Art
Popular painting “Windows in The West” by Avril Paton (1993) was our main reference to learning in our sessions this week.
After learning a bit about the history of this painting, we identified how it made us feel and were if we indeed ‘liked’ it. However I came to understand that it is not a matter or like and dislike, but as teachers of art we should simply break down a piece of work to analyse what the artist is trying to put across. Reading Rod Taylor’s (2010) model of ‘Process’, ‘Form’, ‘Content’ and ‘Mood’ helped me to come to terms with how I would discuss and interrogate art objects with children in a classroom. I found each concept, particularly ‘Mood’, very interesting as it allows children the opportunity to effectively interpret what they see and feel, developing their aesthetic education and emphasising to them that when it comes to art there is no right or wrong answer.
Our learning outcome was to understand how using a form stimulus, including a print of an ordinary building in Glasgow, can trigger a child’s imagination. A child can look upon this painting, seeing each window has a person living inside, and create a backstory for each tenet. Opening many potential cross-curricular opportunities for a teacher. A child could develop their literacy skills through creative writing for a tenet of the building, alternatively the use of a drama lesson (involving narrative) can prompt a child’s inventiveness and their critical thinking behind the painting. Prior to this, I did not realise how this print could evoke a child’s creativity in such ways. However, in reflection as a primary teacher, effective communication i.e. openly discussing the work of an artist is vital in exploring new techniques and processes for my development as well as the child’s.
I was able to apply my learning later on in a practical workshop where we used marking and painting to explore colour theory. We were asked to draw/mark a section of our choice from ‘Windows in the West’ onto a polystyrene cut-out. We proceeded to use paint and rollers to cover the polystyrene and stamp it onto multiple pieces of coloured paper.
Examples:
Although each student was given the same instructions and stimulus, each made different interpretations of drawing and choices of colour, no one person had the same perception. Colour theory is important for not only allowing a child to explore their creativity but to help express their emotions. I have learned that it is essential to apply this concept to my practice as it can effectively develop a child’s communication skills and allow me (the teacher) to understand the depth of the child’s emotions, some of whom may suffer a troubled home life or face learning difficulties. As well as developing my subject knowledge behind our practical tasks, I was able to grasp the key steps you would take when planning and managing an art lesson. Examples of this would be to having cleaning materials at the ready in case of spillages and to make sure children wear aprons. Simple directions like this, that I had not previously recognised as imporant, can be instrumental in making sure a messy lesson runs smoothly.
Drama
As it was my first drama input of the year, I was fairly anxious to see what was in store. However I was shown that teaching drama is not merely about displaying a person’s acting abilities, but is it to allow children to pretend to be somebody else for a change. There is something about changing identities that can be liberating for a child, allowing to express themselves in a way that they might never get the opportunity to do so. Quality classroom drama focuses upon risking uncertainty, exploring new ideas and discovering the unknown (Winston, 1998).
The tasks were based on a story about a village and how they were terrified for their safety as they faced a ferocious fire-breathing dragon flying too closely to their homes. In this specific activity of improvisation, I was able to see the importance of a teacher involving the children and taking on their creative ideas of where the story might lead to. I understand how this builds a child’s confidence tremendously and inspires them to enjoy drama and see it as an effective outlet. We explored various themes in drama teaching including freeze frames, teacher in role, improvisation, thought tunnels and hot seating. All of which can be very valuable and memorable methods to allowing children to be as much involved as possible in the lesson. The drama convention I saw as the most interesting was teacher in role. Teacher in role is the method of the teacher switching in and out of character, this can be done by putting on a piece of clothing, communicating with their pupils in a completely different way through the story. An example, the teacher puts on their top hat, becomes the mayor of the village and asks the now “villagers” to come up with a solution to the problem of the dragon.
To me, the story of the dragon was a perfect example of a stimulus creating a response (i.e. opening a door in a child’s limitless imagination). Each input of this week has furthered my knowledge on how help provoke a pupil’s creative thinking and how to encourage to use this way of thinking more often if that is how they learn better. A person’s imagination is prominent at the age of a primary school pupil and my job as a teacher is find any means possible to manifest their individuality.
References
Hickman, R., Taylor, R. (2010) Critical Studies in Art and Design Education. London: Intellect
Paton, A. (2011) [Online] Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVDRL6wsQYU [Accessed 3 October 2017]
Winston, J. (1998) Drama, Narrative and Moral Education. London: Falmer Press.
