Reflection Journal Week 3 (26/1/12)

Reflection Qustion: What is the value of engaging students in writing / creating their own plays for staging? 




Drama, which is a multi-faceted, adaptable and flexible subject, differs from many of the art forms. The historical, social, political and cultural contexts affect and re-shaped again and again the form of Drama. As quoted in Queensland Studies Authority (2001), 'Societies and cultures throughout history have developed enactive ways of making and communicating meaning that involve performers and audiences.' (Pg1) Because of its versatility, it encourages students to think and act open-mindedly, freely, broadly and expressively to transfer their thoughts to others. Students, who engaged in writing their own plays for staging, are challenged on their imaginative skills, critical thinking and communicative skills, developing theatre-based skills, which can bring benefits to their future career and self-knowledge.


First, students creating their own plays are encouraged to explore, gain more knowledge on and appreciate other dramatic texts, thus able to write their plays in a more skillful manner. For example studying Shakespearean texts enable students to know more about the language use in terms of grammar and vocabulary, therefore they may even want to use the style of Shakespearean in their plays. Moreover, Shakespearean texts are the basic foundation in drama where students cannot afford to miss studying them. In other words, there is also appreciation in other art forms, one of it is literature.


In relation to studying other dramatic plays, students are encouraged to improve their use of english language and use them in their making of the plays. As quoted by Johnson (1907), 'one effect of the play - more particularly the original play - on the scholars would necessarily be a great improvement in their speech and diction.' (Pg 100) Through scriptwriting, students pick their words more carefully and phrase their sentences in a better way. However, in other plays that requires less formality, students may not consider speaking in a good command of english because it depends very much on the context of the script. Additionally, scriptwriting trains the students' communicative skills, where students think of how they could connect and convey their message and feelings across the audience.


Secondly, scriptwriting encourages them to use their imaginative skills to push beyond the boundaries. While brainstorming for ideas, students consider the Who, What, When, Why, Where and How  to develop their own plot. They use logical thinking and rational reasoning through the brainstorming process. They also use critical thinking skills (to think out of the box) and problem-solving skills. In the process of thinking and writing, they also gain new knowledge about their topic through reading and researching. As Lowenfold stated, ' The inhibited and restricted child, accustomed to imitating rather than expressing himself creatively, will prefer to go along set patterns in life.' (Pg 32) This is true because nobody would want someone who is not creative and open to new ideas in their workplace. These skills, that are developed in scriptwriting, are essential to their life and career. In their workplace, they are able to use problem-solving skills and creative thinking skills effectively. For eg, working in an Apple company requires creativity skills to come up with interesting designs of Apple's new technological devices. Therefore, scriptwriting encourages students to be thinkers of creativity, experimenting and improving on their ideas.


Thirdly, Scriptwriting encourages students to be cooperative and patient through teambuilding. A script is something that al members have to agree upon and there are bound to be problems that will cause tension within the group. Problems must be dealt with using their problem-solving skills, practicing good tolerance and patience as well. Through the process, they are able to spot their strengths and weaknesses, what works well and what does not. Hence, moving forward to a better idea. A failed script is then really to give up writing at all.

Fourthly, Students are trained to be responsible for their own work, because it is original. Students will feel a sense of satisfaction and importance towards their work. They feel a sense of completeness and accomplishment after producing their own work. Afterall, who does not feel accomplished after completing a task? And how much more exciting it will be after completing a script and acting it out? That sense of excitement and joy are then experienced through the students themselves and they will feel more encouraged and proud in doing their job. This helps to boost students' self-esteem and morale, especially in the less privileged classes. As observed by Toole (2009), ' The school, mainly for upwardly mobile working class boys, had grown from a 'technical' school into one determined to show that the young people of common backgrounds could live up academically and culturally to the privileged classes.' (Pg 132) 


Overall, scriptwriting is an essential activity that students should do in their dramatic activity in schools because it helps both internally in the drama subject and externally in their own world and workforce. It also helps to develop students personally, socially and psychologically, where they can contribute back to our society as efficient and skillful thinkers.


