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Week 1 - Module 1. Individual and collaborative visual art.

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Week 1 - Module 1. Individual and collaborative visual art.

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This week in our workshop, we developed practices and skills of visual art by using acrylic paint (blue, white, black and yellow) to make and create our vision/interpretation of the ocean that showed varied depth. The objective was to see how many different shades of blue/green were used to demonstrate tone (graduating ocean depth). We then worked collaboratively to join each individual painting together to form a backdrop, the ocean.

While undertaking this activity, I developed an understanding of how and why the elements and principles of visual art are used. Dinham (2017) states that exploration and experimentation in open-ended tasks increase understanding through 'doing''. I learned how to use 2D media to create a graduation of tone. For example, as I began painting, I discovered I had to use the elements of colour, value, space and line to show the variance in the ocean's depth. I experimented, relying on the intensity of the black paint, combined with the diagonal lines between the colour variation (hue and contrast), for impact to portray the ocean's depth. I also learned that blending colours gradually, such as black and blue, blue and white, and blue and yellow for contrast, gave the illusion of a deep ocean transitioning to the shallows. Towards the completion of the painting, I realised that my image lacked 'movement', so I used repetition and space to apply horizontal brush strokes to create lines that got closer together as the water became shallow to show the water's movement and direction of flow.

This open-ended task is a great activity that I would use in a primary classroom because it developed an understanding of the elements of visual art through engaging, hands-on/mind-on exploration and discovery, both individually and collaboratively. This will result in students 'artists' considering and developing an understanding of art elements (line, colour, shape, form, value, space, texture) and principles(balance, contrast, emphasis, repetition, scale, proportion, movement) whilst making real-world connections with the topic of the ocean.

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The effects of pollution on our ocean and sea life - inspired by the great ocean patch.  I made a turtle out of bubble wrap and made netting out of plastic bags

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Week 2 - Module 2.1.  Integrating Visual Art and Media Art (Years 3-4) - Creating Ocean Life Using Recycled Materials

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Week 2 - Module 2.1.  Integrating Visual Art and Media Art (Years 3-4) - Creating Ocean Life Using Recycled Materials

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This week on campus, we expanded on last week's task to explore and respond to how First Nations Peoples use visual arts to communicate their connection and responsibility for Country/place by learning about Ghost Net Artworks https://australian.museum/learn/cultures/atsi-collection/ghost-net-art/. Individually we used visual art conventions, processes and materials to make artworks out of recycled materials to communicate our ideas, and perspectives and create meaning in relation to our real-world issue of pollution and the effects it is having on our sea life.

This activity really made me think outside of the box when trying to consider combining different materials with different textures and shapes and how these recycled items can be joined together and created to resemble our chosen ocean life and items of pollution.  The collaborative activity of hanging our sealife and pollution on the backdrop built on our knowledge and skills of the elements of visual art, such as shape, space, line, and scale. It also strengthened our relationships and helped us recognise our strengths and areas of need.   Both of the activities naturally encouraged genuine discussion and exploration of the real-world issue of ocean pollution (great garbage patch), resulting in a united classroom culture that felt compelled to make a difference.

This activity is a great way to meaningfully integrate visual art (the arts) and real-world issues, such as pollution (HaSS), in a primary classroom.  The content within this activity would help to provoke thought and action around pollution and sustainability (cross-curriculum priority) while developing knowledge and skills of visual art (elements and principles). This approach will help students to work independently and collaboratively to build on their existing knowledge, think critically and creatively (general capability) and build on their social interactions such as listening, expressing their ideas, and compromising (personal and social capability). This activity would be beneficial for all students as its open-ended nature enables links to cultural diversity (ghost net sculptures) and divergent thinkers (Cornett, 2011; Dinham, 2017).

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Week 3 - Module 2.2.  Stop Motion Animation Integrating Visual Art and Digital Art

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Week 3 - Module 2.2.  Stop Motion Animation Integrating Visual Art and Digital Art

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This week on the Springfield campus, we developed practices and skills to create and make a stop motion using the ocean backdrop (week 1 activity) and recycled sea life and pollution (week 2 activity).  The aim was to make a video that told the story of the impact that pollution has on sea life (What happened to turtle?).

