Dance Strand 4: Integrating dance in the wider curriculum

This week’s tutorial convinced me to use dance to get students to learn abstract concepts in other curriculum subjects can spark imagination and inspirations thereby increasing their motivation to learn. Dance can be specifically used to help them to think mathematically, which will help them in solving problems confidently and easily or to help them understand the meaning of a particular text, which will help them in their reading and writing skills. As Gersak (n.d.) states, dance can be used to motivate and help students understand mathematical concepts, science and literacy easily, making the curriculum more tangible, accessible, memorable and effective for young learners.

Hence, in a Mathematics lesson focusing on three-dimensional shapes, I will get them to create movements that have their body parts creating shapes such as square, circle, rectangle and triangle. I will then give students images of prism, pyramid, cylinder, cone and sphere followed by getting them to work in groups of 3 to create and perform symmetrical movements of one of these shapes. Symmetry is important in dance as it allows them to create repetitive patterns that will allow them to understand what features make shape a three-dimensional shape (Pitici, 2012, pp.80-83; Wasilewka, 2012, pp.454-455). Other students can then predict what shapes each pair has created and what makes it a three-dimensional shape. 

References

Gersak, V. (n.d.). Creative movement – An opportunity for affective education. In S.W. Stinson, C. Svendler Nielsen & S-Y. Liu (Eds.), Dance, young people and change: Proceedings of the daCi and WDA Global Dance Summit, Taiwan: Taipei National University of the Arts. Retrieved from http://ausdance.org.au/uploads/content/publications/2012-global-summit/dance-learning-rp/creative-movement-an-opportunity-for-affective-education.pdf

Pitici, M. (2012). The best writing on Mathematics. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Wasilewska, K. (2012). Mathematics in the World of Dance (Thesis, University of Southern California). Retrieved from http://archive.bridgesmathart.org/2012/bridges2012-453.pdf

Dance Strand 3: Space - general and personal space

I never knew that different levels, sizes, directions, dimensions, pathways and spaces have different messages within till experiencing it in this week’s tutorial.   

However, giving student a visual, auditory, tactile, kinaesthetic or ideational stimulus is a good way to start a dance lesson, to inspire and engage them (Smith & Pocknell, 2007, p.12). When giving them stimulus, teachers must develop learning experiences that connect to everyday living (National Dance Association, 2010, p.43). As Ministerial Council on Education Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (2008) states, teachers must teach learners how they can deal with current issues in real life confidently. For instance, getting us to think about what the homeless would experience allowed us to create movements easily. This influenced me that homeless individuals should be treated as equal individuals and should be offered a helping hand. This will teach students how they can help homeless individuals, teaching them how to be good citizens.

However, in my future classroom, I would get students to watch a video instead to give them more ideas to create movements. Prior to that, I will show them that movements can be performed in different levels, directions, shapes and sizes and how personal or general space can be created, getting them to think about what each movement makes them feel. 

References

Ministerial Council on Education Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. (2008). Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Victoria: Author.

National Dance Association. (2010). Implementing the national dance education standards. Illinois, USA: Human Kinetics.

Smith, F., & Pocknell, L. (2007). A practical guide to teaching dance. Leeds, United Kingdom: Coachwise Business Solutions.

Dance Strand 2: Effort and Dynamics

This week’s tutorial influenced me that all students should be given the opportunity to perform their interpretations of movement qualities such as swing, lyrical, percussion, vibrator and sustained on the spot, giving them opportunities to improvise.  This gives them freedom, confidence, and feeling positive about themselves (Collins, 2014, p.3).

To make it more expressive, I believe in getting my students to apply the Laban’s theory on movement, which consist of direct and indirect direction, heavy and light weight, quick and sustained speed and bound and free flow. I believe that these movements will surprise audiences, which is the key to an entertaining dance.  As Magruder (2013) states, the more energy is put into the dance, the more it will excite audiences’ imaginations, which will make it entertaining. Energy can be achieved when Laban’s theory is used in children’s dancing. This allows them to perform dances that will deliver their intended message effectively and clearly.

I will get them to use the strategies listed above to express their thoughts about the personality of a character of a picture book that the teacher is about to read. Getting them to express their thoughts without restrictions will increase their engagement, allowing them to encounter experiences that go beyond the daily experiences (Bond & Stinson, 2001, as cited in Fegley, 2010, p.6).

References
Collins, K. E. (2014). Artistic Expression Through the Performance of Improvisation (Senior Thesis Preparation, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, USA). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=dance_students
Fegley, L. A. (2010). The impact of dance on student learning: Within the classroom and across the curriculum (Masters thesis, The Evergreen State College, USA). Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.428.3993&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Magruder, E. H. (2013). Dancing for Young Audiences: A Practical Guide to Creating, Managing and Marketing a Performance Company. North Carolina, USA: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.

Dance Strand 1: The Body

Dance is about expressing your emotions and incorporating space, time, dynamics and relationships in your movements. In this tutorial, which can be viewed in the video, we composed our own movements, allowing us to express our thoughts and feelings “…in a language that is visceral and far less mediated by our thought and abstract conceptualizations” (Gersak, n.d., p.4). 

