Tag: Music

Week 12 – Exploring Products and Patterns in Music and Dance

This week was our final week of inputs for Integrated Arts. We learned about and explored the use of the ukulele in the classroom. Before learning more about this instrument I was sceptical about how I (with no previous experience with a ukelele or with anything like it) could possibly use it in a classroom of children. However, learning that many songs can be played using only C, F and G has made me a lot more confident that I could teach children how to use it effectively. To me, this makes the ukelele seem like an instrument which could effectively build the confidence of children who are not initially enthused by music, as it is not much to learn before success is reachable. This feeling of success is fundamental for building resilience as it will inevitably come before or after feelings of failure, especially when children are constantly trying new things. To encourage them to persist and to pursue their interests, even when challenges arise, is a key for their development and for the development of creativity (Lehrer, 2012). Resilience is vital for life within and out with education and some children may struggle more than others to develop it, so I aim to provide as many opportunities for its development as possible. Confidence is a key concept within the arts and it should be developed in children whenever possible (McAullife, 2007). When learning about the ukelele and its place in the classroom today, I considered how the end product – the performance, or the celebration as referred to by Woods (1994), can be used to both expose and improve the confidence, or lack of, in pupils. Woods describes this as the celebration as it should be the time when we feel proud of what we have achieved in the creation process.

Within dance today, we experienced this process of performance and celebration. After working collaboratively to create dances which fitted a Christmas theme last week, today we worked to bring the groups’ dances together one after the other and to add some moves in which all of the groups did at the beginning and end of the routine. We also came up with some ways that each group could move from their dance routine in the middle of the floor, to the side while another group moved in. We filmed the routine and performed it as a celebration of our work. Although some of us felt embarrassed or nervous about filming the dance, it allowed us to watch it back afterwards and to see that the finished product was more impressive than we had first thought! This helped me to feel more confident dancing alongside my colleagues and I will now be more confident dancing in front of and with my future students. We had worked together with our tutor guiding, not dictating, us, and there was a strong sense of ownership between my colleagues. This sense of ownership not only expresses pride, but encourages people to take responsibility for and to strive to further develop any skills and knowledge gained throughout an experience (Craft, 2007). This experience also helped me to consider that sometimes, once we have the product to hand, we forget about the value of the learning and development of skills which have taken place throughout the process. As a teacher I will be more conscious of making sure that I evaluate and ask the pupils to reflect on the process once the product has been created, so as not to devalue it, but to celebrate it. For the children, their reflection may allow them to revisit ideas which they had to put on a shelf along the way for one reason or another. It may also allow them to consider how their perceptions and views about different things have changed and how they can now use movement to express their feelings and ideas in different ways.

Overall, within the contexts of both music and dance today, I considered and experienced the end of the process – the product. I developed a new level of appreciation for its value and for how it can be used not to overshadow the process, but rather as a conclusion of its discoveries.

Furthermore, in music, the four chords concept, shown in the video below, inspired me to create something like this with a class of primary school children one day to show them the transferability of their skill in the use of the ukelele:

Although this particular video would not be suitable for use in a primary school classroom (due to the nature of some of the language used) the concept of it could be developed through teaching of the 4 chords principle and then researching and experimenting with different songs to see which ones fit. A mash-up could then be created of a similar nature to this one and performed with pride and, hopefully, a new found confidence within music! Exploring the concept of the 4 chords lead me to make a natural connection between music and maths: patterns and sequencing. Marshall (2014) discusses the importance of making connections where they come naturally, rather than forcing them, as this allows us to make the inter-disciplinary learning meaningful and to truly integrate subjects. This is evidenced in various aspects of music; the beat is a pattern of short sounds, and the melody often repeats itself in a pattern during the chorus and verses, but this particular sequence adds another opportunity for IDL – Roman Numerals. The principle means that whatever key you are playing in, the four chords you use go in a sequence of 1, 5, 6, 4. Upper case Roman Numerals are used to represent a major chord, and lower case Roman Numerals to represent a minor chord. If, for example, we were playing in the D key, the chords would be D, G, A, B, played in the sequence of D, A, B, G. This form of sequencing and patterns could be experimented with using various different keys to create various different letter patterns and to represent them using sound. This could be an activity used to reach the following outcome: I can continue and devise more involved repeating patterns or designs, using a variety of media. MTH 1-13a. Also, it could be used to aim towards this outcome: I can use my voice, musical instruments and music technology to discover and enjoy playing with sound, rhythm, pitch and dynamics. EXA 1-17a. The Roman Numerals also provide opportunities for exploration of this type of musical sequence to include lessons on number systems; comparing the Roman Numeral System to the Hindu Arabic system, and learning about the history and cultural impacts of the number systems we use today. I have discussed the important part that numbers play in the world and explored a variety of systems that have been used by civilisations throughout history to record numbers. MTH 1-12a. 

Similarly to this, in the dance workshop today, my group and I were considering patterns and sequences of a different sort. Dance routines are often referred to as sequences as, essentially, they are a sequence of moves. We considered the different ways in which we can take a dance to the next level of aesthetic value. My group and I thought about ways in which some of us could do a sequence of moves in a different order to the others in our group.  I was inspired to consider that this concept highlights the use of patterns in dance and could be used to further explore patterns and sequences in the classroom. These patterns could be represented using symbols of the children’s choice – numbers, doodles, shapes, or objects such as shells or coloured crayons. Once the patterns are recorded, the children could assign different moves to the different symbols and represent their patterns using movement. This would highlight the flow of some patterns and the abrupt change of others, and this could in fact be how the children choose to represent their feelings within the dance – is it a soft and easy flowing sequence of moves, or a bold and sharp sequence of moves? Encouraging children to consider their moves first in isolation and then to combine them within a sequence, would hopefully allow them to more easily edit and adapt their sequences to whatever pattern of moves they like best. Editing is very important and should be encouraged within creative processes such as this (Kear and Callaway, 2000).

