Music

I was excited for this week’s workshop as I knew we were focusing on music, which is something I am very passionate about. Within the workshop, I continued creating my art piece by relating it to music as this is significant to me. I printed off many different sheets of old antique music and used this as the theme throughout my work.

I really enjoyed completing this throughout class as it was important to me because my papa taught me how to play piano and when he passed away my gran gave me his piano and so  music is a real passion of mine . Today brought back several happy memories but also sad ones at the same time.

Music has a significant role in the expressive arts within the curriculum. In Hallam’s paper in the International Journal of Music Education (2010) she states that music is a powerful subject as it can impact literacy, numeracy, creativity, and social and personal development. It also includes perceptual and language skills, physical development and health and well being all play a part of music within the curriculum. In particular music can develop literacy skills as Hallam (2010) found that when a child learns a musical instrument or takes on musical training, their phonological awareness is developed  and so early reading skills are improved. Therefore when music is taught to children in the primary school from an early age their phonological abilities should be higher and they should be able to pick up these skills quickly.

One reason in particular that I love music be it playing the piano or listening to music is because it brings me a feeling of happiness , joy and relaxation. Music can be specific to cultures and brings communities together.

“Music has a universal and timeless potential to influence how we feel, yet, only recently, have our researchers begun to explore and understand the positive effects that music can have on our wellbeing.” McDonald et al, (2012). Health and wellbeing of the child is of the utmost importance in education today and therefore music should have a major role within the curriculum to help develop it .

Music is extremely emotive. Music brings out our feelings and if you listen to heavy rock music it will make you feel differently than if you listen to a classical piano piece. Therefore we listen to music depending on our mood and emotional state. “People use music to change emotions, to realise emotions, to match their current emotion, to enjoy or comfort themselves, and to relieve stress.” Justin et al, (2008). Within the primary school we want to have emotionally healthy learners and as the University of Texas (1998) discovered that musicians who were of college age were emotionally healthier than students who were non musicians.

Music can help children socialise together. On my placements I have come across several children who struggle to socialise with others however learning an instrument can give confidence and self esteem and allows the children to connect with people that they would not normally connect with. There can be a sense of community through music which would benefit the children with socialisation problems. ” Playing music made me more social. Through music, children can enjoy a sense of community, that can carry on through life!” Music for Young Minds  (2004). Furthermore within music there are many opportunities where collaboration is key. Children have to listen to each other, come up with the right instruments for the sounds and play at the appropriate time. Consequently, children bounce ideas off of each other, solve problems together, use their imagination and are innovative. Thus hopefully developing socialisation skills.

In conclusion,  music is essential to a child’s development, both intellectually , socially and emotionally. As a teacher I will ensure that music will be a regular part of the class curriculum.

References

Hallam, S (2010) International Journal of Music Education The power of music: Its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people [Online] Available http://ijm.sagepub.com/content/28/3/269 [Accessed 14 March 2018] Sage

MacDonald, R., Kreutz, G. and Mitchell, L. (eds.) (2012) Music, health and wellbeing. Oxford University Press (OUP).

Justin, P.N. and Västfjäll, D. (2008). Emotional responses to music: The need to consider underlying mechanisms. Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 31, 559-621

Music for Young Minds (2004) Available at: http://www.musicforyoungminds.com/benefits.php [Assessed: 13th February 2018]

Learning Experiences of Museums and Galleries

This week we headed to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum where we walked round the different exhibitions and participated in a clay workshop. I was particularly looking forward to this trip to the museum and art gallery as I have been there several times before and it always brings back happy memories of when I was a child.

First of all we were taken into the workshop area where the children are taken on school visits. We were shown the different types of activities that the children partake in. We were given different objects from the time of Victorians and asked to think about what its purpose was, allowing us to touch the object and use our imagination as to what its function could be. During the workshop we made clay heads to express our creativity and imagination. When seeing the works of famous artists that have created clay heads we  were inspired and got our own chance to create a clay design.

Museum and Art Gallery visits are a way to inspire learners, no matter the age, gender or ability as gallery education is a way of developing critical thinking and  to encourage determination (Taylor, 2006). As the Department for Education (DE)  (1991b,p. 63) states, “Galleries and museums have become an increasingly valuable educational resource for the development of art education in schools.” Furthermore the DE  goes on to state that pupils get a hands on experience of developing an appreciation of a variety of art, artefacts and craft and design within their local area. In addition the DE encourage schools that visits to and work within museums and galleries should become an intregal part of the curriculum (ibid, p. 63).