However, it is also about performance skills such as strength, coordination, balance, flexibility and stamina. I believe in teaching my students these skills to help them improve their physical skills, which will improve their dancing. As displayed in the video below, turning, travelling backwards, and jumping allowed us to explore how far we can jump, how much we can bend and how fast we can move in a creative and safe way. Ashley (2005) states that these dance movements will strengthen children's bodies, which will allow them to perform advanced dance movements effectively.

  

Hence, I will start my lesson with a warm-up incorporating the performance skills followed by getting students to reflect what these skills do to their body. I will then get them to compose and perform their own dance movements and share how the warm-up has helped them improve their dancing. I believe that this will influence them to engage in more physical activities, promoting a healthy and active lifestyle.

References

Ashley, L. Dance Theory in Practice for Teachers. New Zealand: Essential Resources Educational Publishers Limited.

Gersak, V. (n.d.). Creative movement – An opportunity for affective education. In S.W. Stinson, C. Svendler Nielsen & S-Y. Liu (Eds.), Dance, young people and change: Proceedings of the daCi and WDA Global Dance Summit, Taiwan: Taipei National University of the Arts. Retrieved from http://ausdance.org.au/uploads/content/publications/2012-global-summit/dance-learning-rp/creative-movement-an-opportunity-for-affective-education.pdf

Music Strand 4: Integrating music in the wider curriculum

This week’s tutorial had us creating tunes that represent our interpretations of a particular text explored. This influenced me that using the appropriate musical instrument that produces the appropriate pitch level and applying the correct rhythm and dynamics is mandatory when interpreting the meaning of a text. For instance, playing the glockenspiel, with a fast rhythm and extreme loudness is inappropriate to represent small, gentle steps. 

Thus, prior to getting them to interpret the text, I will play a few instruments of different pitches in different rhythms and with different dynamics. Students are then to interpret the mood of the sounds produced by each instrument, what each dynamic expression represents, what each rhythm played tells about the speed. This is followed by providing them the answer and explaining the reasons to my answer, allowing them to discover whether their answers are correct. I would then get them to play these instruments, incorporating rhythm and dynamics, to interpret what these sounds reveal about the characters’ actions in the scene. As Hallam (2010) states, rhythm helps students in developing phonological and spelling skills which are useful for reading and writing. Furthermore, creating music allows them to understand the characters’ thoughts, actions and motivation, which is the key to understanding a complex text (Goldberg, 2017, p.79). This will increase students' interest in learning about complex and uninteresting topics. 

References

Goldberg, M. (2017). Arts Integration: Teaching subject matter through the Arts in Multicultural Settings. New York, NY: Routledge.

Hallam, S. (2010). The power of music: its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people. International Journal of Music Eduation, 28(3), 1-32. 

Music Strand 3: Singing

This week’s tutorial experience influenced me to teach students about posture prior to singing. A good posture gives us “…a feeling of centeredness, of well-being in ourselves”, hence increases our self-esteem (Nair, 2007, p.81). Thus, in my future classroom, I would get students to practice the pitch accuracy warm-up exercise 1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, with a straight and confident posture.

I was also convinced that young children should be taught to sing in different voice ranges to make singing more appealing. Getting children to sing in similar voice ranges makes it sound plain. Getting them to sing in different voice ranges makes the tune sound grander. This will increase their interest to participate in singing an unknown and uninteresting song. This is something I would get my future students to do. 

Apart from these activities, I would get students to clap the rhythm as they move and sing. According to Blair & McCord (2016), music and rhythm help them in learning and remembering information and skills, which they can apply when learning other curriculum subjects. This will be beneficial when children want to memorize how to spell difficult vocabulary, number patterns and scientific terminologies.   

References
Blair, D. V., & McCord, K. A. (2016). Exceptional music pedagogy for children with exceptionalities: International perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press. 
Nair, G. (2007). The craft of singing. San Diego, California: Plural Publishing. 

Music Strand 2: Performing - Singing and moving

This week's tutorial influenced me that using different types of non-pitched instruments to count the beats is a creative way that will keep students interested. As I personally experienced in the tutorial, getting students to experience what sounds different instrument make, will increase their interest to learn music that they are not fond of.

Another good activity is using pitched instruments to play a four-part harmony, allowing them to discover different pitches these instruments make. This gives them an idea of what instruments they can use to produce sounds that represent certain emotions.

I would use these activities in a reading lesson in my future classroom. After reading a few important scenes from a picture book, I would get them to create a tune by using different pitched instruments, that represent the characters' feelings and the environment that the characters are experiencing. As Juslin states (2013), music is an "...expressive of emotions". It allows children to express their emotions in ways that are difficult for them to express verbally (Kerr, Walsh & Marshall, 2001, as cited in Bahman & Maffini, 2008, p.70). Furthermore, it is a good way to reduce their stress of anxiety after completing challenging tasks (Bahman & Maffini, 2008, p.70).

References
Bahman, S., & Maffini, H. Developing children's emotional intelligence. London: Continuum International Publishing Group.
Juslin, P. N. (2013). What does music express? Basic emotions and beyond. Frontiers in Psychology, 4(596), 1-14.