A move or a single sound in isolation can have a very limited impact. It is the sequence of moves and sounds which create the art forms of dance and music: making sequences a vital aspect, of these two art forms in particular, to consider.

References

Craft, A. (2007) Creativity and possibility thinking in the Early Years. [Online] Available: www.tactyc.org.uk/pdfs/reflection-craft.pdf [Accessed: 1 October 2017].

Kear, M. and Callaway, G. (eds.) (2000) Improving teaching and learning in the arts. London: Falmer Press.

Lehrer, J. (2012) Imagine: How Creativity Works. [Online] Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufnp89NOrel&feature=youtu.be [Accessed: 2 October 2017].

Marshall, J. (2014) Transdisciplinarity And Art Integration: Toward a New Understanding of Art-Based Learning Across The Curriculum. Studies in Art Education. [Online] Vol.55(2), pp.104-127. Available: Taylor & Francis. [Accessed: 17 November 2017].

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.

Woods, P. (1994) ‘Chances of a lifetime: exceptional educational events’. In: Bourne, J. (ed.) Thinking Through Primary Practice. London: Routledge.

Week 10 – Removing Barriers to Learning in Music and Visual Art

Today in music we focussed on the need for a pulse/beat when we are creating a piece of music. We started off by being given a set of beaters and were instructed to play certain beats on the floor or chair in front of us. Each musical note was expressed as a shape at first; a square represented a crotchet because the word square has one syllable, while a circle represented two quavers because the word circle has two syllables.  We then progressed, looking at music with the conventional notation within the shapes before removing the shapes all together. The number of different notes in the music we were playing increased as the series of lessons progressed and by the time we were looking at second level work we were exploring the different note pitches and trying to think of ways to remember them such as ‘Every Good Boy Deserves Football’ and ‘FACE’. We played the beats of the music along with backing tracks and there was a sense of pride in the room; I think there were many of us who would never have believed we’d have learned to do this in one session. This shows how powerful teaching music in this way could be for children as they would receive inputs over a long period of time to build up their skills and understanding of music gradually; possibly inspiring them to continue learning to play a percussion instrument or to go on to learn another instrument with their new skill of reading notation. As Sir Ken Robinson (2006) says: “All children have tremendous talents”. It is extremely important that we allow and encourage children to find these talents and to explore the possibilities within them. By helping them to build confidence in the arts through methods such as scaffolding like this, we are removing notation as a barrier to learning and introducing it as an enabler. I love the idea of exploring beats of the music in the classroom as I think that it could be used in numerous ways without the need for expensive materials and I would be interested to see whether or not it would be an effective method of getting the children’s attention; similarly to the way teachers clap beats and ask the children to clap them back. Throughout this input I was inspired to consider how I could use this in the classroom to learn about other things, as well as how to play and hear the beat of music. I noticed that in order for us to understand the difference between a full count and a half count, we need to understand fractions. Doing a lesson in which children explore the different meanings of a full beat and a half beat will help them to make the connection that 2 halves make one whole – as 2 half beats are the same as one whole beat. This could be explained by asking half of the class to clap a steady beat of one while the other half clap 2 fast beats. This would help to contextualise and develop connections within the experience and outcome of: I have extended the range of whole numbers I can work with and having explored how decimal fractions are constructed, can explain the link between a digit, its place and its value. MNU 2-02a

In the visual art input today we were reflecting on placement so far and discussing our experiences of the arts. There was a varied response with some of the group having experienced many integrated art lessons and with some having experienced none. Reflection is an extremely important part of the arts as it is this process in which we consider the successes and challenges of a situation and determine how we are going to move forward (Burnard, 2006). It could be said therefore, that it is through reflection on our experiences that we will shape our practice and impact on the lives of our future pupils. It was very interesting to hear the responses of others and I took away some interesting ideas which I would like to try in a classroom. These included making displays with different materials and exploring the use of colours to represent natural occurrences. We considered the impact of myth within the arts and discussed how this can be a much more powerful stimulus than fact, as fact forces us to work in one direction towards the truth. Myth has a greater sense of freedom and mystery and can arguably be infinitely explored.

“Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don’t let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.” – R.I. Fitzhenry

I was also inspired by our explorations of art lessons in Finland. They use natural resources to build and design. This sustainable way of learning is one which I think could be exciting and memorable for everyone involved, without wasting materials. The idea that the materials used (whether they be sticks, snow, or even sand) can be replaced by an almost unlimited supply removes the potential barrier of cost of materials to arts lessons in which trial and error should be encouraged. I feel that when we design things and go on to make them, we should be using trial and error as a means of learning about what works and what doesn’t – this is so much more beneficial than being told that something is not going to work. Csikszentmihalyi (1996) argued that creative environments are those which encourage communication and promote the generation of ideas and engagement. I would therefore argue that the outdoors and our natural environments are exceptionally creative environments and have such vast stimuli for creativity. Outdoor spaces are often bigger than indoor spaces and offer numerous opportunities for the exposition of a topic and for it to be contextualised. On placement, my class are currently studying ‘This Morning I Met a Whale’ by Michael Morpurgo. This novel has a strong focus on pollution and how human activity is negatively impacting the natural environment and our planet. It also provides opportunities for the students to consider the different types of birds mentioned in the novel and to consider the water and the whale. The whale in the story becomes beached and from looking at the models created by the children in Finland, I was inspired to consider how the children in my class could take a trip to the beach and make a whale out of sand – essentially creating their own beached whale. This would be an activity which would come after careful research about the different types of whales and about why, when whales become beached, they cannot return to sea. This could be an interesting topic which could lead to the children learning about the human body and considering the physical differences between humans and sea animals. I also like the idea of  all of the different sensory experiences a trip to the beach provides, such as the smell, movements, taste, and sounds of the sea and the texture of the sand and visual details of different shells. All of these things could be explored and captured through the arts and would help the children to develop an understanding of what it would be like to live under the sea. Samples of sea water could be taken back to the classroom and the sounds of the waves could be recorded using digital devices. They could then be replicated using musical instruments, while the movements of the sea could be captured through dance. The different fish, sea birds, and the sea itself could be recreated using various different materials to capture the texture of them.

