Session 9 – 15/11/16

November 22, 2016 Matthew Pound Leave a comment

During the morning session the lecturer outlined what was scheduled for the day as usual and gave us a task in pairs to complete. The task was to analyse a picture and consider what it means artistically. Below is a picture of the image I was tasked to analyse. I found this task difficult as I am very unfamiliar with deconstructing art and what it represents. However, it was an interesting challenge that I enjoyed more than I anticipated.

My analysis of this picture consisted of discovering that all the children on the hill were facing the same direction which I determined meant they were all moving forward in their lives where as the white shadows behind them represented their lives so far. On the back of the picture were some notes on what the pictures meant along with other thought provoking questions (see below).

During todays session of Art we studied a painting called “Windows in the West” by Avril Paton. This painting was very familiar to me as I had a picture of it at home but never knew what it was. I watched a video where she talks about the painting and how she painted it. Below is the video I watched and found it quite interesting. In particular I was surprised at the enormous amount of time it takes to create this painting being over 6 months.

Afterwards, I was given the opportunity to try printing. To do this a colour of paint either red or green was placed on a wooden mat before being rolled out evenly. Using a polystyrene sheet I had to create a shape from the “Windows in the West” painting and roll a colour over it. With this coloured sheet I placed it hard onto the paper for a successful print. I chose some straight windows and etched it into the sheet.

Using this sheet I rolled on green paint first and printed the sheet onto three separate pieces of paper. Upon repeating this process with the colour red and a sheet with bricks etched on as well I created my final version (see below).

The prints had varying success with the final version being by far the most successful. Through trial and error I was able to make my art more successful. This ideal can be perfectly administered during art where you instruct kids to take their time and move on from mistakes rather than feel bad about them. By placing the emphasis on the process rather than the result more enjoyment can be gained from the overall experience (Stipek et al., 2001).

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. Vol.28(3),pp.269–289. Available: http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/715660/mod_resource/content/2/International%20Journal%20of%20Music%20Education-2010-Hallam-269-89.pdf. [Accessed 5 January 2017].

Stipek, D. (2001) Teachers’ beliefs and practices related to mathematics instruction. Teaching and Teacher Education.17(2), pp.213-226. Available: ScienceDirect. [Accessed 5 January 2017].

Session 8 – 08/11/16

November 22, 2016 Matthew Pound Leave a comment

Today during the drama session multiple groups had to present their micro teaching tasks that were assigned last week. Whilst all the groups were excellent I found one groups task of getting you to pair up with a friend and impersonate them to see how they see you most interesting. They then chose one pair to do it in front of the whole class which inevitably resulted in my partner and I doing it. This task related well to the book they chose whilst enjoyable for everyone who participated. Our micro teaching task was based on the Harry Potter book series and we each created a task that we would do. One of the tasks we carried out was a teacher in role activity where each member of our group were acting as Hogwarts teachers and the other students would ask us questions as new pupils to Hogwarts. This task allows us to get more involved in the overall drama experience as we too are participating (Booth, 1994 cited in Grainger, 2003). My task was to organise the class into groups and ask them to create a freeze frame of a scene where Hagrid tells Harry he is a wizard. I also instructed them to do some thought tracking telling me either what Harry, Hagrid or the Dudleys were thinking when this happened. The different results were fantastic being very creative and diverse in approach. For example one group used three students to create Hagrid with their hair forming his beard. This ability to give a task and have such a variety of responses proves the creative scope drama activity provides.

Below are my insights from the music input for the week.

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), pp.43-47. Available: Integrated Arts module on Moodle. [Accessed 5 January 2017].

