October 2017 – Megan Baines UWS ITE ePDP

Integrated Arts- Dance and Drama

“Song, music and dance can help children become more imaginative, self-aware and collaborative global citizens” (British Council, 2017). This statement for me, sums up the importance of the creative arts and this week I got to develop my knowledge and skills in dance. I used to do dancing when I was younger and thoroughly enjoyed it and found it was an exciting and fun way of keeping fit. However, I haven’t done it in a long time and so I was very anxious and apprehensive of this class. We began the class by taking part in a warm up and playing a few games. Some of these games were a lot of fun and would be great resource to use in the classroom. One of my favorites was called Splat. Splat is a game that involves following instructions therefore if the teacher shouts splat the children would lie on the floor or if they shout up they have to lift someone up. This was a very enjoyable and interactive game and one that i would definitely used throughout my placement experience.

We then looked at the 10 movements that as educators we should all know to make a fun and creative dance lesson: balance, hop, jump, kick, roll, slide, gesture, twist, turn and reach. These were discussed in the first dance input however i was off that day but i quickly caught up and was surprised to learn that as long as we know these movements we could create a dance lesson. Knowing this information put my mind at ease as it showed me that as an inspiring teacher, I don’t need to be the best dancer to teach and involve the pupils in a fun dance lesson.

Following on from the games, we then had to get into groups and create our own dance using the 10 movements. Once we had created that piece of dance we had to perform it to the rest of the class. I was very nervous and anxious to begin with, but after doing it I realized it wasn’t as bad as i thought it would be. We then as a class, came up with a move for each number from 0-9. Once we had done this, we went back to our groups and using one persons phone number and the moves we just came up with we created another piece of dance. I found this very interesting as it showed me that you can create a piece of dance as easy and simple as that and it would be a great tool for children. We then added the two pieces of dance that we created together. Then, as a class we were all given a piece of paper which displayed a Halloween move and we had to interpret a dance move from the image we were given. Once, each group had their move ready we showed every other group and put it all together as the beginning of our group dance.

This was the Halloween Dance Move my group were given.

I thoroughly enjoyed this workshop and I am looking forward to the next dance input. It opened my eyes to how simple strategies and games can help create a dance lesson. It showed me that even as young adults we are all individuals and even though a simple movement like ‘jump’ can be interpreted in so many different ways from each individual and therefore it is the same with children. Children are so creative and therefore will be able to use simple movements in a range of creative and fun ways to form a dance piece.

The rest of the afternoon focused on drama. We focused on a book called ‘The Tunnel’ by Anthony Browne. I found this lecture, in particular, very informative and interesting. We learned about various drama concepts such as voice in the head, mime, role on the wall, vox pop and thought tracking. The one i found to be the most fun and creative was voice in the head. I loved the idea of stepping out the story and explaining and demonstrating the thoughts and feelings on their side of the story. I think this would be a great lesson to teach with children as it gives them a chance to be creative and dive deeper into a character, instead of just looking at what appears to be on the outside they get to take their own interpretation of how that character may feel in the inside. Being given the chance in the workshop to look deeper into these concepts and put them into practice was very enjoyable and interesting. I felt out my comfort zone at first because I do tend to get quite shy when it comes to acting and drama, however by doing it in a group made it a lot easier and more fun.

A mind map I created of some of the drama concepts we learned.

Through participating in drama and dance lessons it has highlighted to me just how important teaching the expressive arts to children is. Expressive arts gives children the chance to “find out about and express their feelings and emotions and those of others” (ParentZone, 2016). In my opinion, it also allows children to be creative, expressive, develop their communication and social skills and encourages team building.

References:

Education Scotland, (2016). Parent Zone Scotland. [Available: https://education.gov.scot/parentzone/learning-in-scotland/curriculum-areas/Expressive%20arts] [Accessed: 29th October 2017].

British Council, (2015). Why song and dance are essential for a child’s development. [Available: https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/why-song-and-dance-are-essential-childrens-development] [Accessed: 30th October 2017]

Interdependence- Learning Log

Interdependence is “the dependence of two or more people or things on each other” (Oxford Dictionary, 2017). This weeks class and workshop focused on the theme and understanding of interdependence and how it can relate to sustainability. There are 3 components which are all interconnected: economic, social and environmental interdependence.

This input was presented in a different way to the previous ones. This theme was first delivered when we went and visited the two contrasting farms last week and we continued this theme this week. This week we were asked to make a Piktochart highlighting the main facts of the sustainability of fishing. “Sustainable fishing means leaving enough fish in the ocean, respecting habitats and ensuring people who depend on fishing can maintain their livelihoods” (Marine Stewardship Council, 2017).

