How could expressive arts sessions relate to the four purposes of the curriculum?

Hello Bloggers! This is my last blog of the year, time has flown by don’t you think? I’m going to keep this blog short and sweet!

To begin, I’m going to discuss what the term “expressive arts” actually means. Expressive arts are a combination of “visual arts, movement, drama, music, writing and other creative processes to foster deep personal growth and community development” (Bergin Learning Arts, 2018).

Pupils will have the opportunity to develop their creative, artistic, and performance skills. The pupils will be encouraged to explore thinking, refine, and communicate ideas, demonstrate engaging thinking, and use their imagination and senses creatively. They will also explore issues of personal and cultural identity (Donaldson, 2015). Expressive arts will be carried out through multiple lessons such as; art, dance, drama, music, film, and digital media.

Within the Foundation Phase expressive arts consists of exploratory play, whilst using the arts. According to Bergin Learning Arts (2018), a child’s social, emotional, mental, and physical development, is enhanced through the use of expressive arts. This involves visual, auditory, tactile and so many more! Expressive arts allows the children to explore imaginary play, storytelling, dance, music, drama, poetry, writing, movement, dream work, and visual arts, all in a way that develops their human growth and healing (Bergin Learning Arts, 2018).

Donaldson (2015), has designed the new curriculum so that it has four purposes, and these four purposes will be the focus throughout every part of the school day:

·         Ambitious, capable learners

·         Enterprising, creative contributors

·         Ethical, informed citizens

·         Healthy, confident individuals

Ambitious, capable learners

This area will be focused on by the pupils transferring their knowledge into practise, and understanding “social, physical, and emotional health in their own lives” (Donaldson, 2015). The pupils will be able to explore new challenges, and endeavour to improve their performance (Meehan, 2015).

Enterprising, creative contributors

This is where the pupils are given the opportunity to mentor and support their peers. Whether it’s supporting them in dance, showing them how to draw, or helping them to learn how to play an instrument. It also involves collaborative learning with challenges, and enhancing their creativity through different forms of expression (Meehan, 2015). Humans are born creative from infancy and find innovative ways to negotiate life. Creativity is so important within everyday life as it’s a “journey into seeing and communicating the extraordinariness of the simplest, most every day acts” (Roe, 2012).

Ethical, informed citizens

Here, children are enabled to understand their own and their peers’ cultural beliefs, and to explore issues arising within the world around them. They will begin to understand that actions have consequences and can have an effect on those around him/her. Political and ethical issues will be addressed and understood, and also discussion on health and legal policy will be carried out (Donaldson, 2015).

Healthy, confident individuals

This involves the pupils ensuring they know how to stay safe within different situations and where to go to for help. They will understand the importance of keeping fit and undertaking regular physical activity (Donaldson, 2015). The teachers must ensure that the pupils feel a sense of resilience, and confidence as they gain enjoyment and personal satisfaction from creative expression (Meehan, 2015).

Practising expressive arts within education gives the children opportunity to pay attention to their own bodies, find what they’re talented at, and what they can thrive in. I love to dance and I can also play the piano. I love having time to myself to concentrate on learning different songs! Do you have a talent you believe you could thrive in? Please share in the comments box below, I look forward to hearing all about them!

Reference List

Bergin Learning Arts (2018) ‘Exploring the Art of Learning’ Available at: https://berginlearningarts.com/what-is-expressive-arts/ (Accessed on: 8^th April 2018).

Donaldson. G (2015) ‘Successful Futures – Independent Review’ Available at: file:///C:/Users/Sophielauren/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/Donaldson%20Report%20-%20Successful%20Futures%20-%20Independent%20Review%20of%20Curriculum%20and%20Assessment%20Arrangements%20in%20Wales.pdf (Accessed on: 8^th April 2018).