It was decided through a whole class discussion that we would tell the story of a turtle's journey in the ocean, starting in clean waters before encountering pollution and becoming entangled and dying.  This involved firstly sharing ideas, listening and responding to others' points of view, and collectively building on these ideas to come up with a story that we believed portrayed the real-world issue. We agreed upon having allocated job roles, but all were responsible for giving input and feedback throughout the task. During the placement/taking photo process, we had to consider the placement of the turtle (swimming from clean water into the pollution before becoming entangled in rubbish and dying, dropping to the bottom of the ocean), which included space composition, time and movement (visual art elements). We also built trust within our group due to the collaborative nature of the task, which made us all accountable for producing a successful outcome. The surprise for me, upon reflection, is realising that at the start of the task, I felt quite overwhelmed, but by the end of the task, I felt proud to be part of a team that created a successful outcome. This was achieved through engaging in hands-on learning in a supportive group environment because it enabled me to build on my knowledge and skills through learning from my peers and being able to experiment with my ideas to see if they would give the desired result. *Within days after this workshop, I continued to experiment with the stop motion app and have since made several stop motion animations to present as a part of my future placements, showing that this collaborative learning activity provided me with additional skills (from peers) and the confidence to continue to learn and integrate other learning areas with media art.

This would be a perfect way to integrate the learning area of HaSS with the media art in a primary classroom where the objective is for students to gain a deep understanding of the visual art elements and Hass using a real-world issue, especially as it caters to all students (behaviour, gifted and talented, identified learning needs and diverse learners). Evidence states that when students' learning is authentic and relatable, and gives them the freedom to express themselves in a range of ways it helps to maintain concentration and positively impacts student outcomes (Dinham, 2020).

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Week 7- Soundscape, Integrating Music and Visual Art

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Week 7- Soundscape, Integrating Music and Visual Art

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This week in our workshop we explored two art forms and the world issue of the population decline in bumblebees due to the loss of habitat.  The picture above shows the two activities.  Music (lines interpreting what I hear) is on the bottom and visual art (painting using the lines as inspiration to communicate the world issue) is on the top.

The first activity (bottom) required us to draw lines while simultaneously listening to 'The Flight of the Bumblebee' written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908).  I found this task quite challenging because as I was listening to the music, the vision of how the bee was travelling appeared in a circular motion,  harmoniously swirling up and down as the rhythm, pitch and dynamics of the music changed.  However, on paper, my lines were straight and sharp as they staggered from side to side on the page.  The other challenge was not knowing how long the music was going to play before starting the activity.  This resulted in running out of space and rather than stopping and being satisfied with what I had, I panicked and tried to squeeze in the lines that couldn't portray the music.
The second activity (top) was also challenging for me because of the contradiction of the bumblebee's journey, in my mind compared to the journey on paper. Although we were shown an artist's work that was inspired by the same world issue and had discussed the elements that he used to achieve his message, I still found myself at a loss for how to communicate my message using the lines as inspiration.
The beauty of the challenge was in the open-endedness of the activity because I knew (through both teaching and a safe and supportive environment) that I had the freedom to express and communicate my message. For me, this meant that if I read the lines and then told that story through my painting with the use of lines and shapes to show movement and the journey of the bumblebee and colour and texture to show the changes in seasons and habitat and the struggles that these changes bring, that I had successfully achieved my set objectives. Upon reflection, the challenges I faced were at an appropriate level to develop a deeper understanding of the two artists and the world topic. However, I know that I would have not continued if I had not been in a supportive and respectful environment.

Experiencing what it feels like to not be able to express myself in a particular way but still move forward showed me that an understanding of the elements of Visual Art builds resilience and a supportive environment builds confidence. This is a valuable lesson to show me that creating a safe and supportive classroom that respects and celebrates the work of every individual is not only a legal requirement, but a moral one that can dramatically impact emotional and academic outcomes (Cornett, 2011; Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), 2011). Therefore, as a primary teacher of The Arts, I will build and maintain an environment that is safe and supportive as well as teach (explicitly and through various hands-on, meaningful activities) the principles and elements of The Arts so students have the resilience and confidence to take risks because they know that The Arts gives them the freedom of expression that can be justified through their knowledge, skills and techniques use to communicate. To put it simply, there is no wrong answer in communicating your feelings, beliefs and interpretations, especially when you can explain, using the language of art (arts literacy).

