Blog 7 - What is the value of the expressive arts activities in primary education?

The expressive arts area of learning and experience is a very broad category and this is a good thing. There are many elements of the arts that can be explored such as art itself, drama, music, dance just to name a few. The question is how are all of these elements of art valuable to children in primary school? Many would argue that children should focus more on the core subjects as they are the most beneficial for life and employability skills but we often forget about the creative element which is a skill that is valued in many areas of society and the arts can help extend personal development.

Throughout my childhood, the arts have played a significant role in shaping who I am today. I believe they have made me a more confident and open minded individual. My interest in the arts emerged when I was eight as I wanted to start playing the piano. I was inspired to play because my nan could play the piano and wanted to follow in her footsteps. I was fascinated with learning how to read music, it was almost like learning another language. I also joined an Amateur Dramatics group in my local area. This boosted my confidence significantly as I made a lot of new friends of all ages. This also improved my social skills.

In the Successful Futures curriculum, it is clear that Donaldson wants to promote more creativity in the curriculum by implementing the expressive arts area of learning and experience. It is clear that we as a country have neglected the arts in the curriculum. It is important for children to experience the expressive arts as this has many cognitive benefits. In a study by Mannathoko and Mamvuto (2018) they state that in Australia and the United States, art and design has been embraced as a compulsory subject because of its integrative nature and its role in society. This is supported by Smith (2013) who says that ‘It is clear… that countries across the world recognise the significance and potential of the arts and enabling improved educational, social and economic outcomes’ (Donaldson, 2015).

Donaldson (2015) also says that the expressive arts promote exploration of issues of personal and cultural identity. This is supported by a study conducted by Gruska (2009, cited in Mannathoko & Mamvuto, 2018) in New South Wales, Australia, who acknowledges the critical role of art in developing self-identity and understanding of one’s society and culture.

There is a video that gives insight into why we should teach the expressive arts in primary schools. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x53CcI2udcE

On placement, the children took part in a PE lesson. In the lessons, the children are learning about dance. They have watched videos in class of different styles of dance and then in groups, were asked to perform a dance of a particular style. Some of the children did street dancing, some did ballet, some did expressive dance. There were obvious key characteristics for each style of dance and the children were able to differentiate between these styles. 

Whilst researching this topic, I struggled to find any negative points about teaching the expressive arts. We could argue that there are some disadvantages to teaching the arts in primary school. One of the disadvantages could be the teacher. Primary school teachers teach every subject in the curriculum, therefore if the teacher does not appreciate the arts, their negative view could be portrayed onto the children and this could make them un-interested in the subject. We could also argue that if the teacher has no experience in any area of the arts, how are they able to teach it effectively? Every teacher has to be able to spell, read, write, count but this is because they have been taught how to do it in school. If a teacher has never played an instrument, never painted, never performed in drama, how are they meant to teach these elements of the curriculum effectively and with excitement?

Another disadvantage could be the curriculum. Due to the cross curricular element of the curriculum which includes literacy, numeracy and digital competency, we could argue that these elements take away from the raw experience of the arts. In my personal opinion, I believe that the arts should be free and children should be able to explore the arts without being confined to these cross curricular elements. All of the cross curricular elements apply in the arts, but should not be the main focus for doing a particular task. 

What is your opinion on the expressive arts? Do you believe they hold value in the curriculum or should the sole purpose of the curriculum be to teach children the more mainstream subjects?

References

Donaldson, G. (2015) Successful Futures: Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales, Welsh Government: OGL

Gruska, K. (2009). Meaning and identities: A visual performative pedagogy for socio-cultural learning. The Curriculum Journal, 20(3) 237-251. Mannathoko, M. & Mamvuto, A. (2018) Teaching the Arts in the Primary School Curriculum: What Strategies Imbue the Integrative Arts Subjects?, Studies in Art Education, 59:2, 145-158, DOI: 10.1080/00393541.2018.1440149 

Mannathoko, M. & Mamvuto, A. (2018) Teaching the Arts in the Primary School Curriculum: What Strategies Imbue the Integrative Arts Subjects?, Studies in Art Education, 59:2, 145-158, DOI: 10.1080/00393541.2018.1440149 

Smith, D (2013) An independent report for the Welsh Government into Arts in Education in the Schools of Wales Arts Council of Wales cited in Donaldson, G. (2015) Successful Futures: Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales, Welsh Government: OGL

Blog 6 - What is the value of the Welsh Language in primary education?

