Category: Short Courses

This is my blog of “reflection-on-action” (Schön, 1983: 50), on Short Courses of RCS, working with children of P5-7 through Process Drama (Digital Version).

In this blog I will reflect and write about things that went well and things that needed improvement in each week’s Process Drama plan and digital content.

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This was the final week of the short courses placement. It was an emotional moment but also a marking point so as to reflect on what has been happening the last 6 weeks. I made a digital content aiming to engage young participants of P5-7 with a storyline that included capitalism, justice and personal agency. It was a very exiting journey and I feel really grateful that I got to experience that. I have learned how to structure a drama lesson plan, how to lure and engage the young participants even more, especially under the current circumstances of COVID-19. It felt quite stressful at the beginning as I wasn’t aware of what was expected of me to deliver but as the week went by and as I was having more and more conversations with my mentor, the aims were clearer hence my lesson plans as well.

I gained a lot of skills from that process, skills that I might have not gained otherwise. I learned to pay extra attention to details as far as the digital content is concerned, taking into consideration the general aesthetic of it from the fonts to the video transitions. I further developed my video editing skills, having in mind whilst editing the videos, the learning question of the week and what I want to achieve through that. In addition, I researched themes and topics, deepening further my knowledge and understanding of those matters. Moreover, I was able to work within a duo, having team spirit and collaborating quite nicely, uplifting my co-facilitator so as they did to me.

This week CIRCLE logged off forever. It was Felicity’s last video message informing the young participants of this end whilst they also received an e-mail from Quinn Wright, one of the founders of CIRCLE, letting them know that their data are deleted and they no longer have access to CIRCLE. But with every end comes a new beginning, so the facilitators asked the young participants to think about what the future might hold. They asked them to imagine they are the founders of new various virtual worlds and write a manifesto of what would the principles be of those new worlds. Would they still discriminate against people or would they aim for equality?

It was a very powerful and important theme to explore throughout all the given weeks along with the young participants because if we want to change the future we need to start from the people of the future, the young participants. As Darren O’ Donnell successfully says in Social Acupuncture: Life in the Shit Factory (2006):

Okay, so you want to make culture and creativity a central part of civic life? Fine. Then I want in on the institutions that form – at ground level – the fabric of the city. I want to use these as material in my art practice. (O’Donnell, 2006: 24)

I believe that engaging the young participants through the method of Process Drama, with the themes that we have been exploring all these weeks, we act just like O’Donnell mentions in his quote about trying to achieve a change through the institutions, in that case RCS, starting from the ground level, in that case, the young participants and I am glad I got to be part in all of that.

Reference List

O’donnell, D. (2006). Social Acupuncture a Guide to Suicide, Performance and Utopia. Toronto Coach House Books.

Schön, D.A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner : How Professionals Think in Action. S.L.: Basic Books.

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Digital Content: CIRCLE 6th WEEK

Process Drama Plan: Process Drama WEEK 6

Rafael’s Feedback: Rafael’s Feedback

Mentor’s Feedback: Mentor’s Feedback

This is my blog of “reflection-on-action” (Schön, 1983: 50), on Short Courses of RCS, working with children of P5-7 through Process Drama (Digital Version).

In this blog I will reflect and write about things that went well and things that needed improvement in each week’s Process Drama plan and digital content.

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The creation of this week’s material was the most fun of all. I had this core idea of prompting the young participants to drive the drama from within through a decision making concept such as choosing opposing sides within the story.

There were two sides to choose from: The side of the Hacker No 251 and the side of Felicity Bell, representing CIRCLE. Both characters presented their arguments and their beliefs on the matter and both asked for the support of the participants. Later on, the participants are faced with a slide within the .pdf file that asks them to choose a side, whether they want to support the Hacker No 251 or Felicity Bell and click on the icon accordingly. That led them to the assignment of the week which was different for each side.

The way that the slideshow was constructed made it more active and further enhanced the belief in the drama as it was more interactive than ever before.

