Integrated Arts Blog – 30/10/18

This week’s session consisted of music and drama. In drama we focused on Halloween and how we can dramatise it. In music, the lecturer taught us how to be creative on Garage Band in the mac lab.

In the drama workshop, we were taught about the subject within the wider curriculum. Many teachers who do not have a background in Expressive Arts, are conscious of both the theory and practical side of drama. “Drama means different things for different people.” (Kitson and Spiby, 1997) This means that even if a teacher is not confident with the subject, they will be able to add individuality to it and this will enable them to be comfortable when teaching drama as they can go at their own pace and use their own teaching style. Within the lesson, the lecturer focused on Halloween and haunted houses. In separate groups we had to use different drama techniques to deliver a short piece about a haunted house. These techniques include role on the wall, miming, freeze frame, monologues and voice in the head. Each person in the group had a different character and had to portray their feelings and actions through one of these techniques. This was an effective way of learning, because as teachers we will be constantly learning as well as teaching our pupils, therefore it was important that we shared all our ideas to enhance the learning of everyone in the class. “In drama, ‘everyone is a student, and everyone teaches’.” (Booth, 2005) Letting the pupils be creative and imaginative, and letting them express themselves freely in class can aid your own learning as a teacher and your confidence when teaching.

In the music workshop, we were in the Mac Lab and used an app on the computers called Garage Band. This app allows you to create and edit songs, which would be great to do with upper classes in primary. We were taught all the different sounds and instruments we can use on the apps, and how to cut and paste parts and put it together. Even though the start of the session was led by the lecturer, we were able to make our own song, from scratch and make it very individual. This links with the drama workshop, as even though the lecturer had a good knowledge of the app herself, while having a deeper look, the class found different things that the lecturer was not aware of. Therefore, this means that the lecturer is continually learning while teaching at the same time. The freedom we had while on the computers allowed us to be as creative and imaginative as we wanted, which is key when teaching any class Expressive Arts, it is all based on widening their imagination and opening up a new world of creativity that they might not have experienced in literacy and maths, but can certainly use when from now on when learning these subjects.

Overall, the teaching in each lecture was based on both the teacher and the pupils being the leaders and allowing room for creativity in the arts during the teaching and learning of the subject. It is essential that this is the teaching style when delivering these subjects as it will produce greater results and make the subjects more interesting and enjoyable for the teacher and the pupil.

References

Kitson, N. and Spiby, I. (1997). Drama 7-11: Developing Primary Teaching Skills. 1st Ed.
Booth, T, Booth, W. and McConnell, D. (2005). The Prevalence and Outcomes of Care Proceedings Involving Parents with Learning Difficulties in the Family Courts. 1st Ed.