Although most of the ideas which I have generated today would require some materials, I have come to the realisation that materials cannot replace experiences. In music, the barrier of a lack of understanding of conventional notation and a lack of musical instruments in schools cannot and should not hinder musical opportunities. Traditional methods can be changed to aid development of understanding and the use of clapping or hitting beaters off a table can be less intimidating than being handed a musical instrument; providing a more relaxed and confidence building experience. Getting out of the classroom and exploring the natural environment is a fantastic way to enhance creative thinking and to promote collaboration, trial and error with design ideas, and problem solving. It can also inspire expression and give children the opportunity to focus on nothing else other than their senses. Overall, we shouldn’t feel hindered by a lack of expensive materials as there are so many within the natural environment that come completely free.

References

Burnard, P. (2006) Rethinking the Imperatives for Reflective Practices in Arts Education. In: Burnard, P. and Hennessy, S. (eds.) Reflective Practices in the Arts Series: Landscapes: The Arts, Aesthetics and Education. Dordrecht: Springer, pp.3-12.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996) Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of discovery and invention. New York: Harper Collins.

Robinson, K. (2006) Do schools kill creativity? [Online] Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY [Accessed: 26 September 2017].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 9 – Micro-teaching in Drama and Music

Today in drama we participated in two lessons created by two other groups of our peers. From participating in their lessons and activities I have learned some valuable lessons which will hopefully help my group to lead a successful lesson next session. These included making sure everyone can hear what the participants (in this case our peers, but in a classroom setting the pupils) are saying, not looking at the participants when you are walking through a thought tunnel in order to give them full power to say how they feel, and giving the participants set times to have discussions which are not too long and not too short in order to allow them to think and discuss before they act but also to retain that aspect of improvisation. The lessons were based on a story book which our peers read throughout their lessons, stopping and starting to explore certain aspects using different drama conventions. As Booth (1985) said, exploration and questioning are encouraged by drama, meaning that these become habits which can be more easily and thoroughly developed and transferred to reading text. This is to say that using drama conventions throughout story books helps children to develop a deeper connection with the characters and a better understanding of the main messages of the story. This is not to say that drama conventions must be used every time the class reads a story, but the use of only one convention could sometimes be enough to make the difference between a class of children who develop and display their understanding of the main concepts and a class of those who do not. I also like the idea that drama allows children to display their understanding in a way that they may not be capable of doing using words. The use of facial expressions and body movements can be enough to demonstrate an idea. Reflecting on my own experience of school, I feel that we were possibly too focussed on the outcome of a reading activity and not focussed enough on the process of getting to know the characters and exploring the possibilities of the direction of the story. Sometimes it was almost as though we were rushing to read through the book as quickly as possible in order to complete the comprehension textbook tasks and tick a box to say we had completed it. In my teaching practice I want to help children to enjoy and appreciate literature and to learn from it in ways beyond their phonic, graphic and bibliographic knowledge. Drama can help us to achieve this as the process and product of drama are interconnected (Ackroyd-Pilkington, 2001).

My group are going to be presenting our lesson to our peers next Tuesday. This is what we have planned and how I am currently feeling about the experience:

Csikszentmihalyi (1996) discusses the importance of encouraging flexibility in gender roles within the arts. Books such as the one we have chosen to use in our lesson will be a good way to highlight to young children, in a child friendly manner, the different gender roles of the past and how these are changing. It also discretely brings up the issue of sexism which could be discussed indirectly after the story when the children have connected the different aspects of the story to Cinderella, by asking questions such as: “How is the story different to Cinderella? Who proposes to who? Is it okay for a woman to propose to a man? Why? Who is the hero in the story?” This would be a very good opportunity to discuss these things with a class of children in a way which they can understand and in a way which is relevant to them, while empowering the heroic female characters and empathising with the sensitive male character.

As Grainger (2003, p.44) says:

“Literature discussions, oral storytelling, poetry performances and improvisational drama [offer] learners the chance to interpret, communicate and create meaning for themselves.”

She also says that it is important for teachers to carefully select literature that will encourage children to engage and to question different aspects of the text. Through use of this book, my group and I hope to evoke imaginative responses and to awaken inquisitive minds about the different themes within the story.

In music today we worked with Primary 6/7 pupils from Greenmill Primary School in Cumnock. They are a part of a string orchestra and have been working together as a class as part of a project since Primary 4. I found it very interesting that rather than being taken out of class individually to be taught different instruments, they work together to learn how to play their string instruments and perform as an orchestra. Teachers have reported improvements in behaviour, team working skills and general attitudes of pupils who have taken part in the project. From meeting the pupils and having them teach us about their instruments today, I could see the benefits of having them all feel like professionals. They looked and acted like professionals and by making them feel appreciated and working with them in reversed roles with us as the learners they will hopefully have gone away feeling proud and even more confident. Building up the self-esteem and leadership skills of young people is an incredibly important part of the arts (Education Scotland, 2013). I saw today that learning how to play an instrument is something that every child is capable of doing and by helping them to do that we are giving them a skill to show off and be proud of. Confidence with this skill will hopefully then allow them to progress and be creative with the instrument, as creativity requires children to have more control over their own experiences in lessons (Harris, 2016).

