Transforming the Curriculum Through the Arts

235 Pages·2021·8.67 MB·English

by  Robyn Gibson, Robyn Ewing

Transforming the
Curriculum through
the Arts
Robyn Gibson · Robyn Ewing
Second Edition
Transforming the Curriculum Through
the Arts
Robyn Gibson • Robyn Ewing
Transforming the
Curriculum Through
the Arts
2nd ed. 2020
Robyn Gibson Robyn Ewing
Education & Social Work Education & Social Work
The University of Sydney The University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW, Australia Sydney, NSW, Australia
ISBN 978-3-030-52796-9 ISBN 978-3-030-52797-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52797-6
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2020
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“… to all teachers who use the Arts to nurture the
creativity and imagination of the children and young
people in their care.”
Acknowledgements
This book would not have been possible without the inspiration, engagement and
support of our colleagues in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work,
University of Sydney, and in many schools where we work in partnership with
teachers and their students. Special thanks to Dr Millie Locke and Kate Smyth for
their generosity and expertise in authoring a chapter for this book. Our pre-service
teachers have also provided us with inspiration over the years. Thank you.
We are particularly grateful to those educators and parents and children who so
generously provided exemplars of their own units of work, ideas, photos and writing
and/or artwork. Their work deserves to be shared because they are demonstrating
the transformational nature of arts-rich learning.
Josh Barnes
Asher Buultjens
Jordan Buultjens
Timothy Buultjens
Victoria Campbell
Alia Coffey
Ann Dawson
Libby Gleeson
Miranda Jefferson
Kirsty McGeogh
Jenny Pickering
Christine Preston
Beau Quick
Suzanna Robertson
David Smith
Janelle Warhurst
We are indebted to our colleagues from the University of Victoria, British
Columbia, Professors Juliana Saxton and Carole Miller for our many professional
conversations. We are also very appreciative of the support and constructive feed-
back provided by Associate Professor David Smith, especially on the integration
chapter.
vii
viii Acknowledgements
Most importantly, our families also provide their love and support in so many
ways. Our children and grandchildren are our raison d’etre. Thank you Beau,
Belinda, Sarah, Josh, Timothy, Jordan, Noah, Asher, Jake, Alia, Evie, Ariel,
Alexander, Xavier, Thomas, Lucas and Finbar.
Robyn Gibson and Robyn Ewing
Contents
1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 1
References ................................................................................................... 3
2 The Imperative of an Arts-Led Curriculum ............................................ 5
1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 5
2 The ‘Arts’ Defined .............................................................................. 6
3 A Rationale for an Arts-Rich Curriculum ........................................... 8
4 The Role of the Arts in Learning ........................................................ 8
5 The Arts and Learning: Recent Research ............................................ 9
6 The Current Context ........................................................................... 14
7 Summary ............................................................................................. 16
8 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 16
References ................................................................................................... 17
3 Exploring Life ‘Cs’ Through the Arts ...................................................... 21
1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 21
2 The 4Cs ............................................................................................... 22
3 Additional 4Cs .................................................................................... 26
4 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 32
References ................................................................................................... 33
4 Integrating the Creative Arts with Integrity ........................................... 35
1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 36
2 Defining Integration ............................................................................ 37
3 Historical Overview ............................................................................ 38
4 The Four Cs, Another 4Cs and Curriculum Integration ...................... 40
5 Towards Integrating the Curriculum: Different Models...................... 41
6 Dimensions for an Integrated Curriculum .......................................... 45
7 Obstacles ............................................................................................. 46
8 Some Possible Interrelated Guiding Questions When
Planning an Integrated Unit ................................................................ 47
9 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 58
References ................................................................................................... 59
ix
x Contents
5 Leading with Creative Dance .................................................................... 61
1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 61
2 Creative Dance Defined ...................................................................... 61
3 Movement Is Important in Everyday Life ........................................... 63
4 A Rationale for Creative Dance .......................................................... 64
5 Goals of Creative Dance ..................................................................... 65
6 Beginning with Creative Dance .......................................................... 65
7 Establishing a Positive Creative Dance Context in the Classroom ..... 67
8 Dance and Mathematics ...................................................................... 68
9 Integrating Dance and Writing ............................................................ 70
10 Creative Dance and Literature ............................................................ 70
11 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 74
References ................................................................................................... 75
6 Leading with Drama .................................................................................. 77
1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 77
2 Defining Drama-Rich Pedagogy ......................................................... 78
3 Components or Elements of Drama .................................................... 79
Role: Stepping into Another’s Shoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Tension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Warming Up with Drama Games and Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Embodiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Sculpture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Depiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Hot Seating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Conscience Alley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Thought-Tracking/Tapping in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Readers’ Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 95
References ................................................................................................... 96
7 Leading with Quality Literature .............................................................. 99
1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 99
2 Literature as an Art Form ....................................................................100
3 Criteria for Choosing Quality Children’s Literature ...........................102
4 Leading with Literature: Some Exemplars and Units .........................102
5 Summary .............................................................................................112
References ...................................................................................................113
8 Leading with Media Arts ...........................................................................115
1 Introduction .........................................................................................115
2 What Is Media Education? ..................................................................116
3 What Is Media Arts? ...........................................................................116
4 The Value of Media Arts Education ....................................................117
5 Warming Up to Media: Basic Film Techniques ..................................118
Contents xi
6 Advertisements ...................................................................................122
7 Some Media Examples .......................................................................124
8 Conclusion ..........................................................................................134
References ...................................................................................................134
9 Leading with Music....................................................................................137
1 Introduction .........................................................................................137
2 What Is Music? ...................................................................................139
3 Music Education in the Twenty-First Century ....................................139
4 Music in the School ............................................................................140
5 Learning in, About and Through Music in the Classroom ..................141
6 Listening to Music Actively ................................................................141
7 Listening Focus on the Imaginary and Multi-Modal
Experience ...........................................................................................142
8 Listening Focus on ‘Musical Analysis’ and Developing the
Language of Musical Concepts ...........................................................143
9 Creative Music-Making with a Cross-Curricular Focus .....................145
References ...................................................................................................152
10 Leading with the Visual Arts .....................................................................155
1 Introduction .........................................................................................155
2 What Is Visual Arts? ............................................................................156
3 The Value of Visual Arts Learning ......................................................156
4 Technical Activities Masquerading as Visual Arts ..............................158
5 An Effective Visual Arts Programme ..................................................159
6 The Quality Visual Arts Lesson ..........................................................160
7 Art Appreciation Strategies .................................................................162
8 Encouraging Children to Talk About Their Art ...................................163
9 Art Language and Vocabulary .............................................................165
Visual Arts as a Springboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
10 Strategies to Encourage Art Dialogue .................................................167
The Missing Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Telephone Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Living Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Every Picture Tells a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Art Auction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
11 Conclusion ..........................................................................................175
References ...................................................................................................176
11 Embedding the Arts in the Humanities and Social Studies....................179
1 Introduction .........................................................................................180
2 What Is Humanities and Social Sciences? ..........................................181
3 The Purpose of Learning and Teaching in Humanities and
Social Sciences ....................................................................................181
4 Four Types of Knowledge ...................................................................183
5 A Discipline as a Form of Knowledge and Inquiry ............................183