Week 10 ~ Dance ~ Dynamics

This week we explored dynamics through a range sequenced activities to create an effective and engaging performance piece. This lesson emulated the making process through all the aspects including improvising, choreographing, comparing and contrasting, refining, interpreting, practising, rehearsing and performing (ACARA, 2012). Each activity as the curriculum recommends, built upon the last and involved regular sharing and responding to each other's work. Lessons such as these involve choreography, including vocabulary building, exploring and improvising movements. We also performed our pieces, including rehearsing, practising and developing technique. And lastly appreciating by evaluating and reviewing our work through out the process as well as at the end.  

This structure of dance lessons, which could combine to create a unit of work has obvious benefits. It allows for breaking down a focus or a number of focuses into sequential activities so students can grasp these concepts that may otherwise feel arbitrary and detached. For example follow the leader with stimulus words provided a sense of what dynamics entails which could be translated into our composition tasks. Combining these into an engaging performance involves creativity and vision from the teacher, something I now feel is not beyond my capacity so long as there is a clear focus, a stimulus and a sequence of activities that build upon themselves.

Follow the leader stimulus
Travel
Turn
Balance

Jump

Video of the group performance (Holt, 2014)-  Combining individual, paired and small group compositions into a whole class production.

References

Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority. (2012). The arts: Dance. Retrieved (27/05/2014) from: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/TheArts/Curriculum/F-10

Holt, E. (2014, May 17). Revolting Children [Video file]. Retrieved (30/05/2014) from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fueeu0Qvhvw&feature=youtu.be

Week 9 ~ Dance ~ The Benefits of Dance

This week was a re-introduction to dance and its function as a means of expressing and developing ideas. Although familiar, many of the values and strategies for teaching dance had been lost in the last two years. It’s great that this is a reoccurring aspect of our training that is reinforced as we also develop our personal pedagogies. For example the benefits of dance for the personal, social, emotional and spiritual domains of child development are becoming more evident as we develop a greater understanding of how children learn.

The National Dance Education Organisation (2011) explore the intrinsic value of dance education. An interesting assertion is that dance in so innate in us we express ourselves through movement before talking. Of course there are the physical benefits of dance to consider, as well as the emotional aspects such as self-confidence and social development through group work. Cognitively we develop a sense of language and literacy through dance which carries into academic achievement where as with all of the arts, dance is linked to improved academic achievement. Dance also assists in developing an understanding of symbolism, multi-literacies as well as higher order thinking skills. 

The Hyundai commercial is a video we saw in first year. It was exciting and engaging then but now we can see the elements of dance and the potential for learning it contains. For example it is a great appreciation piece to explore not only the elements of dance but the viewpoints aspect of dance education (ACARA, 2010). They can discuss the message and purpose of the advertisement, asking questions such as who the target audience is and what message they are expressing about the car.

Hyundai Commercial (Pilobolus, 2010)- Exploring shape

References:

Australian Curriculum Assessment, Reporting Authority. (2012). Learning in dance. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/TheArts/Learning-in-Dance

National Dance Education Organisation. (2011). Standards for learning and teaching dance in the arts: Ages 5-18. Retrieved from: http://www.ndeo.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=893257&module_id=55431

Pilobolus Dance (2010, August 31). Pilobolus in a Hyundai Santa Fe Commercial – “Life Shapes” [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77hE5CLyRSA

Week 8 ~ Music ~ Cross Curriculum Capabilities

There is geometry in the humming of the strings- Pythagoras (Platonic Realms, 2014)  

This week we workshopped ideas for teaching music through cross-curriculum lesson planning. Music is a subject that despite my initial thoughts as being generally a stand-alone subject, occasionally integrated into the other creative arts, can in fact be taught in a meaningful way whilst addressing outcomes from other subjects. Mathematics for example may appear as a subject of logic and reason in contrast to the creativity and freedom of music. However in brainstorming potential ideas for cross-curriculum activities, we thought of a wide range of activities spaning across the entire breadth of the mathematics curriculum.

The benefits of music for numeracy is well documented. Children who study music perform better in literacy and mathematics, one such benefit is known as the Mozart effect (Gibson & Ewing, 2011). The Mozart effect claims that children who are exposed to classical music demonstrate improved spatial visualisation and reasoning which would benefit space, measurement and geometry. Other skills such as understanding rhythm will assist in understanding ratios and fractions, also patterns in music transfer well to patterns in music. Beyond the enjoyment and engagement that a cross curriculum approach can bring, music and mathematics together will mutually benefit learning in both subjects.

