Thursday 27 September 2012

Reflection Journal 7 (27/9/12)

Game: Facilitator spots a catcher and describes the catcher. Catcher has to identify himself/herself when he/she thinks it is him/her. The catcher has to catch everyone. Those people caught have to sit on the floor. The purpose of this game was to warm them up in their physical and mental bodies. It also creates self-awareness of what they themselves are wearing and also becoming aware of the people around them as they have to observe what they are wearing. They also learn to listen properly and be sensitive to the people around them and themselves.

Group Dicussion

We realise that there wasn't much time to continue with drama process activities so we went straight into doing our scripts. We did blocking where we decide who should stand where, do what, etc. in each scenarios while we did the whole script. We gave call their names through their roles so that they know which character they are playing. Ahmad then explained to them that if we keep playing games and activities, we can't give a good performance. The students were really understanding and gave their best to be in their character. When we gave them instructions or suggestions for improvements, they really did it! It was great working with these kids who are so understanding.

There is a scene where the villagers are all suppose to be in their homes. How we portray homes may not be elaborate but our positioning and actions are good enough to tell the audience that we are in our own homes. I feel that since it is their first performance, we do not have to be too elaborate for the props because the lesser props used may help them to think by imagining more. We needn't say back to the first position. Once we say 'go back to home position', they immediately went back to the home position. It was amazing how they know the position of being in their 'homes'.

Afternoon session was even better! We changed a little about the positioning. We did demonstrations on some of the scenarios.

Demonstration is a very powerful tool to teach students. It benefits those students who do not understand or who cannot visualize and imagine through their imagination. If we don't do demonstrations, there will be chaos when we just dive into the real activity. A demonstration shows the actions or words or expression that they need to do. Demonstration sets a standard or default that they could follow or imitate. Demonstration is a guideline to how it could be done in the same way or in different ways through a variety of different forms.

Unforeseen circumstances

However, we notice Khairul was not participating so actively compared to the first few weeks. He seemed distracted. Halfway through, I asked if he was okay and he said, 'His parents are going through a divorce.' and he went all teary. I pulled him aside and asked what happened. He told me the whole story. So then I encouraged him to not be distracted from the problem but to study hard now and maintain his position as a chairperson. His mum wanted to leave the house and take Khairul to another school. He did not want to leave his school because he has such great friends and he loved them alot. So I encouraged him and told him that the only thing he can do now as a child is to pray for his family (he is a muslim) and to work hard for his exams (exams are due next week), so that his mum knows how well he is doing in school and may even let him stay in this school.

I felt helpless in his situation and I know he also feels helpless too. It was really saddening that these kids are experiencing these kind of problems and they, as children, have no say. Family problems really affect them mentally and emotionally. They may even see marriage and family in a different way, which is not suppose to be! Sometimes we just want the parents to think more for their children and love their children even more, but we just could not because we are the strangers. We don't have the power. Much less a facilitator compared to a teacher. The teacher could at least have some power to persuade the parents. But I am sure that encouragement and love are what these kids lack and need most. Because love doesn't come from their own kinsmen, they seek love in the wrong places. I believe that whatever encouraging words and comfort words we speak do matter to them. I gave him my fb and no. so that he could contact me if anything happens.

Too authoritative as teachers facilitators as middleman to cope with the students. We are there to help them to grow in areas like emotional aspects and other various aspects.
Good that the teacher notices that I spoke to the person. What if I stop working with them anymore, who does he account to? everything was planned out nicely but some things cropped up and we had limited time to do rehearsals. but it is because of some unexpected stuff like home issues that crop up or school issues that hinder our performance progress.
It's all WIP - Work in Progress.

Attendance issue - say to the students 'You are part of this' instead of 'you must come'. we have to see that they are all part of this process. It's not an attendance thing but instead they have to see that the whole process is a collaboration process. We can't force them to be there when they do not want to be. They don't like authoritative rule to be upon them. Instead, we should encourage them to come by giving them reasons why they should come. For eg, because they have a part to play in this scene, if they do not come, the story will not be complete.

Process is important. Many cases of family abuse and divorce that affected this group of students. It is our duty that we should help these students as much as we can. It is okay to feel for these children They don't have any consistency in life, why should they have consistency in this? They did not ask for this to happen but it is they are affected by the things that happen around them. Drama is where 'the child who uses creative activity as an emotional outlet will gain freedom and flexibility as a result of unnecessary tensions.' (Eisner, as cited in Read & Lowenfeld, 2004, Pg 32) They are liberated in their emotional states as they explore and reflect on their problems. When they face new situations, they can handle them because their emotional beings become stronger. They are able to adjust to new situations because they have grown stronger and their adaptability is stronger.