Helping children to find their passion and something that they are good at can help them to feel more comfortable and included in school. Today I was partnered with a learner who was originally from Poland and moved to Scotland two years ago. The learner told me that being a part of this strings orchestra had helped him to make friends with the other pupils in the class, before he could competently speak English. In spite of the numerous things that the project has achieved so far and will continue to achieve, this to me is reason enough to call it a success. By helping this one young child who came to live in a new country knowing very little, if any, of the language, this technique of teaching music promoted inclusion and comfort. He is now so confident in his abilities that he could come today and teach me how to hold the bow and to play a short tune using the cello. To me, this highlights the arts as a universal language which should be accessible to all.

Overall, by being taught by both my peers and primary school students today I have been reminded that we can all be experts in different fields, and age and professional status should not always determine our level of knowledge and/or ability to teach. Teaching others can also be a fantastic way to contextualise our own learning as it forces us to think in depth about the process behind our thoughts.

References 

Ackroyd-Pilkington, J. (2001) Acting, Representation and Role. Research in Drama Education. The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance. [Online] Vol.6(1), pp.9-12. Available: Taylor and Francis. [Accessed: 6 November 2017].

Booth, D. (1985) “Imaginary gardens with real toads”: Reading and drama in education. Theory into Practice. [Online] Vol.24(3), pp.193-198. Available: Taylor and Francis. [Accessed: 6 November 2017].

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996) Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of discovery and invention. New York: Harper Collins.

Education Scotland (2013) Creativity Across Learning 3-18. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/Creativity/CRE1_WhatAreCreativitySkills/Creativity3to18.pdf [Accessed: 2 October 2017].

Grainger, T. (2003) Creative teachers and the language arts: Possibilities and potential, Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education. [Online] Vol.31(1), pp.43-47. Available: Taylor and Francis. [Accessed 29 September 2017]

Harris, A. (2016) Creativity and Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

 

 

 

Week 8 – Teaching Drama and Music in Their Own Right and to Contextualise Other Subjects

Today in drama we finished off our learning about the different conventions. The last four being flashback, flash-forward, narration, and slow motion. Flashback and flash-forward give learners the opportunity to carefully consider the consequences of actions and the possible past events which may have lead to certain consequences. For me, these two conventions emphasise the idea that every action has a consequence and every consequence once had a catalyst. Narration helps learners to consider what is happening in the drama and why, as it calls for them to give an explanation. This can be a good way for learners to take themselves out of the experience for just enough time to reflect on what is going on, but for a short enough time that they remain engaged in the process. Finally, slow motion can be used to slow down aspects of the drama to encourage learners to think carefully about their characters’ reactions to different stimuli and to engage with the experience of these reactions. Neelands (2000) suggests that the use of drama conventions in the classroom allows teachers to teach drama as a subject in its own right, as well as use it to capture learners within a learning experience about various other subjects across the curriculum. I would agree with this point as through the past few inputs on drama, and through various inputs in other modules, I have gained a deeper understanding of the use of the different drama conventions and have been made aware of numerous learning points for children which would fall into different curricular areas. This could be, for example, the use of flash-forward to a time in the future which shows the results of our pollution of the planet, and then an alternative flash-forward to a future time which will occur if we start living more sustainably.

We considered these conventions within the theme of a Halloween story. Using the theme of Halloween would hopefully engage learners as it is relevant to them (especially on the 31st of October). We also considered Augusto Boal’s Forum Theatre. This is a style of drama in which audience participation is key. The audience are invited, not to judge or to find fault in a drama, but to give their opinion and give suggestions for alternative concepts which the drama could adopt. In some cases, the audience members may act out their suggestions. I found this form of drama very interesting as it has the potential to bring different insights on the roles of different characters and encourages the audience members to be active rather than passive throughout the process. This could lead to an enhanced experience for all of those involved as the actors are being questioned and have to think carefully, meaning that they will have no option but to be engaged. This supports Eisner’s (2002) claim that “The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their largest lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.”, as different people will have different ideas about the way in which the drama should go and by encouraging them to express these ideas we are encouraging them to explore and accept those of their own and of others.

After drama, we moved in to music. Firstly, we focussed on the use of the voice as a teacher. We considered the numerous uses of the voice and concluded that it is an imperative tool for a teacher to have and use effectively. We considered various ways to care for our voices and this has intrigued me to learn more about different ways to get the attention of the class or to convey messages to the class without raising my voice. I aim to look into this with further reading.

We then looked at different warm-ups which can be used in the class before singing. Before this input I had not realised the importance of warming up our muscles before we sing and had not considered the use of different vocal warm-ups as a strategy to settle the pupils into the class. We started off by practising some breathing warm-ups. One of these was breathing in for 4 seconds, holding it for 4 seconds and then releasing the breath through making a long, continuous “sssss” sound for 20 seconds, until all of the air was released from our lungs. We also held on to our rib cage while doing this technique to feel our lungs expanding and contracting. This would be a good way to contextualise learning about the organs of the human body as learners can feel their lungs functioning and would hopefully be more able to visualise their diaphragm contracting and relaxing as they breath in and out. We then warmed up our bodies and faces by making a ‘big face’, a ‘small face’, and chewing an imaginary piece of toffee. I found these activities enjoyable, and definitely a fun way to stretch the muscles of our faces and improve our enunciation.

My favourite of the vocal warm-ups was the penguin song. I loved this as a way to warm-up our bodies and our voices and I also thought that it would be a great way to help young children practise their rights and lefts. I will keep this song to use in the classroom, especially with younger children, to settle them in to class by ending the song with “Penguins, attention! Penguins, sit down!” Julie demonstrated this to use today and it was very interesting to see that every single one of us in the class followed her order almost subconsciously as we were so engaged with the song. This is an example of how the arts can be used as methods of behaviour management as well as their various other properties.

