2. Dance
Dance was one of the arts aspects that I felt the most comfortable with going into. This was because I
have already completed a dance subject last semester through my PE link, meaning that a lot of the
information wasn’t new to me. I still thoroughly enjoyed the dance session as we did something I had
never done before. Through the lesson, the lecturer showed us a good lesson and techniques to create a
safe lesson, this will be very beneficial to me personally because in my future teaching practices I will have
to know how to teach dance lessons. The teacher also discussed with us that Dance can be one of the
problem areas of the arts due to the many misconceptions of boys in dance. As this will play a role in my
future, I have researched this through my resources page of the folio on how to break down the barriers
of student involvement. Dinham states, that there are 5 elements of dance. These are,
Know and effectively use the elements of movement, dance skills, and techniques effectively and
expressively
Choreograph and authentic dance piece
Perform dances with skill to express and to communicate their ideas and feelings
Appreciate and understand historical, cultural, and social dances
Throughout the session, we covered these aspects through a number of activities and upon reflection, it is
good to see how many different areas of dance a teacher can cover in little time. On the following slide is
some picture examples of one of the dances we completed and the different sequences in which we did them.
4. Visual Arts
The visual arts was the aspect of the course that I was most worried about. I have never
had any form of talent nor interest in visual arts, but I tried to keep an open mind when
completing the session. Upon reflecting the session, I actually had a very rewarding
experience, as I found it to be rather relaxing and calming completing some of the
exercises. I feel as if I could combine the visual arts exercises with my future teaching
by using them as a “relaxation’ method for students. By this , students could complete
5-10 minutes of these activities after doing a drowning subject such as math. I found
the session really rewarding and when linking it to my future teaching I could clearly
see the cross curricualr benefits. As stated by ACARA, 2017 visual arts allow students to
explore the arts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and of the Asia region.
This directly links to my HASS background, meaning visual arts could play a part in
some of my future lessons. The following slide shows some examples of my
workduring the session.
6. Media Arts
Media arts was one of the areas I was most looking forward to during the course and that was because of my lack
of experience of the subject. I had never really completed any aspects of media arts before so I was really looking
forward to completing some of the activities. I really enjoyed learning about the photography section of visual
arts, and the different tools to use when taking different angle photos. Media arts is an area of the arts that will
impact my future heavily as an educator. Through the rise of technology and its continual growth, this section will
continue to display its prominence in the classroom. Dinham (2017) states that there are five elements of media
arts that students must become proficient in to obtain the most from their media arts course. These elements
include language, audience, instructions, technologies, and representation. ACARA, 2017 also builds upon the
aims of an art course to have aims they want students to get out of a media arts program. These aims include
developing:
Confidence to participate and enjoyment within the media arts by experimenting and interpreting
Critical and creative thinking to explore and demonstrate perspectives in the media
Sense of curiosity and knowledge as they explore and discover text, imagery, sound, ideas, concepts and stories
Understanding and knowledge of participation in local and global media cultures
8. Drama
Drama was an area of the course I felt very excited for, this is because it is my favourite aspect of
the arts and something I have always been fond of during my schooling years. I was not
disappointed as throughout the session we played a number of games which enjoyed, but also
can use in my future teaching. We played a few ice breakers which I feel would be useful in my
future teaching, even if it isnt drama but just as a general icebreaker. I enjoyed the postcard game
the most in which we would freeze into a position to demonstrate what we were as a group on a
post card (an example shown on the next page). Through the course session I found that it was
very important for the teacher to be involved. As stated by, Dinham (2017) the teachers
participation in drama is a pedagogical strategy that has many benefits. Some of these benefits
include:
Children follow your lead and believe that your treating their performances seriously
It gives students the confidence to participate
Models correct behavior
The following slide shows a still photo of the postcard game, as well as a video of my group getting 3
random cards with a problem, setting and props.
10. Music
Music was another area I was really looking forward too, this was because I believe it to be one
of my major strengths in the arts. During my life whether it be listening to music, writing songs
or playing guitar and piano music has been pivotal in shaping me to who I am today. The music
session gave me some great insight on how to satay in control of the classroom when there are
loud instruments involved. We played a number of different games that use our body as an
instrument which can be a powerful tool. We also learnt how to read aspects of music and were
shown how easy it can be to create music on a xylophone for a novice. One of the major
problems that was discussed in the workshop was that a school may not have the budget to buy
musical instruments or have a music department. There are many ways that as an educator in the
future I could help students create music with items such as sticks and recyclables, or even use
the body as an instrument which we learnt how to do during the session. Dinham (2017) states
that there are six elements of music that students must become proficient in to obtain the most
from their music course. These elements include duration (rhythm, beat accent tempo), pitch
(melody, harmony), texture, dynamics and expression, structure and style, and timbre (tone
colour). ACARA, 2017 states Music has the ability to enhance, enrich, inspire and engage
students in an educational setting. I find this to be true and as a future educator look forward to
enhancing student knowledge and understanding through the use of music. Unfortunately I was
unable to take photos of the music session, as to why there is a clearer outline of the session.
