Volume 1 Number 28


Hi Folks,

Kim's Drama Blog  

What a week... practical performance exams for my senior students and those from a school I have a Small-Group Moderation arrangement with...  on the same day as the school athletics carnival - didn't win any friends in the Phys Ed department!!  But there was a delightful surprise in the form of a young candidate who just left the examination panel reeling in the wake of a knockout performance.  She performed her original piece and a monologue from Louis Nowra's "Golden Age"... it was astounding and truly in the realm of student excellence.  Amazing to see an examination panel left speechless!  

Then on Wednesday there was industrial action - after we returned to work there were 42 students at school (from a population of nearly 900) so there was a very unusual peace across the place.   The news coverage of the teacher stoppage was not surprising - focussing on the salary claim rather than the real issue of providing conditions that are conducive to effective teaching and learning.  The claim for better conditions is really about providing quality education for our students - something many of us are struggling to do as we begin to buckle under the relentless strain of making up for shortfalls in resources and administrative support.  When I went to YOHFEST last week I was the only teacher there for 90 students - if it hadn't been for parent volunteers and the fact I had some wonderful pre-service teachers with me the students would have missed yet another opportunity.

On a positive note - recently convinced the powers that be at school that the Gym stage was in dire need of renovation and refitting.   I gave the Head of Dept the name of one Dave Ashton from All Things Theatre to have him survey the state of the stage and propose a plan for updating the resources.   IT was pushed through very quickly, probably assisted by the fact that the commitment to a new dance studio had a windfall when the bill came down by quite a few thousand.  Freeing up some funds made it possible to convince the SPG that the stage was a priority - Dave is almost finished the first phase of renovation - and at an extraordinarily reasonable cost.  A little frustrating is the fact that the plan Dave proposed was virtually identical to one I proposed in July 2000!!  I am still coming to terms with the fact that the school negates any experience and expertise I gained outside the education field.  Not surprising that my design was so similar to the current refit - as Dave taught me much of my technical knowledge during my years in professional theatre production.  Just a bit of a kick in the guts that my view was ignored...   anyway I'd like to support Dave and his endeavours... he has a wealth of experience and is a genuinely nice bloke...  so here's how to reach him:

"Need any help with your annual production or art exhibition? We have available on hire all lighting, sound (incl. radio mics), staging, technical expertise, display boards and lighting equipment. Simply call David Ashton 08 9272 8942 of All Things Theatre or send an email to:  rashton@bigpond.net.au

Job Hunting

Still applying for promotional positions - if you have a job to offer me I'm willing to hear the details!!!

Digital Drama Survey

I am currently in the process of completing a small study into the attitudes of Drama teachers towards technology and may have some preliminary analysis of the responses to present at the conference.   The final paper should offer some pointers as to the issues that relate to the implementation of ICT in Drama education… early indications are that:

  1. Teachers generally believe IT will offer benefits;

  2. Teachers are generally not attempting the use of IT in their classes;

  3. Teachers seem to be uncertain about whether they have appropriate technology available to them;

  4. Teachers seem to be uncertain about whether they have appropriate knowledge;

  5. Teachers generally believe IT is an important aspect in Drama education;

  6. Teachers would like more opportunities to learn about IT in Drama.

Discussion List Issues

Great to see more people offering their expertise on the mailing list this week.  Keep it up and we can reclaim our status as the premier Drama education list on the web.  The quality of the list is nothing more than a reflection of its subscriber base.  The more proactive and community-minded the members the more effective and valuable becomes the list.    Also had some great feedback from the people at i Sebastiani who report that traffic to their site skyrocketed this week as subscribers of this newsletter and visitors to the Drama Education website flocked to see what they have on offer.  They also said they'd love to come to Australia - so if you are in a position to organise some sort of tour for them, I'm sure they'd love to hear from you.

As ever I'd like to call on volunteers to offer material to be published in this newsletter.  Especially lesson ideas and activities.  They needn't be fully fledged ideas, I'm confident our readership can extrapolate and modify the ideas to suit their own needs - but we all need to have the grey matter stimulated regularly else it begin to atrophy.

LESSON/ACTIVITY IDEA

STARTING TO STRUGGLE FOR IDEAS - PLEASE SUBMIT SOME LESSONS AND ACTIVITIES I CAN SHARE WITH THE READERSHIP!!!

I've had some pre-service teacher with me the past few weeks.  I had the chance to offer them opportunities to team teach a couple of Educational Support classes that I normally take.   These classes are challenging for a wide range of reasons , including:

  1. small group size;
  2. need for "concrete" ideas
  3. range of conditions that students exhibit - try teaching Drama to a mixed class with kids presenting with Asperger's Syndrome, Down Syndrome, extreme attention disorders, Autism, impulse control, extreme learned helplessness and others...  Asperger kids for a start have great difficulty in reading social cues (non-verbal aspects of communication, implied meaning, etc)
  4. limited reading ability
  5. no specific resources.