Finally, we explored the use of grids within music. I found this to be a very interesting and non-intimidating way of creating a whole class or group production, in which learners are encouraged to consider sounds which they would relate to a certain theme and how they would represent those sounds using different instruments, their voices, and electronic sound effects. As a class, we considered the theme of fireworks. After coming up with the sounds we chose where on the grid we wanted them to appear and chose the instruments we wanted to use to represent them. We decided how may beats we wanted each box to represent and added different dimensions such as a crescendo. We had a conductor who pointed to the column which she wanted us to play. We then split into groups to make our own versions of the grids. My group chose Christmas.

This activity encourages creativity through experimenting with different sounds and representing connections using different media. This strongly supports the imaginative aspect of Tallis Habits Pedagogy Wheel as it allows learners to play with possibilities, make connections, and use their intuition. As well as this, it provides a fantastic opportunity for IDL. As soon as I saw the grid I thought of maths. Grids like this could be used for learners at first level to achieve the Experience and Outcome of ‘I have developed an awareness of where grid reference systems are used in everyday contexts and can use them to locate and describe position.’ MTH 1-18a. The learners would all contribute to making the music grid as a class or in groups and could then identify which squares within the grid there is a ‘bang’ or a ‘boom’. In this case there is a ‘bang’ in squares A6, C6, E6 and F6. By making each of the squares represent the same number of beats I would be helping the learners to understand that on a grid all of the squares have the same value. When introducing this I would use a very small grid, possibly only 3 by 3 squares. To practice it, I could shout out coordinates like ‘C3’ and all of the children who have the instrument to make a sound on C3 do so. This could transform the role of the conductor from simply pointing to different points on the grid to calling out the names of the points on the grid to create our piece of music. As Marshall (2014) explains, teaching with an integrated approach allows learners to understand that knowledge is not separated into set groups, but it is integratable and relatable to other forms of new and existing knowledge.

After today’s workshops and from further reading, I have come to the conclusion that teaching drama through various methods such as the conventions approach and music through non-conventional approaches, allows the arts to enhance creativity, and to teach and contextualise learning in other subjects, as well as being taught in their own right.

References 

Eisner, E. (2002) The Arts and the Creation of Mind. Yale University Press.

Marshall, J. (2014) Transforming Education through art centred integrated learning. Visual Enquiry: Learning & Teaching Art. [Online] Vol.3(3), pp.361-376. Available: http://www.academia.edu/8439173/Transforming_Education_Through_Art_Centred_Integrated_Learning [Accessed: 24 October 2017].

Neelands, J. (2000) In the Hands of Living People. [Online] Paper presented at: The National Drama Conference. York, UK, April 2000. Available: http://www.theatroedu.gr/portals/38/main/images/stories/files/magazine/EandT_e-mag_June2002_EN_06.pdf [Accessed: 12 October 2017].

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 6 – Learning how to use music and dance across the curriculum

Today we began by considering the importance of music for children. We considered how music can be used in classroom lessons, across the school and within the community. Music can connect children with their peers and with people in their community. This sense of community togetherness is something which the expressive arts promote and through the development of creative skills children will develop their abilities to care about and take control of the world around them (Education Scotland, 2013). The main factors we considered were musical experience, participation, discovery of music, musical repertoire and awareness. I learned that beats are the foundation of music, then the long and short sounds of the rhythm, then the notes which make the melody, then the timbre, then the dynamics and finally the pitch. Julie spoke of the importance of learning how to experiment with music across various different platforms such as instruments, technology, voice, and listening. We also considered the importance of experiencing music in different environments, learning how to compose a piece of music and considering the meaning and thoughts behind the music. As well as being a way of expressing emotions and thoughts, music is a way for many learners to find themselves and it can allow for children to channel their emotions into something other than aggressive speech or actions. In addition, Anna Craft (2007) argues that encouraging creativity in schools can challenge teachers as our approaches are often typically Western and this may make parents and/or children with different cultural backgrounds feel uncomfortable. However, music provides us with ideal opportunities to explore and celebrate different cultures – helping to ensure that more Eastern views are not forgotten about during expressive arts activities.

We then moved on to considering how music can be used to develop skills across the curriculum in more depth. We split Hallam’s paper in the International Journal of Music Education (2010). Other groups considered the impact of music on numeracy, perceptual and language skills, intellectual development, general attainment, creativity, social and personal development, and physical development and health and wellbeing. My group looked at literacy and we found that much research has been undertaken to prove that musical training improves phonological awareness and so early reading skills. This means that if music is taught to children in schools from a very young age, their phonological abilities will be of a higher standard. The paper also shows that learning the piano in particular is linked to better vocabulary and stronger verbal sequencing, and instrumental training makes people better at remembering verbal information. This makes music a fantastic way to develop the skills of those with reading disabilities such as Dyslexia as it helps to improve language, timing and verbal memory. In addition, by using the beats of music by clapping, stamping or using instruments, it can help learners to sound out words and to identify phonological and graphic patterns in words. The abilities to sound out words, remember verbal language and to picture sequencing are all things which people with Dyslexia struggle with, so if music can help them to develop these then that is reason enough to dedicate time to music lessons.

Although to develop these skills music does not have to be used in a literacy context, it can be used across the curriculum to directly achieve Experiences and Outcomes for various subjects other than music. We came up with a lesson plan to teach music in the context of literacy. We decided to do this based on reading groups due to our new found knowledge of the impact music can have on reading skills in particular. The task we created included children working in their reading groups to create a piece of music which told the story of their reading book, including the different feelings and aspects of the beginning, middle and end of the book. Attached is the first section of our lesson plan:

Music and Reading lesson plan

This would be a good lesson to support the government aims of using more of art and ICT to encourage creativity across the curriculum (Education Scotland, 2013).