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Spider web dance - weaving a web using red wool

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Week 8 - Module 3.1.  Dance and Biological Science - Life cycle of a spider.

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Week 8 - Module 3.1.  Dance and Biological Science - Life cycle of a spider.

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Watched video and discussed how dance and science can be integrated appropriately aliging to Dance : Years 1-2  DEVELOPING PRACTICES AND SKILLS Experiment with and practise skills for moving safely and expressively using fundamental movement skills and the elements of dance (AC9ADA2D01) and Biological Science: year 1 identify the basic needs of plants and animals, including air, water, food or shelter, and describe how the places they live meet those needs (AC9S1U01).

We then watched a YouTube clip of the construction of a spider's web as a stimulus and learned about spiders' behaviours such as spinning their web to enable their survival.  Learning area integration was DANCE: YEAR 5-6, manipulate the elements of dance and/or choreographic devices to choreograph dances that communicate ideas,
perspectives and/or meaning (AC9ADA6C01) and Biological Science: Year 5, examine how particular structural features and behaviours of living things enable their survival in specific habitats (AC9S5U01).

As we worked collaboratively we decided to form a circle (frame of the web) to create the spider web. We then would have to move our bodies (dance) around and in and out of the circle to form a web, pretending that we were the spider. I found myself considering movements, actions, space time and energy (elements of dance). During the choreographing and communicating ideas, I was so focused on 'being' the spider and moving like a spider that was making the web rather than the real-life reasons why a spider builds a web (for survival).  I think that it was because it required group collaboration and there was too much concern about where to build the web next, and who would be responsible for the next moves.  However, in saying this, it was the reflection activity of class discussion and feedback that made me realise that I was actually considering the spider's behavioural features which I had learned in biological science.

This is a great experience to help me as a teacher who is integrating art with other learning areas because it helped me to understand the importance of reflection as a whole class, as well as individually. Therefore I will always implement effective ways for students to reflect upon their work and give feedback on others' reflections. This also made me realise the power of choreographing a dance as a team because it brought up so many options, ideas and new connections that I would not have made on my own which I believe contributed to my dedication to becoming the spider and making connections between the elements of dance needed to tell our story through dance.

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Past and present family/friend interactions

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Week 9 - Module 3.2 - Integrating Drama and English

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Week 9 - Module 3.2 - Integrating Drama and English

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This week in our workshop we continued to learn by making meaning by integrating English Arts and Drama.  It was connected to the real-world issue of the impact of technology on the way families and friends interact. This activity included viewing and discussing two contrasting paintings from different eras (past and present) that fueled discussion about the differences and commonalities of how we interacted in the past and the present. We then collaboratively created our own story which we communicated through freeze frames and then considered relationships between the characters using improvisations. These activities aligned with Year 5 English and Drama content descriptions AC9E5LE05, AC9E5LY01, and AC9ADR6D01 as we experimented with storylines, characters and settings and described the ways that text can reflect the time and place in which it was created. through combining elements of drama such as role, character, place, time, situation, movement, relationship tension, mood, space and contrast.

We were given time to aesthetically appreciate each art piece before then sharing how it made us feel and why, using the 'meta language' of visual arts (the elements of line and space creating drama and colour creating mood etc.).  I really enjoyed listening to other people's viewpoints and reasoning behind their perspectives because it made me look deeper into the painting and I realised aspects that I would have missed out on if I had only my own reflection. The teacher then facilitated a discussion on Drama by asking us to think and share what we thought was happening at that moment in time within these two contrasting photos (paintings). This resulted in connecting Visual art elements to Drama elements (The use of space in the painting creates the mood/impression of closeness/clickiness or segregation/naughty between the sisters).  We then delved into discussions creating a back story using the elements of both learning areas for both of the paintings before breaking into pairs to create a quick improvisation of a chosen relationship from either painting. I noticed that because this activity was a 'think on your toes' moment, most of us relied on our own personal experiences to develop a storyline.

