Artefact

Well after a lot of umming and arghing I finally decided what my artefact was - A Creative Workshop involving props.
The workshop was a practical way of my peers discovery what I had learnt along the way during my inquiry.
They entered the room and each were given a blank piece of A4 paper. They sat down and I explained a little about what we do in the dance department and how arts award 'fits in' with the school. I had a display board behind me that I had made to assist with my talk.
I then asked them to give me back the piece of paper in any way they wanted but it couldn't look exactly as it did now in their hand. They all looked a little puzzled at first and then each person started folding and creating a different way and making their own version of the A4 paper. No one did the same as the person next to them and they seemed to enjoy being creative.
Next I put on some music and asked them to move around the room moving as the music told them to. The didn't like this exercise and ended up walking around in circles saying they were not dancers - I don't believe dance was even mentioned!!This exercise made them feel uncomfortable and they seemed much happier to be sat back down.
I then moved back to my display board to ask them what creativity meant to them. I got a variety of responses:

From here I then spoke about how we expect our own students to 'think outside the box'. I then gave them in 2 groups a box each with various props inside and asked them to be creative. At first I think they thought it was a test. The all looked at the box like it had a right or wrong way of doing the exercise. After a few minutes they all got stuck in and both groups seemed happy in their own creative bubbles. Both groups came up with different pieces even though they were given the same items. Group one did still life and group 2 did a artistic sculpture of the props.
I asked them what they learnt from all the exercises during the workshop and they came back with:
anyone can be creative
you need a stimulus to help
you can working independently but with guidance
creativity can help confidence grow

From here I then went back to the final talking point. My 'data dolly's'!!

Each dolly represented part of my inquiry and my colleagues like the fact I had tried to be 'artistic' even though they know i usually shy away from drawing and colouring as I feel I am not very good. I chatted about each area of my inquiry and then fed back to them my findings about how arts award assist with creativity, confidence, leadership and independent learning and how these skills can be transferred to other areas of education and life.
At the end I asked if they had enjoyed the workshop and they all agreed to be active and to be creative intertwined with discussion helped to put the meaning across and the points sunk in better then a power point presentation which is the usual format used in our setting.
I now would like to develop the workshop further, to adapt it slightly and then use it next year to encourage students and staff to get involve!!

Google + and my blog

So.....I due to the ease of google plus on my phone I started posting everything on there and I have only just realised I haven't really been blogging!! Here are the links to what I have been posting:

https://plus.google.com/103828937912212973634/posts/M4wCTWd4u5i

https://plus.google.com/103828937912212973634/posts/9Ek2qihTwFN

https://plus.google.com/103828937912212973634/posts/Eas2o78MbE9

The last one talks a lot about me realising we can stifle creativity if we use our adult thinking too much!!!
 Anyway I must get back to my Critical review :)

Literature

ARGH HELP!!!!
I think this is what I am finding the hardest from the whole inquiry - although I will probably say that again at some point before it is finished. I don't know whether its because I'm thinking about it all in a broad way and not being too specific but I feel at a loss of what to look for really.

• Staff development in the arts
• Arts/creativity in education

Nothing is really giving me much of an argument at the moment and everything I have looked at is o positive towards arts in education.

Any literature tips anyone??

Campus session 22/03/16

Well after doing a ROL module as well as module 1 and 2 I finally made it down to campus last week to assist with my module 3. It was great to finally meet Paula and to put some faces to names/blogs. I found it useful that the session had time for all modules to discuss issues and time for focus on your specific module.
It gave me some clarity with regards to specifics to my module and was good to talk through issues with other people at the same stage as me. It now doesn't feel like you are the only one in that exact position.
Paula's games were a fantastic way to get our brains in gear for the session and to think outside the box. At one point I spent a whole minute making Lisa stand up and sit down as all she could say was NO. I loved the idea of the 20 blank squares and filling them with whatever you choose. It was interesting to see how different peoples boxes were!!
I found it interesting to hear others views on their own modules and to find out what other inquiries were about. To know others are going through the same as you puts you at ease a little more as when you never physically meet these people it can all seem a little daunting !!
Looking at the handouts Paula gave us I feel like the "investigate and plan" relate to Module 2 and the"create and evaluate" relate more to Module 3. I think that the 'Appreciative Inquiry' work we did is definitely something for me to reflect upon when looking at staff development in my line of work. There is always a strong focus on the negative rather than seeing the positives and the ways of moving forward with our strengths. We have just moved into faculties from September and our department doesn't really 'fit in' with the rest of the school so we end up being a negative rather than a positive. This line of thinking may be something to look at in the future with how our faculty can work together more in a supportive way.