The art that I have witnessed in schools is usually related to the topic or the interdisciplinary learning that the class are currently working on. This agrees with OfSTED (1993), as in the schools studied  it was usually found that art was not a stand alone subject and it was ‘often only used to support other curriculum areas and insufficient account was taken of the specific skills and knowledge associated with the subject’ (OfSTED, 1993, p. 11). In contrast the use of art within a gallery or museum would allow teachers to look specifically at art just for art’s sake. There would need to be a lot of discussion, evaluation and response before and after the visit within the classroom, (Xanthoudaki, 1998). The children could continue their learning and work back in the classroom and it is agreed that when pupils get a chance of viewing and handling ‘original works of art… this often had a positive effect on the quality of their work.’ (OfSTED, 1993, p.6). Therefore hopefully inspired and creative art pieces would be produced by the children.,

There can be several potential barriers that can cause problems when schools want to visit museums and art galleries. Additional adult cover is required when on a trip, transport difficulties, associated costs, problems getting permission and risk assessments completed, unrealistic expectations about what can be provided at the place and communication problems with the museum or art gallery,(DSMC, 2003- 2004). However it is important that schools overcome these barriers as can be seen from the previous paragraphs the many benefits of visiting museums and art galleries. I hope to be a teacher that would encourage my school to allow me to visit a museum or art gallery so the learners can have the best opportunity and experience for example at Kelvingrove.

A key aspect of the visit was getting to view the painting “Windows In The West”by Avril Paton as I completed quite a lot of work on it last year throughout the Integrated Arts module. I was surprised at how large the painting was but even so there was a feeling of intimacy from it and I could imagine myself living in the house or playing round about it as a child. I felt myself getting lost within the painting and escaping in to it.

References

DCMS (2003-2004) Inspiration, Identity, Learning: The Value of Museums. [Online] Available: [Accessed 20 February 2018]

Department of Education and Science (DES)  (1992) Art in the National Curriculum (England) (London, HMSO).

OfSTED, (1993) Art Key Stages 1,2 and 3: first year 1992-1993: the implementation of the curriculum requirements of the Education Reform Act (London, HMSO).

Taylor, B. (2006) The enquire – programme: communities of critical enquirers, in: B. Taylor (Ed.) Inspire learning in galleries (London, Engage). [see also http://www.en-quire.org/]

Xanthoudaki, M (1998). Is it always worth the trip? The contribution of museum and gallery educational programmes to classroom and art education. Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol. 28, No. 2, ProQuest Central

What is Steam?

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and maths.

However,STEAM is STEM + ART = STEAM. 

There are three main principles to STEAM found on the stemtosteam.org website;

• to include art and design at the heart of STEM
• to have art and design in the school curriculum
• to encourage employers to take on artists and designers to help with new ideas in companies

Statistics from Edudemic (2015) states that in the USA by end of the year 2018 there will be a lack of skilled workers in the STEM subjects possibly as many as three million. Also in the USA in 2008, a very small percent of degrees achieved were in engineering (4%).  Therefore this proves that there needs to be more done in education today to encourage the STEM subjects. One way of encouraging more students to participate in these subjects is to include the arts and for it to become STEAM. The arts is very beneficial to be included within STEM as the arts can ‘build confidence, develop motor skills, and hone their decision making and problem solving skills,’ Edudemic (2015, p.2)  Furthermore, STEM subjects tend to lack the creativity and innovation element and this is where STEAM can integrate the arts within STEM subjects and make them relevant for children in society today and help them with their lifelong learning and their future careers.

Educational Closet, (2017, np) suggests that STEAM will create students who are more willing to ‘take thoughtful risks, engage in experimental learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration and work through the creative process.’ This should result in pupils becoming ‘innovators, educators, leaders and learners of the 21st century,’ (ibid,).

The following two videos give an explanation as to why STEAM is significant in the curriculum today and how the arts can be an integral aspect of STEM subjects.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T70fZeyMulw

Hawkins (2016) acknowledges that there are many benefits of art-science, STEM projects and these should be taught across the curriculum. I feel that indispilinary learning provides many opportunities for STEAM learning. I have been in schools where the children have had to design and build a bridge that would carry a small toy car. This included technology, engineering and art and design tasks bringing a lot of the STEAM subjects together. Also another challenge that a teacher used when I was on work experience was to get the the children to design a bird box for the school garden. Here the children had to work in groups of four, draw their plans, use junk materials to show their design and then the best two were discussed, peer assessed, analysed and were built using proper materials for the school garden. This learning was linked with the real world making it more relevant to the children and purposeful. Using art and design within the STEM subjects to help with these challenges helped the children ‘not to just to make new knowledge but to think in different ways about the problems they encountered,’ Hawkins (2016, p.52).