This activity is a great activity to use in today's contemporary classroom as students will identify with the now and be intrigued by the way we communicated/ interacted in the past. The open-endedness and fast pace of the improvisations (where most of us relied on past experiences) are a fabulous way for students, especially the less confident ones to make connections with group members (build personal and social capabilities) where future discussions can lead to greater reflections and alternate ideas/perspectives for freeze frames. The incorporation of Drama and English will remove language barriers and acknowledge and celebrate diversity, making learning inclusive and supporting the Cross Curriculum priority of intercultural understanding. This is supported by Diaz and McKenna (2017) as they argue that when teachers integrate learning through a creative process it creates a democratic community that enables equitability.

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Our lyrics and music were founded on rhyming couplets - when the Blackbutt is blooming the Parrot Fish are looming....

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Week 10 - Module 4  - Year 4 Integrating Music and English

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Week 10 - Module 4  - Year 4 Integrating Music and English

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This week on campus we engaged in activities and learning that aligned with Year 4 English examining literature as we learned about Minjerribah an Indigenous Story of North Stradbroke Island, which is a story produced by Elders.  It shared histories, cultures, stories and knowledge that has been passed down from the Goenpul, Ngugi and Noonuccal First Nations Peoples of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) and Moorgumpin (Moreton Island) part of the Quandamooka region.  We examined the book for the literary device, rhyming couplets.  (Aligns with Year 4 English, AC9E4LE04).  We then used the rhyming couplet/s to create and make an authentic song by writing the lyrics and melody which we audio recorded.  (Audio Clip has been attached to padlet entry Week 10 - Module 4. Integrating Music and English.  Song Created using rhyming couplets.

Working in groups we we searched through the book, looking for rhyming words.  I was totally engaged as it had such valuable information and stories about our First Nations Peoples culture and history, which I automatically recognised aligns with the Cross Curriculum Priority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures (ACARA, 2022).  We collectively decided upon the rhyming couplet that shared information about Blackbutt blooming and Parrot Fish.  We experimented with lyrics deciding on When the Blackbutt are blooming, the Parrot Fish are looming in the water of the Quandamooka region.
We spent time taking turns manipulating the rhythm and beat, using clap sticks, drums, and a tambourine, while Kayla experimented with the melody. I found keeping the beat while chanting the words (initially we chanted before coming up with the melody) quite challenging and would often get quite frustrated but due to being part of a team/group, I kept on trying. When I explained my struggles with keeping the beat with my group, it drove authentic conversations about the elements of music. When it came time to perform our song, I felt really nervous as this is something that I normally would refuse to do. However, due to being a part of a group, and the encouraging nature of the learning environment, I partook in the activity without hesitation.

I found that I learned so much from the stimulus book Minjerribah: An Indigenous Story of North Stradbroke Island by  Aunty Margaret Iselin and Uncle Keith Borey (2011), just by having the time to explore with the group. It promoted several conversations and we continued to talk about it after class. This reinforced that when learning is relevant to the real world and caters to the interests of the students, meaningful learning occurs through engagement in the creative process, which is a foundation of authentic art (Kenedy Center, 2010). Moving forward, as a primary teacher, this has taught me the importance of integrating authentic learning through engaging real-world topics and how groupwork and collaboration support learning and build confidence in trying things that might otherwise not be explored.

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*Additional attachment for Week 10 - Module 4. Integrating Music and English.  Song created using rhyming couplets.

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*Additional attachment for Week 10 - Module 4. Integrating Music and English.  Song created using rhyming couplets.

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When the Blackbutt is blooming, the Parrot Fish are looming.

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Week 13 - Module 5. Year 5 and 6 Visual Art and Biological Science

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Week 13 - Module 5. Year 5 and 6 Visual Art and Biological Science

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This week on campus we learned about how creatures have been impacted by urbanisation, resulting in some species becoming endangered because they have lost their natural habitat, posing the question of how will/can animals adapt to survive. (World issue).

