A Green 1 Alexandria Green Instructor: Donna Cucunato Tapestry of a Liberal Studies Education, 497 25 April 2011 Reflection I Arts/Physical Education The following provides a detailed map of the courses completed under the umbrella heading, arts/physical education. Providing the broad range of departments represented therein, I found it particularly important to provide course summaries. ‘Course Title: Teaching the Visual Arts, ART 350 Professor: Jamie Kough ded Date: Fall 2009 vet wnisaneet Description: Explored the peneL creativity in the visual arts and how they could be taught effectively at all age levels (K—12, high school, and special education). Students learned to develop an entire school art program and produced a portfolio of projects and lesson plans. The course was divided into four areas of study-—art basics, art history, final lesson plan, and student teaching. Each unit built upon the previous, a model for scaffolding in the classroom. Course Title: Music, Movement and Drama for Teachers, LBST 310 Professor: Brandi Merchant Description; This course examined the connected relationships of music, movement, and drama and their importance as teaching tools in the K-8 classroom. The course explored and evaluated basic music theorysand State Content Standards and Frameworkein designing and developing lesson plans. Choreographic studies were infused with drama to create theater and/or individual expression using everyday curriculum. Video viewing, audio listening, and applied arts activities were utilized weekly. Course Tit Professor: Date: Fall 2009 é Description: This course was designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the purpose of physical education and methods for implementing a physical education curriculum in the elementary school. Analyses were made of fundamental movements, which when modified make up the skills of all sport and dance activities. The California Physical Education Framework served as a foundation for developing lesson plans. * Physical Education for the Elementary School, AT 307 Donna Cucunato Course Title: Health Education for Teachers, EDUC 431 ONLINE Professor: Howard Keith Date: Spring 2010 Description: This course provided teachers with a basic understanding of their role in the total school health program and how to create an emotionally healthy classroom environment. Topiescor [rocket seats oe 0 Beet chenes aod anon cd zote method tp {gach a new song produces memorized material within minutes. The teacher Green 2 that were examined included: suicide, eating disorders, chronic and communicable disease, dating violence and heulth risk behaviors such as drug use, The course also examined the California Education Codes regarding parents! rights in the areas of sexuality education, laws regarding child abuse reporting lepal responsibilities regarding student safety. I. Metacognitive Reflection Providing opportunities for students to excel in the arts, physical education, and health refines the skills necessary to take part in the world-creativity, teamwork, and self worth. As result, they are invaluable parts of a child’s education, These areas of study should be validated Ives, rather than used as “supplement.” They offer opportunities of ‘multiple intelligence? \apping into parts of the brain that otherwise would not be activated. For example, creativity is lost if not fostered as a child. With the onset of puberty, the pressure to assimilate is so heavy that it is repressed. Unfortunately, these activities are the first to be cut ‘under the pressures of achievement testing. Ironically, these are the most praised and memorable activities in elementary school. The aforementioned courses provided strong reasoning for the arts, physical education, and health in school. They emphasized learning as a mind/body connectiog§\s philosophy that is since rooted in my-theughts-about education. ‘Movement is inextricably part of mental processing. Talking, writing, and acting out ideas are all valid ways to process newly leamed information. All three actions constitute muscle movement in their own right. Verbal communication engages the muscles in the mouth, written communication engages the fine motor skills of the fingers, and acting engages the gross motor skills of the body. Though some children learn best while engaging fine motor skills, others excel when their gross motor skills are put to the test. Too oftegyghildren become disinterested because Ghote the traditional teaching model caters solely to the former group of students. Evé#-se, those whch ts ‘students experience boredom with the vast amount of sear work in the classroom. To avoid disinterest, teachers can employ the active learning model, which uses the arts as a part of the teaching process. In Music, Movement, and Drama for Teachers, it was emphasized that the arts have power to commit information to memory unlike traditional methods. For example, using the my ee oh ‘begin With 9 period OY focused listening in which shesmeethe song, giving students words or patterns {9 listen for (ie, “What color is the basket? How many times do I