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Unfortunately, I missed the first week seminar as I read my timetable wrong, however, I did use the online resources and watched the Sir Ken Robinson Ted Talk. I found this particularly interesting as it discussed whether schools 'kill creativity'.

I had always thought about the fact that subjects like mathematics, english, science and history and social sciences were always prioritised over the arts. Sir Ken Robinson talked about how the education system did not foster the arts in the way that it should, as the arts are just as important as other subjects that are 'higher regarded'.

This talk also relates specifically to our first assignment, as we are being asked to advocate for the arts in education. This led me to look up some more information on the importance of arts in education. Below are some links to some good resources on the matter:

https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2012/08/08/the-importance-of-the-arts-in-meaningful-education.html#:~:text=The%20arts%20form%20the%20enduring,arts%20bring%20beauty%20and%20joy.

https://www.senecaacademy.org/10-reasons-why-integrating-art-is-important-in-school/

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The focus for this week was mime and so some of the activities that were conducted in the workshop were miming a box and passing it onto the next person, miming an 'escape' scene, and many other things. This helped students to understand that facial expression and concise body movement are very crucial in the teaching of primary school students with differing capabilities and needs.

I found this workshop very entertaining and felt as though I had established some new relationships with class members that I had collaborated with. This is because mime requires that members if a group miming together have to really pay attention to one another as words cannot be used. This is just one of the reasons why mime is a great tool to use in primary schooling!

The three videos that were put up in the third learning module were very helpful, also quite funny. They demonstrated how mime can be something fun. I was quite surprised as I had not seen mime being performed in such a long time.

I have inserted an image of a mime performance in Perth. As you can see, they differ from the traditional mime performances as they do not have the traditional makeup and costume.

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Mime performance in Fremantle Perth. This has a very minimalistic, contemporary feel to it.

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Traditional mime costume and makeup accentuates facial expression and movement.

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This was the first week of module two, dance. We started off the seminar with some warm ups and then played a game where we had to run to our partner and do the movement. It was so fun!

I came into this dance unit thinking that it would be less fun than drama, but it was so good because we could all let loose, and it was more about expression and confidence than actual dancing abilities.

Some important points in the readings for this week were:
-Creative dance: a type of dance that combines movement with artistic expression. It doesn't require any extensive training, and it focuses on the development of motor skills and the expression of emotions.
-Creative movement: movement that reflects the inner state of a child. In creative movement, children are free to express their own personalities, style, thoughts, and feelings. Creative movement encourages children to act on what they are learning and express their individuality.

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This was the last week of our dance module, the key ideas of the seminar being dance elements, the choreographic process, learning in dance, and learning through dance.

In preparation for this class we were asked to practice our 'birth date dance', which comprised of dance moves that correlated to numbers, one through to ten. We used these numbered dance moves to assemble a routine that represented our birthday. My birth date is the fifth of September, 2002, and so my dance consisted of  the following moves:
0-jump
5-kick
0-jump
9-travel
2-roll
0-jump
0-jump
2-roll
This activity was very enjoyable and demonstrated how choreography can be implemented into arts lessons in primary schools, using prior knowledge of students to help them to remember certain movements.

Some other activities that were conducted in the seminar were a warm up, dance whispers, universal writing (later integrated into our birth date dances with a partner), space rabbits of Brocklevoons, personal study time, group work and an in-class reflection.

I left this seminar feeling much more confident in my dancing abilities and my memory as i was able to pull together a dance with my partner, memorising and executing it perfectly. I have a better understanding of how dance can be good for childrens' self-esteem, physical health and mental processing.

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I went into this week feeling a little bit nervous to perform a small part of our Week 13 performance, but also super excited. It was really fun to practice our dance scene during class time, and our warmup for the seminar was great. We played the game where you pick a partner and when the music stops you have to run to your partner and get into the position (turtle on the roadside, lovers lane, hens, cockroach etc.) that the teacher had called out.

This week was really good because it allowed us to work on our week 13 performance, and despite being a little nervous, performing part of it made me feel better about the actual performance that is approaching.

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Week 12 focused on adding the final touches to our week 13 performance. Each group was given twenty minutes to use the space to rehearse our performance and then perform it to our tutor. Afterwards we were provided with feedback which was very beneficial as it allowed us to take a new direction in the way in whcih we were going to use the space. Prior to performing to the tutor, we were thinking of moving chairs and props to set each scene, however, after practicing this we had come to the realisation that this would interrupt the flow of the performance and lead to us having less time to perform. We then decided that it would be better to have the left side of the stage set for one scene and the right side for the other. Another tip that our tutor had given us was to be more confident and to project our voices, which was very helpful because I think we were all feeling a bit unsure about our acting and how to use our voices.

It was great using the space that we were going to perform in this week because it not only made us feel more confident, but also allowed to figure out how to transition between scenes and how to position ourselves to the audience. Rehearsal space was also mentioned in the week 11 lecture, stating that it is important to get students to rehearse in the space that they will be performing in, especially because it helps in the transferring of movement. I found that to be true in week 12 of the arts.

This week really made me think about my future teaching and how I would create a performance, and help my students to really get into the process, enjoying every aspect of it, like my group, 'Think Pink' has.

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Overall, I found this unit to be very enjoyable and beneficial. I feel as though I needed to do this unit not only to gain the knowledge about media arts, dance, drama, and the creative collaborative process, but to find my voice and to establish positive relationships, which I have learnt are crucial to the learning process.

Going into professional practice I wasn't feeling too confident as I was in a French specialist class, and I didn't know a word of French. However, I was able to use my knowledge from module one (drama) to help me in my approach to teaching. I was required to read a French picture book to my year threes, sixes and fours, and I was very unsure of my ability to do so, but I knew that if I was able to animate my voice and project, that the class would appreciate my efforts and be more engaged. This proved to be correct and the experience was great.

The second module (drama) helped me to loosen up and I had learnt the different elements of dance (body, energy, space and time). In my third week of professional practice I observed my year three class copy the interactive whiteboard and dance to a song about sea animals, which was what they were learning at the time. This was a great cross-curricular learning experience and the children really let out their energy, feeling more motivated to begin their studies on sea animals afterwards. Although I had learnt that it is better for the students to be present in the experience, not looking at a screen, I do see the importance of this activity, and i will be sure to use dance in my future classrooms.

This unit was also very fun and provided and opportunity for me to do more hands-on ;earning, which was a lot more engaging than the other units had been. It inspired me to look into other resources such as TedTalks, mime videos, and YouTube videos of primary school teachers who used the arts in their classroom. I also engaged in conversations with my Mum and Auntie about the arts in schooling as they had attended WAPPA in university and saw the importance of the arts.