It is just saddening and unfortunate that these children have to carry the burdens of others on their own shoulders. We need to be compassionate and help them in whatever ways we can.

Bibliography

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


Wednesday 19 September 2012

Reflection Journal 6 (20/9/12)

Lesson Topic: Voice
Activities
1. Catching game (Jasmine)
Similar to the afternoon session of last week but instead of doing actions, we did only 5 actions with the 5 vowel sounds. (Ah, Eh, Ee, Oh, Oo)

2. Breathing Techniques and story telling (Carmen)
Teaching them how to use their diaphragm and their breathing techniques. Using sound effects to make the story telling more interesting. Allowing their imagination to create scenarios in their minds. Thereby, using sounds as a result of a visual image from their imagination. Students to experience the quality of the different sounds by exploring their vocal cords and also with the shape of their mouths while producing the vowels - what kind of sound one produce with the mouths wide open/ close. Such as open vowels, closed vowels?

3. Story telling (Unintended) and Speaking Gibberish
We used Boom Chika Rocka Chika Boom as a gibberish sentence. It doesn't have meaning to it but it is familar in cheers, at least in Singapore, so there is a feel of familiarity while doing this activity. By using emotions and scenarios, it is an activity where students can explore the various sounds that they can make. Variation of speech using rhythm, dynamics, tone and texture of the sound. They come up with their own version of Boom Chika Boom. Eg. Boom Chika Boom in a very cold room.

Reflection

- first activity: points clear. short and concise. Students know the actions but brains dont work so fast while switching to another action. At the spur of moment they could not think immediately which action and sound. And when there is a time limit of 3 secs, they come up with their own actions and sounds. They lose momentum after a few rounds. the actions dont tally with sounds. But with the sounds and actions it was Easier to memorize compared to the last week afternoon session.

- second activity: the ma meh me mo mooo is abit messy. Difficult to do class management while they lie down. cannot be controlled. space in between needs to be wider, further apart from each other. Needed preparation to begin the saying out of words. like 1,2,3, Go. kids did their best to breath in and out using their stomachs. Facilitators to guide them along. Some boys talked with each other while lying down. Some keep laughing at the exercise. They think that it is boring. Eddy wanted more games. 

Storytelling: Story of The Red Riding Hood maybe too boring and not engaging. Some students were not engaged in doing the sound effects. Especially Zan, Ryan and Jia Cheng. They were giggling. We separated Ryan from Dan and Jia Cheng because he was the one making funny comments. Once we single him out, Ryan had to obey instructions while Harvey keep an eye on him. The unintended story telling in activity 3 that Daniel did but was not found in lesson plan, could be that The Red Riding Hood maybe too boring and familiar.

- third Activity: The story telling of the third activity is repeated again unintentionally because Daniel might have thought a story close to our experience is better for the students to feel the connectedness. He used a scene of a person experiencing a wet and rainy day. The students did it more engagingly than before because maybe the Red Riding Hood story is too fairytale-like and childhood story. I like the Boom Chika Boom using the different scenarios and emotions because students came up with their own scenarios and emotions and did their Boom Chika Boom version.

For a class of Normal technical to go through boring and mundane breathing techniques, which they do not see the need of doing it, it was quite well managed already. In other schools, I believe it will go wild. Some of the students really did their best to breathe in and out with their diaphragm. 

Role of Facilitators
I think facilitators are really important in facilitating their learning journey. Kaner, S. (1996) stated that  a facilitator 'strengthens the skills, awareness and confidence of individual group members; strengthens the structure and capacity of the group as a whole; and vastly increases the likelihood that the group will reach sustainable agreements' (Pg 5) Facilitators are :
- guiders
- monitors
- encouragers
- instructors
- preparers
- motivators
- providers
- participators
- supporters
- leaders
- Contributors
- Imaginers 
- fixer
- love-givers

I love the word 'love-givers' because without love, we are not able to do all things that are listed above. I believe that Love is the greatest. In the Bible, Paul wrote that 'And now these three remain: faith hope and love. But the greatest of these is love' (1st Corinthians 13:13, New International Version) If we do not have the love, we do not have the passion and drive to want to see change or renewed transformation in the students. Love pushes boundaries. It knows no end. If for example we say we want to volunteer in helping out at the  old folks home, without love, we cannot do much because we become selfish creatures. But when love intervenes, we sacrifice ourselves and go all out for the people who are less fortunate than us. We have sympathy as well as empathy for these people. We want social change and this passion to want to see change in the lives of these people. Same for these kids, facilitators must understand their circumstances and their background before they can instruct, prepare, contribute in helping to transform these kids. I believe our role is to make a difference, mould, transform their lives, thereby providing a hope in their lives.