After the music workshop we moved on to dance. We began by considering our own feelings towards teaching dance and most of the group said they felt nervous about it. Although I am nervous I am also feeling optimistic as I think that it is something which most children will enjoy, as I remember enjoying the few experiences of expressive dance which I got as a pupil at school. We then moved on to playing games such as follow the leader; when the person at the front of the line did a dance move which they thought of when they heard different pieces of music being played, the rest of us copied. We also played Tig and movement team games which related to the topic of the day – which in our case was Scotland. This is a good way to contextualise the dance activity and to make it relevant to the learning of the children in the classroom. It also allows learners to consider the topic in a different way and in more depth, which, for many children, can help to promote understanding in a memorable way. We were exploring aspects of Scottish culture and of Scotland as a geographical location. Different places and points in time could be explored in the same way through dance. Once we were warmed up, we stretched. Before stretching we considered the places and names of our different muscles, bones and organs by drawing around one person in our team’s body. This again, helped to contextualise learning and allowed us to see why we were doing these stretches and what was happening to our bodies when we did. Finally, in our groups we moved round different stations of movement, namely: reach, twist, balance, turn, kick, jump, hop, gesture, slide, and roll. At each station we had to come up with a movement of this description. At the end we combined all of the movements to create a dance which we performed to the rest of the class.

By giving children a theme and by providing examples of the different movements of dance, we can help even those with the least confidence in dance to create a routine which reflects their thoughts and feelings. Also, if we allow children to decide for themselves what they are going to dance about then we, as teachers, can learn a lot about what is currently impacting them in their lives (Cone, 2011). Finding the balance between guidance and freedom is important as Cone (2011) discusses that too much guidance can hinder creativity and can prevent learners from identifying and dealing with problems in their own ways and it may also steal opportunities for the building of confidence and resilience. However, she also discusses that too much freedom can lead to challenges such as children taking inspiration from video games and wanting to incorporate fighting into their dances. She suggests that we should take these challenges as opportunities to discuss that violence is wrong but it sadly happens, and help children to consider ways of overcoming conflict in a peaceful way. Dance can therefore be used to teach and explore valuable life lessons, as well as to develop understanding and knowledge of other topics across the curriculum such as geography, history, and biology.

Overall, music and dance can be used successfully to explore different subjects across the curriculum. Today I have developed an understanding of this and have considered various ways in which I could use them to do so in the classroom. I hope to further my knowledge and understanding of this throughout the next few inputs on music and dance and through further reading. I also hope to continue to build on my confidence in teaching these subjects, as today I have made a good start in doing so.

References

Craft, A (2007) Creativity and possibility in the Early Years [Online] Available: https://www.tactic.org.uk/pdfs/reflection-craft.pdf [Accessed: 1 October 2017].

Cone, T (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: 14 October 2017].

Education Scotland (2013) Creativity Across Learning 3-18. [Online] Available: https://www.education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/cre39-impact-report.pdf [Accessed: 17 October 2017].

Hallam, S (2010) The power of music: It’s impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people, International Journal of Music Education [Online] Vol.35(4), pp.269-289. Available: http://ijm.sage.pub.com/content/28/3/269 [Accessed: 17 October 2017].

 

Week 5 – Using materials to inspire creation

This week’s sessions included Visual Art and Music. We started off in visual art by continuing the process of printing which we worked on last week. We photocopied the prints we made and then filled in the rest of the blank paper to continue the image on the photocopy, then applied colour. I feel that this activity would be good to use in the classroom as there will always be differing levels of confidence, and by following on from an image which is already there, we are provided with the option of whether to copy aspects of the original image (which at first, learners who are not confident in the arts may decide to do) or whether to let our imaginations run wild and create something totally different. The image we used was part of a house – part of Windows in the West, by Avril Paton. The use of an image such as a house allows for people to consider how they want the rest of the picture to appear and by adding the other half to the picture they can determine the mood they want it to convey. The fact that children would have this power and are being told that there is not one correct way to draw the second half of the picture fosters a sense of the unknown and encourages curiosity as to what could potentially fill the empty paper. Curiosity is an essential part of creativity and we should do whatever we can to encourage it; valuing the inquisitive nature of young people. As discussed by Csikszentmihalyi (1996) if curiosity is not encouraged and there are not opportunities for children to experiment with possibilities, they will become less willing to take part in creative thinking and actions.

We then moved on to looking at books which children can use to colour in and to continue drawings from. I particularly like this book as there is a base on each page which triggers children to think creatively and to generate a creative response. It provides children with a starting point and with a small instructional sentence it guides their thinking and development without hindering their creativity by telling them how to complete the task; the instructions are always somewhat open to the interpretation of the child. For example, if a child is instructed to draw ‘the world’s strangest creature’ or to draw who they think is ‘riding the broom’, it is up to them to decide what the world’s strangest creature may look like and to consider what would make something out of the ordinary. It is also up to them to think about who may be riding a broom – this may be influenced by stereotypes and previous stories they have been told about witches and wizards on broom sticks, or they may choose to have a totally different character riding the broom stick. These books and the use of following on from other pieces of work provide learners with guidance as well as control over their own learning. Anne Harris (2016) discusses the need for children to have these opportunities of control and power. 

We then moved in to music where we used the garage band app to make our own eight-bar piece of music. We listened to and chose different beats and pieces played by different instruments and then put them together to create our own piece of music. We changed the tempo and pitch and added fade ins and fade outs, and experimented with sound effects.