Mathematics- Group Brainstorm

Algebra- Filling in a bar with the correct note to make up the full value

Patterns- Completing ostinatos and other musical patterns by adding the missing note value/ note pitch

Geometry- Discussing the shapes of instruments, comparing the shapes of instruments and the types of sounds they make

Sequencing- Listening for the order of instruments

Number- Using note value to do addition and subtraction, counting/ counting in bars, using time value to teach ratios.

References:

Gibson, R & Ewing, R. (2011).Transforming the curriculum through the arts. South Yarra: Palgrave Macmillan.

Plantonic Realms (2014). Topic: Maths. Retrieved from http://platonicrealms.com/quotes/topics/music

Week 7 ~ Music ~ Appreciating Music

This week’s task involved exploring a range of genres including classical and contemporary for use in appreciating music activities. Within both older styles of music and modern genres there are sophisticated pieces of music that students will be familiar with. For example, In the Hall of the Mountain King is a familiar song for most and features an ongoing ostinato, conducive for exploring the elements of music. Modern film composers such as Danny Elfman and John Williams provide engaging pieces that could be used with the students that they will be familiar with that are sophisticated pieces.  

These pieces can provide quality stimulus for listening activities with the capacity to address Australia Curriculum (ACARA, 2012) key knowledge explicitly such as the elements of music, viewpoints and genres of music. The work sample below demonstrates how a teacher could focus on a particular aspect of music, in  this case 3 of the elements of music in a comprehensive but well scaffolded manner. Lessons such as this should be embedded within a continuous and sequential process which enables acquisition, development and revisits these skills and knowledge with increasing depth and complexity.

Practical implementation of a responding or appreciation listening activity

- Students should listen to a short portion (about 2 minutes, maybe more for older students) of the song and repeated around 4-5 times

- First they would just have to listen to the music on its own with nothing to listen out for.

- Then provide the students with a range of questions, the quantity and difficulty depending on their age/ capabilities.

- They would listen to it a number of times again before being able to answer the questions which they would later discuss, even with a last listening to highlight certain concepts.  

Work Sample

Tone Colour

1.      What do you think the two instruments represent?

Piano- water Cello- swan

2.      Describe how they are played.

Piano- delicate, tinkling, quick, staccato Cello- flowing, soft, long, vibrato, gliding, tied notes- bowed, legato

Dynamics

3.      How would you describe the dynamics of the piece?

Piano (soft) with some gradual crescendos with quick drop offs/ diminuendo, towards the end pianissimo/ piano pianissimo.

Duration

4.      Describe the tempo and rhythms.

Slow- legato, cello-long, slow notes, the piano plays a fairly consistent rhythm (ostinato), faster 

The Swan (Larprunu, 2007)- Video

References:

Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority. (2012). Learning in music. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/thearts/learning-in-music

 Larprunu. (2007, March 19). Carnival of the animals – The swan [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvh4zEKG2zs



Week 6 ~ Music ~ Chord Progressions and Singing

This week we focused on singing and chord progressions. The main song we worked on was “Calypso”. Nancy covered some important considerations when singing and we also developed movements to remember the words. We listened to the song first before starting, then we worked on chord progressions of varying difficulty on the barred instruments. 

We also discussed the Music: Count Us In program, an initiative to support teachers in teaching music (Music Council of Australia, 2013). The program recognises the difficulties teachers have in the subject, addressing a lack of training and experience. It is also Australia’s biggest school initiative, with more than 500,000 students from over 2,100 schools participating across the country. The program is a funded program run by the Music Council of Australia and equips students and teachers to participate in the program. They assert the importance of quality music education which is ‘continuous, sequential and developmental’. Music education has been proven to improve students’ literacy, numeracy, school attendance and confidence. However only 23% of government schools are able to offer their students a music education that is adequate due to a lack of resources. In private schools, the number leaps up to 88% highlighting a gross inequity. This is why is especially important to make the most of the support that is available to bridge this gap. Fortunately the Music: Count Us In program assists in closing this gap through support and resources for teachers which help them develop a quality music lessons that connect to the program. 

Important considerations when singing

Posture- relaxed

Breathing- diaphragm
Pitch Accuracy

Articulation- clarity- lips, teeth, tongue
Tone- Remembering vowel sounds
Lyric/ Style- Genre

A video explaining benefits of the Music: Count me in program and the learning activities involved within it

References:

Music Council of Australia. (2013) Music: Count us in. Retrieved (12/04/2014) from: http://www.musiccountusin.org.au/about

Week 5 ~ Music ~ Elements of music

When Nancy asked us what the elements of music were I was struck by how I could barely remember any of them. This struck me because I studied music all through school and outside school including grades. Yet despite this I was still in the same situation as most primary education students, faced with the concern that I don’t know the content for this subject. However as (Mills, 2009) considers, generalist teachers ought to focus on what they can do rather than what they can’t. Although ability with music is desirable, there can be an over focus on skill rather than student learning. So long as the teacher can grasp the level of knowledge expected for primary level music, they can become confident music teachers without being highly skilled in music practice or theory.