As a teacher I can see the value of STEAM within the curriculum. It is an ideal opportunity for learning across the curriculum and for subjects to work together. Learning through STEAM  is a way of bringing an integrated educational experience that is enhanced through the integration of art and design which will benefit the STEM subjects. ‘STEAM removes limitations and replaces them with wonder, critique, inquiry and innovation,’ Education Closet (2017, np). Furthermore STEAM develops creativity and as Education Scotland (2015, p.51) states that one of the main features of highly effective practise is that ‘ Creativity skills are recognised, articulated and valued by practitioners and learners.’ Creativity is no longer seen just for entertainment but for the progressive development of the learner. Many skills are developed through creativity, especially enquiry, critical thinking and innovation. These skills would certainly be developed through STEAM challenges and projects.

References

Educational Closet. (2017) What is steam? [Online] Available: https://educationcloset.com/steam/what-is-steam/ [Accessed 4 February 2018]

Education Scotland. (2015) How good is our school? 4^th ed. Scotland: Crown.

Edudemic Staff (2015) STEM vs. STEAM: Why the “A” Makes a Difference http://www.edudemic.com/stem-vs-steam-why-the-a-makes-all-the-difference/

Hawkins, H (2016) Art -Science and (Re) Making Worlds: Shaping Knowledge, Transforming Subjects, Challenging Institutions. Zurich: De Gruyter

STEM to STEAM (2018) [Online] Available :  http://stemtosteam.org [Accessed 4 February 2018]

Evocative Object -Session 3

In today’s session we continued with our work from the previous weeks on our evocative object. I am starting to feel more comfortable with the expressive arts and would feel more confident in taking a lesson using the methods over the last three weeks. This week I was specifically working on expanding my concrete poetry around the object – the watch, and making it more meaningful and personal to me. Within this session I spent a lot of time thinking of words that expressed how I felt about my evocative object of my gran’s watch: love, happy memories, goodbye, laughing, hugging, strong, heart-broken, best friend, gran, fuzzy feelings. As discussed last week in the concrete poems I had to think about how I was going to portray these special words on paper. I decided to use the colours red and green. Red to put the words that were happy and positive to remind me of the love I felt and green for the words that were negative and emotive of sadness.  As Aube and Perloff (2017) states that concrete poems can be objects made up of a variety of colours, letters and words and the design and therefore meaning of the poem plays a major role within the space. This is portrayed as can be seen below in my concrete poetry picture. I have used a variety of colours, letters, words, shape and design.

Within the classroom, I could see many opportunities where I would be able to use the concrete poetry pictures. It would be a good starting point for creativity in the lesson. Within these types of lessons, teachers will have ideas in their mind as to what is important and worthwhile for their pupils to achieve. However QCA (2004) suggests that the pupils’ ideas may be different from that of the teachers and therefore a sharing of ideas is crucially important and this will let the teacher see what the pupils deem to be of significance thus taking on the direction of the children. The teacher is the individual that the pupils will go to when they have questions, queries, want to solve problems and have ideas that they want to develop but are unsure of. The challenge for the teacher will be to make sure the pupils’ ideas are valued and at the same time to encourage creativity in doing this (ibid,).

Photo Essays

This week we also briefly discussed photo essays. This is where photographs are used, sometimes with a little  text (not always ), to explain the picture and the photographs are all related, ‘each picture has an interrelationship with the others.’ Moran (1974, p.14-15) The photographs are interpreted by their relationship with each other and thus meaning to the photographic essay should be given. A lot of time and thinking needs to go in to how the pictures can be related together to produce a coherent photo essay. On placement I have seen the children taking photographs with the cameras and the iPads and I think a photo essay would provide purpose and meaning for the children. It could easily be related to the interdisciplinary learning that the children are currently working on. Furthermore it could be used as a stand alone lesson on facial expressions, tartans and healthy foods to mention a few. All children would feel included as using the cameras or iPads is an inclusive activity and not like some areas within maths or language that the children lack confidence with and feel they cannot do.

The reading for this week’s seminar was from ‘You’ve Just Got to Learn How to See’: Curriculum Subjects, Young People and Schooled Engagement by Kress. Kress (p.8) states, as educators we should be providing a curriculum with more communication in it. Kress believes within each subject there is a different type of learning happening and we as teachers have to take this on board when we are teaching and preparing lessons that the learning  becomes relevant to the children and useful for them when they leave school to enhance  life long learning. However, Kress feels that the education system has an ‘inability to understand and then to make a link between the school and the society.’ We therefore as educators need to make a difference. One way Kruss suggests is teachers of different subjects  coming together and discussing issues and methods to have a more coherent and communicative education.

References

Aube, C and Perloff, N (2017) What Is Concrete Poetry?[Online] Available Blog posthttp://blogs.getty.edu/iris/what-is-concrete-poetry/ [Accessed 21 January 2018]

Kress , G (2001) ‘You’ve Just Got to Learn How to See’: Curriculum Subjects, Young People and Schooled Engagement with the World. London : University of London

QCA. (2004) Creativity: Find it, Promote it. London: QCA Publications.

