Integrated Arts – 20/11/18
This week was the final class of the module. It included perfecting our dances and getting them filmed in the dance workshop and learning to play the ukulele in the music workshop.
In dance, we continued from the week previous and practised our dance routines to the point they were acceptable to be filmed. The class had time to work in their groups to make sure all the moves were correct and in time with the music to make sure the overall dance was a success. Then the full class came together and made up a starting piece to the dance where everyone in the section danced at the same time. The moves were simple but effective with such a large group and the lecturer was pleased with the outcome of the full class dance section. Performing this dance this week was a lot different to other weeks as we were being filmed. For many in the class, this put more pressure on them to perform well while dancing and being recorded. Even though this did make some people uncomfortable, it was important to remember that it was all for a bit of fun and no one else would see the video except the people in our class. The full experience is to aid us teach our future classes and to give us ideas on how to teacher Expressive Arts classes without feeling nervous or self-conscious.
<iframe src=”https://player.vimeo.com/video/301845627″ width=”640″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>
In our final music class, we learned to play the ukulele. I found this exciting and intriguing as I have always wanted to learn how to play a stringed instrument. The importance of music education has been echoed for years and there are numerous benefits that come with the teaching of music. However, in the past many authorities did not see the importance of music education. “Music education has always required advocacy to solidify its place in the school curriculum. Music teachers are increasingly called on to justify their existence and importance in the schools,” (Elpus, 2007). In these rapidly changing times, the importance of teaching education is huge, especially in primary schools. With the wide variety of musical opportunities open to children, it is fundamental too take hold of any chances that are available when teaching Expressive Arts. In the class, we got taught the chords that are on the ukulele and practised simple songs to help the understanding of each chord and putting them all together. At the end of the lesson, the lecturer put up the chords to “Last Christmas” by Wham! and as a class, we played through the full song. It was beginners’ level however, it was thoroughly enjoyable as I had never had the opportunity to play the ukulele before. Taking away from this lesson, I know now how to make learning an acoustic instrument fun and interesting for the class. Using instruments which are a bit more obscure and unique can encourage children to be creative and imaginative and motivate them to be more musical and try other instruments.
References
Elpus, K. (2007). Improving Music Education Advocacy. Arts Education Policy Review, 108(3), pp.13-18.
