Dance
This week, we experienced the first of the dance inputs in the module. We began with some fun, engaging activities that would be an ideal way to introduce the topic of dance in the classroom: an adaptation of Chinese whispers, using a sequence of dance moves which were passed along a chain of participants, or a follow-the-leader style conga line allows the children to develop confidence in dance by using a format they are already familiar with. These activities can develop skills that are transferrable to other areas – memory retention, following instructions and team work. Other activities, such as the teacher/lecturer directing students to move around the space in a certain way, e.g. skipping, jumping etc, with the aim of getting themselves into a group of whichever number they heard called out and performing a dance move or forming a specific shape, can be integrated into various parts of the curriculum, for example a warm up for a gym class, or outside in the playground for an outdoor health and wellbeing lesson.
The next activity urged us to think about the importance of warming up before dance. By drawing around one student from the group, then labelling the body outline with the various muscles and bones. This highlights the vast range of body parts that are used to create any movement, and is a great cross-curricular activity to do with pupils as it incorporates biology, expands vocabulary, increases spatial awareness and develops knowledge of how the body works. This follows on to a stretching activity which gives children some skills to use to warm up in other areas of physical activity.
The final stage in this input was to develop our own dance routine, based on the 10 principle steps of dance: twist, reach, roll, slide, gesture, hop, jump, kick, turn, and balance. This method of teaching dance gives participants a structure to use, which can be essential to encourage the most rhythmically challenged to participate, whilst still allowing for use of creativity and imagination. Children can use their own interpretation of the steps to develop a meaningful piece of dance, which is an important outlet for them to explore their creativity and express their own thoughts and ideas (Cone, 2009). The 10-step basis for dance is also a key tool for teachers who lack confidence in their own dance skills and knowledge, as the simple structure is easy to apply and demonstrate, lending itself well to child-led learning.
Music
Today’s music session centred around the importance of music in education. We considered why music matters in the lecture, and this was followed up by a look at some of the academic research and theory underpinning the teaching of music. The importance of participation, whether through performing, composing, playing, singing or just listening and evaluating music, was stressed. Music is a valuable instrument (no pun intended) for social development in children – it develops a sense of identity and increases self-esteem, whilst allowing expression of feelings, ideas and memories which aid in developing emotional resilience (Hallam, 2010). Music can also have physical benefits; pain reduction, a drop in stress levels and decreased fatigue are all elements that Jensen (2008) attributes to music.
Music also has a significant impact on other areas of development: experience with music enables learners to develop the ability to discriminate pitch, which is a valuable asset to phonological awareness necessary for learning to read. Learning to read musical notation requires mathematical skills, develops visual and rhythmic skills and encourages print awareness. Music increases memory retention, critical thinking and creativity skills which are then easily transferred to other areas. Overall, students who regularly participate in musical education yielded higher grades than their non-musical counterparts, and, perhaps most notably, there was no discernible damage to pupils’ attainment due to less time in the classroom whilst receiving music tuition (Hallam, 2010). This is a notable finding, as the possible detriment of grades and attainment is one of the issues that teachers face in delivering the arts in education today.
The overarching theme within both inputs today is without a doubt the importance of the arts in other areas of the curriculum. Both music and dance can allow children to develop skills that will be essential in literacy, numeracy and physical development.
REFERENCES
Cone, Theresa Purcell. (2009) Following Their Lead: Supporting Children’s Ideas For Creating Dances Journal Of Dance Education [Online] Vol.9(3), pp.81-89. Available: EBSCOhost. [Accessed: 17 October 2017]
Hallam, S. (2010) The power of music: Its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people International Journal of Music Education [Online] Vol.28(3) pp.269-289. Available: Sage. [Accessed: 17 October 2017]
Jensen, E. (2008) Brain-based Learning: the new paradigm of teaching California: Corwin