One of the questions that are frequently debated in primary education in Wales is the value of the Welsh language. From my personal experience as a welsh school student, I believe that being able to speak Welsh is a very valuable skill in this country as it can provide further opportunities for teaching and learning.

Reminiscing about my childhood in a Welsh speaking schools brings back a lot of fond memories and many life experiences which English speaking schools miss out on. These experiences could include visiting Llangrannog, Tan-y-Bwlch, participating in the National Eisteddfod across the county, vising Snowdonia National Park and so on. We could argue that English speaking schools could all do these things. They could, but the language barrier, especially in North Wales could be a challenge as on a few occasions when entering shops in North Wales, the employees would greet you in Welsh and sometimes, Welsh is the only language they speak.

In the Donaldson (2015) report, one of the values of the new Successful curriculum is that they want to ensure that their education system makes it possible for more learners of all ages to acquire a wider range of language skills in Welsh and that there is confidence and pride in Wales as a bilingual nation with the strength and assurance to nurture both languages. One of the goals for the curriculum include a Wales that is prosperous, resilient, healthier, and more equal, with cohesive communities, a vibrant culture and a thriving Welsh language (Donaldson, 2015).

A question we must consider for this topic is the value of bilingualism itself. Is there an advantage to it? Many studies have suggested that bilinguals have an advantage over monolinguals in executive control. Evidence for this claim has been obtained in studies with children (Bialystok & Martin, 2004), young adults (Costa, Hernández, & Sebastián-Gallés, 2008), and older adults (Gold, Kim, Johnson, Kryscio, & Smith, 2013) (de Bruin et al. 2015). 

From my own personal experience of being bilingual, I believe that there are many benefits. In my everyday life, I use Welsh quite frequently, in the house, in placement, in university and in work. An example of this is on placement where the teacher needed help filming the year 5/6 pupils speaking welsh to send to the comprehensive school. The lack of understanding of the language was evident by the teacher as some of the sentence structures were not correct, therefore I helped her by going over their paragraphs and ensuring that their welsh was correct and helped them practice their paragraph before filming.

In broader terms, I believe that by being bilingual, I found it a lot easier to learn other foreign languages such as Spanish and French as the sentence patterns in foreign languages are the same as in the Welsh language. This made it easier to understand the other languages and how to structure sentences. This statement is supported by Bonfiglio (2017) who says that an amazing benefit of being bilingual is that you can learn additional languages more easily than monolinguals. If you have learned a second language already, then learning a third means transferring those skills over. Here’s a video that highlights some of the benefits of bilingualism.

The opposing argument is that many studies have shown that there is no advantage to speaking more than one language. De Bruin et al. (2015) argues that not all studies have found that bilinguals have an advantage over monolinguals. Some of these studies have been published (e.g., Gathercole et al., 2014; Paap & Greenberg, 2013), but we suspected that many other studies of this nature have not. Paap (2014) raised the concern that the literature on bilingualism and executive control might be affected by a confirmation bias to report positive results only. 

In regards to the value of the Welsh language, I don’t believe many people in Wales value it as Harris (2013) says that the Welsh language is steadily declining and yet, the amount of Welsh-speaking schools are on the rise. This statement is interesting because when we think about other countries such as Spain for example, they learn Spanish because that is their native language and the vast majority of the country speaks Spanish. In Spain, they may learn English as it is one of the most used languages in the world. When we compare this to Wales, although Welsh is our native language, barely anybody is able to speak the language with approximately only 311,000 young people and adults speaking the language fluently (Statistics for Wales, 2015). The language is also not very versatile as Welsh is not a well-known language across the world, therefore it only holds it’s value in a confined area or country. This is supported by Harris (2013) who says that Welsh-speaking bilingual workers are immobile their advantage exists only in a small enclave.

There are many angles in this argument to consider while trying to come to a definitive answer. However I do believe that for the people who can speak welsh, we are at an advantage in our country regarding job prospects especially in primary education as schools across Wales are desperate for teachers who are bilingual since the Welsh language is compulsory in all schools across Wales. Also I believe that if more children are taught Welsh and use small amounts every day, this could have a positive impact on the amount of people that can speak the language. What are your thoughts on this topic?