The learning question for this week which was infused throughout the process drama plan was about justice and how ‘personal is political’ regarding our decisions and how choices and specifically the existence of choices is important. bell hooks says “being oppressed means the absence of choices” (hooks, 1984: 5) and this week’s core idea was to amplify the democracy and justice around the act of decision making.

The participants were exposed to two different opinions, from two different leaders that were trying to gain their support and afterwards the young participants were critically engaged with both ideas and asked themselves the question of “who should I believe? Whose beliefs align closer to mine? Who should I support?”. It’s a way for the young participants into decision making for later stages in their lives such as supporting, by voting, a political party, decisions that, ultimately, shape their future.

Next week is the final week that concludes the drama and the short courses in general. The storyline of the drama had a very clear arch from the very beginning, following a natural flow of events with plot twists, such as the one of this week where the participants finally met who the person behind the hacker No 252 is, keeping their interest to the peak.

Reference List

hooks, bell (1984). Feminist Theory from Margin to Center. 1st ed. South End Press.

Schön, D.A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner : How Professionals Think in Action. S.L.: Basic Books.

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Digital Content (1st Draft): CIRCLE 5th WEEK

Digital Content (Final Draft): CIRCLE 5th WEEK

Digital Content (Annotated): CIRCLE 5th WEEK (Annotated)

Process Drama Plan (1st Draft): Process Drama WEEK 5

Process Drama Plan (Final Draft): Process Drama WEEK 5

Process Drama Plan (Annotated): Process Drama WEEK 5 (Annotated)

Mentor’s Feedback: Mentor’s Feedback

Co-facilitator’s Feedback: Co-Facilitator’s Feedback

This is my blog of “reflection-on-action” (Schön, 1983: 50), on Short Courses of RCS, working with children of P5-7 through Process Drama (Digital Version).

In this blog I will reflect and write about things that went well and things that needed improvement in each week’s Process Drama plan and digital content.

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We are BRONZE…We are circlers….We are united!

This is the week that I enjoyed most so far. I was so happy with the result of the video and this time our workshop was full of drama. The short courses have started as something vague but now that we approach the end of it, almost, it has solidified in my head and that is a skill that I will definitely take with me and use it in the future.

This week I had to re-do the planning as the 1^st draft of the week made things more complicated for the young participants and they wouldn’t be able to engage that much. For that reason, I stripped it down to the layers and the material that was already there from the previous weeks, such as the point system and the theme of capitalism and tried to push it further from the point of view of drama.

That led me to an unexpected turn of events. A hacker hacked into the system of CIRCLE asking for a fairer point system and asking the young participants to join their cause but at the same time, on the other side, CIRCLE asks the young participants to report the hacker and they will get benefits as a thank you. Two sides and the young participants are asked to decide.

That twist drives the world of CIRCLE even further, building the belief of the young participants to the drama world and engages them fully with the world of fiction (Clark et al., 1997: 132) as the young participants are given the choice to be engaged even more and drive the drama from within.

The learning question for this week, which is also infused throughout the digital content, was prompting the young participants to think about fairness and the capitalist system. I wanted the young participants to think whether a capitalist system’s fault is either the principle that it is based on, which is “if you work hard, you will get paid more”, or the unfairness that is embedded in the system which is that someone who works hard but does a job that is considered less important, is paid less as well. In the workshop’s scenario, BRONZE members of CIRCLE work hard and for the same, or sometimes less, effort the GOLD members of CIRCLE are rewarded significantly more points. It’s an issue of justice that Plato dealt with in Gorgias (Plato, 2008) where he argues with Callicles whom suggests that people in the upper levels of hierarchy deserve to have the power and to be happy and Plato immediately shuts him down by invoking an example of a tyrant who has the power to do as they pleased but they end up unhappy (Plato, 2008).

The upcoming weeks look promising with the rise of the drama and the new characters that were introduced this week, suggesting a clear arch of drama.