Concrete Poems

This week we were introduced to concept of concrete poems. Concrete poems involve objects which use words, letters, varying type faces, different colours and space to design and portray meaning of a poem. As Aube and Perloff (2017, p.2) state ‘Concrete poets experimented boldly with language, incorporating visuals, verbal, kinetic, and sonic elements.’ Therefore concrete poetry can really take any form or shape. Many examples can be seen at the exhibition at the Getty Research Institute 2017. Two of the main exhibitors that present here are the Scottish poet Ian Hamilton Finlay and the Brazilian poet Augusto de Campos. Concrete poems started round about the nineteen fifties where this poetry portrayed messages sometimes using acronyms, emojis and even single words. Here are some of my favourite pictures from this exhibition.

Cork/Net, Ian Hamilton Finlay. From The Blue and the Brown Poems (New York: Atlantic Richfield Company & Jargon Press, 1968). The Getty Research Institute, 2016.PR.36. By courtesy of the Estate of Ian Hamilton Finlay

This picture is an example of ‘wordplay’ where only a few words are used in a variety of ways and in this example using concentric circles with the words cork, net, ring, price, fish and Hamilton has produced the shape of a net cork which is used in fishing and it makes you think about where does the poem start or end?

Open (Abre), 1969, Augusto de Campos and Julio Plaza. From Poemobiles (São Paulo: Ed. de autor, 1974). The Getty Research Institute, 92-B21581. Courtesy Augusto de Campos / Courtesy Anabela Plaza

This concrete poem uses three dimensions where a pop up object is used to give a different dimension and perspective to the poetry of being open and closed because these are two of the main words used.

Holly Foster’s Concrete Poetry

In today’s workshop, I started to create a concrete poem using my evocative object from last week, which is my gran’s watch that I was left after she passed away. I wanted to portray a feeling of love but also sadness at the same time. I had a choice of wallpapers and I chose a white and red one to symbolise love with the red and white reminded me of emptiness and sadness. I found this task quite tricky as I don’t think of myself as very artistic or creative but we were reminded by Diarmuid that it was completely personal and there was no wrong way of doing it. This  reminded me that when I am teaching  I should provide the learners with many and varied opportunities to be creative. My role is to provide the materials as a starting point and be a guide for the children but let them lead the lesson in the way in which they intend. As Eisner (2002) and Harris (2016) agree that there are always several answers to the activity within the arts. Therefore pupils can feel more at ease, be willing to take more risks if they realise their answer is one of many and there is no right or wrong. This is a definite way of building self –esteem and confidence within children especially those who have a fear of answering in case of failure and it will encourage a growth mindset. Within the arts there are a lot more of opinions and ideas rather than having prescriptive rules. Therefore this would promote participation from all students and encourage them to be active learners.

Today’s workshop has given me a multitude of ideas that I could use in a classroom setting.  These lessons would focus around the listening and talking and the writing poetry outcomes as well as art from CfE.

References

The Getty Research Institute [Online] Available http://www.getty.edu/research/exhibitions_events/exhibitions/concrete_poetry/index.html [Accessed 21 January 2018]

Scottish Executive (2004) Curriculum for Excellence. Edinburgh

Eisner, E. (2002) The Arts and the Creation of Mind. chapter 4 10 Lessons Arts Teach. Virginia: Integrated Publishing Solutions.

Harris , A. (2016) Creativity and Education. London: Macmillan.

Aube, C and Perloff, N (2017) What Is Concrete Poetry?[Online] Available Blog posthttp://blogs.getty.edu/iris/what-is-concrete-poetry/ [Accessed 21 January 2018]

 Evocative Objects

“Evocative objects bring together…the inseparability of thought and feeling in our relationship to things.” Turkle, (2012, p5)

Today was the first session in the Expressive Arts and Culture module. I was really looking forward to it as I gained a lot of insight, information and enjoyment last year on the module to do with creativity and the expressive arts. I particularly enjoy music and playing the piano and therefore would consider myself to be quite creative and thus was looking forward to this session as my confidence has certainly grown.

During today’s input we were mainly looking at the potential of using evocative objects within a classroom setting to develop teaching and learning. We were asked to bring an object which was evocative to us personally and share as to why this was the object we chose. I was surprised at the variety of objects that were brought in. For example there was a picture of a wedding, a necklace that was given to the person at birth, sketch books where this person put down their feelings into the pad, a ring and a watch. Every object had a great significance to the person and had its own meaningful story behind it. Everyone had a strong connection to the object and I was impressed with how these objects produced emotive feelings from the individual and as Hesse, Doug, et al (2012, p325) agree that “Objects are rich sources of inquiry; they invite us to observe closely, pose questions, forge connections, and anchor ideas in the concrete.” There was a great deal of discussion around each object.