Meehan. J (2015) ‘The Expressive Arts are proposed as one of six areas of ‘learning and experience’ in Professor Donaldson’s Review of the Education Curriculum in Wales’ Available at: https://www.conwyartsandmusic.org.uk/en/updates/2015-03-03-the-expressive-arts-are-proposed-as-one-of-six-areas-of-learning-and-experience-in-professor-donaldsons-review-of-the-education-curriculum-in-wales (Accessed on: 8^th April 2018).

Roe. E (2012) ‘Why is creativity important in everyday life?’ Available at: https://tscpl.org/art/why-is-creativity-important-in-everyday-life (Accessed on: 8^th April 2018).

How could expressive arts sessions relate to the four purposes of the curriculum?

How could expressive arts sessions relate to the four purposes of the curriculum?

Hello education bloggers, it’s me again. Today I’m back to talk to you about How could expressive arts sessions relate to the four purposes of the curriculum?

So, what is expressive arts? expressive arts combine the visual arts, movement, drama, music, writing and other creative processes to allow deep personal growth and sometimes community development. Expressive arts are based on the imagination (Bergin learning, no date). There are a number of benefits that appear when expressive arts are used… for example personal growth, self-confidence and self-actualization (Bergin learning, no date). Practicing expressive arts gives children a chance to slow everything down and pay attention to their own body and the way it works.

Art and design is a foundation subject in the National Curriculum (Donaldson,2015). Many schools carry out the curriculum planning in art and design in three phases: long-term, medium-term and short term. long-term plan maps out the themes covered in each term during the key stage.

The four purposes of the curriculum are: -

·         Ambitious and capable learners - encouraging them to explore new and challenging areas of experience and to strive to improve their performance.

·         Ethical informed citizens - developing their creativity in a range of forms of expression; providing rich contexts and challenges within which they can work collaboratively, learning from critical appraisal of their work.

·         Enterprising creative contributors - enabling them to understand their own cultural identity and those of societies in other places and at other times, and to explore complex and difficult issues.

·         Healthy confident individuals- helping them to develop resilience and feel more confident as they gain enjoyment and personal satisfaction from creative expression; contributing directly to enriching the quality of their lives.

(Donaldson, 2015)

expressive arts provide inspiration and motivation as they bring children and young people into contact with the creative processes, performances and products of others create their own creativity and imagination. Some schools may provide different opportunities, such as visits to theatres and galleries and for bringing the specialist expertise of, for example, artists and musicians into the classroom. Achievement in the expressive arts also provides a basis for lifelong participation and can ultimately contribute to a thriving economy and cultural life for Wales.

Ambitious and capable learners

Ambition is something that everybody needs. As an ambitious learner you would need to ensure that you keep on to yourself about. You need to make sure that you are continuously pushing yourself to achieve the best that you can (Donaldson, 2015). Subjects like music and dance would require ambitious and capable learns as it insures that you need to be ensuring yourself that you are capable of doing so.

Healthy confident individuals

Today many individuals lack confidence, for whatever reason. Children should be in school thinking to themselves there’s no reason for them to feel under confident. I know from personal experience that I am not extremely confident and feel very under pressure when I get asked something, even though I know that most of time I over think what has been said. Expressive arts like dance and music helps the child to be more engaged with the lesson but it also depends of the individual and how confident they feel when they are showing others what they are capable of doing.

Ethical informed citizens

Ethical informed citizen should feel ready to be citizens of Wales and understand the cultural issues and history on Wales and how everything has developed as a country but also for them to be able to understand global issues that they could face in the future (Donaldson, 2015)

Wales should experience a curriculum to enable children to be ethical, informed citizens who:

•  engage with contemporary issues based upon their knowledge and values
•  understand and exercise their human and democratic responsibilities and rights
•   respect the needs and rights of others, as a member of a diverse society
•   understand and consider the impact of their actions when making choices and acting
• are knowledgeable about their culture, community, society and the world, now and in the past
• show their commitment to the sustainability of the planet; and
• are ready to be citizens of Wales and the world.

