In today’s music session, Primary 7 pupils came in to teach us how to use string instruments. This session was very engaging as it was completely pupil led. I thought this could be a great task for pupils at school. They could go around different classes and teach other students about what they learned. 

I realised, as a future teacher it is important we step back and allow students to take control and use their knowledge to teach others. If you know that a pupil in your class is able to play an instrument, allow them to take part in the teacher. This will also give students confidence. This will also show that you as a teacher take interest in their creative skills and will make them feel valued.

When doing student-led activities, we should ask our pupils what they are interested in and what they would like to learn. If they are passionate about a particular topic, they will enjoy being able to share their learnings with other pupils.

The pupils used visual aids and props to help us learn to play the violin. On the violin, they marked each string with a different colour sticker. On the board the music matched the stickers on the violin, this allowed us to read and play the music as it was easy to follow. This is something I would use in the future as I struggle with reading music notes. I think this would be beneficial for begginers like myself. 

In dance, we all began by standing in a circle, one person at a time would go into the middle of the circle and tell their name and do a pose. This allowed us to all feel more comfortable in front of one another and can help relieve anxiety. Ice breakers for pupils can allow the students to all feel more comfortable in front of each other and help to break down barriers. 

I also learned the importance of ice-breakers for teachers. The first day of meeting your pupils and trying to remember everyone names and the correct pronunciations can be daunting, especially when it is a big class. But using ice-breakers can help. An example of this can be sitting in a circle, the teacher beginning by telling their name and one of their favourite hobbies. The first pupil can then repeat the teachers name and hobby and then add their own, this cycle repeats with all of the pupils stating the previous information and then adding their own. By the end of this, the teacher has been able to listen to the names of the pupils repeatedly. It also allows the teacher to listen to the hobbies of the pupils, which you can then incorporate into your lessons.

We looked at different parts of the body and where different muscles were. I learned about the importance of warming up before starting dance, as it prevents injury and fatigue. As future teachers it is vital to be aware young people are different and each will respond differently to physical dance practise, however the basic principles of learning apply to all (Stanyer, 2011).

These two sessions highlighted to me that the teacher does not always need to be the one teaching the class. We should take to our advantage if we have pupils in the classroom that have skills in the arts and allow them to take part in teaching the other students.

References

Stanyer, L. (2011). The Importance of Cardiovascular Endurance for the Dancer. [online] Laurastanyer.blogspot.com. Available at: http://laurastanyer.blogspot.com/2011/07/importance-of-cardiovascular-endurance.html [Accessed 20 Dec. 2019].