Children's Theatre (2006)

'Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught’. [1]

Well, here we go again for another Children’s Theatre year. Before I begin yet another journal, I feel it is appropriate (as always) to introduce myself, primarily to explain why I am here. I do this as a means to not only reflect on my expectations at this point in time, but also to present a current set of personal beliefs that I may be able to refer back to at the end of the semester. By reassessing my rationale, my fears (oh!… got lots of those) and my reasons behind such investigations, I hope to see if I have answered some of my ‘burning’ problems. Will any of my opinions change?

I am a fourth year student, completing a Bachelor of Education, with an aim to teach Drama and Media in secondary schools. I am also married, with two and a half children; the ‘half’ is due in about two months. This is the final year of my degree, and I will more than likely be teaching next year; as a result, this is (essentially) my last semester to study before my final school experience. With a year full of study, an expected child and impending confusion, I am completing a ‘special’ third Independent Study Contract (ISC) to get a better understanding of my future employment pathway. My attention is towards the new Outcomes Based Education approach, currently being implemented into schools over the next few years. My investigation will look at the system, which I know surprisingly little about… this of course frightens me… Duh!!!

Presumedly, I will be teaching in this system next year and I know nothing about it. How can I teach confidently, when I’m not sure what to do? I feel, therefore, that this semester is the best time for solving some of these questions. My aim is to research and present a variety of views, both for and against the new system. Then, in turn, I hope to suggest pedagogical ideas to approach some of the addressed problems in the new system. At this time, however, I feel it is vital to mention a number of points. To begin with, I have not created this ISC with a particular end point in mind; in fact I have no idea where this study will take me; be it good or bad. What I do know is that I like the new Outcomes Based System, but (perhaps paradoxically) I don’t really know why that is. I think by the end of this unit, I will still like it, however, hopefully know why I do!?!? Finally, no matter how many times I do an acting unit, I’m still lacking confidence. This, in a nutshell, is why I am here at Children’s Theatre again.

Although this is the third time I am completing this unit, the first day always creates the same group of emotions for me… excitement, intrigue and fear. The excitement for the possibility of whatever the year may bring, the intrigue towards how I will approach (and somehow meet the objectives of) my studies and the fear of falling flat on my face; both figuratively and physically! Having a terrific academic precedent in this unit, as well a love for this course, I am terrified of not achieving my best. The potential for severe and catastrophic disaster is extreme. Still… I like a challenge.

The first class, as always, was great. The class began with the basic presentation of housekeeping and production concepts, by also created a quick opportunity to see some to the new students in action. The adaptations of different fairy tales were great to watch and create. Our group’s interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood was presented as if it was seen on Missing Persons Unit (Network Nine, 2006). I think our group worked well in creating the short improvisation; however limitations on rehearsal time restricted any real collaborative input. We created a basic (yet vital) three-part story, with a beginning, middle and end; and then adjusted the fairy tale around our created structure. The lack of additional character planning saw limited interaction from most of the other students besides Mandi and Myself. The whole group, and myself included, found it quite hard to adequately cast all seven people, rehearse and structure a quickly devised production. It was, however, a good experience to learn some quick lessons from. I guess this is what students go through in a regular lesson at high school. How do you address the minor frustrations that such an activity can produce?

("Goldilocks and the Three Bears" just got re-worked; this is Papa Bear's bed!)

As always, I believe, that the answer lies in the ‘purpose’ of such an activity. Why did we do this today? Well, as Jenny stated, we will eventually be reinventing and performing a fairy tale based production ourselves at the end of the semester. ‘Purposeful’ lessons and activities develop and achieve connections to student outcomes. Every year in Children’s Theatre, we partake in different activities, and I develop different and varying skills (and in turn mistakes). The purpose for me is to be a better teacher, however, in my classroom, the purpose could be quite different. Purpose in this case could be attributed to improvement of a student’s skills and confidence. Sequentially, the development of self-regulating students is also important, especially when trying to align students with the expected outcome levels presented in the curriculum framework.

The other area that I would like to focus upon this semester is the creation of ‘purposeful’ warm-up exercises. That is, in my thought process, warm-ups that are not only useful for the environment, purpose and the students you are working with, but that will also have relevance with the curriculum. There are no reasons that warm-up activities cannot be linked to aspects of the student’s outcomes, and well as helping students’ understand immediate, and distant, social backgrounds. My aim is to delve further in to this area, eventually creating socially purposeful approaches for drama in general.