Observations

So last week I started my observations and interviews. My first observation was a year 13 Chemistry class. I found when I first started watching that I was more engrossed with the subject as I haven't done a Chemistry class in 17 years. I was quite engaged learning about 'Global Warming'!! My main observation was how certain students were extremely vocal in question and answers and for others it was like the teacher was 'pulling teeth'! This surprised me due to the Academic setting I work in and the fact these students are only weeks away from their final exams. I was also expecting the less vocal students to become more active in the practical element of the class but again this didn't happen. Possibly just a bad day for one students in particular?? My pre conceived ideas about how the students would behave were not matched with reality. These are subjects the students have chosen to take and are old enough to realise how important these last few weeks are for embedding knowledge but that didn't seem to phase some students.

On a completely different note I observed a year 6 drama class. This was focussed, energized and all the students seemed to benefit from the lesson. Within the first 10 minutes as students were split from their friendship groups and into working groups you immediately recognised the leaders and followers. Some of the naturally quieter students seemed comfortable taking that back seat role and you could instantly see who preferred to instigate their own ideas. After a conversation with Tom yesterday about hierarchy it makes you wonder is this a natural evolution of a group of peers forced into working together - will we always have leaders and followers or could we work together with equal imput and ideas??? Food for thought!! This class was a very creative lesson with audio stimulus for a theme they were working on. I thought the class structure worked well and the time allowed for sections a good length for a natural creative process to happen.

I have one more observation to do with a year 1 teacher. In 3 weeks time which again will give me a different angle on how to approach lessons.

Module 3 - A rocky start

So Module 3 started well with me having half term from work - a great first week to gather my thoughts and think about the 12 weeks ahead. I started planning a timeline of activities and tried to think about fitting in the work around our massive production which takes place this coming weekend! A newly choreographed 2 hour production of 'The lion, the witch & the wardrobe'.
I was feeling VERY positive and ready to start my inquiry - THEN BOOM i started becoming ill!! I ended up in hospital with suspected viral meningitis and then spent most of my days just sleeping to try to get better. I am feeling a lot more 'with it' now however I am certainly not back to my usual self yet. So here I am starting Module 3 AGAIN 3 weeks late - I never make it easy for myself hahaha!!

Whilst being ill I have managed to set up 2 of my observations and interviews with my colleagues at school for next week. I am quite excited to see how non arts subjects can be taught creatively and had such a warm response to asking to observe their lessons. I am still waiting to arrange my third observation so I may have to change subject/teacher depending on her availability. I have also got my consent form ready to send out to the parents of my focus group - I am hoping they will want to take part and I feel some of the students will benefit from discussing the Arts Award project they have been working on.

Time to start looking through the SIG's to get me back on track!!!

Literature & opinions

From the literature I have looked at over the last few months it seems that people agree on the fact that "The Arts" are important but that not enough is done to make them survive. From my own knowledge of working in theatres the last 15 years has seen a decrease of school children attending theatre trips and more companies going into schools. Whilst they are still seeing live theatre I feel they lose some of the magic, culture and engagement. The general consensus from articles and websites is that the cuts to the arts affect the poorest areas most. Listening to a podcast of Sir Peter Bazelgette a key phrase stuck with me "a shared experience that moves us to laughter or tears". I personally feel from conversations I have engaged in that people don't get this any more. Either due to television/computers/smart phones etc and lack of 'live' experiences in the arts.
Most articles mentioned the fact that arts should be in all schools and that many didn't have enough arts subjects which led me to looking at our local schools curriculum. I found it interesting how arts can vary so much from school to school on both a curricular bases and co-curricular.

I think that arts mark really brings together arts and academia in this quote on their website "bringing arts and culture to life in every classroom". Not every arts classroom but every classroom. I asked some friends what they thought of this and these where the following responses:
1.
I personally think that schools should be primarily focused on the core subjects ie maths, English, science, history and geography but have arts incorporated too as not all people are artistic or need artistic talent for future jobs. I agree they should have 'arts' classes however this can be a follow on if chosen after school age or around school hours.

2.
I think you need both, especially as there are many children who struggle with the core subjects and express themselves through arts. I also think there isn't enough PE time in school, but that's a different story! Arts can be incorporated directly into the the core subjects such as literacy and history anyway. Just as ICT has to be. 

3.
A child who struggles to write English for example, can express themselves in art form or make a boring maths class colourful by using Art etc. For me, incorporating art into core subjects is vital.

4.
 I think the recent craze in adult mindfulness colouring books shows that there is real benefit from the arts across the spectrum of the curriculum. I perceive their to be a plague of mental illness in our country. If children and young people can de stress, vent or rationalise emotions by drawing, dancing, acting, singing, playing instruments etc then I perceive it as a positive thing that can only have a good impact on learning across the whole curriculum. As for whether that arts time should be stand alone or integrated... I'm not fully sure? I wish I'd had more arts time alongside all my science and maths! I do think it could have helped me manage my anxiety at school. Though I did dance outside of school 3-4 days a week. I think the arts stuff could well be after school or lunch time or holiday clubs.

I'm not sure if these opinions help anyone else but I thought I would share!