Session 7 – 01/11/16

November 22, 2016 Matthew Pound Leave a comment

This week the morning lecture opened with a detailed description of the a unique orchestra that was coming in to perform for us. The presentation informed that the Greenmill Primary School strings project will be first performing for us before we each sit one on one with a pupil to learn some basic string skills. I was both very nervous and excited at the idea of learning some string skills. I discovered that this particular group were very successful performing in front of even Prince Philip. After the morning lecture I watched the school perform excellently. It was impressive to see children so young behave and act in such a mature way. I was further impressed with their behaviour and skill when sitting down for tuition from one of the pupils. I was paired with a cellist who very nicely explained to me the different strings and frets with helpful acronyms. I thoroughly enjoyed this section as I was able to perform in time with the rest of the orchestra. I asked my pupil if learning the cello had helped her in school at all. Most surprisingly she informed me of the two other instruments she plays and said that it does especially with maths. Musics ability to aid pupils in maths is well documented with such skills of being able to more easily recognise and use patterns or improving their general counting skills(3 benefits of music on early math skills, 2013).

Below is a picture of the class preparing to perform

Drama

During the second session of the day I received an input on drama. During this session I learned about a story called the tunnel revolving round a brother and sister who learn to get along through enduring the fear of a mysterious tunnel. At the midpoint of the book we stopped and wrote our thoughts inside a body outline representing the boy in my groups case. Inside we wrote what the boy thought about his current situation where as on the outside of the body we wrote what others would think about his current situation e.g. his parents and sister. This activity is called role on the wall and allows children to improve their literacy skills whilst at the same time improving their empathetic abilities as they are encouraged to other peoples perspective (Using Theatre and Drama to Increase Empathy in Students, 2014).

The lecturer also described the micro teaching task we would have to perform next week. We were informed that we should lead several drama activities and base them on a book.

Reference

3 benefits of music on early math skills (2013) [Online] Available: https://www.kindermusik.com/mindsonmusic/benefits-of-music/3-benefits-of-music-on-early-math-skills/. [Accessed 8 January 2017].

Using Theatre and Drama to Increase Empathy in Students (2014) [Online] Available: https://www.edutopia.org/groups/community-bulletin-board/670676. [Accessed 8 January 2017].

Session 6 – 25/10/16

November 22, 2016 Matthew Pound Leave a comment

This week whilst absent I sadly was unable to participate in the group performance of the dance that involved the combination of all previous dances in one with the halloween theme. Below is a screenshot of my groups section of the dance.

screen-shot-2017-01-09-at-01-01-29

I also sadly missed an improvisation session on glockenspiels in music which I would like to have attempted to improve my musical talent. By just promoting improvisation in the class it allows all pupils to stand as equals due to previous musical knowledge such as the ability to read musical notation not being used.

However, during my absence this week I decided to research the potential benefits of teaching the expressive arts. For example I learned about how painting can benefit pupils along with other areas of the arts such as playing an instrument. Whilst the benefits are not immediately obvious as they are not reflected by any assessment or definitive feedback they are essential in developing skills that are simply not possible in the other outcomes like literacy and numeracy. They can greatly enhance a variety of different qualities such as collaboration skills, improved creativity, increased emphatic ability and becoming more emotionally aware (Fleming, 2012).

References

Fleming, M. (2012) The Arts in Education: An introduction to aesthetics, theory and pedagogy. London: Routledge. Available: Integrated module on Moodle. [Accessed 5 January 2017].

Session 5 – 18/10/16

November 22, 2016 Matthew Pound Leave a comment

Today during the art workshop we were each asked to draw a washing line with clothes hanging on them which we later coloured in to add to a larger painting. I was also instructed to draw a brick wall on an A4 sheet of paper. I began by coating the whole paper yellow to which I would paint the brick pattern on. I mixed three colours to make different shades of brown and grey that I painted sequentially using one colour for the whole page before moving on to the next. Finally I had to paint the sky which I did on another sheet of A4. However, to add effect I was told to rip them into strips and glue all the parts of my painting together. I added a small amount of rock salt to add some texture and finally finished the painting. I was very pleased with my result and found the breaking down of sections for this painting very useful. In classrooms this could allow for expression due to the range of different results you can get. For example they can choose that what items of clothing go on the clothing line, if covering a theme such as pirates they could use pirate hats instead, and the shape of the bricks on the wall. Additionally the colour range will vary massively as any colour can be used to colour in the walls and sky. Allowing for this freedom with no fear of failure allows children to unleash their full creative potential.

