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To comply with the current tendency in order to promote the character quality and the national competitive power, the government starts to carry out the educational reform projects, and draws up each education reform plan. Being influenced by various countries' multiplex development in arts education, Taiwan has included arts education as part of the overall education program. Therefore performing arts can be integrated as a 9-years consistent course through out the primary and secondary schools in Taiwan. As performing arts education implements a diverse teaching technique, at present schools in general do not have specialised classrooms suitable for teaching this subject. Therefore, whether present secondary schools already have the learning space to meet the requirements of teaching performing arts, and the difficulties being encountered currently, is the main discussion for this research. This research is based on the construction plan of “the spatial plan”, “the physical environment”, and “the teaching equipment”. The investigation is carried out in the Yilan County within secondary schools that have professional performing arts teachers. The present learning space, additional requirements and difficulties encountered are studied and clarified.
The results of this research are:
A. Present teaching situation of performing arts courses in secondary schools in Yilan Teaching materials of the performing arts courses can be purchased from vendors or written by the teachers themselves;The teaching sessions can be carried out in ordinary classrooms, the specialised classrooms, the floor classrooms, and visual and audio classrooms. The sports stadium or the school hall can also be used during school events;The teaching methods may be organised into two major categories: Static teaching including narration, discussion, and appreciation; Dynamic teaching including practicing and performing. B. Current situation of learning space and problems The problems in aspect of the learning space planning include:The desks and chairs are too small and the space between desks are too narrow, as a result the students are not able to use these furniture efficiently and are difficult to move between them;The general classroom space is not sufficient and easy to get crowded during training sessions;The floor is made of smooth and slippery materials therefore not appropriate for students to practice movements on;Lack of storage cabinets to store students belongings The problems in aspect of physical environment include : Most of the learning spaces are not built with sound absorption material and do not have sound-insulation, thus causing lengthy reverberation in the room. Also when the noise level becomes significant, it reduces the clarity of speaker’s voice and the noise can also mutually disturb neighboring rooms;The windows are constructed in an ineffective way such as when opened, produces dazzling lights;The locations of the black/white boards and the projection equipments are not appropriate, which reduces the effectiveness of learning;Lighting in multimedia classrooms cannot meet the requirements verbal teaching;Most learning spaces are not air conditioned thus the teachers and students can easily feel sultry during summer season. The problems in aspect of teaching equipment include : No desks and chairs in the floor classrooms. As a result students have to sit on the floor during discussion sessions;Lack of teaching equipments in the learning space thus the teachers are not able to implement some of the performing arts training.
C. Suggestions for performing arts learning space plan and design The location and setup of the learning space should include considerations of avoiding noise interference between neighbouring teaching spaces, or sound-insulated facility should be installed to decrease noise;Base on the usage and number of students per class, plan the learning space to meet the requirements of various teaching technique;Install appropriate sound absorption materials to avoid lengthy reverberation and noise that reduces clarity of speeches;Avoid opening windows that allows direct sunlight that creates dazzling lights inside the classroom;Enhance natural ventilation or install air conditioning systems to cool down the sultry environment;Purchase teaching equipments to cater for various teaching techniques, and plan for sufficient storage facility.
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