Reference List

Clark, J., Dobson, W., Goode, T. and Neelands, J. (1997). “Lessons for the living: Drama and the Integrated Curriculum.” 1st ed. Mayfair Cornerstone.

Jowett, B. (2008). Gorgias, by Plato. [online] www.gutenberg.org. Available at: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1672/1672-h/1672-h.htm#link2H_4_0002.

Schön, D.A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner : How Professionals Think in Action. S.L.: Basic Books.

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Digital Draft (1st Draft): CIRCLE 4th WEEK

Digital Content (Final Draft): CIRCLE 4th WEEK

Digital Content (Annotated): CIRCLE 4th WEEK (annotated)

Process Drama Plan (1st Draft): Process Drama WEEK 4

Process Drama Plan (Final Draft): Process Drama WEEK 4

Process Drama Plan (Annotated): Process Drama WEEK 4 (annotated)

Mentor’s Feedback: Mentor’s Feedback

This is my blog of “reflection-on-action” (Schön, 1983: 50), on Short Courses of RCS, working with children of P5-7 through Process Drama (Digital Version).

In this blog I will reflect and write about things that went well and things that needed improvement in each week’s Process Drama plan and digital content.

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The short courses have proven to be a very pleasant surprise. I am really enjoying creating the content for each week and it’s a process that really drives my creativity levels to the edge. My collaboration with my colleague is fruitful and I have a very positive experience so far. The development of the story within the drama world is becoming stronger each week, taking into consideration my mentor’s feedback.

On WEEK 3, the theme that I wanted to explore with the help of the participants, was Capitalism. It could be a very complex subject and that is why I decided to create the circumstances within the world of drama, for a Capitalist system to be implemented. I created an award system by giving out points to participants depending on the tasks that were given but at the same time, giving extra points to participants fulfilling certain criteria such as owning an iPhone for example. In that way, the system is supposed to treat the participants unfairly, depending on their socio-economic background for example, and they were to question the system and its criteria on the reflection part of the workshop.

In general, the quality of the digital content feels of high standards with attention on details. The Capitalism theme will be continued on WEEK 4 in order for the young participants to delve into a deeper engagement with the issue and explore and experience it a bit better.

Reference List

Schön, D.A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner : How Professionals Think in Action. S.L.: Basic Books.

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Digital Content (1st Draft): CIRCLE 3rd WEEK

Digital Content (Final Draft): CIRCLE 3rd WEEK

Digital Content (Annotated): CIRCLE 3rd WEEK (Annotated)

Process Drama Plan (1st Draft): Process Drama WEEK 3

Process Drama Plan (Final Draft): Process Drama WEEK 3

Process Drama Plan (Annotated): Process Drama WEEK 3(Annotated)

Reflection Script: Consider this -WEEK 3

Reflection Script (Annotated): Consider this -WEEK 3(Annotated)

Mentor’s Feedback: Mentor’s Feedback

This is my blog of “reflection-on-action” (Schön, 1983: 50), on Short Courses of RCS, working with children of P5-7 through Process Drama (Digital Version).

In this blog I will reflect and write about things that went well and things that needed improvement in each week’s Process Drama plan and digital content.

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As it was mentioned last week, at the beginning of the process it was quite difficult for me to grasp what I have been asked to offer to the short courses of RCS but as they days go by and I have more discussions with my mentor, along with discussions with my peers, I am able to create content a step closer to the desired result.

The theme of WEEK 2 came easily as I decided to reinforce the belief of children on their Avatars in order for them to have a stronger relation between them. That would open up the space for the following weeks where issues will start arising calling for the participants’ help. That way they will start getting involved with the world of CIRCLE in a deeper level of belief. That can already be seen by the fact that the first posts/proof of involvement have started to sprout in the Microsoft Teams group chat. Already a participant has posted a drawing of their Avatar with some basic information about them, giving me the chance to open a dialogue with them, asking them to expand a bit more about their Avatar. Hopefully that will encourage even more participants to post their texts, images and reflections in the group chat.

