Mark - Thanks

Hi Kerin,

No worries and thank you also. Absolutely agree, I thought the Blog worked well and our different points of view only added to my understanding and the Blog itself.

Regards,
Mark

Kerin Thank you Mark

Hi Mark
Thank you for working with me this semester. I believe it has been a successful, supportive and cooperative partnership and I feel we contributed equally to the blog, even though I was a bit wordy, you were succinct and to the point and the helpful information available in both sets of posts seem to be fairly evenly balanced.
Regards
Kerin Smith

Kerin - Interesting and useful resources

I have decided to list some interesting resources to help formulate on-the-run teaching ideas. In relief teaching you plan in the car on the way to school or on the weekend when you are tidying up the mess from rummaging through teaching resources at 7 am in the mornings. I have collected lots of bits and pieces for various grades, set up for grabbing at short notice. Mark, you will be extremely lucky to get a full time job after you graduate. The hardest thing I have had to accept this year is that most teachers do sometimes years of relief before they get their first permanent position. Its about getting known to schools, accepting what they ask of you and doing the hard yards, testing your skills and experimenting with what does and doesn't work and gathering resources that make your job a bit easier. You hardly have time to catch your breath  in Primary schools as it is a full day and any spare time is taken up by ground duty and photocopying work sheets for students. I've made some mistakes but learning from them and having lots of opportunities to retest ideas. I've had some challenging days ending in a headache and loss of confidence but I've also had lots of light bulb moments and some precious moments that bring happy tears to your eyes. Every class is different and your improvisational skills must come into play constantly. You also have to be prepared to purchase items for students to use if you want to try a special creative project.

A fun book for writing and literacy but full of ideas that involve drama and art. It can be photocopied as no copyright issues and has wonderful illustrations.
Syme, C. (1986). Fantastic Ideas for Frenzied Teachers. Brookvale: Holmes McDougall Australia

Education Department of Tasmania ( 1988). The Visual Arts in Primary Schools. Education Department Tasmania Australia.

I often find myself flicking through this book to reinforce ideas about teaching in the Arts. Its well laid out and easy to find information in a specific area and exclelent for keeping of hand for quick referencing in all area of the arts.
Roy, D., Baker,W. & Hamilton, B. (2012). Teaching the Arts: Early Childhood and Primary Education. Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.

This book has lots of art projects and includes adaptions for the primary area or younger students. Alhough I haven't used many projects for visual art, looking through often helps me think of something different I would like to try.
Hume, H. (2008). The Art Teachers Survival Guide. San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons.

This book is a good guide for more structured drama teaching.
Neelands, J., Goode, T. (2000). Structuring Drama Work: A handbook of available forms in theatre and drama. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

This series of books of art lesson plans, found at Birchells in Bathurst Street, Hobart, are excellent for creative projects over all ages. They range from A to G in primary for all age groups and cover discuss, create, reflect and assess.
Sterrett, D.(2007). Primary Art, Books A to G. Coventry, UK: Prim-Ed Publishing.

Kerin- Week 6-Media

Hi Mark
In response to your previous post, I have found art to be a very important subject for primary students in relief teaching. It is a very powerful medium in a challenging class and also for the inclusive students, including those who don't have much English or in wheelchairs or with mental health issues. I had a very difficult grade 5/6 class this week which included a group of 5 boys intent on constant revenge, bullying and disruptive behaviour. The senior staff give invaluable assistance and support at this school but you still have to get through the day and work hard to give the students meaningful experiences.  It's important to me to be the best I can be but sometimes it seems nothing works.  I thought I had a bad day but the principal told me it was a good day as she had heard the students talking about their Crazy Hair Day artworks in the playground during lunch and she said that doesn't normally happen and was a good sign. So from me I say "if the day is not going well, turn to art".