Clothing line painting

I also attended a drama workshop today which I found very interesting and educational. The teacher understanding the apprehensions of teaching or even acting in drama can be daunting for many but outlined expertly the massive benefit it can provide along with showing how little you need to make it work. The resources required amount to the occasional prop to show the teacher is in role easier and you’re imagination. This allows for you to cover complex issues without a powerpoint but by talking to the pupils gathering their thoughts and ideas on situations. Later dramatic techniques that could be used were highlighted and consisted of teacher in role, thought tracking, thought tunnel, freeze frame and hot seating. Upon explaining each of these to us he began us on to a situation regarding a dragon called Sammy. This dragon lived in a cave and was feared by all the townspeople that think him evil. To set the scene the teacher went teacher in role acting as the dragon whilst we asked him questions. I was very surprised to see how convincing the teacher was at becoming this sad and lonely dragon. In classrooms this could allow for an large range of paths for the conversation to go down as its completely down to them what to ask. Another dramatic technique used was voices in the head where other members of the class stated what they thought Sammy would be thinking. This method allows children to increase their empathetic ability as they are thinking from the dragons point of view. A further benefit of this activity is it improves their communicative ability and hone their creative skills (Grainger, 2003). I also engaged in an activity around another character called “Frankie Miller” who has returned home after 10 years of being locked up and they are unhappy with you and the rest of the village. I was tasked along with my group to come up with a scenario explaining why frankie is angry with us and why he was locked away in the first place. All the groups presented their ideas in the form of a thought tracking exercise. It was interesting to see the different perspectives all the groups had with no two being the same. This could allow pupils to gain a wide breadth of knowledge through activities like this as multiple perspectives are being given.

References

Session 4 – 11/10/16

November 22, 2016 Matthew Pound Leave a comment

I attended another input on dance and due to the close time to halloween had a focus on horror elements. We practised a dance as a whole class in time to the song thriller where we would sequentially rise after the person to our left or right did. We were split into groups and given a picture each which we should create a dance move with e.g. I got a cauldron so the dance move resembled stirring a cauldron. The other groups did likewise and presented the moves to the class which we then incorporated into one dance. By breaking the moves down into steps and allowing for different groups to come up with their own ideas. In schools when teaching this it would be an extremely effective way of allowing pupils to be more expressive and embrace their own creativity in creating a dance unique to the whole class. This tactic is a practical example of creating a framework that children can use to input their own creative ideas onto.

The second input of the day was art where we were instructed to paint an image based on a description we were read aloud by the lecturer. They described a boat on the ocean and detailed the colours in the sky, sea and boats. However, the only brushes available were intentionally hand crafted from materials that can be easily repurposed as a brush. For example mine was a stick from outside and a shredded cloth to make a brush and worked reasonably well where as a fellow group members was a stick with a slate tied to the end which worked less well. We were given the three primary colours and no colour wheel to prevent its constraining effects on creativity. This forced me to create my own colours which were unique to me. Additionally, there was a choice of paper ranging in with size and colour. I chose an A3 sheet of brown paper to allow me more room for painting and allowing me to try out a different colour. In a classroom this could allow for each piece of artwork to range hugely from one another as the scope for being creative is far wider than if regulated with uniform colours and paper.

Below is my clean sheet of paper with a border drawn round it to prevent paint from touching the table.

Painting of boats and murky sea completed at this point.

Fully finished painting with colour pallet used at the side.

This activity could be utilised excellently in class as it would allow each child to construct an image that would reflect their own interpretation. It would allow them to compare with other pupils who will be creating the same piece of work yet they will be completely different. Throughout the process an emphasis on rewards being given to those that put in the most effort rather than the most aesthetically pleasing artwork in the class to encourage them to continue self improvement for the future (Collins, 2013).

References

Collins, N. (2013) Praise children’s effort, not their intelligence. The Telegraph. [Online] 12 February. Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9862693/Praise-childrens-effort-not-their-intelligence.html. [Accessed 5 January 2017].

Session 3 – 04/10/16

November 22, 2016 Matthew Pound Leave a comment

Whilst absent this week I looked into the dance session which I missed this week and discovered some interesting benefits.

