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].