I brought in for my own evocative object my gran’s watch that I was left after she passed away last February. I have to admit I did find it very hard to talk about this watch as it brought back many happy memories of my gran but also it gave me a feeling of sadness as it reminded me of the times we had together  that I really miss now. I remember my gran wearing this watch often and I used to always tell her how much I loved it and although my gran is not here anymore when I wear this watch strangely it makes me feel closer to her as I try to focus and think about the happy times. Turkle, (2011, p5) puts it succinctly as she says, “We think with the objects we love; we love the objects we think with.” This certainly is the case with my gran’s watch as when I wear it I think about her and although it makes me sad I still have her memories and that is why I love wearing it. Turkle states further that these emotive objects provide ‘universal powers of evocation.’

Within the classroom setting evocative objects could provide many foundations for several lessons. The discussion alone that would be provided from a classroom of children would develop the HOT skills (Higher Order Thinking) as the children would discuss the what, when, how, where, analysing, applying, evaluating and this would enhance their critical thinking through the use of Blooms Taxonomy Skills (1956).

As the objects are very evocative it would be a super way to provide inspirations for pieces of writing from the learners. They could write a poem or a personal piece of writing on their emotions and how the object makes them feel. Furthermore this could  be transferred over into a piece of art and the children could make, draw or design something related to their object. This would be hopefully straight forward for each child as they would all have their own individual objects and therefore have their own specific starting points and could take their creativity in any direction that they wanted. As Cone (2011, p. 89) suggests that children should be ‘creators of their own ideas’ and as teachers this ‘is one of the most powerful lessons we can teach.’

Using evocative objects within the classroom could be used right from primary one though to primary seven as even in the primary one class when I was on work experience I remember the children bringing in an object that was special to them to show at their ‘Show and Ask’ sessions. The differentiation could be shown as children in middle school could prepare short presentations for their peers on their evocative objects and as the children move into upper school some of the ideas I have mentioned in the previous paragraph to do with personal writing and art could be completed.

We finished off the session today using pipe cleaners and we were asked to be creative and make whatever we wanted. I did find this a lot harder as I wasn’t sure where to start whereas with the evocative object I did have a starting point that I felt comfortable with but as a teacher I realise that ‘Creativity is something that is nurtured,’ Harris (2016, p.55) and as a teacher I need to provide many and varied opportunities for the children to be creative.

References

Bloom,B. S.; Engelhart, M D.; Furst, E. J.’ Hill, W. H.; Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. New York: David McKay Company.

Cone, T. (2011) Following Their Lead: Supporting Children’s Ideas for Creating Dances. London: Routledge.

Harris , A. (2016) Creativity and Education. London: Macmillan.

Hesse, Doug, et al. (2012) Reflective on Teaching, Learning and Living in Between.” College English, vol. 74, no. 4, 2012, pp. 325–350.

Turkle, S. (2011). Evocative objects 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Integrated arts serial day tasks Task 1 – Observing the learning environment. Within the school there are lots of displays throughout the classrooms and along the corridors of children’s creativity and imagination flowing through their work. This is very encouraging to see as it shows that in expressive arts is given a significant amount of time as well as academic subjects such as literacy and numeracy.

Many of the displays show a direct link to IDL and cross-curricular work. For example there were Autumn, Harvest, Viking, Circus and Egyptian displays to mention a few. In the gym hall there are Christmas displays going up for the hall to be decorated for the Christmas party. I have included some pictures below showing the varying displays.

Furthermore several classes have displays of photographs showing what the children have been doing. There are pictures of dance competitions, trips to Arran, mini beats hunts and outings. These pictures also have the children’s voice within them and ‘comic life’ is used from the computer to display them.

There is also ICT work displays for example symmetrical pictures, Christmas trees using the pages document, and clown faces which were all created on the computer. There were both 3D and 2D shape pictures. The 3D shapes had been made from paper nets and they were on the wall. Furthermore outside the primary two class there were 3 dimensional paper mache faces.

There are many labels in the form of speech bubbles explaining what the children have said about their work. Also the teachers put up the experience and outcomes beside some of the work.

The displays show that the children have a range of materials/media to work from such as paper A3 and A4, card, plain paper and paper mache. This is also very encouraging as it shows that the children are not being forced to follow a set of guidelines and that they can let their creativity flow in their own direction with the teacher being there as a facilitator.

Task 2 – Observing learning

Art Lesson

Learning Intention – Pupils will be able to create and design a Christmas card for a school competition.

Success Criteria –I can create a Christmas design

I can choose appropriate material.

I can create images and objects relating to Christmas using a variety of media.

This was a one off art lesson, where the children had an hour and a half to create a Christmas card for a school art competition.

