Children's Theatre - My Journal

I enjoy writing journals, however I have huge reservations about writing other essays or academic work (I’m quite aware this is ironic). I’m not overly confident in my writing; yet I find journals extremely useful in allowing me to write freely and on multiple topics. The reflection in my journals is detailed and thorough as I constantly analyse what occurs to me, and to others around me. I do learn important lessons from my mistakes, however university life does not usually allow room for failure. Journal entries allow me to assess possible reasons for mistakes, and I can speculate on ways to improve my work and myself in the future. By displaying my weekly entries online, I hope to present the benefits of my own reflections and help with possible techniques for tackling your own journals.

EGL395 Integrating Drama and the Outcomes and Standards Framework

The following journal is currently being completed as part of my (special) third Independent Study Contract, and my third visit to the Children's Theatre unit.

Week One - Week Two

Week Three - Week Four

Study Break One - Week Five

Week Six - Week Seven

Study Break Two - Week Eight

Week Nine -Week Ten

Week Eleven - Week Twelve

Week Thirteen

Week Fourteen

2006 Kids Reviews

Lesson Plans and References

This journal was completed as part of second visit to Children's Theatre. The introduction reads as follow...

Firstly I feel it is important to introduce myself and talk about my expectations in returning to Children’s Theatre for a second year. I am a third year student, completing a Bachelor of Education with majors in both Drama and Media. Last year, I found Children’s Theatre to be a valuable unit as it developed my confidence in my work and myself; hard to believe for most of you I am sure! Although I appeared confident, the internal belief in myself was always low. Children’s Theatre and Acting were two units I took concurrently that helped to improve my opinion of my personal skills and myself. I’m doing this unit again to further develop my confidence in other areas such as using computers and research. I am relatively computer illiterate and hope by constructing this site I will develop and enhance my approach to learning about some areas that I fear.

Through weekly journal entries I hope to show my thinking and analysis of events that occur in this unit. I will also use quotes at the beginning of each week to reflect the way I feel, the classes’ mood or something I found (in my reality) to be appropriate. I know I write a lot, however don’t get put off journals or their benefits. I like to analyse situations in detail yet it may not be appropriate for you. By sharing my journal and the weekly hints I was taught, I hope to assist you to discover an approach to journals that works for you. Whatever your approach is, don’t just describe that situation in your entry; we were all there, we all saw it! Describe how it affected you, what you learnt from it and how you might change your approach next time. You may write and answer your own questions, but most of all have fun and enjoy it!

Week One - Week Two - Week Three

Week Four - Week Five - Week Six

Week Seven - Study Break: Week One - Study Break: Week Two

Week Eight - Week Nine - Week Ten

Week Eleven - Week Twelve

Week Thirteen

Week Fourteen

Reviews and References

Also via this page, you can view my other journals that have been written over my many years as an undergraduate student at Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia. These journals were originally submitted as academic assessment pieces, part of various drama-based units. As a result, these journals have not been edited or expanded upon, even if large grammatical or spelling errors have since been located. These journals have been included on this website to exhibit my personal development and improvement through university life. I believe these journals provide chronological evidence of my continuous academic improvement, from a huge array of grammatical and spelling mistakes to a better (yet still always developing) example of my reflection. I provide these journals as a means to share my experiences, ideas and approaches to drama with others. Enjoy!