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During the Tableaux workshop, I felt both comfortable and uncomfortable. The activity in itself, for me, was quite okay! I enjoy the arts and have always been extremely passionate about musicals, so it is therefore not uncommon for me to have experienced improvisational games which have included elements of Tableaux within them. I was however uncomfortable with the group; the class made the workshop difficult as many had no experience with the arts and did not really have an appreciation for the arts. Reflecting on this, I'm hoping this will change and as we get to know each other as a cohort we may become more open to new tasks. I really enjoyed the creation of a scene using Tableaux, we were tasked with creating a freeze frame as a cohort and this was done well. It was also relatable as the scene was Rottnest and this made people become more engaged. I think at first, I was reluctant to contribute as I felt I would be judged by other students within the workshop. These emotions came across in my actions, this could be quite similar to how a primary student feels when experiencing new areas of academic life such as the arts. Students often value the opinions of others and it's fair to say I also felt the same way with this task. With my learning, I discovered that I really like to be shown initially how to do something and then be given an opportunity to complete the task myself or with a group of people. I also like that once I had been given the opportunity with a small group to come up with something creative on our own to then receive feedback from someone who had more experience than myself. I would say primary school students would also need similar guidance and opportunities for feedback. The video that is linked shows a summary of Tableaux and some games and ways of implementing Tableaux into a classroom setting that I found particularly useful.

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Question posed : Do schools kill creativity? (Reflection Two)

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Question posed : Do schools kill creativity? (Reflection Two)

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Sir Ken Robinson's talk is very successful, he's very engaging and emphasises important speaking points. Robinson makes light-hearted jokes that make the audience laugh. He acknowledges the reality of education and children's capacities within education. He states that enabling creativity within education, "is as important as literacy and should be taught as such." This view aligns with mine as I have always viewed Arts education in schools to be particularly important. Robinson's point that I found truly interesting was that if you are not prepared to be wrong you aren't prepared to come up with anything original. This is a particularly interesting way of thinking as it encourages people to take a risk to come up with something new and exciting, whereas society often hinders people's wanting to take a risk. The main message I have deducted from this talk is that it is vital to understand the need for children to receive education surrounding the arts as teachers. Rather than inhibiting children's ability Robinson indicates that creativity should be enabled.

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Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson | TED

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Reflection Three : Voice and Storytelling

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Reflection Three : Voice and Storytelling

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This week's focus was Dramatic play, Creative drama and Theatrical performance that lies within Voice and Storytelling. Dramatic play can be defined as a child taking on the role of a character and exploring the character in different situations or scenarios. Creative drama is improvisational and process-orientated where students are guided by a teacher to take on the character within a scenario and re-enact elements of this character in both real and imagined settings. Theatrical performance can be defined as a play or monologue or other performance piece displayed to an audience, they use either themselves or inanimate figures to present. (Dinham, 2022) After watching both the lecture and participating in the tutorial, I have learned that an educator has a vital role in children's art education. A teacher may participate in primary drama lessons by taking on the role of a character and imitating this character may show the children how they can become multi-dimensional characters. Another focus for this week was teacher-in-role, whereby the teacher portrays themselves as a character to the class. Teacher-in-role enables students to understand the characteristics of the elements of drama. (Dinham, 2022)

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Telling stories to children: Mook Mook the Owl

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Delivering Authentic Arts Education : Drama (Reflection Four)

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Delivering Authentic Arts Education : Drama (Reflection Four)

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This week's readings focused on the arts being an aesthetic experience. In this, children's aesthetic sensibilities are integral to a student's arts education. Children develop aesthetic sensibilities by their instinct to explore and imagine, this is nurtured by art experiences as they develop awareness of the world. Through developing aesthetic sensibilities children can, "experience, explore and create in the arts, tell their own story, reflect on their own art making and the artworks of others and, learn about the arts as part of culture". (Dinham, 2022) Another focus of this week's readings was authentic arts education which included approaches such as cookie-cutter, busy work, cultural tokenism, handmaiden, smorgasbord, free-for-all and showcase. A cookie-cutter approach involves copying, painting, and cutting which improves manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination. Approaches such as these have enabled me as a pre-service teacher to understand the best methods of teaching arts education. (Dinham, 2022)