References


Queensland Studies Authority (2001). Senior Drama Syllabus. http://www.qsa.gld.edu.au/yrs11_12/subjects/drama/syllabus.pdf Retrieved on 27/1/12.


O' Toole, J., Stinson, M. & Moore Tina (2009). Drama and Curriculum: A Giant at the Door. USA: University of Illinois. 


Eisner, E. (2004). The Arts and the Creation of Mind. New Haven & London: Yale University Press.


O' Toole, J., Stinson, M. & Moore Tina (2009). The Three Pillars of Art. USA: University of Illinois. 

Reflection Journal Week 2 (19/1/12)

Reflection Question: What is my educational philosophy and how does it connect with the purpose of educational drama and its practice?

In today's lesson, we discussed a lot about educational philosophies that we can apply in our drama education. These philosophies benefit the children in a way that they are being engaged with, actively contributing and critically thinking. Aside from that, teachers' role are less significant in the classrooms because they are more of facilitators and the students will feel more comfortable. However, it must be exercise with caution and not to the extend where the classroom is in chaos.

The first philosophy is that learning in the classroom should be a dialogue and not a monologue to develop social and personal development. When we engage the students in a dialogue, where the students have greater percentage of talking rather than the teacher talking, they are being constantly being engaged in a topic, bringing them deeper beneath the superficial. As Toole, Stinson & Moore (2009) has mentioned that 'children in social, motivated and supported contexts are capable of moving to levels of symbolic and abstract thought of which they are not capable by themselves.' (Pg 50) Students are given the opportunity to use their critical thinking and argumentative skills to link, relate, mind-map and conclude. This is student-oriented learning because students do the thinking while we as educators guide them to the deeper levels of thinking. We have also discussed about the role of drama in development of language. Through speaking, they gain confidence to express, imagine and debate on issues. Thus confidence also in public speaking. This brings us back to our 21st century competencies where students are active contributor and self directed learner.

The second philosophy is to allow students to embark on self-discovery and creative journey. Drama is a ground, where creativity breeds. In order for creativity take effect, students have to take on imaginary roles. Off course freedom of expression is a need for that because without freedom, emotions and feelings will be limited, which can cause emotional tensions from within. Students who express creatively are able to face struggles and situations more comfortably. Eisner (2004) had quoted from Lowenfold that 'The inhibited and restricted child, accustomed to imitating rather than expressing himself creatively, will prefer to go along set patterns in life.' (Pg 32). This is then against the idea of the SEL(Social and Emotional) model, which deals with self management skills. Discovery brings students into a another realm because they are constantly expanding their boundaries and experimenting as well. It also encourages students to see things at a different perspective, shunning away from narrow-mindedness.

The third philosophy is to build knowledge and also skills of thinking and being. As I have mentioned above that critical thinking skills are being exploited in Drama practices because they undergo deep, sophisticated and philosophical thinking. Because they reflect upon themselves and the community, they gain knowledge and understanding about the values and conceptions in different cultural context. As they discuss and probe deeper, it widens their knowledge and broadens their vision about the world.

However, I have always been curious because since Drama education has provided us with so much benefits for the students, the society and the people, why then does education deem Arts as unimportant? Arts are often referred to as non-academic subjects but why do they even compare arts with academic subjects when both are beneficial to the students on different areas? I personally feel that both are equally important to the child and both should not be on the option list because both the Arts and Academics provide not only intellectual knowledge but also social, emotional and personal development.

References
Eisner, E. W. (2004) The Arts and the Creation of Mind. New Haven & London: Yale University Press.


O'Toole J. , Stinson M. & Moore T. (2009). Drama and Curriculum. USA: Springer.

Week 2 19/1/12

Today we went through some very serious work on Drama education in line with our MOE visions and strategies (PETAL, SEL, TLLM, etc.) First, we did a warm up and some games.