We carried out this task in small groups, of around 4 people. I enjoy working in groups as I feel that my social, team working and communication skills are continually being developed. Each member of the group took a different topic to research and then towards the end we would combine all the information together. This was an excellent idea as it allowed for better time management, our own personal research skills and that the workload was shared. The topic itself was very interesting and I discovered various facts and information such as “Around 70-80% of the seafood consumed in the UK comes from overseas” (Seafish, 2017).

I found that from carrying out this task I developed a lot of new skills. These varied from team working, organisational skills, technology skills and research skills. These skills I believe are important and are skills that I will need to possess and develop as a student teacher.

References:

Oxford Dictionary, (2017). Interdependence. [Available: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/interdependence] [Accessed: 23rd October 2017]

Marine Stewardship Council, (2017). What is sustainable fishing? [Available: https://20.msc.org/what-we-are-doing/our-approach/what-is-sustainable-fishing] [Accessed 22nd October 2017]

Seafish, (2017). Seafish. [Available: http://www.seafish.org/] [Accessed: 24th October 2017]

Farm Visits- Learning Log

This week’s class focused on learning about the theme of interdependence and instead of the normal class timetable including a lecture and workshop, we got to visit and compare two different farms. I found the two dairy farms to be very different in they way in which they work even though the end product is the same. The two farms we visited were Strandhead and Mossgiel.

Strandhead dairy farm relied a lot more on technology than Mossgiel farm, it was seen as a modern, ‘state of the art’ dairy farm . In this farm, they used machines to milk the cows, gather the food and deliver the food them. I found this really interesting and eye-opening as I never though that technology could be used in so many ways throughout a dairy farm. I think i always had the typical thought that the farmers did it all by hand but with the progression of technology showed me otherwise. The farmer informed us that the cows don’t actually go outside and are kept inside all year round. I found this fact shocking at first as normally you tend to see cows outdoors, however the farmer explained to us that their farmland is extremely impacted on by the harsh weather conditions and therefore it is healthier and better that the cows are kept inside. He also explained to us that the cows are not forced to milk at points of the day, instead they are able to go to the milking area whenever they wanted to. The cows would go one at a time and whilst the cows were being milked, they were also screened to see if they were lacking in any nutrients and if so they would then be incorporated into their food/diet. When walking around the farm and listening to the farmers, it was clear to see that animal welfare was at the heart of what this dairy farm does.

Mossgiel farm was a more natural, organic, family-run farm. This particular farm supports local producers and the local produce is said to be a ‘rare find’ (Mossgiel Farm, 2017). This dairy farm, for me, was what i envisioned a ‘typical’ farm to look like. This farm was different from the other farm in various ways. One way in particular was that instead of electronics controlling the milking process it was done manually by the farmer and therefore mean that more than one cow could me milked at the same time. Also, the cows are actually kept outside for the majority of the year in this farm and only really come indoors in the terrible winter months. Mossgiel farm strives to produce natural and ethical food and in my opinion it looks like they are doing that extremely well as well as ensuring that the animals are well cared for.

After visiting both farms and reflecting on the days events, I did notice that both farms did have something in common. This was that the cows were kept separate from the calves. The calves were kept in different pens from their mother. Both farms explained that the reason for this, is that it can give the calves the best start in life. I found this particularly interesting, as i always thought the calves would be kept with their mothers almost like a baby is kept with their mother after birth.

Today’s class was very informative and interesting, it showed me that there are numerous ways of creating milk and that every farm can do this differently. It also opened my eyes to how I could teach a lesson like this in the classroom and that a trip to a farm could be extremely useful for children to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills of how dairy products come from a cow but end up in shelves in supermarkets.

References:

De Boer Housing Systems, (2017). Robert Veitch, Strandhead Farm Open Day. [Available: http://www.deboerhousing.com/blog/30-robert-veitch-strandhead-farm-open-day] [Accessed: 15th October 2017]

Mossgiel Farm, (2017). Mossgiel Farm. [Available: http://mossgielfarm.co.uk/] [Accessed: 15th October 2017]

Integrated Arts- Making Music

This week’s class started with us learning how to make music on the computer. We used an application on the computer called ‘Garage Band’ to create a backing track of music. Before beginning this class, I was slightly apprehensive as music is not my strong point, and i sometimes struggle with the terminology. However, I was also very excited and intrigued to how we could create a piece of music online. We began this workshop, by our lecturer demonstrating how to use ‘Garage Band’ we were then given the chance to have a go ourselves.

