During our final week in Integrated Arts we looked at presenting within music and art. This week allowed me to assess and reflect on how much I have learnt within the expressive arts and come to a conclusion on my overall feelings towards my developed confidence and ability.
I found dance this week challenging due to missing last weeks class and therefore had to catch up on the dance that had been created. I used my collaborative and communication skills in order to learn my group dance as it was being recorded. I feel that I used these skills effectively as I was able to successfully learn the dance routine and perform with my group without making a mistake.
https://vimeo.com/376244950
After we had recorded our dance we focused on evaluation and assessment of dance. We discussed that the benchmarks highlight that pupils must be able to respond to their dance experience by discussing ideas, feelings and thoughts. It also states that they must give and receive constructive criticism and comments on their own and other peoples work (Education Scotland, n.d.). We demonstrated this through the assessment of 3 stars and a wish, providing 3 positive comments for ourselves and then thinking of an area of improvement within our dance ability. I think that this is an important aspect for pupils to look at as it allows them to see areas in which they have achieved in and also allows them to highlight areas in which they can improve within, creating targets for themselves. As a future teacher, I think that 3 stars and a wish is a positive form of self assessment for pupils to undertake and can be used for evaluating work in other subject areas.
Music this week was a continuation of playing different instruments, however, we focused on learning chords on the ukulele, leading up for us to play ‘Last Christmas’. Personally I think that this was a very relevant lesson that a primary class would enjoy as it is coming into the festive season so interprets their excitement into their work, generating enthusiasm for the activity. This is definitely a lesson I would do with a class in school as I enjoyed it a lot so therefore think that young people would get a lot out of it, especially by making it relevant and using songs that they will know. However, when teaching an activity like this it is important to take into account time, space and resources required (Glover and Ward, 1998). This is a crucial thing to think about as some schools do not have the equipment or space to implement such lessons, however, if possible this is a lesson that I would like to teach as I think that by doing practical music lessons pupils would get a lot out of it. We discussed the fact that the ukuleles used cost around £10 each and allowed us access to a successful, hands-on lesson.
I really enjoyed this lesson, however, found it challenging at times due to having little experience with playing string instruments. By the end of the lesson I was able to play chords A minor, C, G, and D minor, allowing me to participate in a whole class performance of Last Christmas.
Overall, I have really enjoyed the Integrated Arts module and feel that my confidence and creative ability has increased dramatically. I am now aware of different resources, tools, pedagogies, and techniques to use when working with a class. After participating in all 4 expressive arts I feel much more able and enthusiastic about teaching the arts, and after observing them being taught on placement, this has given me insight and self-assurance that I will be able to teach all 4 areas and enjoy doing so.
References-
Education Scotland (n.d.) Curriculum for Excellence Expressive Arts Experiences and Outcomes. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf [Accessed: 29 November 2019].
Glover, J. and Ward, S. (1998) Teaching Music in the Primary School. 2nd ed. London: Continuum.
