Music

Today’s first workshop was music. This week’s workshop was all about how using our voice in the classroom is an obvious essential part of teaching and therefore taking care of our voice is crucial in being an effective teacher. At the start of the class, Julie got us on our feet to do some vocal warmups, such as holding our breath for a duration of time and letting our breath out after. One of the warm ups we all put our hands on our rib cages to feel what happens when we breath in and out and how it changes when we do this. I  thought that this would be a good exercise in a class to contextualise the learning and relate it to using the organs in our body and how they work. Julie also showed us a very useful website called ChoonBaboon. This website showed us various range of various to warm up our vocals and our face muscles in order to use our voices.

This would be a fun way in order to warm up the children’s voices. I would definitely use this and other similar songs to introduce a music lesson with younger learners. It would be good way to introduce the lesson and get them focussed. As Fleming (2012, p 19) suggests the arts can ‘enthral, move, enlighten, inform, inspire, amuse, challenge, entertain or provoke.’ I would certainly agree that using these warm up activities above they did enthral, inspire, amuse, entertain and challenge me proving that the arts have many values.

Next we considered using the theme of fireworks to give a real life context for learning within music. As in the integrated arts as we have seen time and time again, they connect to other subject areas to form a creative process. Hallen (2010). First of all we were given a choice of instruments that would make a noise similar to bang, boom, pop, crackle and hiss. There was a grid up and we used pictures to represent the sounds and as a class we then played with a conductor leading us and directing us of when to play our instruments. This activity was so much fun and very simple. I think this could be used in lots of different stages in the school and I would differentiate the amount of instruments, how many beats could be used and the length of the notes within each stage and also in each class to provide challenge. There was a lot of trial and error, a lot of chatting about what worked together and what didn’t and how it could be improved. Therefore music certainly extends the children’s language and discussion skills using Blooms Taxonomy higher thinking skills of analysing, evaluating and creating. Furthermore Fleming (2012, p18) comments that the integrated arts ‘push the limits of language.’

Drama

The second workshop was drama. I am still growing more confident in my self esteem and performing in front of an audience. The focus this week was on Hallowe’en to contextualise the learning. The main drama conventions we looked at were;

• flash forward/ flash backwards
• narration
• slow motion

We started the session by being shown an old abandoned house in the local area, giving this a sense of reality. We were told the house was up for sale but there were rumours that it was haunted due to an incident that happened years ago. Andrew set the scene as he was the teacher in role and we had to act out a scene for an overnight stay at the house. We the used flash back / flash forward techniques to reflect and discuss past and future events. This would give the learners an opportunity to discuss the consequences of certain actions of possible past and future events. The narration gives the children a focus and a reason as to why such events are happening and gives time to understand what and why this is the case. I particularly enjoyed the slow motion as it gave me a chance to reflect and think about the situation and how I was reacting. This could be easily transferred  to the classroom situation if there was a problem in class and something needed discussed this would be a good way for the class to reflect on it by becoming part of it. Therefore it is as if the children are ‘Living through the given circumstance of the imagined situation as if these events were actually occurring to them.’ Neeldans, (2000, p3) And I would agree as I felt connected to the situation of the haunted house and had a better understanding of what was happening because I was taking part in it.  I feel I now have a wide range of drama conventions from this week and last week that I would be happy to include in my lesson as a trainee teacher.

Finally I was made very aware about the importance of the teacher’s voice. A teacher uses her voice constantly in the classroom be it to teach, direct, manage, sing , encourage or feed back. ‘The voice is essential to the teacher’s career.’ GTC (n.d, p6)  We considered different ways of getting the class to pay attention without having to raise my voice. It was suggested repeat clapping, repeat singing, raising hand and waiting for silence, saying rhyme or standing and waiting. I have noticed on my work experience that the teachers who are the loudest have the noisiest classes and the opposite is also true. Therefore as a trainee teacher I must try and find ways of managing the class without shouting and becoming an effective teacher.’ There is a lot of evidence in the teaching profession of voice problems and  teachers being at ‘risk of developing voice problems is complex,’ GTC (n.d, p6). Therefore I will need to protect my voice and not overuse it within the classroom setting and if I start this now as a trainee teacher hopefully my voice will last the duration of my teaching career without too many problems.