Video (2)

We were also given the chance to create a sound effect track for a short video clip. This part of the task was a lot of fun, enjoyable and engaging. It was very interesting and developed my knowledge of music more and more. I was very proud of what I created by the end of the workshop.

Through using this resource myself in today’s workshop, I considered the ways this could be implemented into the classroom and the skills and possibilities it can give the pupils. The children would have the opportunity to create their own music tracks and explore the different sounds of music. This kind of activity offers children many opportunities to explore the arts and make connections with other curricular subjects such as literacy, drama and dance. By doing an activity like this, it opened my eyes that we can teach music by using modern day technology to create a piece of music. It showed me that, to teach music we don’t always need to use instruments, digital music also is a resource that children can explore and create music in a different creative way.

The second workshop of the day was our visual arts class. In this workshop we were meant to be looking at how we can extend an art activity. We were going to use our Windows in the West print, create a black and white photocopy and then create a pen drawing extending from the original print image. Prior to this class, we were asked to read “Room 13: The Movement and International Network” by Claire Gibb. This initiative demonstrates the importance and excellent ways that from children given the opportunity to be responsible and independent artists. From reading this article, it highlighted to me the importance that as teachers children need to be treated equally and with respect. We need to give the children the independence they need to grow and flourish into young individuals.

Although, when it came to this workshop our lecturer actually asked me and my classmate if we could teach our fellow peers what we learned the previous week as they were off sick. This was a great learning and teaching opportunity for myself and it was a very interesting and exciting learning experience. We had to demonstrate what we previously learned and give assistance if it was needed. It gave me an insight into how to teach an art lesson, at times i did find it difficult to explain what we were doing but i think i eventually got the hang of it.

References:

Gibb, C. (2012) Room 13: The Movement and International Network [Online] Available: http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/109358/mod_resource/content/1/Room%2013-%20Claire%20Gibb.pdf [Accessed 8th October 2017]

Integrated Arts- Print Making

This weeks seminar and lecture looked deeper into the visual arts and how it can be incorporated into different areas of the curriculum. We focused on a particular painting “Window’s in the West” by Avril Paton in 1993. Researching this painting, i discovered that this painting was created using watercolour on paper. This particular painting became Paton’s trademark, it was bought by the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art in 1994 and then in 2006 it was placed on display in Kelvingrove Art Museum. The painting was created from a personal memory of her life in Glasgow and took Paton around 6 months to complete. From living in Glasgow, i was able to understand the painting as i have been able to personally see tenement buildings in my environment which in turn allowed me to understand Paton’s vision with this painting.

The original “Window’s in the West” by Avril Paton.

In the lecture we analysed the visuals of the painting focusing on the form, process, mood and content of the painting (Taylor, 1999). Additionally, we looked at how literacy can be incorporated with the arts in the classroom. It showed me that we could even create an activity using a famous painting, like the aforementioned, and allow the children to further research the artist and create mind maps, or even create their own prints and explain the story they created from it. After the lecture, it was clear to see that arts can be incorporated to many areas of the curriculum in a vast number of ways.

Moreover, in the seminar we created our own prints. We were given polystyrene boards where we then traced a section of the painting onto the boards very carefully and in great detail, as this was going to act as the base to our print making.

The base of the print making- our traced part of the painting.

Following on from this, we put a layer of paint (yellow) over the top of the polystyrene and then pressed it onto a sheet of A4 paper to create a print.

The paint over the polystyrene before creating our first print.

We continued this idea, by using different colours of paper for the print as well as adding different colours of print on top, to give the print more detail, texture and colour.

As a student teacher, seminars like this one show me the importance and relevance of teaching arts to the younger generation. If teachers make the time then arts can easily be incorporated into the classroom as well as integrating it within other areas of the curriculum. The Tallis Pedagogy Wheel highlights the importance of children being given the opportunity to be imaginative and creative where they can let their creative minds flow into the unknown.

The second half of the day focused on drama. As a child, i was never really fond of drama i always got very nervous and anxious of performing in front of people. Whilst i was in primary school, my confidence did increase and i was able to take leads in school shows however, this changed when i went to high school and my nerves and anxiety came back. When i found out that it was drama that we would be doing in the seminar, i was very apprehensive and nervous of performing in front of my peers.

Drama is a way for children to express themselves, it can be an effective tool of developing communication skills, self-esteem, confidence, empathy, performance for them to flourish and develop into young adults. Drama is an area of the curriculum that can be incorporated into various other areas such as literacy, history, art and even possibly mathematics.

