Assessment 2 - On Country Visit and Responses by Mai Nguyen

ARTEFACT

maingcnguyen — 2024-09-06 14:48:32 UTC

Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PTBa0fPjh9rQsh9N3RXJLvzqb8Vbms0f/view?usp=drive_link

This video illustrates my excursion to the local grassland reserve. While following the guidelines, I let myself be mindful of the surroundings and practised the place-thought method to look at the environment in different ways (Watts, 2013, as cited in Wallin, 2019). I gained a variety of reflections with my existing accumulated studying about music, movement and drama and how to integrate the Aboriginal aspects into the curriculum.

Moreover, I believe it would be great to integrate the outdoors with the pedagogies that prioritize the maximum development of the children. Playing outdoors is such an efficient way to help children develop in certain ways of growing such as physical strength to cognitive and social skills (Wallin, 2019). It is so important that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes the right of children to live and play in an environment that stimulates their development. "Green" and "natural" areas are believed to get the engagement from children than any other environment as well (Louv, 2006; Moore and Cosco, 2006, as cited in Wilson, 2007). Especially, through play, children could learn how to regulate their emotions and themselves while living in an environment that is as easy to provoke aggression as today. Natural settings are thought to have that calm element to relieve stress in human beings. Therefore, I would discover more ways to connect natural properties to my future practices, even if it is just a small item like a stick or a branch of a tree.

Creative response - with a practise of place thought and learning to be affected method introduced by Catherine Hamm in 2015.

maingcnguyen — 2024-09-06 14:48:46 UTC

Inspired by a practice of learning to be affected introduced by Latour, which is a method of paying attention to the layers of inscription in place (Hamm, 2015), I imagined what would past people did on the place while they were living. As understanding music is a dynamic form of language that is not bound to semantic logic, but instead, grounded in metaphor (Neely, 2018), I created this piece of music with the question of what would it be like for old people when entering a forest full of wildness to the hunter. I combined a Chinese kit of drums with different sounds and variations in timbre, pitch, texture, etc., from different instruments to express the sound of nature I heard when I was walking in place. Da Gu and Pai Gu are used to describe the sound of the wind. The pounding drum beats are a metaphor for dangerous and dramatic moments when people are in danger. Mu Yu and Bang Zi produce sounds that are not too sharp but clear, as a metaphor for the sound of birds in wildlife. Da Bo brings a very sharp cymbal sound, to demonstrate the sharpening knife practice. Da Lou and Xiao Luo, which carry a resounding sound, are used to demonstrate the moment when the hunter almost lost all hope when he could not find his prey.

Analytical Response: Connecting with place - music

maingcnguyen — 2024-09-06 23:47:30 UTC

Before I knew the difference between hearing and listening, I only knew the sounds around me, simply as sounds. Hearing the wind blowing, I knew it was the wind blowing. Hearing the birds chirping, I knew it was the birds chirping. This example further strengthens the definition of hearing as the physical means that enables perception while listening is to give attention to what is perceived both acoustically and psychologically (Oliveros, 2016). Because when I pay close attention to the sound of the wind, I will feel the strength and anger it brings to my mind as the wind speed increases dramatically. The sound of the wind blowing feels like it is constantly moving and affecting the surrounding leaves. Accordingly, the sound of the leaves will also rustle faster and collide with each other more, creating a series of continuous, dramatic sounds. But when at a gentle and slow speed, the sound of the wind also softens. With dry grass, the rustling sound is more resonant in areas where green and soft grass grows. Similarly, dry leaves create a rustic, deeper sound than the sound of wind blowing through soft leaves.

Listening, in other words, is deep hearing, which means not only using the ear but also the brain to capture the sound. Contrasting the two actions, listening and hearing, is not to define the binary of value of the two. Hearing is the first stage of listening. Listening is the first stage of learning. This practice would complement the sense of learning music in an early stage of a child. As described as learning a language, music is believed to be practised in day-to-day life activities rather than a music rule lesson (Wooten, 2013). Starting with basic hearing would build up a skill of listening later.