References

GTCS (n.d) Voice and the Teaching Profession [online] Available: http://www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/FormUploads/voice-and-the-teaching-profession1652_214.pdf [Accessed: 6th November 2017]

Hallam, S (2010) The power of music: It’s impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people, International Journal of Music Education [Online] pp.269-289. Available: http://ijm.sage.pub.com/content/28/3/269 [Accessed: 29 October 2017]

Neelands, J. (2000) In the Hands of Living People. [Online] paper presented at : The National Drama Conference. York, UK, April, 2000 Available:  http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/109425/mod_resource/content/2/T2%20Neelands.pdf

Dance

Today’s workshop included both dance and drama. I didn’t feel nervous or apprehensive about the classes this week due to enjoying them last week and feeling that my self esteem and confidence had been boosted. I would hope that this would be the same with children that as we progress through drama and dance that they would become more confident and look forward to and enjoy these integrated art activities.

The first session was dance and Zara emphasised the importance of having a warmup activity to prepare your body for the session ahead, build up stamina and confidence. Today’s theme was Hallowe’en and we played zombie tig to tie in with this theme. Then we consolidated our dance from last week by practising it to remind ourselves of it and then we built onto it. Children need to have the basic moves of dance before moving on to the routine. Bloomfield (2000, p57)   This week Zara was being a facilitator and allowed us the opportunity to create our own dances. She was there to offer support and as Crone, (2011, p81) states that ‘Educators must be able to offer support with out undue interference,’ and she goes onto say that ‘The vision of the dance belongs to the children.’ Therefore as a teacher I must take this on board and realise the significance of being a guide and not dominating the children’s ideas and letting their own creative instincts be reflected.

In our groups we had to create another ten moves from the numbers zero to nine. Numeracy was incorporated here as we used one of our phone numbers to create an extra sequence for our routine. Also you could ask the children 4+3 = and then to answer the children have to do that specific dance move. Therefore again encouraging learning across the curriculum and using numeracy in a meaningful way. Next we were given Hallowe’en symbols; ghost, zombie and this was another way of extending our dance in a creative way relating back to this week’s theme. Then we performed our group dance for our peers this gave us an opportunity to show off our work and take pride in it therefore building our self esteem and confidence to perform in front of others. A worthwhile activity  in the classroom could be that each group  comments on what they liked about the routine and if anything could be improved thus developing the listening and talking outcomes and the dance outcome ‘I can respond to the experience of dance by discussing my thoughts and feelings. I can give and accept constructive comment on my own and others’ work. EXA 0-11a – EXA 2-11a’ (Scottish Executive 2004 p64).

Drama

Today in drama we looked into ‘Falling into Stories’, where we analysed the character of a brother and a sister with two completely different personalities.  The brother was a very outgoing, risk taking person who didn’t follow the rules however his sister was a more anxious, careful girl who didn’t like the idea of stepping into the unknown and preferred to stick to places and surroundings  that she was familiar with and so their personalities clashed. The brother was always pushing the girl to do things she was uncomfortable with. Our activity was to draw round the outline of the characters  this is known as ‘role on the wall’ Booth (2005), and we wrote down their characteristics and words to describe how the character felt about themselves. This gave me a good insight into how someone else feels, I could put my feet into their shoes for a short time. We then discussed why their personalities clashed and why they were so different. I feel I could use this activity especially if there was an issue with bullying or fall outs or specific problems at home. It would give me as the teacher an insight into how some of the children may be feeling.

After this we acted out in our groups the story, where I was the girl and in the middle of acting it out we paused to hear the thoughts and feelings of the characters and how they were making each other feel. Therefore this would give children an opportunity to say how they feel possible about a real situation that they have been involved in and maybe even provide solutions that they had never even thought of it provides opportunities to express outwardly internal feelings. We went back to our original drawings to see if any of the feelings had changed after the activities. Hopefully they would have in a class situation.

Finally we looked at the relationship drama has with literacy in particular to stories. This is an excellent way of developing a novel and getting into the roles of the characters and this would be very beneficial in class  and could be used through interdisciplinary learning and within many other areas across the curriculum.