We took part in activities such as: improvisation, freeze frame, hot seating, and teacher in role. These activities allowed me to develop my confidence that little bit more and after taking part i realised that it wasn’t as scary and nerve-wracking as i had built it up to be. Our lecture also told us that with drama, sometimes as the teacher you just need to create another character to portray which can help with your nerves, which is something that i think i might need to do when i qualify.

I think its important that we as educators need to realise the importance and the skills that drama and art can have for children. We need to ensure that children are given as many opportunities as they can to develop there qualities and skills in these subjects as they are very effective in a child’s development.

Resources:

Taylor, R. (1999) Understanding and Investigating Art. United Kingdom: Hodder Education.

Thomas Tallis School. (2017) The TALLIS Habits Pedagogy Wheel. [Online] Available: http://www.thomastallisschool.com/tallis-pedagogy-wheel-guide.html [Accessed: 07 October 2017]

Paton, A. (2017) Windows in the West. [Online] Available: https://avrilpaton.co.uk/prints/windows-in-the-west [Accessed: 07 October 2017]

Perform. (2017) Why is drama good for children? [Online] Available: https://www.perform.org.uk/blog/2014/01/why-is-drama-good-for-children/ [Accessed: 07 October 2017]

Learning Log 2- Climate Change

Climate Change is an extremely important subject, one that needs to be highlighted more often as it can have a serious impact on the world we live in. If I am being honest prior to this module I didn’t have much of an interest in learning about topics like climate change. I would often hear stories in the news about what it is and what is happening around the world due to it but I never really looked much deeper into it.

In the world the climate is constantly changing and with that means we are bound to experience the effects of climate change. These can vary from agriculture, sea levels rising which can inhibit floods, loss of sea ice and more intense heat waves. These effects not only have an impact on the environment but on people’s lives. This year alone there has been two main hurricanes: Harvey and Imra, that have been the effect of climate change. Scientists suggest that “rising sea levels and warmer oceans, made those storms far more destructive than they would have been in previous decades” (Cable News Network). Hurricanes like these have a tremendous affect on the residents of the area who are left homeless, injured and in the worst case dead. Many scientists believe that primarily climate change is man-made therefore we as the humans it is having an effect on, need to pull together to try and save our environment.

The Government are doing a lot to help lower the effects of climate change. I was surprised to realise that there is actually legislation in place: The Climate Change (Scotland) Act (2009). They have got set targets in place to hopefully reach by 2020 and 2050. These vary from the decrease of greenhouse gases and ensuring there are supplies in place to help the reduction and recycling of waste. There has already been a start on recycling. We now have coloured bins that state which type of material goes in which bin. In my household we have a black, blue and green bin. Our green bin is for any food waste, the blue is for any paper, plastic and cans and our black bin is for any other recycling. I never really cared much for recycling but the use of the coloured bins makes it so much easier and you almost don’t even realise that you are recycling the right way. Furthermore, the governments policy on charging for plastic bags has also had a positive impact on myself as I now rarely ever buy a plastic bag I just use one of the ones I already have in my house. I do think that me re using bags I already have is more so that I don’t have to pay for one but at least it’s helping the environment at the same time in a positive way.

Already, with the hard work from the government to tackle climate change. The first minister placed Scotland at the front of the world fight against climate change on the 5th September 2017. This just highlighted the our country is taking the effects of climate change very seriously and therefore we need to realise this and do our part to help stop climate change.

I took part in a quiz that analysed my carbon footprint. I was really shocked at my result and realised that there is a lot more that I could be doing to lowering it to have a positive effect on the environment rather than a negative one. It made me reflect on the ways I travel to work and university, the food that I am buying and the amount of energy that is used in my household that is unnecessary.

In conclusion, it is crucial that everyone at least tries to tackle and prevent climate change, whether this is walking instead of driving, switching the sockets off in the house when you go to bed, buying more locally produced foods if they are available. It is important to notice that the smallest positive difference in your daily routing can have a huge effective impact on climate change in the world. It is our job as educators to ensure that the newest generation are made aware of the impact we have on climate change and our environment, and how we can have an influence taking care and looking after our environment so that it can then have a positive impact on the world.

References:

Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, asp 12. Edinburgh: The Stationary Office.

WWF. (2017) HOW BIG IS YOUT ENVRIONMENTAL FOOTPRINT? [Online] Availabile: http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/ [Accessed: 06 September 2017]

NASA. (2017) Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet Effects. [Online] Available: https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/ [Accessed: 06 September 2017]

Cable News Network. (2017) Yes, Climate Change made Harvey and Imra worse. [Online] Accessed: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/15/us/climate-change-hurricanes-harvey-and-irma/index.html [Accessed: 06 September 2017]