From my personal opinion I think that expressive arts will have a large impact on an individual’s live during their school years and when they leave and become independent.

I hope you have all enjoyed reading this blog post because I have enjoyed writing about it to ensure you learn new information on this specific topic.

Ill speak to you all soon my Education Bloggers.

References

Bergin Learning Arts. (No Date). What is Expressive Arts? - Bergin Learning Arts. [online] Available at: https://berginlearningarts.com/what-is-expressive-arts/ [Accessed 2nd April 2018].

Conwyartsandmusic.org.uk. (2015). The Expressive Arts are proposed as one of six areas of ‘learning and experience’ in Professor Donaldson’s Review of the Education Curriculum in Wales.. [online] Available at: https://www.conwyartsandmusic.org.uk/en/updates/2015-03-03-the-expressive-arts-are-proposed-as-one-of-six-areas-of-learning-and-experience-in-professor-donaldsons-review-of-the-education-curriculum-in-wales [Accessed 2 April 2018].

Donaldson, G (2015) Successful Future: Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales Available at: http://gov.wales/docs/dcells/publications/150225-successful-futures-en.pdf (Accessed 2nd April 2018).

Glpw.globaldimension.org.uk. (2017). Global Learning and the Curriculum Review | GLP Wales. [online] Available at: http://glpw.globaldimension.org.uk/news/20101/global-learning-and-the-curriculum-review [Accessed 2 April 2018].

How can science and technology be activities be made engaging and relevant in primary education?

Hey Bloggers! Today’s post will be based around how science and technology activities can be made engaging and relevant in primary education.

Donaldson (2015), is certain that “children and young people need an ability to deal with difficult and contested ethical issues such as those that can arise from developments in science and digital technologies”, and they should feel competent and confident in their use of technology.

Within the new curriculum ‘Successful Futures’, Donaldson (2015), aims to combine both subjects so they become one, as he believes they are closely linked, and depend on each other. Within the independent review, he talks about how children and young people will be able to widen their curiosity about our “natural, physical world and universe through investigating, understanding, and explaining. They learn to generate and test ideas, gather evidence, make observations, carry out practical investigations, and communicate with others” (Donaldson, 2015).  

During one of our AOLE sessions, we had to pretend to be scientists, and predict what would happen in different experiments! We all really enjoyed this and had great fun! The first experiment involved coke and mentos. We had to predict if placing the mento into coke would make it fizz up, and explode! Nick asked us lots of questions like; how big do you think the explosion will be? What would happen if we placed the mento into diet coke? Would the same happen with a different mint? If so…why? The second experiment involved Lemonade and Raisons; Nick wanted us to predict what would happen to the raison when put in to lemonade. Both experiments involved a lot of communication skills with our peers and thinking skills. We then looked on the internet to see if diet coke would have the same effect. I also used YouTube to watch videos on what would happen to the raison when put in to lemonade. By doing this we are applying what we learn in Science, to Technology, by being digitally competent, and using technology to find answers, and to expand our knowledge on the specific topic.

By providing pupils with the opportunity to expand their knowledge on both science and technology, you are preparing them for careers in science, digital industries, and technology (Donaldson, 2015).

 

STEM is currently being integrated within the curriculum and is based on the idea of educating pupils on:

·         Science

·         Technology

·         Engineering

·         Mathematics

These four specific disiplines are not taught as individual subjects, but are taught as a “cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications” (Hom, 2014). It provides the pupils wit blended learning environment that shows them how scientific method can be applied to every-day life.

Within primary schools, pupils are given awareness of the STEM jobs, and careers. During these school years, the pupils are provided with real-world problem-based learning, connecting all four of the STEM subjects. This will give the children an opportunity to become interested in STEM, and them wanting to peruse the course, not because they have to, but because they want to (Hom, 2014).

