confidence – Louise MacDonald UWS ITE ePDP

November 8, 2017December 19, 2017

Integrated Arts Week 9 – 7th November 2017

This week we began the micro-teaching inputs for drama. Our group started with a drama lesson based on Julia Donaldson’s children’s book The Gruffalo (1999). Using a number of drama conventions introduced previously in this module, we planned and delivered a 30-minute lesson the rest of our section. The initial brief was to plan a twenty-minute lesson, however during the activity the cohort was so engaged in the drama that we decided, with the lecturer’s consent, to allow their creativity to flow and not interrupt just to stick rigidly to the plan. Dewey (1938, cited in Eisner, 2004) calls this “flexible purposing”, which Eisner (2004) tells us is the antithesis to rigid adherence to the lesson plan. This notion could however, have been developed further. Due to lack of confidence, and perhaps the fact that we read the story in sections throughout our lesson, our group failed to deviate from the original storyline of the book. Upon seeing the next group’s take on their lesson, it was clear to see that the activities could be much more engaging and fun if the lesson is allowed to follow the direction of the participants, regardless of whether this was the expected outcome of the ‘teacher’.

In the afternoon input, pupils from Greenhill Primary School Orchestra brought in their string instruments to demonstrate how they are played. The pupils showed us how to hold the instruments properly, how to control the bow, the names of the strings, and some chords. They then demonstrated how to play a song they have learnt, and confidently helped us to have a try. The confidence the children have was astounding, something that Bloomfield and Childs (2002) attribute to learning to play an instrument.

The idea of children leading the learning was further developed through both inputs this week. By handing over leadership of the lesson in the drama workshop, the lecturer enabled us students to see how our primary school pupils may feel when asked to take ownership of their learning. This was then observed in practice with the Greenmill pupils leading the learning in the music inputs. The impact this had on the confidence and self-esteem of the children was clear to see, and reinforced to me the importance of arts education in the curriculum.

REFERENCES

Bloomfield, A. and Childs, J. (2002) Teaching Integrated Arts in the Primary School. London: David Fulton Publishers.

Donaldson, J. (1999) The Gruffalo London: MacMillan

Eisner, E. (2004) What Can Education Learn from the Arts about the Practice of Education? International Journal of Education & the Arts Vol.5(4) pp.1-13

October 12, 2017December 18, 2017

Integrated Arts Week 5 – 10th October 2017

Visual Arts

This week, we looked at how we can extend an art activity by reducing our Windows in the West print, and creating a black and white photocopy, which we then used to create a pen drawing extending from the print image. The importance of continuation in art was emphasised, as all too often art is treated as a stand-alone, one-off activity and this can be discouraging to children. By using past work as a stimulus, pupils can see how art can be a progressive activity and this encourages them to develop their imaginative capabilities and allows them to increase their skills (McAuliffe, 2007).

We looked at this in practice, through the Room 13 initiative in Fort William. Room 13 is an extraordinary example of the brilliance that can emerge from children being taken seriously and allowed autonomy and independence as artists (Gibb, 2012). This aligns with my belief that we can get the best from our pupils, not by trying to hold power over them, but by treating them respectfully as equals in their education.

Music

I found the music seminar really informative today. To begin with, as usual in the music inputs, I felt extremely apprehensive and out of my depth when the lecturer explained the task. Music terminology is something I have tried to increase my knowledge in, but each time it still confuses me and causes much anxiety. However, as the workshop progressed, my determination to at least try proved fruitful and I found my confidence increasing as I navigated the GarageBand app to create a very short backing track. This enabled me to put myself in a child’s shoes, although I would say most school children are much more digitally literate than I am.

We discussed the possibilities of this resource and how easy it is for children to use and create their own tracks, the opportunities for enterprise, literacy, citizenship and arts. We also had a go at creating a sound effect track for a short video clip. I was really engaged in this task and found it thoroughly enjoyable, feeling extremely proud of my end result. This is certainly an activity I will use in the classroom. This was the first time I truly considered that music in the classroom does not necessarily need to be just learning do-ray-me and wishing you were talented enough to play an instrument. The digital nature of our modern world extends into the music business too, and it is important to remember that as teachers, we will be educating the workforce of tomorrow. Introducing this type of software to pupils also gives those children who do not like to be in the limelight, a chance to be actively involved in the sound engineering aspect of music production, so digital music is definitely something I would like to make use of within my future classroom.

Both of today’s inputs focused on using prior learning and work to expand skills and repertoire, and thinking about the importance of giving children “experience of more specialised equipment” to further their skills (McAuliffe, 2007 p.28)

REFERENCES

Gibb, C. (2012) Room 13: The Movement and International Network. Oxford:Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

McAuliffe, D. (2007) Foundation and Primary Settings In: Cox, S., Watts, R., Grahame, J., Herne, S. and McAuliffe, D. (eds) Teaching Art and Design 3-11 London: Continuum pp.31-83

November 7, 2016November 7, 2016

Reflections on Placement

As part of the situated communication module in BA1, I undertook a one week, whole school placement in a designated primary school. The school I was allocated to is of Roman Catholic denomination, located in an area of high deprivation, with a current roll of 137 pupils across a mix of single year and composite classes. I had the opportunity to spend some time in each classroom over the course of the week, interacting with pupils, teachers and other members of staff.

During my placement I had the opportunity to apply my knowledge of effective communication in a variety of situations. At all times, I demonstrated a good model of spoken English, using an appropriate register and correct grammar. I made sure to project my voice so I could be heard effectively by all of the pupils with whom I was communicating, and varied my pitch and tone to keep the children’s interest. When working with small groups, or individual children, I always got down to the children’s level to ensure adequate eye contact and develop a positive rapport with each child.

At the beginning of the week, I lacked confidence in dealing with challenging behaviour, although after discussion with the class teacher, this did not appear to be evident to others. Nevertheless, I felt this was something I needed to act upon in order to increase my self-confidence in this area, and I took steps to familiarise myself with the school’s behaviour management policy and sought advice from the teachers on how to deal with behaviour within the classroom. I also sought advice in my own time from friends who work within education and researched some resources to enhance my knowledge and confidence. By the last two days of my placement, the respective class teachers both commented on my behaviour management skills as positive strengths, allowing me to see the progress I had made in this area.

In terms of feedback, it is evident from the mentor observation checklists, and the final assessment report that there are no glaringly obvious areas that I need to work on. However, during the course of my placement I came across one or two children who had an additional communication need, and although no extra skills were required on my part, it made me realise that there is a strong chance that over the course of my teaching career, I will encounter situations where it would be extremely beneficial for me to have some additional communication skills. To that extent, I have begun taking steps to learn British Sign Language, and the child-friendly Makaton signing. I have contacted BSL to enquire about courses that I can take, and in the meantime I have followed BSL on social media, and make good use of their ‘Sign of the Day’ posts to start building up my BSL vocabulary.

In all, my experience on placement has been a thoroughly enjoyable time, and I have relished the opportunity to develop my communication skills in a school setting. I enjoyed working with both staff and students and I am excited for my next placement opportunity.