My first literature review is chapter 2 The art of dance in primary schools from the book The Art of Dance in Education by Jacqueline M. Smith-Autard second edition published by A&C black 2002. I chose this piece of literature to review as I feel it links closely to my chosen line of inquiry. Teaching in Education is of great importance to me so finding this book has been a huge asset to my research. This literature discuss’ teaching inside and out of education giving me a wider span of knowledge and comparison.
The author’s approach is very straight forward and precise leaving you with no doubt of the concept of this read. She constructively criticises past curriculum's inside primary schools and outlines the current teaching methods, learning outcomes and syllabus. The new curriculum's include teaching traditional and social dance forms and performance through physical skills and fitness – the latter being appropriate for physical education. She discusses how putting dance in with P.E creates pressure for teachers, expecting them to cover a huge range of technique. At primary level it reveals the teachers don’t try to achieve technical refinement, so I imagine incorporating it with P.E does not affect the learning outcome as greatly as it would at a higher level such as secondary school.
I quote ‘A child’s natural spontaneous joy of expressive movement is dancing in an analogous sense only. It is not the art of dance but it certainly forms the basis of it’. Every child has the basis of dance within them so Jacqueline states how important it is for pupils to learn how to create, perform and appreciate dances like you would with any other subject.
As a teacher myself I really appreciated the way Jacqueline shows the use of lessons plans, how to structure dances explaining the learning outcomes at every step of the piece and strong teaching tips to enhance the child’s learning.
There are examples of how dance may link to other subjects in the curriculum. There are cultural and historical tasks the pupils undertake i.e.: the genre of dance style what decade the dance was set in. At Primary level dance is linked to themes or projects to that the learning outcomes stretch further than the one subject.
I suggest this read to any budding teacher, it is a clear and concise read covering a varied depth of knowledge and is inspiring on every page.
My second literature review is from a video ‘RSA animate changing education paradigms’ by sir ken Robinson. http://youtu.be/zDZFcDGpL4U
I have previously blogged my thoughts on ken Robinson's video ‘creativity and dance in education’ and found this second video inspiring and indeed very clever. Ken goes on to say how currently every country is reforming public education at the moment, for two reasons- culture and economy. We are trying to meet the future needs (which we can’t predict) by doing what we did in the past and this is alienating children. One sentence that rang true to me was, ‘we used to study well with the promise it would lead to a good job’, which students just don’t believe anymore. A degree is not a guarantee anymore. I definitely believed this when I was at school, which I do believe enabled me to receive good grades which are a positive. However there doesn’t seem to be that security anymore and I feel children are losing interest in education because of this.
Ken also goes on to explain how the arts are becoming victims of the higher increase of Adhd in children. As the arts address an aesthetic experience to enable senses to operate at their peak children under medication are not able to do this. Obviously Ken explains he is not saying Adhd is not a real condition, just certain children may be being suppressed of their creativity.
This is a great watch for anyone interested in the educational system, he brings up some truly inspiring and alternative thoughts on education, I bear in mind these are opinions and so many aspects and considerations control education.
My third literature review is again from ‘The Art of dance in education’ this time chapter 4 ‘The art of dance in tertiary education’. I wanted to compare the two chapters as my inquiry is based around the importance of dance inside the education system, so I wanted to see the difference and development between primary schools and college level.
Jacqueline Autard makes a clear opening description explaining exactly what to expect from the chapter. I was shocked to discover that although dance has been establishing itself further over the past decade it has fallen short to the economic cuts particularly in higher education. She discusses the balance between theory and practical elements, stating there has been a shift towards practical work of late. Jacqueline takes you through an in-depth description of the history behind the development of dance in higher education, going from Graham-Cunningham and Laban techniques.
Throughout the whole book but particularly in this chapter the ‘midway model’ is being discussed. A model for dance teaching that sits perfectly between practical and theoretical work. Also this model is trying to link professional and educational methods together creating the best outcome for students.
There is a clear development at this level, the students are learning at a much higher in depth level. They discuss the theory of signs- Semiotics, knowledge of the aesthetic theory relating to dance and develop their own creativity through choreography with their own time to develop assignments.
Jacqueline Autard feels this level of study is closer to professional dance in terms of content but closer to education for methodology.
No comments:
Post a Comment