(The variety and scope of the different ideas and approaches in the first workshop were great)

'Most school groups agree the idea of Outcomes Based Learning is a good one. Using different ways of teaching to make sure every student, no matter what their ability, actually learns what they need to. But more than half of W.A. teachers say their not confident about using the complicated assessment system because they were not given enough resources in time'. [1]

Before I start discussing approaches to Outcomes Based Education, I feel it is appropriate to investigate what the new system actually is. From what I have researched, it appears to be a New Managerialist approach to education. As the name suggests, it alters from the traditional system of top-down approach management, New Managerialism is bottom-up; namely the accountability is with the teacher. This becomes an issue as ‘documentation for accountability and performance purposes means less time for students and matters related to teaching and learning’ (O’Brien & Down, 2002:19).

One of the major concerns raised in debates over the new system is an unfair increase in workloads. At the beginning of last month, such anxieties were addressed during a week long report on ‘Back to School’ issues on Channel Seven News. Mike Keely from the Australian Education Union said that ‘the workload on teachers is going to be very substantial. We don’t have total confidence that this will go ahead successfully’.[2] This is a problem, as over the next couple of years, fifty new subjects will be introduced.[3] ‘While teachers are now more accountable for professional decisions and school performance, they have less control over policy and resources to support their work’ (O’Brien & Down, 2002:19).

Accountability, in this case, is a major problem. How can you expect something to succeed if you don’t give them the tools to do so? Similar concerns are voiced in an article by O’Brien and Down titled ‘What are teachers saying about new Managerialism?’(2002). ‘Accountability and performance management processes created an increasingly threatening work environment for this group of teachers’ (O’Brien & Down, 2002:14). If teachers loose time on paper work, assessment designs and student reporting, they loose time on creating purposeful and creative pedagogical approaches for the classroom. O’Brien and Down discovered that the teachers interviewed ‘were disappointed about a system that was pedagogically irrelevant to their core teaching responsibilities’ (O’Brien & Down, 2002:15). I believe success in the classroom is built on preparation time, and indeed tailoring your lessons to the students needs. I do agree with Mike Keely’s comments, although, the problem I have is the lack of confidence shown toward the new system. How can you expect something to fail when you don’t try it?

I feel it is most important to note that this next paragraph (or so) has not been researched or correctly referenced. These are my subjective, and perhaps flawed, views; they may, and will most likely, change as the semester progresses. To begin with, many people have told me that the system has failed in many countries previously, but that’s still not an appropriate answer. It is definitely a direction for further, however I believe the new system requires a chance for a number of reasons. As teachers we should embrace ‘one’ system, not ‘many’ as we have been. It seems contradictory to me that ‘some’ seems to state that the old system was ‘failing’ our kids, but ignoring that ‘they’ would rather use the old one then try any new approaches to education. I understand the new system requires a larger accountability from teachers than ever before, however, it is probably a good thing. Teachers are part of a service industry, and we should be accountable for our ‘results’.

With these ideas in the back of my head, I feel it is necessary to outline a major objective of my investigation this semester. I would like to research other fears presented about Outcomes Based Learning, and suggest ways to approach these problems. For instance, the conclusion from the O’Brien and Down article found that the six senior educators believed that the new system undermined ‘their deeply held pedagogical values’ (O’Brien & Down, 2002:18). This of course frightens me to no end; can this system really affect individual pedagogies? Through this investigation, I hope to create lesson plans for classroom deployment and possible pedagogical approaches with firm (perhaps universal) foundations. As with any research, my ideas will always be evolving, and new approaches will be created each week. Such an event happened today when talking to Glynis after the workshop.

After I explained my ISC, she asked if I would be drafting any rubrics or assessment checklists. It is something I had not even thought of, yet it makes perfect sense. If a concern of the new system is how to approach assessment, why not create a methodology to assess a student’s work. As my area of interest and investigation is drama, such an assessment piece will primarily deal with performance. I will aim to create assessment checklists that are connected with the specific level criteria. By doing this, I hope to create a list of universal criteria that correlates with and meets expected level requirements. When it comes down to it, new and creative pedagogies are vital within the classroom, just like in today’s workshop.

Only talking briefly about the workshop, I found it quite an interesting class. Lauren took a warm-up looking at Pilates moves. Although this approach was neither culturally relevant or production themed, the activity was creatively important for the situation. Students in a classroom, or the Drama Workshop, need to be flexible and focused. Lauren introduced a great concentration exercise that should see us all doing the splits by the end of the semester… maybe not that level!

[1] Mara Prichard, reporter on Seven News, Network Seven, broadcast on the 1^st of February 2006.

[2] Mike Keely, Australian Education Union, interviewed on Seven News, Network Seven, broadcast on the 1^st of February 2006.

[3] Total of new subjects mentioned in a report about the new system, reported on Seven News, Network Seven, broadcast on the 31^st of January 2006.

(Today's workshop enabled students to understand the 'style' of past Children's Theatre productions)

View Andrew's 'Integrating Drama and the Outcomes and Standards Framework' journal entries...

...or view other individual lesson plans, draft checklists or completed activities...