Today we looked at;

• freeze frames
• improvisation
• thought tunnels
• hot seating
• characterisation
• vox pot
• mime
• voice in the head
• role on the wall
• teacher in role

From today I have learned that it is important that the teacher should take a backseat and be there as a support. I must remember once I have created an activity I must let the children’s creativity and own ideas take over. I feel that I am becoming more confident myself at drama and performing in front of my peers, my self confidence is building and I feel I would be confident teaching drama within a classroom. I would be able to relate to the children who are insecure about dance and drama as I have been in their shoes because of my nervousness. Also using various stimuli is a good way to start a lesson be it a story or symbols like we used in our sessions today.

‘Offering children the opportunity to discover how they can be creators of their own ideas is one of the most powerful lessons we can teach.’ Crone (2011, p89)

References

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

Booth, D (2005) Story Drama: Creating Stories Through Role Play, Improvising, Reading aloud, 2nd ed. Canada: Stenhouse Publishers

Cone (2009). Following their Lead: Supporting Children’s Ideas for Creating Dance. [online] Available:  http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/109357/mod_resource/content/1/Purcell%20Cone%20%282011%29.pdf. [Accessed: 4 November 2017]

Dance

As this was our first week of dance, I was very nervous and apprehensive about starting this part of the module, as I would not consider myself to be a very skillful dancer or very confident performing in front of others. However as the workshop went on I found myself to be relaxing and enjoying  it. I was putting a lot of energy and effort into the tasks we were given. During the class we were shown several interactive dance games and starter tasks which I found very useful as I will be able to use these within the classroom/ gym hall setting when I become a teacher. Some of the tasks were icebreakers to ease the class into dancing and build confidence and therefore would be good to use in a  if children felt uneasy about dancing like I did. We played tig and movement activites relating to Scotland which would tie in with a class project on this. Thus giving the dance activity meaning and a context for learning . Furthermore it would deepen the children’s understanding of Scotland and hopefully be a meaningful way of learning . The dance activites could relate to the  interdisciplinary learning (IDL) project the class were working on, a the class novel, or any situation that needed dealt with from a social side to include everyone. In addition we played ‘follow the leader ‘ with a difference, whenever the music changed the leader had to change the dance moves which we had to follow.

One of the tasks was to split into groups of about five and draw round the body of the smallest person in the group. After we had drawn around the person we were to mark and label several different muscles, bones and organs to make us think about the different parts of the body we were using through our dance session. I felt that this was an excellent task to use in the classroom because it links learning to other areas of the curriculum . In particular here to science and health and well being outcomes about the skeleton and body parts. Here you could easily assess the children’s understanding of body parts and decide what needs reinforced within the next lesson .  There are many experiences and outcomes that would related here- ‘ I am developing my understanding of the human body and can use this knowledge to maintain and improve my well being and health.  HWB 0-15a – HWB 2-15a’ (Scottish Executive 2004 pg 82).

Furthermore this activity could be used by providing printed labels for the children to use and differentiation could be shown by children writing their own labels or researching the body parts and their functions. This shows that dance has an extremely creative side and can link to many other areas across the curriculum providing relevance and context to learning.

The picture shown is the finished task from my group of drawing round the body and filling it in with names of muscles, bones and organs.

To finish we used a variety of rich movement related vocabulary  and we had to produce movements relating to the words . For example slide, balance, twist and reach to name a few. We then collated all of this into a group dance where we worked collaboratively as a group . This was a super way of bonding and working together and it could be used as an assessment tool  to look for rhythm , collaboration and creativeness. In the second level the Outcome and Experience from Dance is ‘I can explore and choose movements to create and present dance, developing my skills and techniques. EXA 2-08’  (Scottish Executive 2004 p 63). These skills would be covered in the previously discussed activites.

Music

Our second workshop of the day was the theory aspect to music and looking at making lesson plans on how we as trainee teachers could bring music into varying aspects of the children’s learning such as literacy, maths or relate music to the IDL project the class are working on and various other curricular areas. Within the theory aspect of music we looked at music notation, durations of notes, melodies, tone and pitch of the music. We looked at many varying aspects of music such as using the voice, instruments, technology, composing pieces of music and the mood that music can create. Music is also a way of children unwinding and using the instruments as a form of escapism, letting themselves get lost in the music.

