that when young people are more aware of other peoples work this can enhance feelings of self doubt (McAuliffe, 2007). In response to this, as a future teacher, I would encourage pupils to work together and try different drama skills or art tools and techniques. This enables them to broaden their skills and hopefully build confidence from doing so. I would also enhance the SHANARRI wellbeing factors to ensure that all children are included and respected. In reference to Tan (2007), as a future educator I believe it is important to commend effort and hard work in order to build pupil’s confidence.
The drama workshop highlighted different drama conventions that we might do with a primary class, such as ‘teacher in role’. This allowed me to understand how enthusiastic and involved a teacher must be when teaching drama as your attitudes will reflect on the pupil’s thoughts towards it. Grohman and Szmidt (2013) suggest that when teachers have negative attitudes towards teaching subjects, this can rub off on their pupils. Therefore, even though personally drama is not my best subject, I understand that I should remain professional and open to teaching it to allow pupils a well rounded learning experience.
Both workshops allowed me to see what kinds of things are expected when teaching expressive arts. I acknowledge that the role of the teacher when teaching expressive arts is vast yet important. This was a beneficial insight as I am more aware of what sorts of things I expect to see when on placement, as well as types of lessons that I could demonstrate.
References-
Grohman, Magdalena G. and Szmidt, Krzysztof J. Teaching for Creativity: How to Shape Creative Attitudes in Teachers and in Students. In: Banks Gregorson, M., Snyder, H.T., Kaufman, J.C. (eds.) Teaching Creatively and Teaching Creativity. [Online] Available: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-1-4614-5185-3_2.pdf[Accessed: 4 December 2019].
McAuliffe et al. (2007) Foundation and Primary Settings. In: Cox, S. and Watts, R. Teaching Art and Design 3-11. London: Continuum. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
Tan, A. (2007) Creativity A handbook for teachers. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co.
