If you ask many people, including myself, if they can draw they will automatically say no. However in today’s workshop, I learned that you do not have to be exceptional at drawing or be able to draw a clear object to be able to draw. In fact, by making a simple mark or dot on a piece of paper you have started a fantastic expression through drawing.
Throughout today, I learned that ‘arts integration is an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject area and meets evolving objectives in both.’ (Lynne B. Silverstein and Sean Layne, 2010).
During the workshop, Diarmuid reinforced how significant a child making a simple dot on a piece of paper can be. It is the starting point to something creative, and as the child adds to that one dot a picture starts to form. A drawing does not have to consist of lines or scribbles.
We watched a short presentation on the book, ‘The Dot’ by Peter H.Reynolds. The Dot is a picture book about a girl named Vashti who thinks she can’t draw. However, with a little encouragement from her teacher and self-belief, Vashti is able to create a piece of artwork which she is proud of and the lesson of everyone can draw is instilled in her which she can then pass on to younger children. Below is a clip of the book being read aloud.
Below is a variety of pictures showcasing that small simple marks can be interpreted into objects, animals and many other things. For this task, we were given a large piece of paper, black paint and a paint roller. The aim of this task was to use our hands to create a drawing or expression using different parts of our hand. The key aspect of learning was to realize that no two drawings would be the same, as by using different parts of my hand it made the drawing unique.
References
‘Defining Arts Integration’ by Lynne B. Silverstein and Sean Layne 2010, The John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts.
In the section of the module, we focused on what aesthetics is and the importance of it for a child’s development in the arts. The definition of aesthetics is ‘something which is concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty.’ In simple terms, it is what brings feelings to things and brings things almost to life.
At the beginning of our first workshop for the music section of the ‘Integrated Arts in Education’ module, we listened to a variety of music clips. Some of the clips were upbeat, some slow, some loud and also some delicate and then we were asked to associate a feeling to each piece of music. It is incredible that a simple piece of music can effect your feelings in a major way.
Music is critical in a child’s learning as it enhances their imagination and stimulates their mind. Even as adults, our mind can create stories and adventures just by listening to a piece of music. Music can also be used to help a child express their own feelings that they may not be able to do with words. Another task which we had was to listen to a clip of music from Disney’s Fantasia 2000 called Piano Concerto No.2, The Steadfast Tin Soldier. A clip of the piece of music is down below.
Then in groups, we made up a story along with characters that we believed fit the music and then we delivered our story to the rest of the class. Even though we all listened to the same piece of music it was amazing to see how different each groups story was. This further highlights that every child and person has different levels of imagination and creativity within them which can be situated by any given piece of music. In the picture below, you can see the story board my own group created with the aid of this musical track along with key words and actions that we noted down to enable us to create the story.
Our story board!This is a photograph of the key words/actions that we noted down whilst listening to the music.
References
Hallam, S. (2010) The power of music: Its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people. International Journal of Music Education. Vol.28 (3), pp.269–289.
It is essential that as a teacher we ‘interact with individual children who are finding their own identity, their own means of understanding and communicating and their own powers of creativity’. (McAuliffe, D 2007).
Today was our first insight into the module and we spent some time going over what we were to expect from the module and the different areas that we will be covering. The following passage gives a summary of the module and details how important integrated arts in education is for a child.
This module will provide time to allow immersion in each of the four arts areas (visual arts, music, drama and dance) as well as provide an overview of the concepts, principles, and theoretical perspectives that underpin the expressive arts in education. It will examine a range of practices labeled as ‘interdisciplinary’, ‘arts-infused’, ‘cross-disciplinary’ and ‘arts-based’ and examines its implications for the school environment and arts practice.
In general this module will give expression to our understanding of the role of the arts in education and will adopt a critical pedagogical approach to its application. Through this integrated arts module learners intellectual, personal and social development will be enhanced. Learners will also be provided with opportunities to experience group and partnership working in variety of expressive arts areas.
In today’s workshop with Diarmuid, we studied numerous paintings and drawings from a wide range of age groups and also, we discussed the importance of a child’s expression through the different art forms. Some of the drawings were done in paint, chalk, pencil and some even made up of entirely tissue paper to create texture. We compared the different paintings from different age groups, which varied from age 3 up till age 11. Diarmuid then proceeded to ask us which age group we found to be the best and most effective in a child’s learning and creative expression.
I chose the youngest stage which ranged between 3 and 6 years old. I chose this stage as I found it to be very significant in a child’s way of expressing themselves as at this point in their development they may not be able to read and write. Their drawings were more markings using colour, but to them, the drawing meant a great deal to them and contained a story which they used their imagination and creativity to portray onto the paper for us as teachers to enjoy. One aspect of an arts lesson which a child can control is the choice of paper they draw or paint on. Giving a child a large A3 piece of paper allows them to have lots of space to explode their inner feelings and creativity onto, also this means that they do not feel restricted to a small area. This can be further development by allowing the children to use the colour of paper they wanted, as if the paintings were completed on white paper they would not have had the same effect or be as bold.
Something which I observed was that when we carried on going up the age range, the drawings and paintings become more careful and similar. Instead of it being an expression of their creativity and imagination, it became more of a manufactured piece of work that every other child had produced. this is probably due to the teacher presenting the child with a model or object to simply copy instead of producing their own interpretation of it. I found that these painting lacked any personal story or meaning to them because the expression did not come from the child but instead what the teacher wanted them to achieve.
Below are some photographs of the pictures we studied at various levels.
Another expression of colour through the use of various paint colours and a black paper background.In this painting, a young child has drawn what seems to be their own personal teddy bear. The child has used small paint strokes to give the bear a fluffy effect for its fur.In this drawing, a young child has drawn herself and her mother through her eyes. By the characteristics of the human figure this child understands all of the features that a human has, however, not all are drawn “correctly”.
References
McAuliffe, D (2007) Foundation 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.
Fleming, M. (2012) The arts in education: An introduction to aesthetics, theory and pedagogy. London, United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
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