During the lesson we looked at a paper called “The Power of Music: its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people” by Susan Hallam. This paper revealed to me that music in the classroom is an essential part to a child’s learning. From an early age music has benefits to a child’s learning especially in phonological skills and thus develops better reading skills as suggested by Hallam, 2010. Whilst on work experience I remember the teacher clapping out the rhythms of the syllables within words and in particular the class clapped out their names and this helped the children to sound out their phonics words and identify syllables within these words thus enhancing their reading skills. In addition Hallam suggests from studies that numeracy skills are enhanced by active participation in music especially reasoning. Therefore engagement with music in childhood has several benefits to the children’s learning and in other areas of the curriculum. Music is an excellent way of developing these learning skills.

My group chose to look at how to access religion through music. Our group came up with several ideas. Within, for example Christianity, the children could learn different types of hymns and listen to various all male, gospel, rock band choirs / groups from different churches or extend it to other religions.  They could listen to church organs, or create simple verses to their own songs about – Diwali, Christmas or any religious festival . Possibly arranging a trip to several different religious buildings in the area. The music could be used as a stimulus for discussion on how it makes you feel . In churches quite often it is calming or makes you feel reflective which could lead on to discussions about the mood of music and how to create this possibly in groups. I was quite surprised with how many ideas we came up with to use music as a basis for many types of learning across the curriculum.

From today’s workshops I have discovered that with both dance and music there are many opportunities for contextualised learning across the curriculum. This makes learning for the children real and therefore engaging. One off stand alone lesson also have their place but I see the significant value of linking the lessons to other curricular areas.

References

Hallam, S (2010) The power of music: It’s impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people, International Journal of Music Education [Online] pp.269-289. Available: http://ijm.sage.pub.com/content/28/3/269 [Accessed: 29 October 2017]

Scottish Executive, (2004). Curriculum for Excellence [Online] Available: https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf [Accessed: 2 November 2017]

Visual Arts

This week we continued  using the painting by Avril Patons called “Windows of the West.” In week 4 we  made several prints of a section of the painting and this week we were to choose the print with the most detailing and make a copy of this print on to white A4 paper. The print was in the middle of the paper and we  had to extend the drawing with pen in whichever way we wanted. I choose to add to the features that the original painting had and once I had completed that I put some of my own features and details into the drawing too. I think this would be a very beneficial activity to use in the classroom as it gives children a basis to start with. The children could let their imaginations go as far as they wanted by adding on to the picture and being creative. ‘Sustaining high levels or curiosity is the starting point of creativity.’ Csiksgentmihalyi, (1996, p.1). Thus reinforcing the idea that there is not one correct was to complete the drawing . The children could let their inquiring minds and their fantasy ideas complete the drawings. In contrast for the children who are apprehensive about drawing this idea gives them a good starting place and they can copy and continue the ideas already or let their confidence unfold and be creative whichever they feel safe and happier with . Although it is always good to encourage children to take risks as with an ‘open growth mindset.’

As some people finished this work before others we were handed out a whole range of  books, from colouring in shapes and making your own drawing to colouring in more detailed pictures. These books were a stimulus to creativity and imagination and some of the books had very limited guidelines therefore allowing the children to finish the picture using their own ideas as a guide . There was a small drawing to use as a staring point and a short sentence to focus the children’s thinking. Each child could use their own  judgement on what the sentence meant but it doesn’t stop their creativity as it is just a starting point and may give children who struggle with ideas a great place to begin . For example one picture as seen below was of a boy chasing something. It could be anything from chasing  his dog to chasing a skeleton from the graveyard. It would possibly depend on what the children were reading , the IDL or what the class had been previously discussing . As a teacher I need to be aware of having the correct resources and stimuli because as  Csiksgentmihalyi, (1996, p.1) states ‘Resources are crucial for creativity to develop.’ In contrast however he goes onto say that over the top resources can be detrimental to creativity. Therefore as a teacher I will need to spend time getting the right resources that are suitable for the stage and age of the children in my class.

Books such as this one shown in the picture are an excellent  way for the children who aren’t as confident in other subjects such as maths to put their energy and skills  into completing the drawings using their imagination with a little guidance given to assist  as their is no wrong answer whereas in maths there is. This is also a good way for the children to relax and calm down as I personally love to draw and doodle as a way to unwind .