The lesson started as we read the book Patterns of Australia by Bronwyn Bancroft before discussing how and why animals need to be hidden (predator or prey). We then engaged in viewing different animals using their camouflage on the smartboard. This naturally turned into an engaging game of spot the animal, similar to Where's Wally. This stimulus hooked all of us into the topic of how animals survive by adapting to their surroundings and created a willingness to learn about how and why animals camouflaged themselves. Natural discussions arose about the recent housing and commercial estates popping up in our community where bushland used to be which led to discussing actions that could be taken to help the animals impacted.  This content aligns with Year 5 Biological science AC9S5U01.   We then used visual conventions using different materials to create artworks that showed animals camouflaging to survive.   I was inspired by the green caterpillar-like insect on the leaf which led me in planning to create an artwork of a bug camouflaging on a tree using a scaly patterned paper and twine. After I cut out my bug shape and legs and glued them to the backing paper.  Although the legs protruded from the paper, I wasn't happy with the outcome.  This led to layering the paper and curling the sides so it added an extra dimension and depth to the bug. I learned that turning the edges to show a little bit of white actually looked better as it outlined the layers of the bug, allowing the viewer to see the 3-dimensional effect.
Out of all of the lessons so far, this has been my favourite because it was engaging from the start and I found myself lost in the creation process and really proud of my outcome.

This lesson has natural connections to both learning areas and real-world issues which would make it a great lesson for a year 5 class to explore biological science and visual art. Students could research predators and/or prey (choice) and the impacts of urbanisation, before planning and making an artwork of their chosen animal camouflaging in its natural/unnatural surroundings. It is also a great way to engage students' critical and creative thinking skills by researching their animals and designing their artwork. This unit would also lend itself to working with partnerships within the community to create awareness of a real-world issue, which Dinham (2020) states gives learning meaning and creates community connections.

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Drama photos made into a video to accommodate sharing/viewer.

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Week 14 - Module 5. Year 6 HaSS and Drama

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Week 14 - Module 5. Year 6 HaSS and Drama

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This week on campus we engaged in authentic art activities that integrated Year Six HaSS and Drama. The stimulus was the literary text Stolen Girl by Norma MacDonald which reflected a real-world issue of the stolen generation. The book had direct links to First Nation histories and cultures in the Cross Curriculum Priorities in the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2022) as it shows the impact on First Nations peoples after Federation and throughout the 2oth century, aligning with HaSS content description AC9HS6K02 (ACARA, 2022). We then engaged in interactive role plays and freeze frames where we developed characters and situations using costumes and facial expressions to build a better understanding of how the characters in the text felt and the motives behind their actions from all perspectives, aligning with Drama content description AC9ADR6C01 (ACARA, 2022).
During the activities, I found myself drawn to the real-world issue, even though I have previously learned about the stolen generation, I have only ever heard about it from an adult perspective. I think that because the story was from a child's perspective it was emotionally impactful. The drama activities were thoroughly engaging. Being on campus and forming groups, we had an opportunity to interact with each other and listen and respond to each other's ideas to collectively develop our characters and situations to reflect the literary text. This experience developed my understanding of the elements of drama where I learned the importance of moving your body and not just using facial expressions to portray meaning when doing the freeze frames and that tone, volume and timing are critical tools to utilize when using your voice in role-plays.  Overall, this workshop experience demonstrated authentic art integration due to an engaging real-world issue incorporating two learning areas equally and deepening understanding through creative processes, which Dinham (2020) and Diaz and McKenna (2017) agree creates inclusivity, maintains engagement and promotes positive learning experiences and outcomes.

The story was really engaging and appropriate for a Year 6 class, as it was a truthful retelling of historical events from a child that is around a similar age to the intended audience, which would allow students to make personal connections to the character.  This hook (literary texts) will also inspire students to create and make characters and situations, which will maintain engagement and deepen their learning. As a primary teacher, I will endeavour to use literary text such as the one used in today's workshop as a hook to engage students, spark conversation and deepen learning that equally integrates two learning areas and focuses on a real-world issue. I will purposefully plan groups for students to collaborate as it proved to enhance understanding of both learning areas equally develop their critical, creative, personal and social skills and deepen the understanding of our First Nations histories and cultures.