I really enjoyed this activity and feel that it would be a fantastic way to engage children. I felt proud of the piece of music I had created and children would also get a feeling of pride from doing the same activity. We then moved on to upload an animation to the app and created music with the digital instruments and sound effects to go with the animation. Anne Harris (2016) argues that technology can act as a barrier to creativity as it provides people with an easier option than thinking for themselves. However, she also recognises that technology provides us with great tools to use to enhance creativity and Garage Band is an example of this point. By creating music to suit an animation children have to think critically about the message which they feel the animation should convey and the feelings which they want it to conjure. They are also experimenting with sounds and developing active listening skills. Apps such as Garage Band could be used to create audio books with soundtracks and sound effects to add depth, which would help learners to practice reading aloud and would also show them how their work can be displayed by means other than in writing. This is important as it is not all about teaching children for potential career prospects, but about teaching children how to appreciate the value of different forms (Smith, 2009). By asking them to consider the music and sound effects which they would deem appropriate for the piece of writing they are also developing a better contextual understanding. Teaching in this way can make a potentially boring lesson into something memorable which shows children that their work is valuable. This sense of value will hopefully encourage learners to try their best and to create something which they are truly proud of.

Overall, building up the confidence and resilience of children is extremely important. By providing them with beginning points such as brief, open instructions or a technological app with beats and pieces of individual instruments installed, we are providing children with just enough guidance to help them to find success in their own creative way.

References

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996) Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: Harper Collins.

Harris, A. (2016) Creativity and Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Smith, F. (2009) Why Arts Education Is Crucial, and Who’s Doing It Best. [Online] Available: https://www.edutopia.org/arts-music-curriculum-child-development [Accessed: 2 October 2017].

 

Week 3 – Learning in and through the arts

This week’s session of our Integrated Arts module saw us consider some of the different ways we can learn within the arts. In the music workshop, we learned about the use of Figurenotes in the classroom. I personally cannot read conventional notation of music and before this workshop I would have claimed that I could never read any form of sheet music. Although I love music, I did not have any experience of reading it from primary school and when I went to secondary school I felt intimidated by the vast number of unknown black dots, lines, and shapes. I also remember feeling that I was scared to get it wrong in music because there were young people who, by this stage of their education, found reading music to be easy. However, this workshop completely changed my view; I can now confidently say that I would be able to teach music to learners using Figurenotes and to guide them through their progression to be able to read conventional notation. My aim is that I will learn to read conventional notation using this same progressive strategy, in order to make sure all of my pupils are set up in their best stead to get the most they possibly can out of music. Figurenotes started off in Sweden as a way to help young people with additional support needs which meant that they struggled to read conventional notation, to play music. This was a great success and the programme has moved across the world, as shown by a BBC Scotland report (MacAulay, 2010) which spoke of a seventeen year old boy from Edinburgh who has Autism who, after being introduced to Figurenotes, could confidently and happily play music with his peers. Clearly, this displays how Figurenotes are a fantastic force of inclusion and provide a whole new way in which people can be introduced to and allowed to experience music. Although, it is not only those with additional support needs who struggle to read conventional notation, and it is not only those with additional support needs who have anxieties about music. It is for this reason that Figurenotes are now being used across the country in all different classrooms – it will definitely be used in mine.

When we were experimenting with Figurenotes, we played Twinkle Twinkle, Jingle Bells, and Frere Jacques.

As shown in the pictures above, Figurenotes are represented by different shapes which are different colours. The different colours represent the notes and the different shapes show whether it is a low note, a middle note, or a high note. This is the first stage of the progression. Once learners are confident with this they move on to reading the coloured shapes on a stave, and then to coloured notes, before finally being able to read conventional notation. The system makes perfect sense and my only question is: why did nobody think of this when I was at school?

My colleagues and I discussed a few of the benefits we feel using Figurenotes in the classroom will have:

 

Overall, I think Figurenotes allow people to focus on the creative side of music; which arguably is the most important side. If children can easily access a way of reading music which comes easily to them, then they can start coming up with ideas and creating music much more quickly than if they had to learn conventional notation first. This mirrors the fact that learners cannot truly understand a piece of writing in literacy before they have the graphic and phonic knowledge to read it. Therefore, using Figurenotes will hopefully allow learners to build up and make use of higher order thinking skills much more efficiently. After experimenting with Figurenotes we improvised while Julie played a tune on the piano. We removed the B and F keys from our glockenspiels and this meant that whatever we decided to play would not sound out of tune with the piano. This allowed us all to create a piece of music on the spot which was completely our own and sounded good, encouraging our confidence.

I believe that we should be making it as easy as possible for learners to indulge in their creative side and this view would be supported by Cindy Foley (2014) as she discussed in a TED Talk her belief that an ideal classroom would be one in which all learners are experimenting and coming up with their own ideas. By providing learners with the correct materials and guidance, for example using Figurenotes or removing certain notes from an instrument, we as teachers can provide them with the ability and confidence to play with, consider the impact of, and create artistic ideas in the form of music.

The theme of creativity was carried through to the second workshop of visual art. We began by creating our own paintbrushes. We were provided with sticks of willow which we could cut to be any size of our choice and different materials such as feathers, wool, foam shapes, buttons, string, scissors and tape. We were not given any instructions other than to make a paintbrush, leaving the task one which was free for us to individually interpret. I began by wrapping different coloured wool around the stick and then tied a bundle of feathers to one end. I then taped foam shapes to the other end of the stick and tied a bundle of wool about two thirds of the way along, as shown in the photographs below:

I wanted my paint brush to be able to make different types of marks but I also wanted it to look extravagant; unlike the usual, boring paintbrushes we buy in bulk. By making our paintbrushes, we were able to move on to making a painting which was not constricted by any outside means. The work was completely my own and this gave me a stronger sense of ownership and pride. This task is one which I would love to use in a classroom as I feel that is embodies the true meaning of art. It supports the ideas of Room 13; giving young artists full control of their work and as stated by Claire Gibb (2012):

“encouraging individuals to discover their full potential”.

