This week’s tutorial with Fiona guided me to the realisation that arts education is undoubtedly connected. As you commented, there is such a strong link between drama and dance, and I would argue that music is similarly interwoven into these art forms. This awareness has reinforced the notion that arts education does not need to be left up to the specialist teacher. Due to its natural cross-curricula links, arts education can be the foundation for so many content areas. By approaching it in this fashion, finding time to teach arts does not seem as complex as I first thought.
Like you, I really enjoyed the first workshop that we did which was designed for early childhood. I can definitely see the benefits of this approach, particularly because students should be constantly engaging in imaginative thinking. During my time on prac, it has become evident that there is a huge shift which takes place during early childhood. In Kindergarten and Prep, children are encouraged to participate in imaginative play daily, and this is clearly fundamental to their development as it provides deeper learning opportunities, engagement and is both self-directed and inquiry based (Marsh, 2008). Despite these benefits, I have noticed a distinct shift when students enter grade 1, when school becomes more about ‘work’ and less about ‘play’. The activities Fiona presented in the workshop allow early childhood teachers to engage students in imaginative play whilst providing them with the necessary content and learning that is required within these early years of education. As Cone and Cone (2005) state, children “instinctively use imaginative thinking as they play and create” (p.11). They go on to argue that teachers need to cultivate innovation through encouraging creativity and imagination. The strategies that Fiona provided clearly underpin this philosophy, and demonstrate the many benefits of dance. As well as the social, cognitive and physical benefits, dance can be used to teach cross-curricula content.
Like you, I really enjoyed the first workshop that we did which was designed for early childhood. I can definitely see the benefits of this approach, particularly because students should be constantly engaging in imaginative thinking. During my time on prac, it has become evident that there is a huge shift which takes place during early childhood. In Kindergarten and Prep, children are encouraged to participate in imaginative play daily, and this is clearly fundamental to their development as it provides deeper learning opportunities, engagement and is both self-directed and inquiry based (Marsh, 2008). Despite these benefits, I have noticed a distinct shift when students enter grade 1, when school becomes more about ‘work’ and less about ‘play’. The activities Fiona presented in the workshop allow early childhood teachers to engage students in imaginative play whilst providing them with the necessary content and learning that is required within these early years of education. As Cone and Cone (2005) state, children “instinctively use imaginative thinking as they play and create” (p.11). They go on to argue that teachers need to cultivate innovation through encouraging creativity and imagination. The strategies that Fiona provided clearly underpin this philosophy, and demonstrate the many benefits of dance. As well as the social, cognitive and physical benefits, dance can be used to teach cross-curricula content.
Bethany
Cone, T.P., & Cone, S.L. (2005). Teaching children dance (2nd ed.). South Australia: Human Kinetics.
Marsh, C. (2008). Becoming a teacher: knowledge, skills and issues (4th ed.). Frenchs Forest NSW: Pearson Education.
Marsh, C. (2008). Becoming a teacher: knowledge, skills and issues (4th ed.). Frenchs Forest NSW: Pearson Education.
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