Today was an example of how anyone can teach primary music. Within minutes we were already using percussion instruments to play along to simple sheet music following the note value and then we progressed to melodic instruments playing also to pitch (such as the metalophone, xylophone, etc). Picking the right music, especially those that have been especially developed for the primary music classroom helps in this process and provides great support and structure for teachers and students alike. Resources such as JozzBeat (JozzBeat Music Publishing, 2011) provide simple music pieces  catered to primary learners which can provide a sense of accomplishment.

The Concepts of Music (Gibson & Ewing, 2012)

Tone Colour- Sound source, sound production, combined and single sources of sound

Dynamics- Volume (forte, piano), changes of volume (crescendo, decrescendo), accents

Pitch- Direction of pitch, patterns (phrases, ostinatos), melody, harmony

Duration- Note value, metre, rhythm, tempo, beat

Structure- Repetition, patterns, phrase, call and response, canon, form

(Source: Leglise, N (2014)

Cowbell for first activity-Facilitating percussion for the making component of music

References

Gibson, R & Ewing, R. (2011).Transforming the curriculum through the arts. South Yarra: Palgrave Macmillan.

JozzBeat Music Publishing. (2011). JozzBeat. (05/04/2014) from: http://www.jozzbeat.com/

Mills, J. (2009). Music in primary classroom. Retrieved (05/05/2014) from:

http://www.edition-peters.com/resources/0001/stock/pdf/9780193364950.pdf



Week 4 ~ Media Arts ~ Editing

The 4 P’s: pre-production, production, post-production and presentation

“While screenwriters and directors are the first and second storytellers of a movie, editors are the third ones” (Moura, n.d)

Editing

The importance of editing became apparent as we watched the first cut of our film. Although the story was told, editing was essential to make sure the transitions were smooth and logical. To make the balloon move smoothly throughout the film we had to cut the clips, adjust the speed and consider the frame transitions. Another important aspect of editing was the addition of music and sound effects. The sound effects gave the film a comical mood so we decided to pair them with upbeat music. As a teacher I would highlight these principles of editing to students as they may be tempted to skim over detail, a mistake I made when I considered our work close to finished when in reality we had only just started.

After editing we were able to view each others’ first cuts and engage in the responding aspect of media arts. It was easy to comment on the films in relation to the curriculum including the elements of media arts with the character of a stressed child completing Naplan (ACARA, 2012). We could see the viewpoint of that child through the elements and story principles including close up shots of the child’s features, in a choppy, fluttering effect, showing anxiety. It was evident that the film makers were trying to communicate their concern over the pressure Naplan places on children. 

As Anderson and Jefferson (2009) considers, it comes naturally to engage with a literacy form we are so deeply immersed in. We comment on media forms that we experience everyday to our friends and family as we watch TV or share a video or image on the internet. It becomes evident that media arts provide an engaging and familiar means of developing skills for responding which can be transferred to the other art forms.

Source: Leglise, N. (2014)

Editing with my group on iMovie

Key Concepts

-       Media languages to tell stories

-       Technologies for producing, accessing and distributing media

-        Institutions that enable and constrain media production and use

-       Audiences for whom media arts products are made for and who respond to

-       Representations of the world based on shared social values and beliefs

Elements of media arts

-       Composition

-       Space

-       Time

-       Movement

-       Sound

-       Lighting

Story principles

-       Structure

-       Intent

-       Characters

-       Settings

-       Points of view

-       Genre conventions

Viewpoints

Occur within the contexts of societies, cultures and histories, combining an understanding of how elements, materials, skills and processes are used.

A video of our first edit, in comparison to week 13 where there are smoother transitions that create a more cohesive story to follow. 
(Source: Luu, 2014)

References

Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority. (2012). Learning in media arts. Retrieved (26/05/2014) from: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/TheArts/Learning-in-Media-Arts

Anderson, M. & Jefferson, M. (2009). Teaching the screen: Film education for generation next. Allen & Unwin: Sydney.

Moura, G. (n.d). Principles of editing. Retrieved from: http://www.elementsofcinema.com/editing/EDITING.ht
Luu, R. (2014, March 30). Journey of the balloon. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR6ANdFFwQc