Music

Throughout this week’s music workshop we were using an application called ‘garage band.’ This app allows children to create their own pieces of music and express themselves through it. I think it is an amazing way to engage children with music and if I have the opportunity on placement I will definitely use it.

GarageBand is a digital recording tool with your own studio, and are able to create music using multiple instruments, voices, noises, percussion etc. It is very straight forward to use. The children have to assess which music they will use to create the mood or feeling for the music. There is a lot of trial and error however the children are always proud of the piece they have constructed as I was in the workshop and I found on work experience.  This is an example where digital technology enhances learning in the classroom.

I found this to be a very exciting and interesting way  to create music. Whilst on work experience I had the opportunity of working with a primary six class of children who thoroughly  enjoyed GarageBand.  They  got a real sense of satisfaction from using it and were extremely keen to let me hear their final pieces of music . For children who are less confident or don’t play any instruments  this is a good way for them to be creative and use the sounds of the instruments to create a song or piece of music . Furthermore the class also created adverts and had to use GarageBand to produce a jingle, I was so impressed with the way the children worked together to make the jingle and it had to fit in with the time scale. ‘I can use my voice, musical instruments and music technology to experiment with sounds, pitch, melody, rhythm, timbre and dynamics. EXA 2-17a’ (Scottish Executive, 2004 p67).

From today’s workshop  I now recognise that there are many opportunities for children to develop their musical and artistic creativity. Even for those who struggle to enjoy and participate in music lessons due to their lack of confidence, I think that the GarageBand is an excellent digital way for including all children and it provides them with an opportunity to be imaginative, creative and produce a piece of music that they can be proud of, that would be accepted in today’s generation. With art having a stimulus at the beginning of the lesson is a great way to start the lesson but also allows the children to go off into their own direction with their own ideas and imagination as there is not one right answer. As a trainee teacher I now have many rich ideas that I could use in class.

References

Csiksgentmihalyi, M. (2013) Creativity Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. Harper Colins

Scottish Executive, (2004). Curriculum for Excellence [Online] Available: https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf [Accessed: 2 November 2017]

Art

During today’s lecture and input on integrated arts we looked into the visual arts and in particular a painting by Avril Paton – Window’s in the West (1993). I discovered this painting was bought for the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art and is now being displayed at the Kelvingrove Art and Gallery Museum. The painting took 6 months to complete and was completed using watercolours. I was amazed at the length of time to complete this painting and I now recognise art can take time and should not be rushed.

In this lecture we looked at how we could link literacy with art in the classroom. A painting could be a stimulus for a piece of imaginative writing ; How does it make you feel? What does it make you think of ? Where does it take you in your imagination?  Therefore the children could respond to the painting through listening and talking skills and writing. It creates a good starting point for imagination and creativity especially for those children who struggle to come up with a starting idea. Each idea is worthwhile and all ideas are considered and valued no ideas would be dismissed. It is a super problem solving activity where everyone’s ideas have to be taken into consideration as there is not only one right answer.

In the first part of the seminar we were given polystyrene boards to trace one section of the painting in great detail onto and used this to make several prints. I’m not confident at art but I found this task very straightforward and felt comfortable doing it and I was delighted with the result.  Not all children are confident at art as I have witnessed on placement , “I can’t draw,’ and ‘ I’m rubbish at art.” This activity would build the confidence of children who feel this way.

After drawing out the painting we put a layer of paint over the top and pressed it onto a sheet of A4 coloured paper to make a print.

We continued to do this, putting different colours of paint over the top and using to make prints. Several prints can be made so the child’s ideas can be changed throughout the process and each time they can enhance their idea and this is an opportunity to make something original and therefore the child can be proud and satisfied with their achievement due to having improved on their print every time.

As a teacher in training, I understand that it is important to link art with subjects such as literacy, and this task does it perfectly. The children could draw a picture of the main scene in a novel or  be creative and draw characters from the class novel or trace from the reading book and this printing technique could be a way of expressing that picture. The ‘Tallis Pedagogy Wheel’ shows  that it is important for the children to be imaginative and creative in their work and to be able to work in the state of the unknown. Furthermore the Tallis Wheel suggests ideas of ‘imagine new solutions to problems, link multiple ideas together, trust their instincts. ‘ All these ideas could be developed by having a stimulus starting point.