References

Bialystok, E., & martin, M.M. (2004). Attention and inhibition in bilingual children: Evidence from the dimensional change card sort task. Developmental Science, 7, 325-339 cited in De Bruin et al. (2015) Cognitive Advantage in Bilingualism: An Example of Publication Bias? Psychological Science 26(1) 99-107 [Online] https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1177/0956797614557866(Accessed: 26, March 2019)

Bonfiglio, C (2017) 10 Amazing Benefits of Being Bilingual, Bilingual Kidspot [Online] https://bilingualkidspot.com/2017/05/23/benefits-of-being-bilingual/(Accessed: 26, March 2019)

Costa, A., Hernández, M., & Sebastián-Gallés, N. (2008) Bilingualism aids conflict resolution: Evidence from the ANT task. Cognition, 106, 59-86 cited in De Bruin et al. (2015) Cognitive Advantage in Bilingualism: An Example of Publication Bias? Psychological Science 26(1) 99-107 [Online] https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1177/0956797614557866(Accessed: 26, March 2019)

De Bruin et al. (2015) Cognitive Advantage in Bilingualism: An Example of Publication Bias? Psychological Science 26(1) 99-107 [Online] https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1177/0956797614557866(Accessed: 26, March 2019)

Donaldson, G. (2015) Successful Futures: Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales, Welsh Government: OGL 

Gathercole, V. C., Thomas, E. M., Kennedy, I., Prys, C., Young, N., Viñas Guasch, N., . . . Jones, L. (2014). Does language dominance affect cognitive performance in bilinguals? Lifespan evidence from preschoolers through older adults on card sorting, Simon, and metalinguistic tasks. Frontiers in Psychology, 5(11). Retrieved from http://journal.frontiersin .org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00011/full cited in De Bruin et al. (2015) Cognitive Advantage in Bilingualism: An Example of Publication Bias? Psychological Science 26(1) 99-107 [Online] https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1177/0956797614557866(Accessed: 26, March 2019)

Gold, B. T., Kim, C., Johnson, N. F., Kryscio, R. J., & Smith, C. D. (2013). Lifelong bilingualism maintains neural efficiency for cognitive control in aging. The Journal of Neuroscience, 33, 387–396. cited in De Bruin et al. (2015) Cognitive Advantage in Bilingualism: An Example of Publication Bias? Psychological Science 26(1) 99-107 [Online] https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1177/0956797614557866(Accessed: 26, March 2019)

Harris, E (2013) Home Truths: the decline of the Welsh language, Open Democracy: London

Paap, K. R. (2014). The role of componential analysis, cate- gorical hypothesising, replicability and confirmation bias in testing for bilingual advantages in executive functioning. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 26, 242–255. doi:10.1080/ 20445911.2014.891597 cited in De Bruin et al. (2015) Cognitive Advantage in Bilingualism: An Example of Publication Bias? Psychological Science 26(1) 99-107 [Online] https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1177/0956797614557866(Accessed: 26, March 2019)

Paap, K. R., & Greenberg, Z. I. (2013). There is no coherent evidence for a bilingual advantage in executive processing. Cognitive Psychology, 66, 232–258. cited in De Bruin et al. (2015) Cognitive Advantage in Bilingualism: An Example of Publication Bias? Psychological Science 26(1) 99-107 [Online] https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1177/0956797614557866(Accessed: 26, March 2019)

Statistics for Wales (2015) National Survey for Wales 2013-14: Welsh language use survey, Welsh Government, OGL: Cardiff [Online] http://www.comisiynyddygymraeg.cymru/English/Publications%20List/20150129%20DG%20S%20Welsh%20Language%20Use%20Survey%202013-14%20-%20Main%20report.pdf(Accessed 26, March 2019)

Blog 5 - How can science and technology be made engaging and relevant in primary education?

How can science and technology be made engaging and relevant in primary education?

In primary education, I believe that science predominantly, is undervalued. From my own personal experience in primary school, the science lessons were rare and technology did not play a very big part in the lessons as the use of technology in the classroom was a new concept at the time. Since the awakening of the technological era, the use of technology in schools has increased significantly with children using technology more than ever inside, and outside the classroom. The use of technology has become a norm in everyday living and as a result, the UK’s curriculum is focusing more and more on ICT, moving it away from a lesson in itself, and towards using technology to explore different subjects. (Intel, 2018) This is implemented in Donaldson’s (2015) Successful Futures curriculum as he is now introducing digital competency as a cross curricular skill alongside literacy and numeracy.

As technology has evolved, I believe that schools have subconsciously neglected science as Goerge (2018) states that the subject has become a victim of English and Mathematics and is being squeezed out of primary schools. This statement is supported in an Estyn (2013) report of the school I am currently doing placement in. `It states that the school was the bottom 25% for the core subject indicator for English, mathematics and science (Estyn, 2013). In their most recent Estyn report of 2017, the school says that the school has devoted more time to improving children’s core skills in science. The example from this school could be a reflection on Britain as a whole as a statement by George (2018) says that “when the government last monitored the national performance of 11-year-olds in science two years ago, it found that less than a quarter - 23 per cent - had achieved the expected standard.”