Media
Most primary classrooms I have been in this year during relief teaching, have a bank of about 5 computers set up at the side of the room and some classrooms have had a computer lab close by where the class may split and work in both rooms.  Girls generally seem to work well on projects, although that said, I have regularly had grade 5 girls who just want to look up images of One Direction or Justin Beeber, but boys are often just wanting to play repetative games of building up and smashing down or jumping obstacles or some inappropriate games that show the shedding of blood by knocking off body parts when an obstacle is hit. These all come under the guise of  so called "Maths Games". Media products add a whole new dimension into classroom management for the teacher. There are positive and negatives for its use. Every class seems to have one boy who won't engage in other work and just wants to be on the computer all the time and will invent the most amazing excuses as to why he wants to be on the computer. In art teaching, I find a number of students are unable to form their own creative ideas and want to scroll though images on the computer for so called inspiration. They generally don't accomplish much during the lesson.
Once I have established some rules for responsible use of computers in the classroom, I generally have students use them in lessons as much as possible and take names on a list and set use at about 20 minutes each group. Students respond well to this structure and fairness. There is always some students who are not interested in using the computers and get on with their individual artworks. I privately appreciate this attitude.
In art projects I often combine the art project with science ie in a regular 5/6 class we discussed animal hair fibres, looked at prepared slides in a microscope, chosen students searched google images for microscopic images of hairs and they used them to refer to in creating circular artworks of microscopic images of animal hairs.
Grades 3 to 6 have opportunities to produce powerpoint presentations on events happening at school or for special days like Anzac Day and the weekly assembly offers them an opportunity to show their products. They seem to take special responsible ownership of these appropriate creative projects.  The democratic principle works well. They need help to get underway but respond well when left to  complete the task over time and only require occasional checking to make sure they are on the right track or make suggestions for improvement. I also find the updated facilities like picture tools in Microsoft Word are excellent for engaging students in computer generated artworks. I believe success in use of media creatively in primary school is down to the teacher's experience and how they work with their students in this area. An interesting point that I have observed is where student may sometimes be embarrassed to show their artwork, they are always proud of anything they produce using the computer.
I am looking forward when I finally get my own permanent class to engaging student in more creative and responsible use of computers to enhance creative projects like short films and photo manipulation and of course they are very excited to be able to create cartoon characters. Scaffolding toward this can start with a simple computer game where the students build moving stick figures.

Good resources to read or look at for media use in primary education:

Greenwood, D. (2003). Action! In the Classroom: A Guide to Student Produced Digital Video in K-12 Education. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

Shelley, G., Cashman, T. Gunter, G. (2004). Teachers Discovering Computers - Integrating Technology in the Classroom. Massachusetts: Course Technology.

Gunn, K. (2008). Teach Animation. Retrieved from http://www.teaching.org

Mark - Week 6: Media Art

Hi Kerin, 

I think the Blog been a really valuable exercise in getting a different perspective to all the domains of Art. Whilst I had a few teething problems to begin with in getting my head around Art, I think it's a bit more smooth sailing now. I've got some great ideas from yourself, lectures and the readings of not only how to implement Art lessons in each domain, but more importantly how it can be used within other curriculums to add to students creativity and understanding of both. Your comment "Primary art is about transforming students perception of their world into a creative construction", is so true. To extend on this I hope within my classroom the arts domains can be used in a fashion that creative construction can build greater knowledge in multiple areas.     

Whilst Media art is the final area of the arts we’re addressing, I think it will be the most engaging within the classroom as the implementation of it can be so wide ranging. The ability is has to reach across a variety of curriculum’s is an advantage to this domain of art (Van de Geer, 2013). The digital world is a large part in our current day life and will more than likely be a more integral part of life for our students lives in the future. Therefore unlike previous art domains where I’ve felt had advantages in helping students with understanding, creativity and being well rounded. Media arts are something I feel will be a more fundamental way of delivering information and showing creativity within a classroom and for the future (Sinclair, Jeanneret, & O’Toole, 2012).

Specifically in having a go at the animation myself, I realised just how creative you can be, it’s fun and expressive whilst also having the ability to tell stories or relay information. I’m not sure how amazing it was though; don’t think any Oscars will be coming my way but that's ok the experience was good!

Knowledge in this area is a stating point to building skills in digital programs that will be primarily used within many students lives going forward. Skill sets such as understanding the use of programs and communication in this medium are important. However more significantly is the ability to be critically aware, interpret and analyse media through their own media arts experience and develop autonomous thinking in this domain (ACARA, 2012).

Another advantage for students in this domain is the ability to use computer-aided designs to help compile what they want to portray. Often you hear of students not wanting to engage in the other art domains due to “ it looking silly” or “being embarrassed to show it”. In this case technology is part of their popular culture, is engaging and used in everyday life, therefore as teachers we should use this area of confidence in the classroom. The key is to extend students to aspects of media arts that they previously haven’t experienced so they can develop, and provide more options of expression for students (Sinclair, Jeanneret, & O’Toole, 2012). Whether students are to going to be producers, directors or have nothing to do with film, the skills that are developed in media arts is something that will more than likely be required in the future in this digital age.

Tool kit

I found this really great website with media art resources and lesson plans, whether it could be used specifically or for gaining ideas from to implement within a classroom, either way it’s worth having in the tool kit.

http://myhero.com/go/films/mediaarts.asp?cat=production

References

Sinclair, C., Jeanneret, N., & O’Toole, J. (2012). Education in the arts: Teaching and learning in the contemporary curriculum. South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.

ACARA. (2012). Australian Curriculum: The Arts Foundation to Year 10. Retrieved from  http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/DRAFT_Australian_Curriculum_The_Arts_Foundation_to_Year_10_July_2012.pdf 

Van de Geer, G. (2013, August 15). Introduction to Media Arts, Media, Multimedia, Mass Media, Media Literacy. Lecture presented for Education, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas.