say the word time?” Next, she sequeneés the song using “I sing, you sing” (one line at a time, then two, then four, ctc.). Then, a second period of focused listening involvedlstudents closing their eyes, singing the words silently in their heads while the teacher sings aloud. Finally, students and teacher-sing °° aloud together. I will never underestimate the power of a memory bank of songs! As long as the ‘concept is attained first, there is no harm in rote memorization. In itself, competition is not inherently good or bad. It is the nature by which the competitive spirit is utilized that makes it so. Motivated intrinsically or extrinsically, children gain some understanding of self-worthiness and physicality through competitive sport participation. In Physical Education for the Elementary School, conversation was had about how to facilitate healthy competition. Using social referencing, children lear to react to victory and failure from coaches, parents, and peers, This process of socialization lends itself to the positive wav a w wo apy HSS ANA ~ eee mu RauGreen 3 and negative effects of competition in youth sports. As parents are enrolling their children in sports at ages younger than ever before, children are beginning the process of specialization ‘much sooner. Instead of sampling a variety of sports, the focus shifts to one in hopes of achieving excellence. Beyond basic fitness, sampling is the goal of a well-implemented physical education program. Children will excel in some sports and struggle in others. Different children will shine by way of varying activities. Adon€uishepositive coaching, lowering the affective filter, and an element of fun, tg, creates a healthy competitive environment. For me, this was a lesson in behavioral teaching methods, With the pressures of testing, all too many classrooms have grades posted, achievement ladders, etc. For struggling students, this is detrimental to a healthy competitive spirit. Children need to be given the chance to shine in their areas of strength, not called out for their weaknesses. I-can-be a Positive coach on the field, during instructional time, Agar, (and in tutoring sessions boul! Qn ‘Something curious happens when children draw. They are communicating an idea much ze larger than can be expressed with elementary level vocabulary. This is espegially true for young children who are beginning writers--the drawing expresses the main idee writing is the support. Colors exude feeling, line expresses emotion, shape delineates constraints, In Teaching the Visual Arts, the Pofesion gmphasized that there are no mistakes in art. She forbid the use of erasers claiming that whieh is “out of place” can be used, molded, and layered to create something new. This is especially important for children ‘round the age of 7-8 because this is when an obsession with “correctness” develops. Moreover, we were discouraged from using the {erm “like” in evaluating a work of art. Liking or not liking a finished work does not pay tribute to the artistic process. It does not denote use of line, color, value, perspective, composition, ete. ‘What a valuable lesson! The product of leaning is not nearly as important as the process, If taught effectively, art lowers one’s affective filter becuse there is no “right answer” to bubble. I $Ga1 — —struggled with this as a student of art. Lwmnted tg Conroe ‘However, Iam not Monet. am Green. By receiving undying positive reinforcement, | overcame my obsession with perfection in oT temanner ofa shld. os Keeping children moving enhances the learning process by increasing circulation, allowing time for the information to be committed to long term memory, and stimulating the release of good chemicals in the body. In Health Education for Teachers, a particular focus was on the relation between physical and mental health. Stretching before a stint of sedentary instruction provides oxygen flow to the brain and thus, narrows children’s attention on the task at hand. Once instruction ensues, the number of minutes a student can stay focused is equal to his! her age plus two. Elementary school teachers must plan their instruction time accordingly. After that staggeringly short amount of time, students need a chance to process new information. The site of the hippocampus in the brain absorbs and sorts the information before distributing it to various places in the cortex for long term memory. If the hippocampus is overloaded, new learning will not occur. By consciously reducing the amount of sedentary instruction, the probably of overloading the hippocampus is slim. Among other neurological benefits, exercise increases the number of capillaries around the neurons facilitating oxygen flow, releases endorphins increasing alertness, and produces the neurotransmitter dopamine improving mood. Incorporating movement into the classroom seems like a no-brainer next to all its benefits. I vow to keep my students healthy by adding movement into everyday activities, Geeck gop bens won Pippen in the qyoesroans bot |} rink peo need x0 relate buckle xo Bovrsere moce. Also, gece aTaNsrhons wee rough.