I learned about our role as teachers in dance and why it is important. It was discovered that as teachers in the future when facilitating a dance session it should be child led to encourage their own unique creativity. I was initially skeptical at the idea of letting children lead the dance session as it could become unorganised and without focus. However, by providing the children with a framework to which they may graft their own ideas with supervision they can gain more benefit than a simple classroom activity. It will allow them to also gain more meaning through active learning. Through reviewing the slides that were available I also discovered that our role as teacher entails valuing the child’s ideas and the process they take. To do this we must create a safe environment for children to feel welcome expressing themselves and assist in giving structure that could encourage further creativity. Further research revealed that to ensure the teachers role in enabling a dance session is successful you require 10 basic dance skills that are being able to perform the following moves; turn; twist; slide; roll; jump; spin; kick; hop; balance and gesture. Whilst my dancing skills are truly subpar even I am able to perform these basic moves for the benefit of using them in future lessons. I was surprised to learn the large amount of benefits that dance can provide to pupils such as increasing their confidence and physical, psychosocial and mental wellbeing. It also improves their interpersonal skills whilst raising their self esteem as it allows them to create something that expresses their own ideas (Cone, 2009). It was also interesting to see the large scope of activities that could be interdisciplinary through dance giving topics a more meaningful and beneficial experience for pupils.

References

Cone, T.P. (2009) Following Their Lead: Supporting Children’s Ideas for Creating Dances. Journal of Dance Education. [Online] Vol.9(3), pp.81-89. [Available: Taylor & Francis. Accessed 2 January 2017].

Session 2 – 27/09/16

November 22, 2016 Matthew Pound Leave a comment

I recently received my first input on dance and was focused around what the 10 essential skills are to facilitate a successful dance session. One activity I found useful was the Chinese whispers dance game. In this game two lines were formed with all facing one direction except the two standing at the front of the line. The two people facing the teacher would copy their short dance and show it to the person behind them who would do likewise until the end of the line was reached. This activity would test children’s dancing skills whilst also making them rely on their memory skills. Dance also empowers pupils and gives them opportunity to discover their own feelings, thoughts and ideas (Cone, 2009). The other activity required me to work in a group in assigning all the body parts to their correct place in a body outline we draw.

List of assignable body parts

We created the outline of the body and assigned all of them with relative ease. From recent past experiences in a primary school where the focus was the human body I had a strong knowledge base to draw from this task. As a result we were able to finish first and check our answers against an iPad with a detailed outline of the different body parts.

Completed body with all parts assigned

I found this activity interesting and thought it could be excellent in teaching cross curricularly with biology.

I also attended an art session and whilst I always enjoyed art throughout my life I have never been particularly gifted. However in this session it was revealed that art isn’t about your skill level at drawing or painting but is instead about allowing the child to express themselves in an enjoyable way. By doing this they can express through art what they cannot say in words(Eisner, 2002).

During this session we were instructed to coat a wooden board in black paint and use our fingers or other objects such as lego bricks to make marks on an A3 sheet of paper. Initially I started creating a smily face with the edge of my hand being smeared in paint but the teacher removed it when he realised I was trying to draw rather than simply mark make. This was justified as the focus of the session was about how children enjoyed the feeling of drawing from other senses in art such as the feel of the paper and smell of the paint. I then proceeded to simply mark make before being rotated round to another group where we were then instructed to draw shapes and objects using the marks made by the person on the paper. One line looked like the pole of a fishing rod and I drew around it as such to make it look more like one. It was impressive to see the diverse range of shapes that was available from simply using your hand as the mode of putting paint on paper. I enjoyed this session even though I had no impressive artwork to show for it and found that mark making can be a meaningful experience that allows children to express their emotions and ideas in a more effective way than perhaps any other medium.

References

Eisner, E. (2002) The Arts and the Creation of Mind, In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach. London: Yale University Press. Available: Integrated Arts module on Moodle. [Accessed 5 January 2017].