Kerin - Week 5 - Dance

When I first found out dance was included in this unit, I was nervous as I don't believe I have any skills for teaching dancing.  My only exposure to dance was in my 20's when I did ballet rehersals and Jazzercise for exercise. However as a musician I enjoy bush dancing. We are encouraged to learn and participate in the dances in order to understand the requirements for playing for the dances.
However after watching the video's, I realise that at primary stage it is about engaging in expressive movement and learning to interpret emotions and feeling and expressively interpreting of subject matter.  From accumulated knowledge I now feel confident to be able to guide early dancers to experience creative movement and have fun.
At my regular school one day the kids invited me to see their rehersal during the lunch break. It was grade 3/4 and run by a grade 5 boy. I was astounded at the sophistication of their made up movements and several of the children did not even have televisions. I was amazed at their resourcefulness and confidence.  None of them had dance training and it was really almost an imitation of an adult contemporary dance performance. Lots of wiggling of hips, sliding and rolling of the ground and plenty of expressive hand affects. They were wonderful and it was all their ow work. These young and enthusiastic people arranged to perform at the assembly on stage. I think they were amazingly brave and confident and for the boy who organised it and was the star, this experience could have changed his life as he was often unhappy from his diabetes and feeling picked on by his peers. He is now considering dance and acting as a potential future career and area at high school where he may be accepted and excel.
There are some great resources available in dance from organisations like Tasdance and by support of dance residencies. On Saturday 17th August, I was lucky enough to go to a performance of Submarine: Shining Light into the Depths, choreographed and directed by Dean Walsh and assisted by Katherine Gurr, a dancer for Western Australia.  It included community members from aged 7 to 70 in expressive, creative movement about scuba diving and undersea experiences.  My nephew was performing. None of the participants were trained in Dance. The aim was to " demystify thechoreographic process, promote the benefits of communication this physical art for is capable of,whilst generating interst in all matters marine".  The performers although inexperienced help shape the performance through workshopping over a 3 week period.  It was a visually attractive and the performers were so inspired by the professionals who worked with them.
I believe primary students would benefit greatly from residencies by professional musicians, actors,artists and dancers.

Reference
www.tasdance.com.au

Kerin-Week 4 - Visual Art

 

The photo above is a regular grade 3/4 class that I take. This was a photo of their Magic Easter goggles and cards for their families. I have already outlined my art experience in the introduction posts. My most skilled medium is drawing. This is the skill that is very important to students and is the skill called upon in many subject areas.

I have found primary students are more verbal about how much they love art and respond differently in that they are more in a hurry to engage in art projects.  They have endless energy to rush from one project to the next without committing to planning, aesthetics and fine tuning. I think this is why I especially enjoy teaching art to grade 6 to 8. They still have the joyful enthusiasm about engaging in an art subject but will attempt to make it a more finished item.
It has been refreshing to see collaborative artworks and installations by primary students in the Trash to Art Exhibition in the Long Gallery last year and this supports my belief in exposing them at a young age to confidently present creative works to the public from a young age.
I have seen lots of evidence of meaningful engagement in art at the many primary schools where I have had relief teaching since the beginning of the school year this year. At an assembly at one school, the grade one's paraded their Mondrian look alike painting. I was very impressed. Nearly every classroom has displays of artwork on a range of subject matter from Picasso to skeletons to witches.  I have noted that it is often down to the teacher and his or her efforts. Art projects are often tied in with other subject matter and I attempt to do this as well even within my limited teaching time and not having the opportunity to follow through a project over a couple of weeks,
Primary art is about transforming students perceptions of their world into a creative construction. They make statements about themselves, other cultures and subject matter that interest them. It is exposure to reflection, impressions and formulating ideas. I think art naturally stems from early mark making, it tells a story through symbols and imagery.  However as they get older, I have seen students more overcome with lack of confidence and development of self doubt. Like other arts areas, building skills gradually and scaffolding students through stages of the creative process and familiarising them with a wide variety of expression will help them develop the ability to manipulate tools and techniques, develop observation and judgement skills. They use drawing especially in nearly all subject matter from maths to history. In regard to primary students constant worry that they can't draw realistically, they respond well when you tell them you are looking for individual style and interpretation and that "if you go and see any art exhibition today, you will see hardly any realism". I usually don't hear it after these comments. Their head go down and they get working. I always make sure to go back and pint out some outstanding features of their work.
My list of resources that I refer to for lesson plans are:
Education Department of Tasmania ( 1988). The Visual Arts in Primary Schools. Education Department Tasmania Australia.
Hume, H. (2008). The Art Teachers Survival Guide. San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons.
Sterrett, D.(2007). Primary Art, Books A to G. Coventry, UK: Prim-Ed Publishing.

Reference
Department of Education, Tasmania. 1988. The Visual Arts in Primary Schools.