Overall I feel that this week’s input was very beneficial as it has given me a task I could use in a classroom to help connect the visual arts with many varying subjects especially through inter disciplinary learning projects. It has also shown me the need to be organised and have all the resources needed to hand.

Drama

As this was our first session in drama I felt very nervous and apprehensive to start. However I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the class. At the beginning of the session the class had a discussion about our previous experiences with drama. I have had absolutely no experience with drama as we were never offered drama or a drama club a school. Grainger, (2007) argues that teachers need to have their own ‘ experience of creative and artistic activity’ to be able to work with their pupils to create and have ‘our own creative confidence and enrich our creative competence as a profession.’ In addition if we want our pupils to take risks in drama they must feel safe and have a teacher that is willing to demonstrate their own creative side through drama. I realise the importance of this and after todays session I feel more confident and willing to teach drama in the classroom.

Today we used a dragon as a stimulus for a drama activity. We had work collaboratively as a group to work out a way to stop the dragon scaring all the villagers and disruption the way we live. We used freeze frames to come up with a way of either killing or scaring the dragon off. My group chose to use our freeze frame by having bow and arrows and point them up at the sky where the dragon was. This situations allows children to take on roles that they would never normally have a chance to do. It is a form of escapism where the children can get lost in their imagination and take on a new role. They can ponder new ideas and if there was a class problem such as bullying the teacher could create a drama activity around that subject where the children would see the problems of bullying and find a solution to it. Again Grainger, (2007) suggests that drama provides many opportunities to work through some real and imaginary ideas and it allows the children to see things from another point of view and understand that there can be consequences for specific actions. Furthermore Grainger suggests that a good classroom drama activity involves investigating a new situation that doesn’t have an answer that has already been predetermined.

References

Grainger, T. (2003) Creative teachers and the language arts: Possibilities and potential, Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, 31:1, 43-47, DOI: 10.1080/03004270385200071

Paton, A. (2017) Windows in the West. [Online] Available: https://avrilpaton.co.uk/prints/windows-in-the-west [Accessed: 5th October 2017]

Thomas Tallis School. (2017) The TALLIS Habits Pedagogy Wheel. [Online] Available: http://www.thomastallisschool.com/tallis-pedagogy-wheel-guide.html [Accessed: 5th October2017]

Art

As a result of the visual art session this week , it has confirmed to me that art in schools is not about getting everything perfect or correct by not putting  a mark out of place, but infact it is about an individual’s creativity and the  effort that is put into the drawing/painting. Although the end product is significant to the creator  it is not the be all and end all.  Eisner (2002) and Harris (2016) agree that there are always several answers to the activity within the arts . There is not just one right answer.  Therefore pupils can feel more at ease, be  more creative and thus build more self confidence through art as their ideas are important and worthwhile.

During our session of visual arts we created our own paintbrushes from sticks, feathers, wool, cotton which we used tape to hold together. Thus showing the importance of stepping away from the normal ordinary paintbrushes where everyone has the exact same but stepping into originality and creativity. Children enjoy putting effort into something that they have made and have taken great care over. The paintbrush and their pictures allows them to express themselves and be creative as a result. However we have to take into consideration that some children can find art an unpleasant subject to do at school and prefer to stick to subjects that require less resources and  clutter. ‘Some children find art and design lessons frustrating, and would be far happier if there was less mess and greater certainty’ (Kay and Stillman, 2009, p.2). I would have been one such child at school . I always wanted to get it right . I always felt my pictures were never good enough and after today’s session I realise I can be creative and my work that I produced was important and worthwhile . Therefore as a teacher I will put great emphasis onto the creativity and effort side and not always the ‘perfect’ finished product .

Also today we listened to a description of a picture in which we were to try and recreate it without seeing the picture. Whilst doing this I was very uncertain and unsure . I felt apprehensive as to whether I was doing it right. However I eventually understood that these paintings were to be far from perfect and it proved to me that everyone interprets things differently and there is no right or wrong .I really enjoyed the session and I think this would be a super activity to do with a class which would further reinforce about everyone being creative and how our concepts of painting / drawing / art are all individual and it would hopefully build up confidence within the children .

On placement I have noticed that some children who are not as confident at number or literacy work are very skilled and confident at art but I have also found the opposite to be true where some children who are very good and confident at number or literacy lack real confidence during art time but with teacher reassurance they cope well. This was particularly the case when designing a Christmas scene for a competition with the P5 class.