Stem is mainly aimed at underrepresented populations, such as females; who are less likely to undertake a career in science or engineering. In 2016, there was an increase of 13,000 females working within STEM occupations. However, the proportion of the workforce made up by women has decreased from 22% to 21% since 2015 (WISE, 2018). This clearly demonstrates that STEM is having an impact of the decisions that women make when it comes to choosing a career, however it does not compare to the amount of jobs that men take up.

Here are two images demonstrating the loss of females working within this industry since 2015:

If you would like to research more about the statistics based around STEM, please follow the link below! There is some very interesting and useful information on there: https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/resources/2016/11/women-in-the-stem-workforce-2016

By discussing all the current scientists and engineers with the pupils, we are providing them with an insight into this industry, and showing them that there are still questions that go unanswered. If we only talk to them about past scientists, it seems as if we have nothing left to explore, and that isn’t the belief that children should have on science and engineering.

According to Hunter (2017), there are 5 emergent concerns that should be brought to attention in STEM education in order for it to be successful. Firstly, hands on materials for STEM cost a lot of money, resulting in classes having to share resources such as the circuit boards. When Hunter (2017) carried out her research, one of the children said that: “We do a lot of building, unbuilding and rebuilding because we don’t have enough wires to go around. It’s annoying to have to start all over again each lesson”.

Another issue that needs to be addressed is the pupil’s literacy and numeracy levels. The pupils need to be at a high level in literacy and numeracy for effective STEM learning to take place. Hunter (2017), found that the pupils who had a lower academic achievement struggled when it came to STEM learning.

Bloggers, how do you think these issues can be overcome within primary schools, so that STEM can be an effective part of the curriculum?

Reference List

Donaldson. G (2015) ‘Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales’ Available at: file:///C:/Users/Sophielauren/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/Donaldson%20Report%20-%20Successful%20Futures%20-%20Independent%20Review%20of%20Curriculum%20and%20Assessment%20Arrangements%20in%20Wales.pdf (Accessed on: 16^th April 2018).

Hom. E (2014) ‘What is STEM Education?’ Available at: https://www.livescience.com/43296-what-is-stem-education.html (Accessed on: 16^th April 2018).

Hunter. J (2017) ‘STEM education in primary schools will fall flat unless serious issues are addressed’ Available at: http://theconversation.com/stem-education-in-primary-schools-will-fall-flat-unless-serious-issues-are-addressed-88017 (Accessed on: 17^th April 2018).

WISE (2018) ‘Women in the STEM Workforce 2016’ Available at: https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/resources/2016/11/women-in-the-stem-workforce-2016 (Accessed on: 16^th April 2018).

How can science and technology activities be made engaging and relevant in primary education?

How can science and technology activities be made engaging and relevant in primary education?

First things first, what is science? And what is technology? Science involves acquiring knowledge through observation and experimentation where technology applies scientific knowledge in a number of practical ways (Donaldson,2015)

Science collects data through a systematic process called a scientific method, where the technology is applied to science to create different devices that can solve different problems and solve different tasks. Technology is viewed as the application of science and it’s very difficult to separate them both (Study,2003). Using technology within science can be very beneficial to both the teachers and the children as they will both be learning new things with the experiments that they undertake and the knowledge that they are gaining in the process (Study,2003). There can be many reasons why using technology within the classroom can bring potential issues. Using technology during science lessons, can lead to major distractions during the lessons where students are focusing more on the piece of technology that they are using rather than the experiments that they may be undertaking or lesson that is being taught. One of the main forms of technology that is used in primary schools today would be iPads, schools have a certain amount of funding to invest in these, which are used not just in science but throughout the majority of the primary school lessons. Even though technology like iPads come in handy today, nobody knows what’s going to happen in years to come, will we still have advanced technology? Will technology still be used in education? Lots of these questions are currently un answerable because no one has the information. I found this quote which I found interesting... ‘’The science of today is the technology of tomorrow’’ (Edward Teller, 2011). From my personal opinion think that technology is only going to get better and that they will continue using technology in education but nobody knows if it will take over the role of teachers. Science is both a body of knowledge and a process for finding new knowledge sometime to replace the old knowledge (Quora,2017).

