Students are now talking about the figurative images they have drawn on paper,
and the artists and cartoons they are inspired from.
Sharing artwork seems to change the energy of the room.
The theory of "clapping" is derived from the immersive practices observed during students' class performances while sharing their artworks. Clapping transcends its mere auditory nature and transforms into an experimental instrument of motivation. Within the Saturday Art School's classroom, clapping established a shared sense of communication support. Through a colllective effort, students spontaneously engaged in a choreography of clapping, producing a harmonious symphony that resonated with the rhythm of their interactions.
Suddenly,
the pre-service teacher starts clapping her hands to get the attention of the class.
“Yes, I’m super energetic!
I’d like everyone to show their work and talk about the process of their artwork.
You are going to talk about what theme you chose to depict from and why.
Let’s start!”
The music is still playing in the background—
I start wondering if the music is distracting her talk.
Soon after,
she goes over to her desk and turns the music off,
and asks students to share and talk about their artwork.
A Bouquet of Clapping
Clapping was such a powerful instrument of motivation, not because of clapping itself, but because of the waiting, for next clap that it became very much like viral thinking. Clapping installed a meaning of communication support in class. The sound of the claps outburst an energy that was based on each student. Students created a spontaneous choreography with the sound of clapping. The sounds were produced collectively by every single person in the classroom. The pattern of this spontaneous choreography started with talk, continued with rhythmical clapping, and finalized with a moment of silence. There was a balance between the three happenings. Students naturally created a musical sense because of the frequency of clapping they kept in the room. As they clapped they were increasing the frequency of clapping and the claps were becoming like dozen bouquet. Furthermore, a quiet moment happened in between the claps and the next student-talk. After each student-talk, similar clapping events happened. They clapped together and waited for a while and then they clapped again.
Students seem to pay complete attention to the conversations.
They are waiting for their turn to talk, and share about their artwork excitedly.
The pattern of the clapping unfolds organically, commencing with talk, transitioning into rhyhtmical clapping, and culminating in a poignant moment of silence. Throughout this sequence, a delicate balance is achieved between these three occurences, fostering a heightened musical sense within the classroom.