andré rieu: an educational appreciation
DESCRIPTION
Presentation used at the #2012waic Conference - Ghent, BelgiumTRANSCRIPT
!An
Educational Appreciation !
!By
Karen Junqueira and
Jannie Pretorius
University of the Free State,
Bloemfontein, South Africa!!
Lifelong!learning:!How,!and!when,!
and!from!whom,!do!we!want!to!learn?!
• Scolarly/academic!journals?!• Internet?!• Colleagues?!• Lectures/workshops?!• Problem!solving?!!
• Old!English:!!Aron,!“to!be”!• “Knowing!about!art”!(Parsons,!2002)!• Intradisciplinary!learning:!Lachapelle,!!Murray!and!Neim!(2003)!!
• “Knowing!from!art”!(about!teaching,!or!about!any!other!profession/life)!
• Interdisciplinary!learning!• “FieldPtoPfield!cogniRve!illuminaRons”!(Beardsley,!1970)!
Learning!and*knowing*appreciaRvely!about!and!from!the!arts!
But!ís!teaching!an!art?!!
Feldman!and!McPhee!(2008):!!• Experienced!educators!“believe!that!no!ma[er!how!much!theory!and!research!we!now!know!and!regardless!of!what!advances!may!come!in!the!future,!ulRmately!teaching!is!and!will!always!be!an!art.”!
• “For!these!experienced!instructors,!teaching!will!forever!be!as!much!art!as!it!is!science,!if!not!more!so,!calling!for!the!qualiRes!that!are!the!hallmarks!of!any!art!–!creaRvity,!innovaRon,!and!imaginaRon.”!
“Consider!music.!No!doubt!it!is!an!
art.!It![…]!demands!and!draws!on!the!
unique,!creaRve!expression!of!each!person!
who!parRcipates!in!it,!whether!an!instrumentalist,!
vocalist,!or!composer.”!
“Teaching!is!much!the!same.!Each!Rme!you!walk!into!a!class,!your!work!calls!for!the!creaRve!and!somewhat!unpredictable!composiRon!of!the!many!disRnct!components!that!comprise!the!teaching/learning!transacRon—content,!context,!people!and!processes!—!all!orchestrated!into!
some!kind!of!unified!and!saRsfactory!whole.”!
!
ATTENTION!!
!But!how!can!you!look!for!something!when!you!don’t!in!the!least!know!what!it!is?
!*
Virtue!
How!shall!we!learn!from!the!arts?!
The*classical*Meno*
paradox!
Schön!(1987:93)!• Something!you!need!to!know!!• I!cannot!tell!you!what!it!is!in!a!way!you!can!now!understand!• Right!sort!of!experience!• You!must!be!willing!• Informed!choice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!about!whether!you!wish!to!conRnue!• If!you’re!unwilling,!I!cannot!help!you!• I’ll!have!to!ask!a!lot!of!(appreciaRve)!quesRons!
Living!and!learning!
appreciaRvely!from!the!arts!
AffirmaRve!topic:!to!appreciate!the!arRstry!of!André!
Rieu!for!professional!development!
Discovery!!
“What!gives!life!(to!André!and!his!orchestra)?”!!
!(The!best!that!is!available)!
!AppreciaRon!
! Dream!!
“What!is!possible?”!(Future!opportuniRes!in!my!classroom/our!
school)!!
Imagine!!
!Design!
!“What!should!be?”!(My!ideal!classroom!
pracRces)!
!InnovaRon!
!
!DesRnaRon!
!“What!are!we/am!I!
doing!in!my!classroom/my!school?”!(ConRnuous!
empowerment,!achievement!and!
learning)!
Delivery!!
PosiRve!core!
(Rieu’s)!
The!appreciaRve!research!project!
• ThirtyPtwo!educators!from!a!secondary!school!in!Bloemfontein,!South!Africa!parRcipated!in!an!appreciaRve!workshop!of!the!2010!South!African!concert!of!André!Rieu!and!his!orchestra.!!• StarRng!with!the!Discovery!phase!the!educators!appreciated!an!hourPlong!extract!of!items!performed!at!the!concert.!
!While!appreciaRng!the!concert,!the!parRcipants!!• individually!reflected!on!the!arRstry!of!these!excellent!performers!!• by!reporRng!on!their!own!thoughts,!insights!and!observaRons!– regarding!quesRons!!– provided!in!a!workbook!– prepared!by!the!researchers.!
!Based!on!what!the!parRcipants!saw!in!the!DVD,!they!then!conducted!appreciaRve!interviews!!• to!idenRfy!insights,!stories!or!strengths!from!the!concert!!• that!could!give!life!to!their!school/teaching!pracRce.!
!The!quesRons!included!the!following:!!
!• Which!music!item!was!your!personal!favourite!and!why!did!you!prefer!this!specific!one?!
• Which!aspect!of!the!performance!did!you!value!most!and!why?!• What!characterisRcs!from!the!performance!of!André!Rieu!and!his!
orchestra!might!you!apply!in!your!classroom?!!• What!would!you!say!is!the!ONE!thing!that!gives!life!to!his!performance!–!
the!one!thing!without!which!it!would!simply!not!be!the!same?!!• Can!you!explain!why!André!Rieu!and!so!many!people!in!the!audience!were!
crying?!• Why!is!the!interacRon!between!André!Rieu,!his!orchestra!and!the!
audience!so!successful?!• !In!your!opinion,!what!can!the!staff!of!the!school!possibly!take!from!the!
performance!of!André!Rieu!and!his!orchestra!to!improve!their!teaching?!• What!could!he!possibly!do!to!make!his!performance!even!be[er?!Answers!to!these!quesRons!led!to!the!idenRficaRon!of!themes!per!group.!
Number! Positive theme! Count!1! Passion and
enthusiasm!
46!
2! Teamwork! 35!
3! Inclusivity! 28!
4! Preparation,
professionalism and
personal development!
22!
5! To be compassionate! 21!
6! Appreciation! 16!
Collages!Our!ideal!classroom!situaRon!
Concluding!remarks!and!way!forward!
• All!the!themes!have!been!embedded!in!current!educaRonal!theory!
• The!themes!were!therefore!validated!as!applicable!to!the!modern!South!African!classroom!situaRon!
• CompleRon!of!first!two!stages:!Discover!and!Dream!• Staff!at!Dr!Blok!School!used!the!themes!for!designing!a!teaching!improvement!plan!at!the!beginning!of!2012!
• The!DesRny!phase!will!be!studied!at!a!later!stage!• Therefore:!– It!is!indeed!possible!to!use!the!arts!for!the!professional!development!of!teachers!and!other!professionals!!
– The!4DPcycle!is!EXCEPTIONALLY!suitable!to!structure!!or!scaffold!the!INTERDISCIPLINARY!learning!process!