The children were given a variety of resources: card, coloured paper, tissue paper, glue, felt tip pens, coloured pens, crayons, paint, sticky shapes, stars, glitter and small Christmas stencils.

The teacher used the smart board to show the children a sample of Christmas cards. There was then a discussion about what was effective and what wouldn’t be appropriate to put on the card.

The children decided on their own design and what media was the most appropriate for their card. Differentiation was shown by the teacher’s input as some children needed help to get started. It was an individual task.

Reflections

1. Resources were well organised and laid out before the lesson, this allowed the lesson to run smoothly and the children could start straight away. This shows that organisation is key.

2. The learning intentions and success criteria were discussed with the teacher and the children. The children came up with the success criteria and therefore it was relevant and the children fully understood what was expected to be successful.

3. I was impressed with the resulting Christmas cards. Most of the children managed to complete the card in the time frame given. They were very creative and the teacher was there as a guide and support.

Music lesson

Learning Intention – Pupils will be able to create a piece of music in groups relating to the theme of Hallowe’en

Success Criteria – I can choose and identify appropriate instruments that sound/relate to specific Hallowe’en words.

I can follow a music grid.

I can work in a group effectively.

This lesson was the second lesson on music grids. The children were doing a mini IDL topic on Hallowe’en. The children had to choose and identify instruments that they could use in their group for the words: fright, creepy, skeleton and witch. Once the instruments had been chosen the children had to work in a group and decide on the picture for the word and put the pictures on a music grid, practise and be ready to perform in front of peers.

Resources: Paper, pencils, rules, large range of instruments available in the music room.

The teacher discussed and demonstrated how to use a very simple music grid. The children had used music grids the year before and so had an idea of what to do.

The groups were mixed ability music groups, where some children were very confident using musical instruments and others were not.

Reflections

1. The teacher was well organised and knew exactly where the lesson was going and explained clearly to the children what was expected. Again the teacher and the children decided together on the success criteria thus ensuring all children knew what to do, the role they had to play and how to be successful.

2. The children were fully engaged with this task due to it relating to Hallowe’en the children were very enthusiastic about it. This shows the importance of IDL throughout the arts, as the lesson becomes meaningful to the children.

3. The children presented their music grid to their peers. They explained why they choose which instruments and then gave a performance using their grids to the class. Their peers provided feedback which was very positive and constructive. I think this was an excellent way for the children to present what they had been working on as they felt a sense of pride being able to show others their creative Hallowe’en music.

Dance

Today’s dance lesson showed us that the teacher’s role is to be there to create opportunities and experiences so the children can develop their dance and thus their creativity which will enable the children’s ideas to flourish. As Crone (2011, p.18) emphasises ‘The vision of the dance belongs to the child.’ It was made clear  through the activities that we as teachers who tend to want to be in control of the lesson, need to be there as a facilitator and a guide to help the children lead the dance to where they want to take it. Crone (2011) further goes on to state that we as teachers are there to help the children but without taking over the activity or dance. Subsequently, using stimuli, for example christmas visual aids  gives the children an idea  of where to start  and it was a good way to make the dance relevant and hopefully foster an interest from the children. A starting point was created for us the students but then we took the dance in our own direction.

In the dance workshop this week, Zara set us the challenge to come up with a range of different activities to lead the class as if it was our own primary class. Some of the challenges were: warm ups/stretches, Christmas themed games, Christmas themed visual stimuli and 10 core skills. We were split into groups of about five where  we presented our ideas to the class. The first group had the warm up games where we played reindeer tig relating the game to Christmas making it interesting and hopefully spark enthusiasm from the learners. This is a good way of using interdisciplinary learning (IDL) to capture the children’s interest and keep the dance meaningful and relevant to the learner’s life. As Harris (2016) points out there is an important place for IDL within the curriculum and in particular the expressive arts and he agrees that this is the way to make lessons more meaningful. The next group then presented their stretches and stretched from our head to our chest. As a teacher I must make sure that the learners realise the importance of warming up the muscles is vital and something that must be carried out at the start of an active lesson. Again this proves the importance of IDL and it relates to the science experiences and outcomes SCN 2-12a ‘By investigating some body systems and potential problems… I can make informed decisions to help me to maintain my health and wellbeing.’ Scottish Executive (2004, p.270). Then we looked at the 10 core skills relating to dance. Finally the visual stimuli activity which was then my group’s task. We drew pictures of a present, christmas tree, fire place, elf and stocking then, we split the class into five groups and gave a picture to each group for them to make up a gesture or dance move relating to that picture. This would be the stimuli that was discussed in the afore mentioned paragraph. I thought this was an excellent idea to get everyone involved and it was very enjoyable as the Scottish Executive (2004, p.63) dance provides the children many varying ‘rich opportunities to be creative and to experience inspiration and enjoyment.’  I hopefully would be able to bring inspiration to the learners that I would be teaching both on placement and throughout my teaching career using dance and I now feel I have s pleathera of ideas to use .