The pre-service teachers (in consultation with me) devised some activities where the students engaged in role-playing Job Interviews.  It was great to watch some students demonstrate unexpected understandings of social interactions as they improvised in roles of Boss and Supervisor.  It was also invaluable experience as many of the students will be required to undertake Work Experience early next year.  This sort of activity is a great springboard to the real world.   These classes require special understanding and flexibility to cope with all the behaviour management issues that arise and the pre-service teachers demonstrated excellent potential for being good teachers.

RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

Question:  What considerations are there for teaching drama to students with special needs?

Answer:  The following material is from Peter O'Connor's power point presentation Drama and special needs, which he delivered to a group of professional development providers for drama at the Artz02 Hui in Wellington, April 2002.

A newspaper article about the importance of drama in one boys life.

Part of the Monash University website

Drama workshops are focused on socialization of children with special needs as well as children without difficulties. Important and unavoidable parts of work are developing creativity and stimulating social skills of participants.

PROFESSIONAL NEWS

Only a 10 days to go until the crowd start gathering in Brisbane for the Drama Australia "Coming Home" Conference.  Hope to see you all there.  Just look for the bleary-eyed no-hoper who looks like he might just be ready to explode or breakdown crying!!  

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Drama and Traditional Story for the Early Years
by Nigel Toye & Francis Prendiville, foreword by Jonothan Neelands


This book offers sixteen full dramas, as well as more than thirty starting-points from which to develop new dramas. In addition, the book covers a number of key areas where drama is of particular relevance for primary education, including sections on How drama can help the teaching of literacy; Personal and social education; Drama and special needs, and the assessment of progression. The example dramas are based on traditional stories, including Little Bo Peep, Cinderella, The Pied Piper, Humpty Dumpty etc. 

 

 

Drama Education & Special Needs

Edited By Andy Kempe
1996
ISBN: 0-7487-2273-4

Drama Education and Special Needs presents the practical experience of a number of teachers who have used drama in their work with young people (5-19 year-olds) who have a wide range of special individual needs. Through reflecting on their own developing practice, the contributors are able to recount what they and their students have learned, and to pass it on in a way which will encourage other teachers to try out ideas of their own. This book considers these practical accounts in a broader educational context and discusses the contribution that drama can make to the whole curriculum.

 

 

 

 

Including Students with Special Needs: A Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers (3rd Edition)
by Marilyn Friend (Author), William D. Bursuck (Author)

Synopsis
Friend (U. of N. Carolina-Greensboro) and Bursuck (N. Illinois U.) present the third edition of this textbook for preservice and inservice teacher courses. New features in the third edition include a list of key terms and concepts at the beginning of each chapter, the addition of a "Special Emphasis

From the Back Cover
Designed for a mainstreaming/inclusion course taken by general education readers to fill their requirement. Although the book does explain federal disability categories, it takes a noncategorical approach for interventions and emphasizes best practices for teaching readers with disabilities in inclusive settings.

Developing Play and Drama in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders
by Dave Sherratt, Melanie Peter

Learning through play is a well-established principle that underpins much educational practice, yet it is often overlooked in association with children with autistic spectrum disorders. This book considers the ranging benefits of developing play and taking it into drama with these children. The authors demonstrate how to implement such approaches via a highly practical, structured developmental framework, within which participants may gradually learn to be creative.

Based on extensive classroom practice, the authors discuss the psychology and pedagogy of autism in relation to play and drama and connect them to everyday learning situations using a wealth of examples. This accessible approach to play and drama can offer a powerful, memorable, integrating way forward for children with autistic spectrum disorders - and enjoyable, fun opportunities for teaching and learning.

This book will interest teachers, therapists and parents wishing to promote more flexible, creative thinking in children with autistic spectrum disorders, and to enable them to participate more effectively in their social world.

Making Drama Special: Developing Drama Practice for Special Educational Needs
by Melanie Peter

ALSO AVAILABLE 

eBOOKS - Can be downloaded immediately - A full listing of available eBooks.

Primary Games: Experiential Learning Activities for Teaching Children K-8 Primary Games: Experiential Learning Activities for Teaching Children K-8

Primary Games includes a wealth of games for K-8 students that will enliven instruction, boost student motivation, and enhance learning in the classroom or at home. The book features in- and out-of-desk activities that will engage and stimulate students, as well as promote teamwork, skill building, and interactive problem solving.
Early Childhood Units for Drama Early Childhood Units for Drama

Early Childhood Units for Drama provides cross-curricular activities and a multitude of Learning Center ideas. Reproducible little books for emergent readers provide a connection between school and home, promoting family literacy.

 

Kim Flintoff

Copyright © September, 2004