A most authentic integration

'Tying it all together' was the theme of our last tutorial with Maureen and Gerard, emphasizing the importance of staying awake to the generating, realizing and responding elements in art sessions. A great demonstration was experienced through the use of a pretext to integrate various learning areas in the arts.

Pretext: A launching pad, sets in motion the learning/inquiry, rings up the curtain by framing the participants.

The activity began with Maureen narrating the Irish folk-tale, The seal wife (pretext).
From the gaps in the story, we (in groups) shared  freeze frame moments with the class, discussing what they saw and what our moment was. From this freeze Drama we then chose a piece of music and composed a dance that began before the freeze moment, led through it and continued after it. In less than an hour we had experienced literacy (generalizing with the pretext), Drama (realizing through freeze moments), music and dance (responding). This activity could then be extended by writing up the stories the different groups had realized, through drawing or painting these interpretations or include the use of multimedia to document the moments. There really is no limit and it was the perfect example of using the two levels of integrating that Lina spoke of earlier: inside (combine two or more types of arts together), and outside (integrate the arts within other learning areas).

If you can foster the arts in your classroom, you will be fostering a supportive community and a positive place to work, teach and learn within.  

It is all Art, even if the form changes

“Making art requires students to develop deep understandings in order to represent their ideas to others through the art” (Sinclair, Jeanneret et.al p.197)... Sometimes it is easier to communicate this understanding through Art because Art isn't subject to the limitations or manipulations of vocabulary and language. “A Vocabulary need not be only words_ images, sounds, and experiences may also be important.” (p.200)

In class last week half of our class responded or interpreted a painting of Edvard Munch called 'The Scream'.

“...The scream is silent, which is probably a good thing, because it would be a terrifying sound. It's a scream emitted, not only by the figure of this man with his mouth open as he stands on a bridge, but the scream sounds through all of nature. I remember the livid sky and the turbulent water behind the bridge. And the sound, which we now think of as sort of primal scream, a scream which liberates instinct.” (Jill Kitson, Lingua Franca, ABC National)

At its heart, Art is about expression. Arguably the Arts more than any subject embrace diversity and diverse expression. I don't think I could have represented Munches 'Scream' in music, even with the help of the other students, I think I would have interpreted it differently, high-pitched and wobbly sounding and I would not have had the musical skills to make that sound I wanted (another argument for art partnerships and residencies). Sinclair et al chapter 11 talk about 'Creative frustration'- “working with others…need to tolerate uncertainty and ambiguity as they bring new artistic, practical, and personal elements to bear in unique ways for each new project.” I imagine integrating the art forms is a great way to support exploration of an individuals 'preferred' ways to express ideas, thoughts and feelings. As teachers we are advised to aspire to “…create lots of opportunities and entry points for all individuals to be involved with eachother” (Sue Wong ,cited in Sinclair et.al, 2009, p196).

“Creative insights often occur when existing ideas are combined or reinterpreted in unexpected ways or when they are applied in areas with which they are not normally associated. Often this arises by making unusual connections, seeing analogies and relationships between ideas or objects that have not previously been related” (Robinson, 1999, p32 cited in sinclair et al, p200).

I think the advantage in taking the draft curriculum approach that we have been taking to teaching the arts, organised around - generating, realising and responding, is the opportunity the framework provides for children to engage with chosen arts practices, from a pretext that integrates artforms, to produce meaningful expression (BUT see a scathing criticism of this idea and another viewpoint is given in The Weekend Australian , August 27-28, 2011, The Nation, p9).

Lina, Bill, the text.. all talk about making sure the connection between art forms is authentic, so I get that the point is obviously important... but I don't see how integrating the artforms can be inauthentic ??

The artist within the general classroom teacher

I think this point that Lina has made encompasses our arts unit, and perhaps the whole idea around introducing the five arts into the curriculum. A really great article that maureen gave us "The arts and the inner lives of teachers" by Mary Clare Powell, talks about using arts throughout the curriculum but through an inspired teacher that has been awakened to a fearless and uninhibited use of the arts.

"The arts can feed the inner lives of teachers, and the whole education enterprise depends on the quality of those inner lives"......"Teachers draw from their inner resources (creative imagination, inspiration, and intuition). "Education is an art because it relies upon that combination of know-how and inspiration, of enthusiasm and dedication, of ability and restraint, which the artist has and which is awakened in the artist-teacher'.  

Through doing this unit I really feel as though it has fed my inner life as a teacher.

