Chapter 6 builds on students’ understanding of conditionals and loops from Chapter 5, demonstrating how they can be used to solve complex problems. Two key problem-solving approaches are applied: means-end analysis, in which a larger problem is deconstructed in smaller subproblems; and analogy, wherein an approach from a previously-solved problem is translated to solve a new problem. Detailed examples of each are used to illustrate their utility: students learn how to simulate the dice game of craps, and how to solve two long-standing computational problems, namely the Traveling Salesman problem and the Knapsack problem. This kind of practice is essential for students at this point in the textbook, as it trains the valuable skill of translating complex real-world problems into forms MATLAB can solve, then using MATLAB to solve them.

Although several patterns of word-formation appear to introduce tautology, in practice they are probably not felt to be tautologous by the speakers and listeners who are faced with them.

There is evidence that the elements that take part in word-formation, whether as a derivational base, in conversion or in compounds, are adverbs rather than prepositions. Even then, the irregularity and restricted productivity of forms involving these elements is striking, and hard to understand.

Although the notion of analogy is often deprecated in linguistics because it has proved difficult to say precisely how it works, even words that can be considered to have regular patterns of formation can be seen to be influenced by analogy as well. The formalization of analogy may not be easy, but it is clear that we need to recognize the phenomenon.

Dance – often left to specialists outside the classroom – is a means by which children can explore the world through their whole bodies. For many learners who feel they lack the ability or the interest to pursue more academic subjects, this is where they need to be given opportunities to demonstrate their potential for success. This chapter focuses on forms and skills of dance and movement, methods for engaging children and the theoretical knowledge behind dance, as well as practical activities to use in the early childhood and primary classrooms. Linking to other Knowledge Learning Areas, as well as to wider school and curricular issues, this chapter aims to equip both the novice and the experienced educator in dance to confidently and knowledgably facilitate the learning and development of children. Personal and environmental health and safety issues will also be explored.

Wherever we are in society, we are surrounded by the Arts. This text has been designed by artists, and the words you read are just visual artworks representing the oral storytelling foundation of all societies. Its layout was designed by artists, using multiple media forms. You are reading it in an environment where the soundscape will hopefully allow you to concentrate. Your body is probably positioned to minimise discomfort and maximise efficiency, while communicating your current state of thought to all those around you (whether consciously or not). Surrounding you may be posters, objects, noises, people interacting with facial expressions, probably some communicating via Facebook, Instagram or other social media using increasingly advanced technologies. The Arts power our lives, yet too often we power down children as they enter formal education (preschool and upwards), stifle their natural forms of communication and interaction, and slowly destroy their ability to be creative and to think diversely.

This chapter explores much of the current research about the value and effect of the Arts in education and assists you to develop your own thinking about the importance of Arts education. This research is framed by an understanding of developing modes of engagement in Arts education, and a discussion of the importance of personal agency and Arts education as ‘praxis’. Finally, the notions of learning ‘in’ and ‘through’ the Arts are explored to enable you to understand the types of learning in which your students can engage.

Throughout this book, you have been challenged to look at the role the Arts play in society and in education. Various methodologies have been suggested and each specific Arts area has been broken down for you. The tools are now in place for you to organise Arts learning and teaching in your classroom. You also have reflective tools to apply to the learning and teaching you undertake. In this final chapter, we challenge you to imagine your Arts-rich classroom. What do you want the Arts to look like and how do you want your students to engage in them? These decisions will reflect your vision and rationale for teaching the Arts and your many experiences in working with the Arts as you have progressed through this book. These decisions are best made by the person who decides the ‘what’ and ‘how’ for their students every day: you.

If we approach Arts education as we might approach literacy, we would aim to develop Arts literacy in students. We would teach students the tools of language, ways of constructing meaning, vocabulary, structures, forms, genres and shaping cultural and social contexts. In literacy we allow children freedom to gain confidence and experiment with creative writing, but we also intervene when necessary to correct, guide and teach them explicit skills and knowledge. If we apply this approach to the Arts, rather than stand back and ‘let the child be free’, we can focus on developing proficiency in knowledge and skills as well as fostering creativity and imagination right from the start. As with any other Learning Area, child engagement and achievement in the Arts are determined by exposure to ongoing, sequential learning experiences. This chapter suggests ways in which teachers can achieve this in a way that is respectful of the needs and interests of the child.

In this chapter, we introduce and explain the key principles of integrated learning and outline ways in which it can be put into practice to provide quality Arts experiences, as well as quality learning in other areas. We suggest ways to achieve integrated learning that you can adapt to construct your own successful program. We also move beyond the concept of curriculum integration to look at child integration as it should be applied in the classroom. Schools do exclude, both intentionally and otherwise. We explore the justifications offered for, and ways to remove, these barriers to engagement in the Arts by all. We argue that everyone needs to experience the Arts equally, no matter what their background or what form of diverse learning is brought to the classroom. For some children, this is the only pathway to success. In the Arts, anyone can engage; everyone gets to live them.

The Australian Curriculum’s three cross-curriculum priorities are intended to give global, national, and local perspectives, providing students with the tools and language to be able to understand the world in which they live and to consider the future world they could inhabit.Within the Australian Curriculum, three cross-curriculum priorities have been defined: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures; Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia; and Sustainability. These three cross-curriculum priorities are not intended to be taught as separate Learning Areas; instead, they are about exploring relationships between subjects. They offer learning opportunities to add depth and richness to student learning in specific discipline content at the same time as developing knowledge, understanding and skills relating to the three priorities.