WEEK 2 is delving a bit deeper into themes like identity, building on the pre-existent Avatar, asking from the participants to create a fuller more realised version of their Avatar with a background story, personality and life goals and by the end of the workshop are asked to reflect on the same questions but not about their Avatars, but about them. What is identity for them, what is consisted of and who, if any, dictates that identity. Participants are prompted to approach “identity” through the lens of intersectionality. Intersectionality is considered a valuable theoretical framework. The concept of “intersectionality” is used by many scholars and researchers in order to describe the interaction of multiple identities and experiences of exclusion and subordination. Intersectionality is a framework that acknowledges that categories, such as gender, race, sexuality and so on, intersect in the lives of individuals. Furthermore, it views social practices, institutional arrangements and cultural ideologies as the aftermath of this interaction in a network of power (Davis, 2008; Anthias, 2012; Bilge, 2010).

WEEK 2 was a big development for the project as some things have started to establish, such as the letter from the founder and the distinction of the two different personas of facilitators, each persona dealing with a different aspect of the process drama. One of them is in-character, further building belief on the “one Big Lie” (Wagner, 1979: 67) that is “CIRCLE” and the other out-of-character as an introduction to the reflection part of the process drama where the children begin to develop their sense of the drama’s meaning (Clark et al., 1997: 133). My role is out-of-character and I am responsible for the reflection part. I will be there each week in order to re-cap of what happened within “CIRCLE” but most importantly my role as a facilitator will be to offer some critical reflection questions to the participants to consider as an attempt to open a dialogue between them and me or give those participants a stimuli so they could start a discussion with their peers or family members.

Reference List

Anthias, F. (2012). “Intersectional what? Social divisions, intersectionality and levels of analysis”, Ethnicities, 0:0, p. 1-17.

Bilge, S., (2010), “Recent Feminist Outlooks on Intersectionality”, Diogenes, 225, p. 58-72.

Clark, J., Dobson, W., Goode, T. and Neelands, J. (1997). “Lessons for the living: Drama and the Integrated Curriculum.” 1st ed. Mayfair Cornerstone.

Davis, K., (2008), “Intersectionality as buzzword A sociology of science perspective on what makes a feminist theory successful”, Feminist Theory, 9:1, p. 67-85.

Schön, D.A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner : How Professionals Think in Action. S.L.: Basic Books.

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Digital Content (1st Draft): CIRCLE 2nd WEEK

Digital Content (Final Draft): CIRCLE 2nd WEEK

Digital Content (Annotated): CIRCLE 2nd WEEK (annotated)

Process Drama Plan (1st Draft): Process Drama WEEK 2

Process Drama Plan (Final Draft): Process Drama WEEK 2

Process Drama Plan (Annotated): Process Drama WEEK 2 (annotated)

Process Drama Plan (Feedback from Mentor): Process Drama WEEK 2 Aby Feedback

Mentor’s Feedback: Mentor’s Feedback

This is my blog of “reflection-on-action” (Schön, 1983: 50), on Short Courses of RCS, working with children of P5-7 through Process Drama (Digital Version).

In this blog I will reflect and write about things that went well and things that needed improvement in each week’s Process Drama plan and digital content.

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At the beginning, it was quite challenging for me to grasp the meaning and the context of the digital short courses. We were provided with resources of similar platforms that RCS wanted us to create and after doing my research, I was able to have a clear vision of what was expected from us.

I am in charge of delivering workshops to children of Primary 5 to Primary 7 which means children of 8 years old up to 12 years old. I have previous working experience with that particular age group but not within the same context such as the digital workshops which I find fruitfully challenging. Children of this age range are complex to teach as the methods of approaching should not be too child-like as they will reject them thinking that it’s too childish for them or if the methods are too complex and serious, they won’t be able to follow up. Although one of the advantages of this age group is that they are able to grasp and delve into complex and serious ideas.