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Reflecting on integral parts of dance education, such as creative dance and movement, a pre-service teacher such as myself has learned that even as a learner in adult life people aren't always open to new ways of thinking. I found myself uncomfortable performing in front of people who were a similar age to me but have begun to let go of preconceived ideas and challenge myself to think more open-mindedly. However, I found myself really enjoying the theoretical side of this week, Creative dance is contemporary combining movement and artistic expression that doesn't rely heavily on technicality. Creative movement, however, is more of an expression through movement to create meaning. Through creative movement and dance, students can understand the elements of dance more comprehensively (body, energy, space, and time). (SCSA, 2014) Students are also able to learn that dance can be linked to many different art forms such as drama, media arts, music, or visual arts. (Dinham, 2022) The video above is of the Ohio State Dance Team, an elite college dance team, that personally resonates with me as both a dancer and a pre-service teacher. As a pre-service teacher, I admire their passion and ability to use elements of dance in interesting and creative ways to engage the audience and as a dancer, I loved their use of technology whilst conveying emotion.

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Ohio State Dance Team 2024 -JAZZ FINALS - UDA College Nationals

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The focus for this reflection is based on the modules of Spanish Dance for this week. The practical activities and unit information inform my personal understanding of the use of dance as an expressive learning process through which educators can facilitate creativity in primary students. Throughout the activities, such as devising our own dance to a sixteen-beat rhythm, I've learnt to manage my time effectively as there are multiple activities in one lesson. There has been a large amount of pressure moving through this unit, just in terms of the number of assignments from multiple classes at the end of the semester. One way I have managed to keep on top of all my assignments and studies is that I've kept a diary that lists all my important upcoming events and due dates. The most important personal realisation that I've had has been that I am able to further develop my knowledge of dance and that this really interests me. I included the video above as it relates to the topic of discussion for the week but at the same time I enjoyed this piece of art, which pertains to the elements of Dance.

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Every Dance Studio- Ispanakan par / Spanish Dance 💃

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Delivering Authentic Arts Education : Dance Part (Reflection Seven)

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Delivering Authentic Arts Education : Dance Part (Reflection Seven)

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The readings for this week focus on open-ended, closed-ended, free exploration and directed experience pedagogical approaches. Closed-ended pedagogical approaches involve students following instructions on a step-by-step basis whereby students are discouraged to stray from the directives given. This approach is effective in achieving a specific outcome but can be limited to the students as their creativity is not always challenged. The Free exploration pedagogical approach involves little guidance from educators and requires no specific outcome to be achieved. (Dinham, 2022) This process enables students to learn more about the process of artmaking. Open-ended pedagogical approaches can be great for children as they provide a framework that enables children's creativity. Open-ended pedagogical approaches involve teachers setting broad goals where students meet criteria by developing their own take on the framework provided. Finally, the Directed pedagogical approach is set by the teacher where the teacher places most importance on skill building, rehearsal, and group work. (Dinham, 2022)

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This week's reflection focuses on the ideas of and surrounding Claymation animation. Claymation can be defined as "a three-dimensional form of stop-motion animation." (Dinham, 2022) Claymation involves figures made of materials such as clay and plasticine to tell a story. Media Arts production helps students to become more ethical users of media as they learn how to behave online in a way that is socially acceptable without any serious consequences. Teaching Media Arts is therefore integral to being a good educator. (Dinham, 2022) During this unit, which I have thoroughly enjoyed, I have learned to be more comfortable and confident in my own artistic abilities and my ability to teach. I don't believe I have always been the kindest to myself as there is so much, I've had to learn across all my subjects and as I have moved away from my family within Geraldton for study, I have had to manage a healthy work-life balance (which hasn't always been easy). As I live alone, it has been hard for myself mentally as I find myself quite lonely. A positive to this though has been that being alone has really helped me stay on top of my work as I have few friends to go out with. Overall, I've really enjoyed this unit and am glad I've worked on both myself as a person and as an academic.

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DANCEVIDS. (2024, January 15). Ohio State Dance Team 2024 -JAZZ FINALS - UDA College Nationals. Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71F2QiU18jc

Dinham, J. (2022). Delivering Authentic Arts Education (5th ed.). Cengage Learning Australia.

Every Dance Studio. (2018, June 18). Every Dance Studio- Ispanakan par / Spanish Dance 💃. Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBlY3-RflRs

Ken Robinson. (2007). Do Schools Kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

SCSA. (2014). K-10 Outline Elements of dance. K10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au. https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/teaching/curriculum-browser/the-arts/dance2/arts-overview2/glossary2/elements-of-dance#:~:text=The%20basic%20(key)%20components%20of

Singapore Repertory Theatre. (2020). Drama Game for Kids: Tableaux. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfNmlY1-t5k