Another thing that is commonly used in the primary education sector within science and technology is the STEM framework. STEM learning is one of the biggest providers of education and careers support in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These will be the demand of the future and this will create new knowledge (Stem, No date). Scientific knowledge allows us to build new technologies, which often allow us to make new observations about the world, which, in turn, allow us to build even more scientific knowledge, which then inspires another technology (Understanding science, 2008)

For teachers to prepare students effectively for the 21^st century involving STEM, many schools are believed to use the interdisciplinary approach from core knowledge curriculum for them to be able to create a spark and a wide interest in children as early as pre-school. STEM is mostly used every day with an emphasis on the core academic areas and the non-academic life skills.

Science and technology and the decline of teachers.

Schools need qualified teachers in science and technology. The large decline in recruitment has already hit the teaching profession this early. Teachers that are well qualified and enthusiastic create the key to any improvement of science and technology in schools and this leads to the further development of knowledge, interests and attitudes of ordinary students when they leave school. The science and technology teachers also play a key role in the employment of people to the science and technology sector. The long-term effects of a lack of good science and technology teachers could be very damaging, although the effects are not so immediately observable as the lack of qualified people Within the industry. The science and technology teachers need a broad basis for their activities. A solid foundation in the academic discipline is important, but not enough. They need broader perspectives and skills on order to cope with challenges that they may face. S&T teachers do not only need a foundation in S&T, they also need to have perspectives on S&T in a historical and social context. This may mean that they need to undertake more teacher training in the science and technology area (Sjoberg,2001).

According to Donaldson and his new curriculum, he believes that technology will be able to enhance science. Donaldson also talks about how ‘’Science and technology can improve the quality of life through new developments and advances in emerging technologies’’ (Donaldson, 2015)

During one of our AOLE sessions we took a trip to Techniquest, where we were able to have a look at the ways science is used when working with children. They showed us experiments that would be used when children would attend the workshop. In Techniquest, they have lots of different science experiments throughout the building and we were able to see how children interacted with each one. It was very interesting to see how they used and worked with them. On the Techniquest website it shows how they support the Literacy and Numeracy Frame work. At Techniquest they also run different programmes for the foundation phase, key stage 2 and so on. On their website it states that ‘’all foundation phase programmes cover the seven areas of learning, providing a balance between presenter-directed learning and child initiated activities’’ (Techniquest,2018) Techniquest is a very good place for children at a young age and for them to learn more about what science is and how it works. From attending the workshop at Techniquest I have learnt some new valuable information and I enjoyed my time while there.

I hope you have all enjoyed reading science and technology and I hope it has made you want to know more about it and how it’s going to change in the future.

Talk to you all soon education bloggers.

References

Quora.com. (2017). Science is constantly changing and evolving. Why do we teach it as a bunch of old settled facts? - Quora. [online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/Science-is-constantly-changing-and-evolving-Why-do-we-teach-it-as-a-bunch-of-old-settled-facts [Accessed 28^th March. 2018].

tem.org.uk. (2018). About us | STEM. [online] Available at: https://www.stem.org.uk/about-us [Accessed 28^th March 2018].

Undsci.berkeley.edu. (2018). Science and technology on fast forward. [online] Available at: https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/whathassciencedone_03 [Accessed 28^th March 2018].

Gov.wales. (2018). [online] Available at: http://gov.wales/docs/dcells/publications/180131-science-en.pdf [Accessed 28^th March 2018].

Techniquest. (2018). Foundation Phase/Key Stage 1 • Education • Techniquest. [online] Available at: https://www.techniquest.org/education/schools/foundation-phase-key-stage-1/ [Accessed 28^th March 2018].

Study.com. (2003). How Science & Technology Are Related - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com. [online] Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-science-technology-are-related.html [Accessed 28^th March 2018].