Warm Up: A pair (A and B) has to each hold at one end of the chopstick with their index finger. First, A will lead the way while B follows, after that exchange.

Game: Four groups (Pairs). Both A and B has to think of a corner of the room that they want to go. Using the chopstick, both has to lead the way towards the corners. They either have to fight for their way or give in.

My Thoughts
It was interesting because some of us don't give in and some of us actually have the same destination. In drama, there are alot of leader and follower methods where one has to lead. The follower than just supports the leader. If we don't give in, eventually we will break down maybe in terms of communication or whatsoever. There is definitely tension when both does not want to give in. In order to get to our destination, we also have to support one another so that both doesn't drop the chopstick.

Purpose of Drama Education
We then discuss about the purpose of drama ed. Drama conventions and theatre games can help in aiding holistic education. We then discuss on how collective role, writing-in-role, tableaux and hot seating can help in language learning, personal development and pedagogical learning.
Writing-in-role: Good journal writing and reflection skills. Expressing through a media.
Hot seating: Get into character and emotions. Argumentative skills, discuss current issues. Choosing of words and listening skills.
Collective role: Explore timeline and different social contexts. Using imagination skills. Code switching in language.
Tableaux: Analyse. Inference. Conceptualise ideas. Multiple interpretation.

Through these activities, we can see how drama can instill values, moral, social, emotional and other factors. It helps us build self-awareness, see things in different perspectives and also develop confidence in public. But Drama has the potential of stereotyping, which creates dangerous grounds for the students. Thus, it is essential for us teachers to be sensitive because we might offend some of the students in class.

Drama VS Theater
Drama: Processed-driven, participation and creativity. Involves playmaking, expressing and storytelling. In education, it develops understanding, learning, problem-solving and experiencing situations and roles. Situations and roles are created without the aid of staging a play.
Theatre: Product-driven, Audience centred, viewer focused. In education, it makes use of circular materials and social problem as themes. Audience are encourage to participate after the stage. A play is staged, presenting situations and roles for the audience to participate after that.


Differentiated Teaching: Creating different opportunities for different ability students. Using drama to create a social context.

The Very First Lesson

2011 was a good year and that's when I first started having authentic drama lesson (though I never had any hands-on experience on drama). Honestly, after today's lesson, I kind of forget my pass few drama lessons with prue. Maybe some skills lost XD


Today we got to know Mr. Kenneth Kwok who will be teaching us this module this semester. He is a regular writer/ critique on InkPot. The very first introductory game was to give a little warm up to our sensory system. First, we had to picture ourselves in our mind and draw ourselves without letting other people know. Then, putting all the pictures together, we identify who is who. This drawing activity helps us to focus one distinct feature that we have but the rest do not, since all of us are created differently. It is also a good sort of 'ice breaker' because we can get to know our students through their drawing because art is creativity and the expression of the inner self. Students get to express their emotions, identity, personality, character through art, which academic skills cannot (such as Mathematics). Students can also get to know their friends better. One disadvantage is that students might not want to reveal their art pieces for fear that their emotions or personality are exposed.


We were then separated into three groups. The first group will walk in their normal behaviour while the rest of the group members had to observe them. Then, a piece of paper is assigned to every one of us (A,A1,A2,B,B1,B2...) The first letter represents the person you are to observe while the number 1 represents the person who needs to do the imitating of the person he observed. Group 1 and A2, B2, C2.. have to observe all the 1s to identify who imitates who in group 1. This game taps on the unconscious and conscious mind. When someone imitates another, we get to see ourselves in them. We notice things that we do not know that we do it. It helps raise our self-awareness. Others observe what we might think we have already. However, I think the first group might 'overdo' their natural actions because all eyes are on them, which makes them think whether their actions are natural or not. This activity is a great activity to activate our listening, observation and memory skills. Similar to the drawing, this activity also tells people of their personality through the movements. This activity might not work well in normal stream people because they are restless.