Analytical Response: Connecting with place - movement

maingcnguyen — 2024-09-06 23:50:30 UTC

During this walk, I will take the position of an observer and observe the movements of the subjects around me. However, when reviewing the video recordings on my phone, there was a moment when I almost slipped and fell because of the slipperyness of the bumpy rock surface as the water flowed over it. I screamed and struggled to keep my balance. I suddenly realized that I was also moving at that moment by the surroundings. These are also the factors that need to be considered that are part of the steps that help us dance with nature (The Earthbody Institute, n.d).

The first step to connecting with the place is to notice its size, texture, patterns, solidness, fragility, expansiveness, etc (The Earthbody Institute, n.d). After that, notice the sensations provoked in your body such as a warm cozy feeling that makes you want to close your eyes. Switching a focused mind of being responsible to work on an assignment, to a relaxed, calm mind to sense the moment movement of nature. Or a small blow of the wind touching your skin and making your sideburns slightly wave. All of that small change, in a still object, or even in a moving one, is called movement.

For easy visualization, on a flat road, I can walk leisurely with a comfortable posture. However, on a rough road, my posture will mostly reflect my emotions at that time. I will crouch down to maintain balance. Or maybe I will be more careful with each step due to uncertainty. This would highlight the idea of nature as a dancing partner (The Earthbody Institute, n.d).

Analytical Response: Connecting with place - drama

maingcnguyen — 2024-09-06 23:54:12 UTC

The photo captures a moment of flowing water, simply, with many surrounding subjects. But if viewed under a microscope, or understood with a magnified perspective, there are certainly many stories to tell. For example, I wonder if are there any tiny creatures that are living in that waving moss. Whether or not they are eating, running, or simply sleeping inside a moving object that they may call it home, or transportation. Are there any other creatures living in the water that I can not see? What would create that wavy sign on the surface of the water? What are the forces and scientific explanations behind that? Why does moss want to be there instead of another type of plant? Why there are holes in the stone? Are they houses of other creatures? This is a prime example of the benefits of children playing in natural environments outside, especially pretend play. I put myself in the position of a child to be curious about the surroundings and ask questions. The diversity of characteristics has given me endless observation and questioning. It is also believed that pretend play, which has many benefits for children's development, would be more dramatic and sustained when it happens outdoors (Wallin, 2019). One of the reasons must be due to its existing open-ended elements that are encouraged to be used in accelerating the play of children. Another property that nature could offer is affordance referring to the different functions that materials can serve, or afford (Fjørtoft, 2001, as cited in Wallin, 2019).

References:

maingcnguyen — 2024-09-08 01:20:33 UTC

Hamm, C. (2015). Walking With Place: Storying Reconciliation Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education. Canadian Children, 40(2), 56–66.

Neely, A. (2018). What does music mean? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeoDIVVP20M

Oliveros, P. (2016). The difference between hearing and listening. [Video]. TEDxTalk. https://youtu.be/_QHfOuRrJB8?si=_B8BxLExfF-R6d5e

The Earthbody Institute. (n. d). Movement in the Wild: Nature as Dance Partner. https://www.theearthbodyinstitute.com/2017/03/movement-in-the-wild-nature-as-dance-partner/

Wallin, M. L. (2019). Let's Play Outside: The Importance of Pretend Play in Natural Settings. communityplayingthings. https://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/the-importance-of-pretend-play-in-natural-settings#:~:text=When%20children%20are%20given%20the%20time%20and%20space%20to%20play,to%20cognitive%20and%20linguistic%20growth

Wilson, R. (2007). Children, creative play, and the natural environment. Nature and Young Children: Encouraging Creative Play and Learning in Natural Environments. Routledge.

Wooten, V. (2013). Music as a language. [Video]. TEDxTalk. https://youtu.be/2zvjW9arAZ0?si=WTvLvZEJ4PUYY2U8