Integrated media arts need two levels of integration--inside as well as outside

I believe that art education is a very important learning area in the general curriculum. First I consider that art is a coherent body rather than the distinct component within the curriculum; second, it also contributes to the goals of general education.  In the tutorial, it is mentioned that there are two layers in the integration of arts. The first layer is to combine two or more types of arts together, and the second layer is to integrate the arts within other learning areas.  

I found a good definition of arts integration--“is interdisciplinary work in the arts that enables students to identify and apply authentic connection between two or more disciplines and to understand essential concepts that transcend individual disciplines” (as cited National Arts Education Association, 2002).

The reason I support the arts integration is that I view the arts integration as another opportunity for students to learn in their academic areas. I consider arts integration can help students to learn more effectively with greater motivation. It is also believed that with promoting arts integration can lead to asserting that a non-artistic gain in students’ achievement can be made by the use of the artistic means (Hixson, 2007).  

These two pictures were drawn in terms of integrating the music into the visual arts. I enjoy it. I think bringing music into visual arts provides a different angle for me to understand both arts forms.  It also pushes me to use all my senses to feel the music.  Without needing to process all this information in my head, what I feel can be expressed freshly on the paper! I think combining arts would decrease students’ anxious feelings.  It allows personal interpretation of the original arts as well as their own works.  I feel I am liberated and relaxed when I am drawing as I can “see” the music and express it in my own way.

References

Hixson, A. R. (2007). A study of the effect of co-equal arts integration on student achievement in music and writing with fourth and fifth grade students. Shenandoah University. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http://ezproxy.utas.edu.au/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/304719730?accountid=14245

    

Stop animation tute

An example of what to do and what not to do. This is what my group and I came up with in about  a 45minute session. Not bad but obvious things like keeping hands out of frames (one I am sure is mine) and actually completing the clip with credits and a nice ending are important points to teach students. The music is a sample of what I do when not at uni :)

Action...Reaction

Media Arts

...You left cogdogroo out Bri (It was a particularly helpful one you gave me that I recall because it lists 50 storytools)

I am not as accomplished as Bri at using media BUT I totally recognise the importance of it. When I am a teacher I have decided that I will get Bri or another media artist to be my class artist in residence, so that I don't fail my students with my own ineptitude. Like Ken Robinson said, way back in the first week lecture, something like '80% of the jobs available to kids in 20 years time have not been invented yet'. I would reckon a lot of those jobs will involve media. I recall a report on ABC national about the importance of teaching kids computer programming skills, I have been trying to find it to post the link, no joy...but it has not been to no avail because the search has turned up abundant reports about media arts and education... http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2006/1575955.htm

Do it yourself computer games: an education story It is my understanding that these important skills and more are learnt through 'inanimate alice' which is why I was keen to use this free digital literacy, education pack (Bri has already provided the link) on prac. Problems I encountered had to do with getting tech people to enable the sound on the computers and when it was enabled the cacophonous distraction 'n disorder of everyones different soundtrack because they were moving through the story at their own pace.

n.b to self...Setting up the classroom seems to be a recurrent problem I have faced with visual and media arts.

Lina talks about teachers using media technology as an instructional tool, I think when they do this they are modelling technological skill. Grade one students I noticed take great interest in the workings of the interactive whiteboard or smartboard, I recall them watching/learning the teachers steps in finding websites. The smartboard wasn’t working on that latest prac, alas. So i suppose there is something in what Lina is saying about the problem of access.

I was on a road trip a while back and was conducting a visual conversation with my family, who were in Hobart. We were sending pictures and short videos to each other to mark my progress on the road, with text interspersed, on my cheap mobile. Mobile phones are media tools most kids have access to, I would like to explore  doing this in the classroom- short photo stories and videos using this medium...if only I knew how to get the photos off the phone and into one of those programs like 'moviemaker' ...I probably need to find out what bluetooth means too!

I got this timely email from inanimate alice the other day...

"Inanimate Alice.  We have just launched a refreshed website as well as a partnership with the whiteboard company Promethean Planet. 

http://www.inanimatealice.com/
http://www.prometheanplanet.com/

One of the most exciting features of these developments is the use of one of Alice's gadgets. We have pulled the gadget out of an episode and have brought it to life.  You will see it in the upper left hand corner of Alice's home page. Once you have registered as a member on Planet (it’s free) a click will take you directly to Alice's User Group page where you can interact first-hand with the gadget itself. 

From the gadget on Planet, you will be able to access a wealth of free new resources related to the series.  These resources include a trailer, a teacher’s guide, a literacy resource pack, a mind map ideas pack, a university schools of education pack, a whiteboard guide, introduction to and showcase for user generated content and whiteboard friendly lessons. "

The importance of media arts

teaching outside the box