Sure these kids may not want to do things that we instruct them to do, but as an encourager and motivator, we can make them feel to want to participate and want to be in the group, not wanting to be left out. It encourages community bonding and gives them an identity. Govan, nicholson and Norrminton (2007) stated in their article that 'participatory working methods has often been regarded as an effective and flexible way to move from the individualism of autobiographical narratives to more collective forms of community participation and social identification' (Pg 73) Moving away from individualism to socialism, selfish to selfless. When there are strong bonds made, there is teamwork and therefore more success.

What we can work on
I think we could have rehearsed the flow of the lesson before the actual lesson. We did not expect the kids to come for lesson so early. It was surprising that they were excited for Drama lesson. It was heart-warming but the flow did not go on very well. When we do not rehearse, the flow gets disrupted and the children either get confused or do it in the wrong way.

I realised these kids take a longer route to learn and needs more time to grasp the meaning. When I give short and precise instructions, they are still not sure of the actions and words. It is then appropriate to stop the game and re-instruct them and get them to do one round of the actions.

I agree that it is time for the kids to learn something more established (I wouldn't say more productive because I consider all our activities productive) for their performance instead of just having fun because performance is nearing. I felt the first few weeks were more of the fun activities rather than training on their techniques and performance styles, so it is good that now we start training on their voice and acting techniques. We could work on giving more simple, specific, clear and step-by-step instructions. Students knows best when we break down things in short and simple steps. It helps them to remember clearer. We could also repeat demonstrations so that they can remember better. Speaking slower also help them memorise better.


Bibliography

The Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.

Govan, E., Nicholson, H., Normington, K. (2007) Making a Performance: Devising Histories and Contemporary Practices. London & New York: Routledge.

Kaner, S. (1996). The Role of Facilitator. Retrieved from http://enrapkscurriculum.pbworks.com/f/Role+of+Facilitator+-+Sam+Kaner.pdf


Thursday 13 September 2012

Reflection Journal 5 (14/9/12)

My Thoughts

I was taking a jog today and did some self-evaluating time on some personal devotional time with God. I recalled on what Annie said the other day during the Twentieth century theatre on Monday about the fruits of the spirit on the tree, which we were talking about in Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot'. One of the fruits was patience. Patience linked to the games I used to play during my secondary school times, such as Metal Gear Solid. It dawn on me that such games actually train us to become patient in a way but we do not realise it. For example, the sneaky missions in Metal Gear Solid trains us to become patient and to wait for the enemies to pass by before getting caught. I remember how my brother would be so impatient and he would always fail the stage.

However, video games such as these does not really develop us mentally, physically and emotionally as much as drama process. Why? Because other elements of the video game overrides the goodness we see. For example, kids tend to focus more on the violence and bloodshed of the game rather than training endurance or patience. To put it in a simpler way, no kid would say 'I become more patient' after playing the game. Instead, they say ' wow, there is blood' or 'wow, it just whacked my head off'. Video games are not exactly the best to rely on. Even if it is not a gory video game, for eg. a math game, it only trains the mind, not the body.

What better way than to learn our physco-motor skills and gain personal growth by doing rather than receiving it from a media? When we do it, we experience it, we gain something from it. Experience is the best in learning. It trains our senses and emotions, not just our minds. We think, feel and sense all at the same time. It is spontaneous and alive learning.

Lesson (By Ahmad and Joanne)
Game: scissors, paper, stone.
Kids had to walk around in snake or eagle forms and find the same animal to play scissors, paper, stone. The loser had to become an eagle. After losing for three times, they were out of the game.
In the morning, the kids were not really very active but they responded to the game. There was an air of heaviness to this morning but they warmed up slowly to the pacing of the game. They did not act very well in their animal forms probably due to low energy level and tiredness.