Considering all the above, I immediately turned to a “space” universe. When I was in my Primary, the drama teacher delivered a drama process that placed us in the “space” and it was one of the things that I found exciting and really stuck with me after all these years. For that reason, every time I am asked to come up with a world for children to be placed in, within a drama context, I have as a starting point, the “space”. That is because this “world” is always exiting for all age groups and a storyline in “space” can open paths into fun and simple or very serious and complex situations, depending on the needs of the group.

As it turned out, some of my classmates would use “space” with other age groups as well. That is why I made the conscious decision to abandon that idea. Instead, I had a very enlightening discussion with my mentor about what they have done in the past and what my mentor thinks would work well with the group of children. She mentioned some themes that she would like me to explore with the children such as gender and capitalism whilst I came up with the idea of using the world of social media, an aspect of life that children at this age are very font of. So I decided to set the process drama universe into an application/online virtual world in order to explore further the meaning of social media and technology amongst other themes as well. In that way, children could easily be drawn to participate as it’s a subject that they are very interested in. The online virtual world is called “CIRCLE” and it gives the opportunity to children to resonate with. That is because it is supposed to be an alternate reality so they are already familiar with the rules that take over this world. On the other side, since it’s an online world anything could happen and anything is possible, creating a distance from reality for the children and they are able to understand that difference which is quite important in that stage of development. The freedom of creativity that the reality of “CIRCLE” offers to me, as in the role of facilitator, gives me the opportunity to expose and bring forwards themes and ideas that I deem relevant and would like to explore with the children.

At first, the digital content that I have created for the 1^st week of “CIRCLE” lacked some aesthetic details and its form was simple but basic. In addition, more information about the history of “CIRCLE” could have been added in order to enrich the presentation and build the belief of children in this new world. Taking into consideration the feedback from my mentor, I decided to change the aesthetic and try to bring the aesthetic of an actual virtual reality world. For that reason, I researched about online virtual worlds, such as SecondLife, and what language/vocabulary that Facebook/Twitter/Instagram etc. use within the world of social media. In addition I researched on how social media are advertised or use the concept of advertising which could potentially be a part of “CIRCLE” in the future. Having all the necessary information I was able to transform the previous digital content into one that felt slicker and closer to a real virtual world. After the alterations, it followed some rules of the world of social media and technology, such as the existence of a logo or a virtual sign from the CEO of “CIRCLE”.

In the first week of “CIRCLE” the children were given a .pdf presentation of what “CIRCLE” is, along with a message from the founder of “CIRCLE” and their first task which was to create their Avatar. An Avatar is an alternative self within the world of “CIRLCE” that the children are solely responsible for its creation. Their Avatar could be anything they visualize; whether that is a mermaid or an alien or someone with antennas. They were also given the choice of deciding their names, their appearance and their gender. These themes could also be further explored within the process. They were given the necessary instructions about what an Avatar is and what they need to do in order to create that Avatar, through a guidance video of me and my colleague, which was assembled and uploaded on YouTube whilst its link was put into the .pdf file.

I am very pleased with the final result of the digital content of the 1^st week, as it holds enough information for children to be drawn into the world of “CIRCLE” but also offers a very clear, simple and basic task for them to start delving into this new and exciting world by opening a space for creativity and critical thinking.

It feels quite important to give the opportunity to children of any developmental stage to explore qualities of themselves through imagination and creativity which could be either guided or not, depending on the age of the child. Primary 5 to Primary 7 is an age group that is expected to be able to think critically about themes that are given to them and explore them quite thoroughly and in depth without that much of assistance other than posing them some critical questions as stimuli.

Reference List

Schön, D.A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner : How Professionals Think in Action. S.L.: Basic Books.

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Digital Content (1st Draft): CIRCLE WEEK 1

Digital Content (Feedback from Mentor): CIRCLE 1st WEEK (By Mentor)

Digital Content (Final Draft): CIRCLE 1st WEEK

Digital Content (Annotated): CIRCLE 1st WEEK (Annotated by Rafael)

Mentor’s Feedback: Mentor’s Feedback