Another activity was having two people come up with two different actions, then allowing the rest to choose which is the easier one to do. The most people doing that particular action wins and continues to do until another challenger breaks away the chain of action. This is a good activity to play in status.


Then we came to the main activity, where we had four groups and four different assignments to each group. Using the topic that we choose, we need to perform according to the assigned tasks. There were Writer role, Tableaux, Hot seating, Collective role. The writer role was more of the In, Out, and on-the-edge focus that Prue taught us. Hot Seating is being in character while answering questions from the audience. This caused some tension between the audience and speaker because they challenged the power of the speaker. It requires us to be prompt in our answers too. Tableaux is like postcards scenes that we had to decipher. Collective role is short monologues by us within a character, which also gives different perspectives and focus on the character. This activity is great for teaching tension and focus because of the different powers shifting and focus lens.

Reflection Journal Week 1 (12/1/12)

Reflection Question: What is the Value of Drama in Ed?


The value of Drama has been appreciated in many school teachers. I feel that many have disregarded Drama in school and deemed it unimportant. However, Academic education is different from arts education as stated by Eisner (2004), 'Ability in art is assigned to talent, ability in "intellectual" subjects like mathematics and science to intelligence.' (Pg 43). Arts education focuses on aesthetics and artistic intellligence while academics focuses on knowledge based intelligence. These are two different things that the society should not compare with, but should try to interlink with.


Through drama, students obtain many high level skills. It helps not only to develop the cognitive skills, but also our sensory awareness and feelings. Through open discussions, freedom of expression and speech are employed, and this expands intellectual knowledge. Current state affairs are being brought down to student's awareness in Drama, where it encourages them to be aware of the situations happening around their life (be it political or social). Students are always in the process of reflecting, which enables them to do critical thinking.  Students are being encouraged to be engaged in active learning because unlike reading and writing, Drama allows them to express and experiment their emotions actively, instinctively, willingly and freely. 


As Hadow (1931) reported, 'Even among the younger children, simple play production with criticism by the class of the interpretation given by different groups of players, will develop the beginning of critical and interpretative power, and will provide a more complete and intensive experience than reading only.' (Chapter 12)


Drama encourages community building or identity creativity. Imagination and creativity works hand in hand. As the discussion grows deep, they are able to decipher, understand and appreciate different cultures, whether popular cultures or ancient cultures. From there, they may even seek to change or improve the cultural state, hence, social development occurs. Discussion taps on their imgaginative skills where students are constantly rethinking, re-interpretating on the performing of different cultural values. 


Other than that, Drama, like all other art forms can be interlinked with other subjects. For example, Drama can be linked to English, History and others. It helps us to know our subjects in the wider perspective. In general, we get to learn more, not so about the a particular subject (like drama helps me to know more about english, vice versa) but about the social and historical cultures, traditions and practices of the past and present. 


Ultimately, arts education enables the appreciation of the beauty of nature and creativity and that is what drama also does! In fact, I feel that it helps us to become better and more humane people in the world. (not that I have any against academics subjects)


References
Hadow, W. et.al. (1931) The Hadow Report: THe Primary School. London: H.M.S.O. Retrieved by http://www.dg.dial.pipex.com/documents/hadow/31.shtml7June200


Eisner, Elliot W. (2004) The Arts and the Creation of Mind. New Haven & London: Yale University Press.








Which of today's activities would I consider bringing to class? Why? Any concerns?


I feel that the first activity of drawing ourselves and playing the observation game are quite useful activities to get to know our students better and students also get to know themselves and their friends better. It is also useful for warm ups because we use our listening and observation skills to focus on others, then reflecting upon ourselves. (Is that how I move?).


 My concern is that students might not take this seriously. They may laugh and scoff at their friends. They may not even want to sit down and observe their friends. Students who find that these activities are not beneficial or important may not cooperate, like making the effort to draw. To address them is pretty difficult because we had a class of 40 to deal with.