Activity 2
Scenario: A crowded lift. Still images of this scene. What happens when incidents start happening.
The kids were very creative in their thinking, gestures and actions. They freeze really well. When Ahmad called out 'Carmen holding a crying baby', they had freezed images so creative. All of them took part as well. They were so involved.

These kids are very good in their physco-motor skills. I also noticed that most of them are kinesthetic learners who can learn through doing. It gets them thinking by doing and experimenting. It comes back to reflective practice. Osterman and Kottkamp (1993) stated that 'learning is most effective, most likely effective when people become personally engaged in the learning process, and engagement is most likely to becomes a stimulus for experimentation.' (Pg 3-4). Many of these drama processes involves alot of kinesthetic movements where they think and do.

Activity 3
Doing Still images on their own scripts. I feel that doing still images or tableaux are good exercises to get to know their scripts better. It also enable team building and team boding skills. According to These activities allow 'very controlled form of expression which creates pictures that can be interpreted by the class – a picture is worth a thousand words' (Pg 5)
 Our group (Ahmad, Joanne and Me as facilitators) were spontaneous and willing to learn. Khairul, the chairperson, was so willing to learn that I could even see that sparkle in his eyes when it comes to drama. The girls, even though they are weak in their english, were also willing to take up challenges and to imitate us. They imitate really well! We taught them a few gestures that they could use for their characters and they imitated us so quickly. Still images then gives them a rough idea of what their characters would look like and feel like. They get a sense of idea of their own characters so that when it comes to performance, they can embody their characters.

Reflection
Weaknesses:
Instructions were not very clear. Both facilitators speaking at the same time is fine but they had different way of explanations to the word 'Tableaux', so it was a little confusing. When someone speaks up for another person, there is a disruption of thought. I think it is best that only one talks and explains rather than having two to explain the same thing. It might be different in the way of explanation but the gist of the meaning is there. At least, there is lesser confusion.

Strength:
Even though the kids were of low energy level, I loved the way how Ahmad encourages them to be participative by he himself being participative in the game. The way he clapped his hands to encourage the students and how involved he was in the activities encouraged students to be more enthusiastic and responsive towards the activities.

I also like how at the end of every activity, Ahmad and Joanne would tell the students the purpose of doing the still images and Tableaux. Students will have a better understanding at why they have to do this. They would not be clueless and will be able to see the bigger picture. In the last two sessions, there was no explanation after doing the games and activities, which I find students may miss the main points of doing these. When there is no explanation, there is no understanding, Students would not be committed in doing their projects or scripts. They don't learn anything. Drama processes are not just to have fun without understanding the meaning and significance of doing them. As the objectives of drama as a pedagogical tool in education are to enhance their knowledge and develop their personal development, it is therefore necessary that they do not participate just for the fun but also they participate to learn and gain something from it.

The afternoon sessions were good. We had quality time with out group in working with the scripts. We specifically zone into their speech and language because it is about Speak Good English campaign, so we wanted them to pronounce the words right and increase their word bank. They were even willing to stay back to have drama sessions with us. It was encouraging and heart warming for us, or at least for me. I felt so touched that these kids were so enthusiastic about learning in drama classes.

Bibliography

Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R. (1993) Reflective Practice for Educators: Improving Schooling Through Professional Development. California: Corwin Press.

Brown, L. Introduction to Drama in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://citz.co.uk/images/fileuploads/Intro_to_Drama_Resource_Pack_v2.pdf 

Still Images











Sunday 9 September 2012

Reflection Journal 4 (7/9/12)

Discussion 


WHat does Good English mean?
Speaking Good English a hindrance to Mother-tongue language?

To me, speaking good english does not need to have a wide range of vocabulary or to speak in a profound way. The understanding of a word does not need to be so deep that no one understands. Otherwise, what is the point of using rich words that others cannot understand or even we cannot understand ourselves? When we can't get the message across, what is the point of speaking using those expounding words? Our job is not to dig out the meanings, which lies so deeply. Our job is to get the MESSAGE ACROSS. Can you imagine if during a protest or a rally, the minister speaks with such a rich vocabulary that the people cannot understand. The minister is addressing to needy people who come from different backgrounds and not addressing to ministers. Unless you speak to someone of royalty, which is not possible in Singapore's context. But off course, we should not use words that are vague, which may cause miscommunication. To me, speaking Good English for these needy kids of Juying sec, 2T2, means to help improve their grammar, sentence structuring, choice of words and pronunciation or words. In our Singapore context, where there is no royalty, there is no need for the use of royal language, where we speak in the Queen's language. Language in Singapore is a tool for us to communicate, satisfy our wants and needs, getting through and expressing the way of life. That's all.

