Tag: Visual Art

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 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 4 – Using a Stimulus as Inspiration for Creation

Using a stimulus of any means, such as the house in the painting discussed, gives learners a context which they can first relate to real-life, and then which they can attack with their imagination. Jonah Lehrer (2012) believes that when we imagine things, we take inspiration from real-life and from things in our own minds. The relatable yet ambiguous nature of a house makes it a perfect stimulus for children to consider the real life aspects and also to let their imaginations run wild about what could be happening in the house, as apart from the artist, nobody can tell them that they are wrong. I think that this also encourages Anna Craft’s (2007) ‘possibility thinking’ as we are essentially providing children with a stimulus to ask questions about; we are encouraging them to wonder and then to solve a problem. Craft also discusses her belief of the importance of taking the ideas of learners seriously. I believe that there could not be one idea about what is going on within a big house which could be written off – the element of mystery means that we are not telling learners what is going on but that they are finding out for themselves through critical thinking.

After considering this painting we were given A5 polystyrene sheets and were asked to choose a section of the painting to draw on to our sheets. The only requirement was that the drawing filled the piece of polystyrene. I chose to attempt to replicate the right hand side of the painting. We then used rollers and paint to cover the polystyrene before transferring the paint on to a folded piece of coloured A4 paper to make a print.

          We repeated this process four times before slightly changing our polystyrene drawings – for example by cutting out some of the windows or adding more detail such as brick work. We then used a different colour of paint and transferred this different colour on top of our original copies. This made a range of different prints which had different contrasting colours. Although we were all given the same instructions and the same stimulus, each person’s prints were different. To me, this represented the fact that we all have different perceptions and we all interpret things differently. By using this as a follow up activity to looking into the house in the painting and considering the different people who may live there and the different stories that the house has to tell may encourage children to use certain colours and lines within their prints which to them, represent the mood which the house now conveys due to their imaginary stories of what goes on within it. This could encourage them to think critically about pieces of art instead of passively glancing at them. By allowing them to represent their own thoughts and feelings through careful consideration of the subject matter, we would be improving their higher order thinking skills in many ways.

The process of creating multiple prints in this way would also allow children to amend their work if they were not happy with it, for example they could choose different colours or add more detail to the polystyrene as they made their four prints. This ability to redraft is named by Jonah Lehrer (2012) as essential when making something which has never been made before. If we are teaching a generation of learners to become inventors and to be able to adapt to the demands of a changing environment then I would agree that we must help them to develop the skill of looking at what they have done before and considering how they can improve it. Also, by allowing them to make these changes we will help them to feel proud and happy with their work and to get the most out of the activity.

We then moved on to drama where we used the story of the dragon as a stimulus. As this was our first drama input we started off by discussing our previous experiences of drama and current feelings about it. I did not have much drama experience at school, however I was part of a drama youth group until I was 16 and I found this to be my main escape from the new found pressures of secondary school teenage life. It boosted my self-confidence unbelievably so I have witnessed the power of it in these ways first-hand and hope to be able to affectively use it as such for the learners in my classroom. We considered the fact that drama provides the opportunity for us to be someone else and for us to take on the role of a different character. It was suggested that this is the element of drama which makes it such an excellent escape mechanism as, sadly, for many children their life at home is not as they would wish for it to be.

Also, as Smith (2009) suggests, use of the arts in schools can assist in closing the attainment gap. Children from different backgrounds will have had varying experiences of the arts, and by teaching them in schools we are providing a more even starting point as learners from all backgrounds will have the skills developed by the arts as well as being able to benefit from the escapism of them. The lesson today allowed me to see how drama can be used to convey important messages to children without directly saying, for example, “we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, things are not always as they seem”. Conveying messages in this way allows the children to understand them rather than to passively listen to them.

As Teresa Grainger (2003, p.45) says “[Drama] is essentially orientated towards both creating and solving social problems.” Today we created a social problem within the context of relationships in a child-friendly way as we took the role of villagers who were worried and upset because a dragon was flying lowly over their village and breathing fire. The villagers took part in a meeting, lead by the mayor of the village (who in this case would be played by the teacher to introduce the drama using Teacher In Role). We discussed and decided on the action we were going to take to stop the dragon from causing more destruction to our village and in groups, we came up with freeze frames which we explained to the group. We all froze doing tribal dances to try to scare away the dragon. However, the dances did not work so we had to have another meeting and decide what to do next. All this time, the teacher should be asking the pupils what they want to do and letting them lead the drama, as this is what will allow them to discover the messages of the drama for themselves, and as Anna Craft (2007) believes, it is when learners discover messages and the meaning of lessons for themselves, that they take that knowledge for their own. After the second meeting we decided to find out where the dragon lived and went to her house to speak to her. This allowed for improvisation as we climbed the mountain to the dragon’s cave and then ‘hot seated’ her by asking her questions about why she was flying so low in the village and breathing fire. It was through this process that the children discovered that the dragon was not trying to terrorise the village – but that she was lonely and was flying so low to get a closer look at the villagers because she loved seeing them so happy and she breathed fire when she got excited. They also found out that she didn’t have enough food to feed her baby dragon. We then considered how we could help the dragon and decided to invite her to the village party, to give her the food we don’t use, and to build her and her baby a home in the village so that she won’t be lonely anymore.

This is where the main lesson lies – it allows learners to see for themselves that things and people are not always as they seem and that sometimes when we think people are trying to cause us harm they are actually lonely and want to get our attention. It also allows children to consider how they can help people like this. Furthermore, if children are engaged in a drama exercise such as this, it can be used by myself as the teacher to relate back to if I find myself having to explain the behaviour of one of their classmates for example. Finally, we considered the use of a thought tunnel. This is where children stand facing one another in two lines and a character, who in this case could have been the dragon walks down the middle of the two lines. As the character walks past them the children have to say exactly what they think of them. This could be done at the beginning of the project/lesson and then again at the end as a way to measure how well the children have grasped the concept and have learned from the main themes, as their feelings towards the character should at least slightly change.

Overall, I think that using a stimulus for creation is a fantastic way to engage children and to put valuable lessons into context. It encourages learners to be thoughtful and critical of how different things work and make them feel, while it also allows them to explore their imagination and to solve problems as well as escape from them. When reading for this session, I came across a quote which refers to drama but which I think perfectly sums up the use of our imagination when given a stimulus of any sort and the main lesson I learned today:

“[Drama] represents an opportunity to construct powerful and imaginary worlds together and enables speculation, modification and transformation of our understandings.” (Grainger, 2003, p.45)

References 

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

Grainger, T. (2003) Creative teachers and the language arts: Possibilities and potential. Education 3-13: The International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education. Vol.31(1), pp.43-47.

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

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.