This week we again explored music and visual arts. I started in the music workshop where we explored rhythm and pulse. We began with tapping the beat of a tune on our laps with drumsticks. We then used squares which represented one note (crotchet) and circles which represented a half beat (quaver). We used this knowledge to practice playing along to the beat of a number of song – this started with easier songs and the level of difficulty progressed.  We then used tuned percussion instruments such as xylophones and glockenspiels to learn the chromatic scale. To make this learning easier and more enjoyable we learned the notes through the acronym Every Green Bus Drives Fast and FACE. This helped me visualise the notes so I knew what note to play. After practicing the notes for a while we again played some tunes including Hot Cross Buns and The Grand Old Duke of York. I enjoyed this class as it allowed me to see ways this can be taught to pupils. Although we completed this class quickly it was emphasised that this will take much longer to teach to school pupils.

In today’s visual art input, we were discussing our experiences of the arts so far on placement. From the discussion, I was able to identify lessons I could incorporate into my future teaching such as using a variety of materials. I was also able to identify techniques I would not use in my teaching such as giving pupils examples and demonstrations as this can be counterproductive and may lead to them being less imaginative. In addition to this I was able to relate one of the visual art lessons I have observed on placement and relate this to theory. The lesson I observed involved pupils creating a sunset background using only red, yellow, black and white paint. By doing so pupils were made to experiment with mixing paints and create different shades, this demonstrated problem based learning in action. I was also able to observe children’s imagination coming to life. From such a simple task the variety of artwork produced was vast. Some pupils chose to create a background using one colour where others used upwards of 10. This lesson was similar to the input we had at the beginning of the module where we painted our interpretation of the picture being read to us as, in both instances, learners used their imagination and had limited resources. Art lessons in Finland can take a similar approach by means of using the environment to create art. This is similar to the lesson I observed as both involve creativity and exploration with few materials. In Finland, art lessons are a sustainable way of learning as the likes of sand and snow can be used to create beautiful sculptures. From this type of learning – where the finished product will be temporary – the process is often more valuable (Burnard, 2006).

From today’s workshops, I am now aware that having access to many materials is not a priority when it comes to creating art. This was evident firstly in the music class where we used beaters and no instruments, the lack of instruments did not impact our ability to tap the beat or develop and understanding of notes. Secondly, in the art workshop we were also shown this as the artwork in Finland is made using easily sourced materials from their environment.

Reference List

Burnard, P. (2006) Rethinking the Imperatives for Reflective Practices Arts Education Landscapes: the Arts, Aesthetics and Education. Vol.5 pp.3-12. Dordecht: Springer.

In today’s lecture, we discussed the importance of drama in schools. A key point in the lecture was that drama helps to build the confidence of the teacher and the learners. As I have previously mentioned, this is one of the four capacities of the curriculum and so it is vital that children do become confident individuals (Scottish Executive, 2004). We also discussed that drama allows escapism, pupils can escape problems they may be having and step into someone else’s shoes, imagining what they may be feeling. In addition to this, pupils could channel their emotions and thoughts through the role they are playing in a drama, this is an important aspect of the expressive arts benchmarks as the Experiences and Outcomes state: “Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through drama” (2017). A further main idea from the lecture was that drama as well as the other performing arts promote and measure emotional growth, where the curriculum does not. It was discussed that the curriculum often places focus on growth in the likes of literacy and numeracy rather than emotional growth. However, performing arts allow emotional development. Cybele Raver (2003) emphasises that emotional development matters just as much as academic preparedness as emotionally well-adjusted children have a better chance of success in the early years of school.

In our drama input we had our microteaching task. As I mentioned in last week’s blog I was incredibly nervous for this task however it went much better than I thought it would. We used the story “3 little pigs” as it was a story we knew most people would be familiar with. We began with summarising the story before going on to our first convention, teacher in role. I lead this convention and was surprised by my own confidence when doing so despite my inhibitions. We then used a further three conventions: flashback, hot seat and thought tunnel. The participation from the class was greater than we had expected and so this helped settle our nerves. Overall, this task went very well and we received positive feedback from the class. This task has helped me reflect on how I might teach drama in the future and having had some experience in teaching drama I am now looking forward to teaching the subject, something I never thought I would say a matter of weeks ago!