Drama

The final part of or workshop today was the micro teaching lessons. There were three groups presenting today and my group was one of them.

• Group one (Gruffalo)
• Group two (Money Scenario)
• Group three (Three Little Pigs)

Our group was group  ‘The Three Little Pigs.’ For our lesson we used the drama conventions: Voice in the head, Hot seating, Flashback and Teacher in role. For the voice in the head we asked the groups to come up with a presentation where one of the characters would step out of the scene and explain their feelings about the situation. We gave the groups 2 minutes to come up with this. After this, we did hot seating with the class, asking them to chose a wolf to sit on the hot seat  question him about his role within the story, interrogating him as to why he is causing so much terror to the pigs. The flashback convention was a very well executed aspect of our teaching where the class were given a time frame of 2 minutes to come up with a scenario that happened before the houses were blown down, either from the pigs or the wolf’s point of view. Fleming (2012) asserts that children who would not normally experience these situations in life but by using this drama convention they can take on the role of someone else’s situation and for a short period can experience this. This would hopefully allow the child to grasp a small understanding of what people feel and think about possible outcomes and consequences from situations. Hopefully this would develop an understanding and compassion of why things happen. This would be good to use in the class for situations such as bullying, loneliness and fear to mention but a few. Finally the teacher in role which was also very effective as the teacher in role stayed in character the whole time and made it engaging for the students to be involved with.

I am now becoming more confident in presenting to my peers as at the start of this module this was a daunting thought however, this module has rekindled my self-esteem and now I would be confident to teach this in my class.

References

Cone, T. (2011) Following Their Lead: Supporting Children’s Ideas for Creating Dances. London: Routledge.

Fleming, M. (2012) The Arts in Education: An introduction to aesthetics, theory and pedagogy. London: Routledge.

Scottish Executive, (2004) CfE – Curriculum For Excellence, Literacy Across Learning. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive.

Art

Today was different from a normal visual arts workshop. In this workshop we listened to everyone in the class tell of their experience of the arts while on placement. This was an interesting way to hear how art can be taught in school and the variety of different ways was quite amazing. However some students had experienced no arts while on placement due to reasons such as time constraints or it was not the day for arts as at the moment we are only in for one set day.

While on placement I have seen an art lesson on designing a Christmas card for a competition. The children were told to draw a Christmas scene of their choice such as a Christmas tress, snow, santa, presents and they were given a variety of materials: pens, pencils, tissue paper, cotton wool, glue etc. The children could decorate and design this however they wanted to letting their creative side flow through.

The discussion on art also gave me an understanding that giving children a template is no way to encourage creativity. It limits the children in what they can achieve. It does not allow for individual expression.

I gained a great deal from the discussion today as I have come away with a few ideas that I could use as ideas for arts’ lessons whilst on placement.

As Harris (2016) recognises  there is a significant place for more integrated arts relating to other curricular areas and topics within the programme of the arts and points out that this is a good way of integrating and linking the arts by making the lessons meaningful. I have seen  this on placement as  interdisciplinary art work relating to bonfire night was done where the children were finishing off fire picture using tissue paper, shiny paper and chalk. They were very effective and amazingly all showed the children’s individual creative side, as Cone (2011, p.89) emphasises that children’s creative side should be allowed to flourish and they should be given every available chance to be ‘creators of their own ideas’ and as a teacher this ‘is one of the most powerful lessons we can teach.’

Music

Today in the music workshop we were learning  to follow rhythms and pulse and we used drum sticks to help. The syllables of the words were the number of beats that we were to tap out for example cir-cle to show this shape would has two half beats relating to a quaver  and square had one beat relating to a crotchet. This was a very interactive, simple and fun way of learning the beats within music. I can see this would be a good starter activity for the children to introduce them to musical notation then leading onto words with more syllables making it more challenging for the children before then introducing them to the proper musical notation of crotchets and quavers etc.

We then moved on to use the glockenspiels and played simple tunes such as ‘Hot Crossed Buns’ and used proper musical notations to do so. We worked on the first 5 notes of the chromatic scale; C,D,E,F,G. I felt quite confident in this as I play the piano and know the notes and rhythms so was able to pick this up straight away. Then we moved on to slightly more difficult pieces that were faster and pitched differently. As Hallam (2010, p.281) states that through music there are many ‘opportunities to be able to co-ordinate rhythmically also seem important for the acquisition of literacy skills.’ Therefore learning to play an instrument also develops a child’s co-ordinationand fine motor skills, there are many other benefits for example phonological  awareness and this was evident today when we had to work out how may syllables were in a word (ibid.).

