AED1260 - A Visual Timeline by

Week One: Drama Introduction

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 02:48:04 UTC

Upon entering a new space full of strangers, I recall feeling nervous as I began my first AED1260 seminar. The activities were designed, however, to elicit conversation and relation amongst students. Within minutes I felt at ease and found myself enjoying the small group tasks, creating tableaux's and observing other people's works. We discussed the various elements of drama, discussed becoming a facilitator of The Arts, and I realised that we learn through the process, not the result.

Week One: Realisations

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 02:55:52 UTC

Primary students learn Arts, especially drama, collaboratively.
The activities we practiced in the seminar reflected those best suited for primary students (discussion, creative thinking, copying & watching)
Arts requires inquiry-based, child-centred learning

Week Three: Drama

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 03:04:51 UTC

In our third seminar we delved into reader's theatre - an exciting blend of reading aloud with drama. Reader's theatre is a literature-based, whole-language activity that promotes self-esteem and fun for students. For teachers, it provides ample opportunities for differentiation, making it an accessible and engaging activity for almost any student. I loved the idea that a student with limited movement abilities could still be so involved in drama through the use of their voice.

Week Three: Realisations

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 03:09:44 UTC

A teacher's voice is our most important tool - and it's our job to help students to find theirs.
Tongue twisters and voice modulation activities can be a fun way to warm up for a drama class.
Often, the most effective activities are those that appeal to and can be achieved by all students.

"Children need art and stories and poems and music ...

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 03:15:10 UTC

... as much as they need love and food and fresh air and play."

         - Phillip Pullman

Week Six: Dance

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 03:31:49 UTC

"To dance is human"

            - Hanna, 1987

We explored elements of dance, warming up methods ideal for primary students, and the benefits of dance experiences. We contrasted making to responding in dance and looked at a variety of dance games for children.

Week Six: Realisations

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 03:35:04 UTC

Dancing has been integral to societies since Neolithic times at least - it must be innate in our species to dance, to celebrate, to tell stories, to express, to release and to experience.
Creative dance is an inclusive approach to dance education that emphasises students' imagination, self-expression, creativity and exploration.

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 03:41:25 UTC

"our bodies need the freedom to move and be creative - and so do our minds."

              - Sten, n.d.

A Personal Reflection

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 04:03:37 UTC

I remember my primary school drama teacher and the major influence he had on my Arts passions. When I was in Year 5, he directed a massive theatrical performance involving Years 5, 6 and 7 - Suessical Jr. Students auditioned for on-stage roles that involved singing, dancing and circus skills - but students also auditioned for backstage roles. Controlling lights, music, props; overseeing costumes & makeup; prompting the onstage actors. Students with disabilities from our education support centre were invited to be involved both on and offstage. It was one of the most inclusive, exciting and educative experiences of my primary years.

Week Eight: Media Arts

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 04:08:02 UTC

Media Arts is a subject close to my heart, as I began my university journey studying Mass Media Communications at Curtin University. Though only a short-lived experience (just one semester), the information I learnt through my studies there remains invaluable to me, and it was great to have the opportunity to apply it again in this unit. In this week we looked at the three stages of production, each of which I am familiar with in particular from a Screen Arts unit in which I drafted and finalised a screenplay for a short film which I then went on to produce in a small group. New to me was the study of media arts specifically in the primary school and the three levels of apps that children can use to create and explore.

Week Eight: Realisations

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 04:08:07 UTC

Media Arts is multimodal in nature and constantly changing and evolving with new technologies.
Children are naturally artistic creators - but we must continue to encourage them to be so.
The goal is to ensure students become intelligent creators AND consumers of media. We have to raise them to be capable of analysis and reflection in order to have future citizens that can recognise propaganda.
Children must be educated on internet safety, privacy and cyberbullying. This is imperative for their mental health and personal safety as they are increasingly coming to schools as digital natives.

Week Eleven

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 04:08:13 UTC

This week posed the question: what is more important - the process or the product? We have already established that in Arts, learning is praxis-based, meaning that we do indeed learn through doing. In that sense, the process is paramount in Arts education. Nonetheless, we have to examine the benefits of creating and presenting a product. Perhaps, however, a product doesn't always have to look one way. It can be a tableaux, reader's theatre, miming, puppetry, singing, poems and of course, the classic play.

Week Eleven: Realisations

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 04:08:17 UTC

Performances can be daunting for children. I think back to my Year 5 extra-curricular theatrical experience - students had the choice to be involved on-stage, off-stage or not at all. Perhaps choice is key in the success of theatrical performances?
Students have to be ready to perform!
We can help prepare children for performances by working up to it and creating or building the product together.

A special Thank-You

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 04:08:25 UTC

I would like to personally thank my tutor, Marnie Walton, for being as engaging and supportive a tutor as I ever had. By no means has this been a smooth-sailing semester, but I wanted to say I appreciate your constant efforts to make each seminar exciting and involved, even when you couldn't see our faces.

"Art is not what you see ...

maisieshaw1 — 2020-06-05 04:41:36 UTC

... but what you make others see."
         - Edgar Degas 