After lunch, in our music input, we had a very unique learning experience. The Pupils of the Greenmill Primary School String Orchestra were teaching us how to play their instruments. In pairs, we sat with one pupils who taught us how to play their instrument, I was learning cello. Firstly, we were shown how to hold the instrument before learning the correct way to hold the bow. To help us do so we played a variety of games such as heads, shoulders, knees and toes as well as balancing a hula hoop crisp on top of the bow whilst maintaining the correct bow hold – I found this rather difficult. We then moved on to learning some notes. We began with the notes D and A playing tunes with these notes before learning the ‘Cheeky Monkey’ song using the notes D, F, F# and G. This was difficult as it involved placing our fingers in the correct position as well as the bow.

Overall, this was an incredibly interactive day. Both classes helped me to improve my confidence when performing the arts as it was made clear that teachers have the ability to teach the arts if they take advantage of the resources available to them. This resultantly has changed my view on teaching the arts in the future as I also realised through the workshops that the arts can change pupils lives for the better.

Reference List

Cybele Raver, C (2003) Young Children’s Emotional Development and School Readiness [Online] Available: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/C_Raver/publication/242095521_Young_Children’s_Emotional_Development_and_School_Readiness/links/54183f160cf203f155ada1d5/Young-Childrens-Emotional-Development-and-School-Readiness.pdf [Accessed 7 November 2017].

Scottish Executive (2004) A Curriculum for Excellence: The Curriculum Review Group. [Online] Available: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/26800/0023690.pdf  [Accessed 7 November 2017].

Scottish Government (2017). Curriculum for Excellence: Expressive Arts. [Online]. Accessible: https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo. [Accessed: 7 November 2017].

Today I started off in the drama workshop. In this week’s workshop, we looked at a further four drama conventions:

• Flashback
• Flash forward
• Slow motion
• Narration

We used these techniques and created our own scenes using each technique, based on the theme of a haunted house. In addition to this, we looked at the work of Augusto Boal – the founder of the convention ‘Forum Theatre’. This is when the audience suggest ways in which the drama could be changed. Although this worked well in our workshop it would be difficult to replicate with a primary school class as children may interpret the suggestions as criticism.

The convention ‘Teacher in Role’ was addressed again as this concept it helps to set the scene of the drama yet it can be the convention teachers are most apprehensive about using. This may be because the teacher cannot guide where the discussion will go. However, the pupils having the ability to guide their learning is a vital. During this session, we briefly discussed the role drama plays in building confidence and the importance of this. Confident Individuals of one of the four capacitates of CfE (Scottish Executive, 2004), thus it is vital that all pupils are given opportunities to gain confidence whilst learning. Finally, at the end of the workshop, we discussed next week’s task: a microteaching lesson based on a book. We have to work in groups to create a 20-minute lesson based on a children’s book. I am incredibly apprehensive for this lesson; however, my confidence has been developing over the course of the module and I know that it will improve significantly after the completion of next week’s workshop.

Later, in the music workshop, we began by exploring the importance of the voice. The voice is the primary way of communication in the classroom and it helps with classroom management, thus it is paramount in “carrying out professional roles and responsibilities” (GTCS, 2017). We then looked at advice from the British Voice Association concerning taking care of your voice. I learnt that It is important to take care of your voice and it is vital to warm your voice in the morning to ease into the day (BVA, 2017). We then warmed up our voices using the music resource, “Choon Baboon”. This is a Scottish resource and so fits in well with the Curriculum for Excellence as well as helping teachers who are uncomfortable with teaching music. This was an enjoyable, interactive lesson that would be easily replicated in a classroom.

Finally, we selected instruments and created our own tunes using a Graphic Score. We selected a theme of a rain dance and used our instruments to create the sounds: clap, bang, trickle, ting and rumble. The Graphic Score is an easy way for children to follow music as well as compose it themselves prior to learning notes and scales.

This week’s music workshop was also very engaging throughout and gave me a further insight into how I might teach music in the future.

Reference List

Choon Baboon (2017) About Us. [Online]Available: http://choonbaboon.com/about-us/. [Accessed: 31 October 2017].

Scottish Executive (2004) A Curriculum for Excellence: The Curriculum Review Group. [Online] Available: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/26800/0023690.pdf  [Accessed 31 October 2017].

The British Voice Association (2017). About the Association. [Online] Available: http://www.britishvoiceassociation.org.uk/about.htm [Accessed: 31 October 2017].

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (2017). Voice and the Teaching Profession. [Online] Available: http://www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/FormUploads/voice-and-the-teaching-profession1652_214.pdf [Accessed: 31 October 2017].