Month: October 2017

MUSIC

In this weeks music input we were looking at finger notes and the benefits of using these when first learning to read and play music.  During the workshop we were divided off into small groups and given a glockenspiel

with a couple of different music sheets featuring finger notes.  Having not played an instrument or read any music in a very long time I was apprehensive when beginning this exercise, however I found the exercise very enjoyable and was able to fully co-operate with the task at hand.  Drake Music Scotland (2017) stresses that we do not need to know how to read sheet music in order to play an instrument.  I think that the implementation of finger notes would be highly beneficial within a classroom as it allows children to explore their musicality without being able to fully understand the meaning of the traditional music note.

ART

During the art portion of today’s inputs we were put to the challenge of creating our own paintbrushes.  We achieved this by beginning with a

simple stick from a willow tree and decorating it by using a wide range of materials such as wool, thread, feathers and cotton wool.  I found this activity to be very enjoyable and it allowed me to be creative in a way that I had never experienced before as during my own time at primary school we were only ever provided with generic paintbrushes during art lessons.

During the workshop we discussed that when children all use the exact same materials they are more likely to compare their artwork with their peers, therefore by allowing them to create their own tools using their own creativity they are less likely to compare.

Having completed the task of creating our own paintbrushes we were then

read out a description of a piece of artwork and encouraged to paint our interpretation of this using only four colours -red, blue, yellow and white. I found this activity to be a great eye-opener as I realised that we do not need lots of resources in order to create our own art.

The activities involved in todays art workshop linked to the “10 Lessons the Arts Teach” by Eisner (2002) as they demonstrated that the arts are all about accepting the unknowing and I believe that should these activities be implemented within a classroom that the children would very much enjoy them.

REFERENCES

Drakemusicscotland.org. (2017). Fingernotes – Drake Music Scotland. [online] Available at: https://drakemusicscotland.org/figurenotes/

Eisner, E. W. (2002) The Arts and the Creation of Mind. London: Yale University Press.

In the lecture during week 2 we took part in analysing several sections of ‘The Arts in Education’ by Fleming (2012) through the media of drawing or doodling.  This exercise allowed us to express ourselves and learn via a different mode rather than just simply reading a passage.  I would like to apply this method of learning to the rest of my education as well as allowing prospective students to learn via this method as I found I was able to engage more with the reading and interpret it in my own way which furthered my learning.  I believe this method would also be beneficial when teaching in a primary setting as it allows us to make cross curricular links with the expressive arts to help children understand areas that may be more challenging for them which could also, in turn, allow them to find enjoyment in understanding these challenging aspects.  An example of this would be to allow children to express their literacy through art by giving them a story and asking them to draw pictures over the words which they find striking to engage them more in their learning and allow them to use their own imagination to understand these concepts.

During the workshop, I was able to view a Primary Art Archive which included various pieces of work produced by children within a primary classroom.  This artwork varied from Early level to First and Second level. By having each level of artwork divided up amongst three tables, we were able to clearly distinguish between the different stages, in particular those identified by Lowenfeld and Brittain (1987).  These consist of 4 stages which can help educational professionals to understand more about a child’s work.  However, with the ever-changing times and the varied backgrounds each child can come from, it is more difficult to place children in a specific stage (McAuliffe, 2007).

Early Level (Pre-Schematic Stage)

When children are first introduced to art in the classroom they are seen to make marks through exploratory scribbling.  Some children find it easier to communicate and express their feelings with others through their drawings at this stage.  I, along with the majority of my peers when asked, would argue that this is the peak of a child’s creative ability as they can use their imagination to create their own artwork.

In the image to the right the child is seen to be within the Early years stage where he is able to develop his fine and gross motor skills through art as well as developing his understanding for shapes and develop his representational abilities.

First Level (Schematic Stage)

During the schematic stage, children begin to produce artwork which may be the result of a directed task by the class teacher.  In this stage the children have the sense of creativity through their imagination, however it is noticed to be much less than seen during the Early level as the child will begin to become much more critical of their work and will start to compare their artwork with that of their peers.

In the artwork shown on the left the child’s understanding of shapes has significantly improved, however they have used their developing literacy skills to add detail to their work which may be a direct result of the class teacher integrating the arts with topic work.  In this stage the child has still demonstrated a sense of creativity by experimenting with a variety of colours.

Second Level (Gang Stage)

The second level, known as the ‘gang’ stage is when a child’s work becomes significantly less expressive and creative as the child begins to doubt their artistic abilities.  During this stage, we see that many children will begin to ‘copy’ art work created by famous artists as they begin to lose their own imagination and prefer to draw things that they can see rather than have to conceptualise.

The image to the right shows an example of a pupils work within the Gang stage.  The child has become more increasingly aware of their surroundings and has chosen to create a piece of work by drawing on their own surroundings.  I believe that the artwork the child has produced is remarkable and they have did very well to create this by looking at a picture.

In conclusion, I found this weeks classes to be very influential as they have given me an insight as to just how much a child’s artwork can develop through teaching habits within primary education.  Having observed the Art Archive, I have been able to consider the ways in which I hope to be able to teach art to children in the future by being able to allow children to express the arts across the curriculum and to have the opportunity to use their imagination throughout their primary school education – not just in their early years.

References

Lowenfeld, V. & Brittain, W.L., (1970). Creative and mental growth: 5th ed, New York: Macmillan.

McAuliffe, D. (2007) Fondation and Primary Settings. In Teaching Art and Design 3-11. (Edited by Sue Cox, Robert Watts, Judy Grahame, Steve Herne and Diarmuid McAuliffe) London: Continuum.