We then moved on to listen to Diarmuid as he read a description of a picture he had in front of him. While he read we were given the opportunity to take notes if we wanted to. We chose a piece of paper (there were different sizes and colours) and drew a border within the paper. We were provided with paints in the primary colours and white and had to mix them to make the different colours which we required. This allowed us to experiment with the different colours and to find out for ourselves what would happen if we mixed them. Using our handmade paintbrushes we painted the picture which we had heard a description of. All of the paintings were different and because we had never seen the picture which had been described, none of us really knew what our paintings were supposed to look like. This would be a fantastic way to help learners to build up a tolerance of ambiguity as it was the not knowing which made each of our paintings individual and which encouraged us to be creative. It is the not knowing which prevents replicas of ready-made things and which allows paintings to “encapsulate an expression of their own experiences, curiosities and worldview”, which Claire Gibb (2012, p.240) states as being very important when creating art.  

Overall, by providing learners with materials and allowing them to make use of them in an artistic way, which we guide rather than control, they will develop higher order thinking skills and learn to communicate their thoughts, ideas, feelings and emotions in a universal language. We must allow children to show off the amazing talents which they all have (Robinson, 2006). We can do this by helping them to learn about different means of expression such as visual art and music and encouraging them to take pride in anything that they create. It is this sense of pride which will hopefully help children to gain confidence within and outwith the arts and to jump into the unknown without the fear of being wrong, because with unconventional notation and handmade paintbrushes, is anything we do wrong? Sir Ken Robinson (2006) argues that by accepting the possibility of being wrong we can create something new and authentic. This is the main lesson that we should be teaching learners as this is a skill which can be applied across the curriculum and throughout life.

References 

Foley, C. (2014) Teaching art or teaching to think like an artist? [Online] Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcFRfjb20Nk [Accessed: 26 September 2017].

Gibb, C. (2012). Room 13: The Movement and International Network. International Journal of Art and Design Education. Vol.31(3), pp.237-244.

MacAulay, J. (2010) Colours and shapes are helping people to read music. [Online] Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8579853.stm [Accessed: 26 September 2017].

Robinson, K. (2006) Do schools kill creativity? [Online] Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY [Accessed: 26 September 2017].

 

 

 

 

Week 1 – Preconceptions within visual art and music

Today’s lecture and workshops focussed mainly on the meaning conveyed by music and visual arts and how we use them to tell stories. We discussed how mark making and sound making are always significant. Marks, from scribbles to a well composed piece of writing or a detailed drawing, convey a message intended by their creator and they all hold equal value in the sense of expression.

Fleming (2012, p.14) discusses his belief that to label the arts as something which ‘provides insight into human situations’ would be referring more directly to the literary arts. However I would argue that all types of art, including the physical arts, reflect perceptions of reality and situations which humans deal with. Fleming (2012) then goes on to discuss the fact that art is created by humans, often to represent some form of their reality, but there is a part of it which seems to be disconnected from reality and it is this part which separates that which is captured by the arts from the real world. Therefore, the arts are always conveying a message, although this message may never be truly understood; even by the creator themselves.

Today’s workshops for both visual art and music taught me that people have different preconceptions which will influence their perceptions of the messages and stories conveyed by pieces of visual art and music. Many of us share certain preconceptions and biases, meaning that we may perceive aspects of music and visual art in similar ways. For example, today in the music workshop we listened to a piece of music and had to then work in groups to create a story which we believed best represented that told by the music. Although every group’s story was different, they all shared commonalities such as aspects of good versus evil, tense feelings, and a happy ending. However, young children have less life experience so have less preconceptions, meaning that their interpretations of sounds and visuals will often be very different to those of the child sitting next to them. This helped me to consider the fact that in the classroom, I should always encourage learners to embrace their imagination. It also allowed me to consider that within art, there is most often not a right and wrong answer, meaning that art is a fantastic way to help young people to feel a sense of achievement and to build confidence within and outwith the classroom. There may, for example, be pupils in the class who struggle with maths and literacy, but if they are taught that by simply using their imagination they can connect to the arts very effectively, they may feel more accepted in school and be driven to persevere.

All of the above highlights the importance of tolerance of uncertainty, which is labelled in Tallis Habits Pedagogy Wheel, as a sub habit under the habit of Persistence. The other sub habits featured within persistence are daring to be different and sticking with difficulty. Having read this wheel today, I feel that the habit of persistence is the one which we focussed on in most depth and its importance within the arts has became very clear to me.

It is this celebration of the unknown which helps art in every form to be therapeutic as people can express their feelings and ideas in whatever way they deem best. We discussed today that the arts can successfully take a role in health and wellbeing lessons in the classroom as they can improve mental health in many ways, as shown in the poster below. They can also be incorporated into and improve performance in other aspects of the curriculum, such as literacy through speech, writing stories and contextual understanding as they allow for the development of many skills and expression of the self in a way which is controlled by the individual themselves.

Fleming (2012, p.19) says:

“It is worth recognising that different art forms and even different works frequently have different intentions and effects; they can enthral, move, enlighten, inform, inspire, amuse, challenge, entertain or provoke.”

I believe that this is the perfect way to summarise the way in which music and visual art can evoke a range of different feelings and emotions as in every form they convey meaning and tell a story which may or may not be made clear by, but which is always valued by, the creator.

References 

Fleming, M. (2012) The arts in education: an introduction to aesthetics, theory and pedagogy. London:Routledge.