I would certainly use this type of presentation in my own practice as a teacher. It would take time to build up to reading music notation but over the  several weeks and months  I’m sure the children would manage with encouragement and praise and those who struggled could work on the syllablic words for longer thus showing differentiation. I am sure the children would gain get a sense of pride from being able to play even a simple tune as I did.

References

Cone, T. (2011) Following Their Lead: Supporting Children’s Ideas for Creating Dances. London: Routledge.

Hallam, S (2010) International Journal of Music Education The power of music: Its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people [Online] Available http://ijm.sagepub.com/content/28/3/269 [Accessed 14 November 2017] Sage

Music

Today’s workshop was not of the ordinary as we had a primary 6/7 class from Greenmill Primary School in to teach us how to play instruments such as the cello, violin, double bass and viola. I was paired with a pupil who was learning to play the cello. This took me back to my primary school days as I used to play the cello in school. I did enjoy learning to play the instrument however I didn’t continue to play as I started to learn the piano and still play the piano and go to lessons today. We started off by playing simple games to get us used to holding the instrument and then continued on with activities to learn the notes. I was surprised  how I had forgotten the notes however once  we were playing the games  it quickly came back to me and it refreshed my mind of what the notes were. The pupil also showed me how to hold the bow correctly and used his technique of our fingers looking like a rabbit when holding the bow to make it easier.

At Greenmill Primary the whole of the Primary 6/7 class get a weekly lesson on string instruments. This allows every child to be included and not feel left out, even if they have no experience of playing any instrument. I thought this was very impressive as when I was at school there was a handful of children allowed to learn an instrument and it wasn’t available for everyone. The importance of a child learning a musical instrument benefits other areas of their learning as Bloomfield (2000, p.77) states ‘providing children with access to a broad spectrum of instruments will extent their aural vocabulary and foster the thrill of sound, especially through sound combinations.’ From the music workshop I now see the significance of learning from music for the learner. We leaned that music  can develop literacy, numeracy, intellectual development, creativity,social and personal skills,and health and well being. Furthermore learning to play an instrument obviously develops a child’s confident and self-esteem as this was evident today as the P6/7 class were extremely happy and confident to show us their skills. The children therefore will develop the main outcomes from Curriculum for Excellence of being successful learners, confident individuals and effective contributors through learning an instrument,( Scottish Executive, 2004).

Drama

Today’s drama workshop reinforced the point that the teacher needs to be able to show her own creative side and show that they are willing to take risks and step out to the unknown. A teacher needs to be confident when it comes to drama and show her willingness to participate and lead by example. As QCA (2004, p.56) states that  ‘Creative risk taking means putting your money where your educational mouth is.’ Furthermore drama participation is key as Baldwin (2009) points out it is always good for the teacher to join in with the drama and experience it first hand as this will provide a better understanding for both the students and the teacher. Children need to be encouraged to take risks and know that it is acceptable to make mistakes therefore hopefully making drama a subject that all children are willing to participate in as the fear of failure is put aside as there is not one correct answer. As teachers we need to reinforce the idea that we are not looking for drama experts that make no mistakes rather children who are willing to participate and take risks.

This week in drama we looked at micro teaching. We had  groups of  about 4 or 5 and  had to create our own lesson plans that involved a story of our choosing. Our lesson was to be around 2o minuets and had to include several drama conventions. Each team member had to be involved and participate.

This emphasised to me the importance of working as a team player. We developed skills of team work, organisation, research, listening to others, accepting that your own ideas aren’t the only viable ones. Furthermore we had a set time to prepare and therefore we were working under a time constraint. We chose the book  ‘The 3 Little Pigs,’  and we will present our micro teaching in two weeks time. It was good to work as a team and bounce ideas off of each other. Hopefully our micro teaching input will go well.

This week several other groups presented to us. I found it very enlightening to see the variety and scope of ideas that the other groups came up with in a short period of time. It has made me very aware of the amount of drama that can be used throughout different areas of the curriculum and in particular literacy as each group used a different book. Drama is one way of exploring imagination and entering into the story of a book. The class novel or a book that the children have been reading for fun or as a class would be an excellent way of including this in an arts lesson within the classroom. I think the children would find it very engaging and a fun way to develop their creative, drama and literacy skills.

I can’t say I’m looking forward to presenting in two weeks, however my confidence is gradually growing and presenting in front of my peers isn’t such a daunting task. I have learned a lot from my peers this week and this proves  that children can learn from each other and it doesn’t always have to be from the teacher.

References

Baldwin, P. (2009) School Improvement Through Drama A Creative whole class, whole school approach Network Continuum

Bloomfield, A. (2000) Teaching Integrated Arts in the Primary School. Oxon: David Fulton

QCA. (2004) Creativity: Find it, Promote it. London: QCA Publications.

Scottish Executive (2004) Curriculum for Excellence. Edinburgh