Off course speaking good english will hinder our mother-tongue language, which is why our minister emphasize on bilingual or multilingual education. Because the grammar and vocabulary is different, it is not possible to direct translate english to our mother-tonuge language. Vice versa. Additionally, it will definitely impact our culture and way of life because we have English in our lives now and we will be influenced by mediums that uses english to communicate.

How do we use drama as a pedagogical tool to encourage the Speak Good English Movement?
What is pedagogy?

Speaking good English needs to be fun, especially for these kids of Juying Sec . The learning process must be meaningful, enjoyable and enriching for them. They should not feel a waste of time during this learning process. That is what drama is about! To use drama conventions as a pedgogical tool to encourage speaking good english movement.

Through drama conventions, I hope that students could identify problems in situations that they are facing, understand more of themselves, experiment and deal with their own issues. It is where personal growth occurs, where they are able to get out of situations and resolve conflicts in the way that would give them and the others peace. They would surely have inccidences that causes trauma or pain that they need to relieve from and this is where drama comes in. It brings the issues up front and allows us to deal with it in a sensible, intellectual and sensitive way. Not so subjective but rather to objectify their experience of life through drama, where in a space they can objectify their experiment or experience. Drama provides them with opportunities to release themselves from reality. 

The scripts not only help them in their language structuring but the play itself helps them to express every word that they say. This gives meaning and life to their words. The Speak Good English should not just be correction of the language but also how well they express themselves. Drama conventions such as enacting and devising scripts allow them to experiment and express themselves in many ways. Other than that, they learn from their peers as well. As our script has narrator speaking, it is considered very good that they can narrate a story to the audience. 

It also trains them to speak to a crowd of people, which builds on their self-confidence and self-esteem. Many kids do not have such a high confidence that they can achieve such a great mission as to stand in front of even 40 people (class size) to speak. Anxiety then makes them stammer. I believe when they are really involved in drama and acting, they can improve their self-confidence and bring out their expressions, gestures and words fluently and with conviction. Drama then becomes a vehicle of the Speaking Good English movement. 

Sometimes, it is because we are too used to this habitual talking since young, that it locks in our memory of how we use our english in our everyday lives. Pandidikan, S. (2009) stated that 'Habitual behaviour sometimes goes unnoticed in persons exhibiting them, because it is often unnecessary to engage in self-analysis when undertaking in routine tasks.' (pg 10) For example, 'three' is pronounced as 'tree' because it was what our parents say and we say it from young. It is then difficult to break away from the norm. But, reading from a script and acting it out will enhance the student's oral skills because in a way, they have to keep reading, practicing and expressing the words. 

Educators - Student Learning Journey

It is never a one way learning process throughout the journey, because it is a two way communication. If it is not a two way communication, it is dead. Dorothy Heathcote mentioned that she does not like teacher to be the dictator of the class, controlling the kids and giving instructions. Instead a teacher must do the same amount of work with the children. Drama is a collaborative work between both the teacher and students. Heathcote (2009) goes on to say that the teacher is a 'journey maker' and 'it's a journey of learning access to knowledge and responsibility for the access.' (Pg 9) A passionate teacher who wants her students to learn actively really requires herself to go through hard work or even extra work. It's where teacher embarks on a journey with her students on this learning process to gain knowledge and expand the boundaries.  The teacher is then the leader, facilitator, guider and usher towards the access.

Similarly, we even discuss in music lesson on the 12th september that music teachers should work in a collaborative environment and not she or he being the task master. Not task orientated but process orientated. In this way, students provide the situations and the teachers deal with these situations and develop strategies to deal with it. 




Bibliography

Pandidikan, S. (2009) Correlation between students' language Habit and Their Speaking Skill in SMPN I CISAUK TANFERANG. http://www.scribd.com/doc/23975189/Correlation-Between-Students

Annonymous. (2009) Learning, knowing and languaging in Drama: An Interview with Dorothy Heathcote. Retrieved from http://www.mantleoftheexpert.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/AB109-DH-Interview-with-DH-Drama-as-a-way-of-learning-Knowing.pdf