There are many activities that could peak children’s interest in science. This could include visiting a learning facility such as Techniquest in Cardiff Bay. From visiting Techniquest with the University, it was clear that schools could benefit from this experience as there are a range of interactive activities, theatre rooms to learn about the environment and space for all key stages and also a series of laboratories to engage in various experiments. The first activity upon arrival was the theatre room where a scientist was conducting an interactive lesson on the environment. This interactive experience included the participation of the children to help them visualize the impact on the environment such as air pollution, platic in the ocean, and pollen levels. This activity also allowed the children to convey their thoughts on how we can improve our environment regarding these topics. Learning about the environment and the things we can do to help is increasingly important in today’s society as global warming continues to worsen. This is reflected in research by Summers, Kruger and Childs (2010) who say that education about the environment is of such importance that it should begin in primary schools. 

The other activity we participated in was visiting the laboratory and solving some visually deceptive experiments. It is important for children to experience a laboratory as there aren’t any in primary schools, therefore this could be a good transition for year six children going to comprehensive school. Also, by having an authentic experience of science, these types of workshops provide an opportunity for learners to meet ‘real’ scientists, with one of the take-home messages from the day being that anyone can get involved in science, whatever their ability or subject of interest (Muller et al. 2013). 

The first experiment consisted of a long narrow tube inside a short wide tube, both has the same surface area. The long narrow tube was filled all the way to the top with sand. Before the sand in the long tube was emptied into to short tube we had to answer a question. Would the sand fill up to the top of the short tube, would it overflow, or would there be too little sand. This really engages the mind and encourages children to think for themselves what the answer may be. Here’s a photo of the task.

 Similar experiments were conducted in the laboratory, here are a few clips of the activities that we took part in. 

In my opinion, I believe that there is not enough emphasis on science in schools and I believe that science should be made more interesting by conducting experiments instead of viewing science as noting facts, graphs and equations. Thanks to the advancement of technology in schools, there are many free programmes and workshops online and there are also many resources and experiments available on youtube which will be linked below for some inspiration. As technology is advancing science is being left behind. Despite this, it is important that children see the link between the two. Without science, technology may not be as advanced today. What is your opinion on the use of science in primary schools? Does your primary school effectively teach science? Is there enough science being taught in schools? 

References

Donaldson, G. (2015) Successful Futures: Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales, Welsh Government: OGL 

Estyn (2013) Estyn (2013) A report on Goetre Primary School [Online] https://www.estyn.gov.wales/sites/default/files/documents/Inspection%20report%20Goetre%20Primary%20School%202013%20%28English%20only%29_0.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf(Accessed, 25 March, 2019)

Estyn (2017) Estyn (2017) Report following monitoring Level of follow-up: significant improvement Goetre Primary School [Online] https://www.estyn.gov.wales/sites/default/files/documents/Inspection%20report%20Goetre%20Primary%20School%202013%20%28English%20only%29_0.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf.pdf(Accessed 25 March, 2019)

George, M. (2018) Why is primary science dying? The Times Educational Supplement, TES Global Ltd: London [Online] https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/docview/2029472613/abstract/1EDB029123F245E9PQ/1?accountid=15588(Accessed 25 March, 2019)

Intel (2018) Research Report: UK, The road to digital learning Fujitsu: London [Online] https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/HEFI/FUJ-Education-Report-UK.pdf(Accessed: 25 March, 2019) 

Muller, C.L et al.(2013) The Blue Marble: A model for primary STEM outreach Physics, Education (48) 176 [Online] https://iopscience-iop-org.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/article/10.1088/0031-9120/48/2/176/pdf(Accessed: 25 march. 2019)

Summers, M., Kruger, C. & Childs, A. (2001) Understanding the science 

of environmental issues: development of a subject knowledge guide for primary teacher education, International Journal of Science Education, 23:1, 33-53 [Online] https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/doi/abs/10.1080/09500690116990#aHR0cHM6Ly93d3ctdGFuZGZvbmxpbmUtY29tLmV6cHJveHkuY2FyZGlmZm1ldC5hYy51ay9kb2kvcGRmLzEwLjEwODAvMDk1MDA2OTAxMTY5OTA/bmVlZEFjY2Vzcz10cnVlQEBAMA== (Accessed 25 March, 2019)