Children should be able to express themselves through art and not have the pressure of always drawing intricately detailed pictures and therefore I feel this session would be a great lesson for the children’s confidence .

Music

The music input was very engaging and I was fully involved. I have a particular enthusiasm for music and feel very confident with it as I play the piano . During this session we learned how to play the glockenspiel using figurenotes in songs such as ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.’  I have learned about figurenotes and realise what a great, intuitive and simple way  way of teaching children how to read music this is. I think for children in the lower end (and some in the middle/upper ends) it would be a great way of quickly learning how to play a song on an instrument. Each musical note is represented by a coloured symbol . Next you match up the colour to a note /key .However before  today’s session  I would have lacked confidence playing this new instrument but I would now be willing to teach children how to play and help them with this using figurenotes .  I think this may also be a good way of assessing children on the basics of reading music . I also think using figurenotes with a lager group of children would be manageable as it seems so straightforward hopefully the children could work together and play as a group .

I feel I would like to learn more about figure notes and how it develops before transferring over to reading music notation . I plan to download some figure notes and try them myself on my piano . I thoroughly enjoyed today’s session and really felt the benefit of it to me as a future teacher as I will definitely use many of the ideas discussed above.

References

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.

Key, P, Stillman, J. (2009) Teaching Primary Art and Design. Exeter: Learning Matters

Childhood Development through Arts

In this week’s lecture we looked and analysed, finished pieces of art from early level through to second level from primary school aged children. I have discovered there are four main stages in the child’s development in art. Lowenfeld  and Brittain (1982)  suggests these are

• Scribbling stage (2-4 years)
• Pre – schematic stage (4-7 years)
• Schematic stage (7-9 years)
• Gang stage (9 – 12 years)

However in contrast it is now recognised that many teachers are not satisfied by slotting children into specific developmental stages as they realise more factors and complexities are involved and see the need to take cultural issues into consideration (McAuliffe, D, 2007). Therefore as a teacher I will have an idea of what to expect at each stage but I am aware that these stages are not permenant and many children may fluctuate between them and I will be a facilitator to provide a variety of materials mediums, challenges and stimuli to allow their creativity to flourish.

From the Early Level Outcomes from Curriculum for Excellence

• I have the freedom to discover and choose ways to create images and objects using a variety of materials.

EXA 0-02a

This can be seen due to the children having the choice of a variety of coloured paper ,paint, chalk, crayons and pencils. McAullife, (2007) suggests that we as the adult should not try to ‘interfere’  with the drawing even though we think it is just a scribble .To the child it a ‘map of meaning’ and we need to be very careful about how we question the child.

From the First Level Outcomes from Curriculum for Excellence

• I can create and present work using the visual elements of line, shape, form, colour, tone, pattern and texture.

EXA 1-03a

In the first level pictures you can see line, shape, and colour all beginning to develop. McAuliffe, (2007) suggests that progression would  show more attention to detailing and this can be clearly seen here in these pictures where more parts, colours and lines have been put in. They are still using their imagination but can find it frustrating not being able to fully draw the picture as they want and can ‘becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their efforts.’ (Cox 1997 p 83).

From the Second Level Outcomes from Curriculum for Excellence

• I can create and present work that shows developing skill in using the visual elements and concepts

EXA 2-03a

In the second level pictures you can clearly see the skill of tone, shape, process, content and form all being developed to a higher level. In schools at this stage a lot of children lack confidence in their abilities. McAuliffe, (2007) suggests as children develop they become more insecure about their own drawings and the talents  of others in art.  Therefore he suggests it becomes harder to help these children overcome these fears. This was exactly me at school . I lacked a lot of confidence in art and would always look at everyone else’s work as far better than mine and therefore I became scared to join in incase I was laughed at. Furthermore the examples of the art work  that were provided in the workshop had information of what the drawing was about from the child .  As previously mentioned McAuliffe, (2007) suggests that as teachers we should be careful about how we question the children about their work as the children are the ones who know how to  explain its meaning . I have found this to be the case when on work experience as in several classes I was unsure what the picture was but the child was able to explain in great detail all the aspects of the drawing and I was very enthusiastic and hopefully encouraged the child to continue on with their creativity and imagination. I now understand that as a teacher I must encourage the children to be creative, take risks, be there to support and be a positive influence on them.

