Today we focused again on Norwegian aesthetics. We had visitors from Norway telling us about their country and education system. We explored the contrast between Scotland and Norway which I found to be quite similar in many ways, for example, they do standardised tests like we do to make sure everyone is working at the correct, average level for their age and stage. They also have the same school structure, Monday to Friday 9-3. However, their classes are much smaller than ours, which has sometimes been disputed to impact learning, but this argument has been made redundant and it is the quality of the teacher which has an impact. The classroom teaching is not as interactive, but more outdoor learning which we are also trying to do more of. I think outdoor learning is good to get children out working in and learning about their environment. It can also help to enhance their physical and mental health and well-being. (https://www.englishoutdoorcouncil.org/benefits.of.outdoor.learning.html)
We explored artists during our visual arts workshop and worked in their style. Andy Goldsworthy was an artist who used the environment as his canvas, sculpting the land itself or making structures in the landscape using natural resources.
He is current so introducing contemporary art to the classroom which will make it more interesting for children rather than learning about an out of date artist. Intervention, like all art, must have a problem at the centre of it. We did this and tried to link it to ‘breaking down barriers.’ This is a good activity to do with children to get them working with their environment, seeing how they can be creative and use their imagination to make an impact on the landscape around them. (https://www.learningliftoff.com/10-reasons-arts-in-education-important-kids/) Outdoor learning is prominent in Norway, so we tried to bring this into our learning today. Pupils get tired and do not function well in the afternoon, so if we implement outdoor learning through art, we can motivate and inspire children to think deeper. We could adopt seasonal pedagogy, in this case autumn and use the natural resources outside to make an impact on the landscape.
Nature provides an abundance of materials which can be used for creative purpose and they are free! We must also remember that not everything has to link to literacy and maths, it can just be sheer expression which is a good way to delve into children’s emotions. The lecturer also asked us to explain what we created and why. We should do this with children to give them the opportunity to express themselves and to give meaning to what they have done. We should “make the effort to listen to the children more and talk less, trying to understand their thinking and to encourage the development of their thoughts and ideas.” (Griffiths, 2010)
We used Garageband in the music workshop and created an autumnal piece of music linking to our outdoor learning experience.
This app is a good way of using composition in your class and relates to experiences and outcomes, exploring and experimenting with sound. (https://education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf) It will also develop children’s digital skills and my own as I had never used this app before. I did find it quite hard and would need to explore it much more before trying to use it in the classroom. It is important that we make the effort to learn how to teach music to the children in our future classroom. It is a subject which is quite often ignored and teachers chose not to teach it. (Mills, 2009) I think children would need a lot more guidance to be able to use this app properly. When using it in the classroom I would ensure each child had headphones to us as it was quite noisy and distracting. Another app we were introduced to was ‘Incredibox’, which you can use to compose music, but no notation knowledge is required. Children could use this during wet plays if they have access to a computer. It is a fun and modern way to explore music.
References
[online] What are the Benefits of Outdoor Learning? Available: https://www.englishoutdoorcouncil.org/benefits.of.outdoor.learning.html [Accessed on: 16th December 2019].
Martin, L. (2014) [online] 10 Reasons Why Arts in Education Is so Important for Kids Available: https://www.learningliftoff.com/10-reasons-arts-in-education-important-kids/ [Accessed on: 14th December 2019].
Griffiths, F. (2010) Supporting Children’s Creativity Through Music, Dance, Drama and Art, Creative Conversations in the Early Years, London: Routledge
[online] Curriculum for Excellence: Expressive Arts Experiences and Outcomes Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf Accessed on: 14th December 2019].
Mills, J. (2009) Music in the Primary School Oxford: University Press.
