Expressive arts add meaning to experience, bring feeling to enhance logical thought and represent the primal, basic humanity that we all

share. Alyssa Nugent

EDUC 539 – Expressive Arts

Drexel UniversitySummer 2012

Teaching PhilosophyI believe that teaching and students’ learning should be connected to real-world tasks. One way that I believe this is possible is by using integrated units, authentic assessments and project learning where possible.

In integrating a unit, students can see where form and function combine, and how the expressive arts can enhance an experience and even take a project to a level of beauty and inspiration that they didn’t expect. Fractions in math may not be the most exciting subject, and they are definitely challenging, but if I can relate them to music by teaching my students to feel what a ¾ time song is and what ¾ really means in that situation, then they can better understand fractions and their applications. They are also gaining an appreciation of music and hopefully being inspired to learn more in the area.

We live in a time where increasingly people are demanding that not only do their products function well, but that they are aesthetically pleasing. Moreover, we demand that the aesthetics of a product enhance the function where possible. By teaching my students in an integrated way, they can make informed decisions as a working adult about meshing aesthetic principles and function in their jobs, whatever they may be. It will also help them along the road to being informed, well-rounded citizens who will do more than live in our world, but who will inspire, lead and participate fully in it.

Learning Styles-Gardner

Image by Alyssa Nugent, 2012

• One way that I plan to use Gardner’s theory in my classroom is through choice boards, like the one to the right.

Learning Styles-Gardner cont.

Learning Styles-Blooms Taxonomy.

Image from www.learningtoday.com

Blooms gives teachers a powerful tool toward differentiating instruction and promoting higher-order thinking skills.

Bloom’s Taxonomy also includes the Affective and Psychomotor domains, giving teachers a framework on all three learning domains. The graphic to the left covers the cognitive domain.

Learning Styles-Lowenfeld

Assessment

I plan to focus my classroom assessments on enhancing the learning of my students rather than for the sake of solely preparing them for year-end achievement tests.

• Formative Assessments—Ongoing assessment throughout the assignment and project will give me feedback on what areas need additional reinforcement to help student achievement

• Authentic Assessments—Students will be graded on performance of standards-based tasks, rather than solely on paper and pencil assessment. Objective grading using rubrics will facilitate this assessment and give students useful and meaningful feedback.

Assessment, cont. - Sample Rubric

Cross-Disciplinary Teaching

Cross-disciplinary or integrative learning helps students make connections across subject areas.

This is often done through integrated units or projects where instruction in more than one area (Social studies, English/LA, Mathematics, Science, Expressive Arts, Reading, Health, etc.) is combined and all relate back to the main topic of the unit or project.

Science Math Language Music

Social studies Gym Reading Writing

Dance Spelling Art Spanish

Citizenship History Geography Social Skills

All subjects come together

to create a ‘higher’

understanding

One example of a cross-disciplinary unit that I have used in my classroom relates mainly to the Michigan Social Studies standard regarding the Agriculture industry in Michigan. Using that standard as my main topic, I included a two-week project where students:

• Used mapping to show Michigan’s regions (arts and geography standards),

• Used mathematics to figure out fractions to compare Michigan agricultural products individually to the whole of Michigan agricultural production, and then to compare Michigan to the national agricultural production,

• Used reading and social studies to have students learn about migrant workers and immigrants’ roles in Michigan’s agricultural industry over the years and

• Used writing to have students create a narrative of themselves as a farmer in the industry, past or present.

ObjectivesObjectives tell teachers and students where they’re going, and what teachers want students to do and know at the end of a lesson. They are my road map, and by basing them on academic standards, I know my students are meeting their educational goals for the year.

A sample objective from the Michigan Regions of Agriculture cross-disciplinary unit that I have written:

Given instruction on major sectors of economic activity in Michigan (manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, higher education), students will create their own regional maps of Michigan as a culmination project to the unit. The map will be factually accurate (regions in correct areas), and will adhere to visual arts standards of elements of design and color knowledge, as outlined in the project rubric.

Instructional Goals and Strategies

This is me with my 4-year old Spanish class last spring. My goal is to engage the learners, give them knowledge and strategies to build their knowledge and support their learning.

PA Academic Standards in Expressive Arts:

• Dance Education is a kinesthetic art form that satisfies the human need to respond to life experiences through movement of the physical being.

• Music Education is an aural art form that satisfies the human need to respond to life experiences through singing, listening and/or playing an instrument.

• Theatre Education is an interdisciplinary art form that satisfies the human need to express thoughts and feelings through written

text, dramatic interpretation and multimedia production.• Visual Arts Education is a spatial art form that satisfies the human need to respond to life experiences through images, structures and tactile works.

• Humanities Education is the understanding and integration of human thought and accomplishment.

Pennsylvania defines the various areas of the Expressive Arts as follows:

Taken from: portal.state.pa.us, Academic Standards for the Arts and Humanities, PA Dept of Education.

Michigan Academic Standards in Expressive Arts:

Found at: http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-28753_38684_28757---,00.htmlAnd: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/Complete_VPAA_Expectations_June_2011_356110_7.pdf

Standards in Michigan for Elementary Expressive arts are separated into Music, Visual Arts, Dance and Theatre.

Each sub-area is divided by grade level (K-8) and then standards are categorized into: Performance, Creation, Analyze (with sub-categories Analyze in Context and Analyze and Make Connections).

Expressive Arts Event - Photo-Centric

I attended “Photo-Centric: Focus on Your World” at the William Bonifas Arts Center in Escanaba, MI. This was a juried show featuring work by artists from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and gave some unique perspectives on the region and it’s culture.

Above: Translucent Ice by Julie Covert. Below: Reaching for Blue by Dan Young.

Above: Gaudi II by Jim Anzalone. Below: Fawn by Michael Hall

Expressive Arts Event - Photo-Centric

Things that I noticed while going through the gallery:

• How many of the photographs were landscape, and that the ones shot in portrait orientation really caught my eye

• Those that were close up detail shots that made me spend more time really looking at the forms, shapes and the picture as a whole in a way that even the most interesting large-scale landscapes with framing or other techniques to create interest didn’t do.

• How many of the photographs had dominant blue and green

colors—even some that weren’t of the water!

• How I was very much drawn, then, to those that had a wider color scheme or whose color scheme surprised me compared to the other photographs in the gallery.

Reflection

Through this course, I have gained additional comfort and skills in creating cross-disciplinary teaching units, and learned some important considerations in integrating the expressive arts in a meaningful way that enhances learning in the other subjects as well as understanding of the expressive arts.

For me, this is one of the most important aspects of the class because I have seen first-hand how powerful cross-disciplinary teaching can be, and how enthusiastically students respond. I am excited when I see my students display genuine curiosity and take integrated projects to ‘the next level’ because of their enthusiasm. I am also very genuinely amazed to note how their understanding increases throughout an integrated unit.