Overall I have learned the importance of letting the child describe their art working and supporting their description of it by reassuring them that is is worthwhile and valued and therefore hopefully raise their enthusiasm for the next project.

References

McAuliffe, D.  (2007) Foundation and Primary Settings. In Teaching in Art and Design 3- 11. London: Continuum

Cox, M. (1997) Drawings of People by Under-Fives. London: Falmer Press

Introduction to Integrated Arts

Visual Art

I was really looking forward to starting the integrated arts module due to having a particular interest in music. However with visual arts and drama I was slightly apprehensive about starting due to the fear of performing in front of people.

The main focus of the lecture and workshops today was looking at the importance of the arts within the classroom and how every child’s work should be seen as significant and important. Their creativity should always be encouraged and cultivated especially within the classroom. Csiksgentmihalyi, (1996, p.1) points out that  ‘Without creativity, it would difficult to distinguish humans from other animals. Creativity leads to a fuller, more satisfying life.’ Thus within the classroom there are many and varied opportunities through creative arts to be creative and lead a richer life.

In the first part of the lecture we looked at the Tallis Habits Pedagogy Wheel to show how the arts help to be  imaginative, inquisitive, collaborative, persistent and disciplined. I was amazed at how much the arts contributes to the development of a child. Referring back to Csiksgentmihalyi, (1996) with the importance of creativity this Tallis Wheel agrees as the inquisitiveness of a child would be developed by ‘ask, wonder, question, speculate, investigate, examine and explore.’ This has shown me the importance the arts can have on a child’s  creativity and this is only one aspect of the Tallis  Wheel that I have considered.

In the visual arts workshop we were shown the importance of how every piece of mark making is important and portrays a message by the illustrator.  Our lecturer took a piece of A3 paper and drew scribbles and marks on it, proceeding to show the class his work where one of the students was to put the work in the  bin. This was to show how the child would have felt in that situation. I will now be very aware in class that no matter what a child produces, I will discuss it with them, build their confidence by praising them and challenging them to provide more detail or enhance their drawing somehow. Everyone has their own interpretation of their drawing, we can all draw no matter our stage and age, although some are more confident than others.

Music

In the music workshop we listened to five pieces of music that were all completely different and had to describe how the music made us feel. This would enhance the children talking and listening skills within the classroom and therefore there would be learning across the curriculum as this includes literacy skills.  The next music activity showed me that we all have different ideas and preconceptions that manifest themselves in our thinking about different things. Today we had to work in groups and listen to a long piece of music and make a story that represented the different aspects to the music. This was a great imaginative activity that children could work on to express their creativity and realise that there is no right or wrong answer therefore it would build up their confidence especially for the children who struggle in other areas of the curriculum for example maths or literacy but here their imaginative ideas would be valued and they would feel a sense of importance and belonging. Again reinforcing the Tallis Wheel of collaboration by sharing discussing and co- operating as an equal within the group.

Finally we briefly looked at how arts help with health and wellbeing of the child. Looking at the poster below you can see that art benefits through care environments, medical training, art therapies and everyday creativity projects to mention but a few.

Therefore after the lecture today, I have come to realise the significance of my role as a teacher that it  is crucial in the development of integrated arts as McAuliffe, D(2007, p.29) states ‘The teacher’s role is to interact with individual children who are finding their own identity, their own means of understanding and communicating and their own powers of creativity.’

References

Csiksgentmihalyi, M. (2013) Creativity Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. Harper Colins

McAuliffe, D.  (2007) Foundation and Primary Settings. In Teaching in Art and Design 3- 11. London: Continuum

Thomas Tallis School. (2017) The TALLIS Habits Pedagogy Wheel. [Online] Available: http://www.thomastallisschool.com/tallis-pedagogy-wheel-guide.html [Accessed: 5th November2017]

The aim of this blog is to help me reflect on my learning experience every week through the module integrated arts. I hope the lectures and workshops will give me an insight into strategies and activites for teaching  drama, visual arts, music and dance within the classroom. Furthermore, that it will give me confidence and a better understanding of their place in the curriculum and help me to become an effective teacher within the integrated art subjects.