Session 1 – 20/09/16

November 22, 2016 Matthew Pound Leave a comment

Today I began the Integrated Arts module and we were informed on how classes would be presented throughout the module. I found the subject matter of what we would be learning interesting but peculiar. This week the inputs I received were for Art and Music.

During the Art workshop we explored a portfolio of art collected from children from a wide range of different ages and background. I was able to see how their ability develops and what it reflects for them as a learner as a result. According to Lowenfield et al. a children’s piece of art can fit into one of the following stages called the scribbling, pre-schematic, schematic and the gang stage (Lowenfield et al., 1987 cited in McAuliffe, 2007). However, these stages are argued to be less useful due to the considerable psychological factors that must be take into consideration and must therefore be used instead as a guide on informing opinions on pupils work (Green et al., 1997). The first set of drawings I was able to look at would fit in the scribbling stage, occurring from ages 2-4 years old, and were difficult to decipher. They still depicted the most prevalent qualities of the object they were drawing well though. This emphasised what a child notices most and also demonstrated the enormous amount of creativity that can be used at their disposal. This creativity stems from the lack of responsibility they have as a result of this age and should be used to allow them to be as expressive as possible to develop them most effectively. It is also important to note how vital it is for children to be able to make marks at this age as it gives them enjoyment and allows them to reflect upon them at a later point (The National Strategies, 2008). The quality of art in terms of conventional aesthetics improved considerably as the age of the child increased with some pieces being truly spectacular in the schematic stage where children are approximately 7-9 years old. Allowing children to create art will allow them to work collaboratively with their peers and develop social skills that just isn’t possible to the same extent with other areas of the curriculum.

Scribbling stage drawing

Pre-schematic stage drawing

Schematic stage drawing

I also attended a music workshop that focused on how teaching music in expressive arts can be beneficial to the pupils. We were given an interesting task of creating a storyboard based on a piece of classical music we heard. Our storyboard was very eccentric telling the tale of an adventurer who had whilst searching for a treasure had his map stolen by a griffin. The contrast between the fast paced chase like musical sections and quiet suspense filled sections were interesting to try and create a story around. Afterwards we were showed what Disney had created with the same music and was pleasantly surprised how similar the structure matched our own. This task could be fantastic to carry out with pupils as it would allow them to use their imagination greatly and work in a team to create the storyboard. I would most likely use it with the later stages of primary however so that teamwork is smoother even with clashing ideas. This task like the paintings in the other workshop would be enjoyable for the pupils to perform and therefore improve their school experience. A considerable benefit regarding this task in particular is the multitude of outcomes that are covered such as literacy and art outcomes.

However with both the music and art workshop I reached the conclusion that they both improve the pupils abilities in other outcomes and in fact can be taught cross-curricularly. Marshall states that the benefits of teaching interdisciplinary are excellent in contextualising the subject more effectively granting pupils a more meaningful learning experience (Marhsall, 2014). An example of this would be in the art workshop you could create a task that would require the children to create a repeating pattern such as bathroom tiles. This would test their creativity skills whilst teaching about tessellation in maths at the same time. This boon of teaching other outcomes as a secondary element whilst already improving their other unique skills shows how crucial it is to teach expressive arts in schools.

Reference

Green, L., Mitchell, R. (1997) Art 7-11 Developing Primary Teaching Skills. London:Routledge

McAuliffe, D. (2007) Foundation and Primary Settings. In Teaching Art and design 3-11 (Edited by Sue Cox, Robert Watts, Judy Grahame, Steve Herne and Diarmuid McAuliffe) London: Continuum. Available: Integrated Arts module on Moodle. [Accessed 5 January 2017].

Marshall, J. (2014) Transdisciplinarity and Art Integration: Toward a new understanding of Art-Based Learning Across the Curriculum. Journal of Issues and Research.Vol.55(2), pp.104-127. Available: Integrated Arts module on Moodle. [Accessed 6 January 2017].

The National Strategies (2008) Mark Making Matters – Young children making meaning in all areas of learning and development. [Online] Available: www.babcock-education.co.uk/ldp/do_download.asp?did=300754 [Accessed 5 January 2017].

A summary of development as a result of the Integrated Arts module