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Jan Deans
Robert Brown
Sarah Young
The University of Melbourne
Support for reflective practice (Dewey, 1910; Schön, 1983) as a way of reviewing, articulating and informing practice, is well-established within teacher education and research, though there is still much to learn from the individual experience of the practitioner who grapples with the reflective process. This paper highlights the deliberations of a teacher undertaking a process drama (Heathcote & Bolton, 1995) program with one group of four-to-five-year-old children. One story stemming from this program, entitled 'The Possum Story', is presented to illustrate the complex decision-making processes and teaching strategies evident in the work of the drama practitioner who was faced with several challenges, including how to determine engaging and relevant child-centred content, how to stimulate the interests of all children in the developing story and cater for their needs, and how to promote creative problem-solving through responsive questioning. This paper examines the teacher as a reflective practitioner and provides a useful reference for other early childhood practitioners grappling with the possibilities and challenges related to exploring drama with young children.
Introduction
To fully realise the opportunities for play, creativity and learning inherent in a drama experience for young children, the teacher needs to adopt a variety of roles, including motivator, guide and co-artist. The challenge for the teacher is to know when to lead and when to follow the children, and this requires an open and flexible approach, with decisions often made spontaneously and intuitively while working alongside children. To sustain and develop an engaging drama program for young children the practitioner needs to reflect on the choices and values that have guided their decision-making. Such reflection, when formally documented, can provide an important reference for other early childhood practitioners who are exploring drama with children. Working from this premise, this paper presents a case study of the reflective practice of one drama teacher working with a group of 20 four-to-five year old children attending an inner Melbourne long-day early learning centre. This paper centres on a detailed description of one process drama session, entitled 'The Possum Story', which was developed through reference to audio-recorded meetings, teacher portfolio documentation and a video-recording of the session. Throughout this study, grounded in the experience of the practitioner (Patterson, Fleet & Duffie, 1996), the aim was to de-privatise (Meiers & Ingvarson, 2005) and make explicit a drama teacher's reflective dialogue in relation to the issues and challenges faced when engaging young children with process drama.
Process drama and young children
Young children naturally explore their world through dramatic play, taking roles, acting out situations through cooperative play, and learning about 'their world, about themselves and especially about human nature—how and why we behave the way we do' (O'Toole, 2002, p. 48). In the early years, learning through process drama (Heathcote & Bolton, 1995) links naturally with the preferred learning styles of children who thrive on spontaneous and active inquiry centred on the exploration of real and imagined worlds.
The benefits of process drama are well-documented and include language development, collaborative problem-solving, decision-making and perspective-taking (Donelan, 2002; O'Neill, 1994; O'Toole, 2002). Process drama provides a unique approach to uniting children and teachers in a dynamic interplay of role-taking where all participants act out ideas that are formed and re-formed in the context of a fictional story that unfolds as a creative process of exposition, rising action and complication, climax and denouement (Warren, 1999). In a safe environment children are encouraged to behave 'as if' they are someone else (Toye & Prendiville, 2000) and in doing so are empowered to take the central role in the emergent dramatic exploration, a responsibility that requires them to consider their actions and the impact of these on others, to look at reality through fantasy and imagination, to see below the surface of actions to their deeper meaning (Wagner, 1979). As Winston and Tandy state, 'it is through achieving the distance afforded by fiction that we can reflect more securely upon issues which have significant effects upon our daily lives' (2001, p. vii).
In this approach to drama, the role of the teacher is to set the scene and encourage the children to become the experts (Heathcote & Bolton, 1995) who are acknowledged as writers, actors and directors with the knowledge and capacity to create, develop and resolve stories. The teacher empowers the children to become the experts by accepting their spontaneous ideas and attaching them to the central story. As experts, the children in an early childhood context all take on the same role so as to avoid confusion and the drama becoming fragmented (which can be the case if small groups of children are allocated different roles) (Warren, 1999). As a group they work together to find solutions to problems posed by the teacher throughout the drama. The development of the unfolding story is stimulated by the teacher's knowledge of the individual needs and preferences evident within the group. Through the use of open-ended questioning, animated expression and enthusiastic responses to the children's ideas, the teacher draws the children into the role-play and invites them to create and maintain the dramatic world (O'Neill, 1994). This process involves the co-construction of an emergent story that requires the teacher to adopt roles including motivator, guide and artist—roles that are continually refined and developed through reflection in and on practice (Schön, 1983).
Reflective practice
The importance of reflection to teacher development is now widely acknowledged (Brookfield, 1995; Gore & Zeichner, 1991; Howard, 2003; Larrivee, 2000) as a central pedagogical construct based on the argument that 'education without research or innovation is education without interest' (Malaguzzi, 1994, p. 71). Further to this point, O'Donoghue and Brooker note that if 'the overall quality of teaching is to be improved, teachers must become more aware of their subjective beliefs about teaching' (1996, p. 101). In early childhood, where there is an identified need for practitioners to become more aware and articulate about what they do and how they do it (Stonehouse, 1992), reflective practice is fundamental.
John Dewey defined reflection as thinking with a purpose, whereby teachers 'continually consider what underlies beliefs and knowledge as well as actions and conclusions that follow from them' (Johnston, 1994. p 10). For Dewey, reflective thinking involved searching into a problem, contemplating a solution, then analysing the problem-solving process so as to resolve other problems and ultimately to gain understanding (Dewey, 1910). The work of the reflective practitioner as noted by Donald Schön (1983) is informed by reflection in action and reflection on action. Schön challenges the image of teachers as technicians who simply transmit pre-formed knowledge, and replaces this with a more complex view of professionals who actively research into their own practices and theories. From this perspective teachers can be considered as 'artists' (Munby & Russell, 1989) who engage with children in creative problem-setting and problem-solving situations rather than simply implementing a preset program.
Reflection in action and reflection on action are crucial to the development of an early years process drama program. Reflection in action is evident when the teacher adopts an open-minded and flexible approach informed by regular self-monitoring (Taylor, 1998) that allows the children's ideas to direct the emergent story. Reflection on action that occurs after the event can be supported by systematic documentation, including recorded observations, journals, photographs and children's reflective drawings and stories. The complete process of reflecting in and on action can ensure a critical review of issues and tensions surrounding the planning, implementation and evaluation of the program. Reflection on one's choices and values requires the practitioner to make explicit what is often tacit knowledge, and this can be a challenging process that can benefit from the support of 'trusted' others who have the skills to guide reflection (Raban, Waniganayake, Nolan, Brown, Deans & Ure, 2007) and generate critical dialogue. In doing so it assists the individual practitioner to reflect on, document, confirm and challenge deeply held beliefs.
The Possum Story
The following description and analysis of 'The Possum Story', written from the perspective of the drama teacher/researcher, provides insight into the complex decision-making processes, teaching strategies and learning outcomes evident in one process drama session. It illustrates and examines a one-hour session undertaken with a group of 20 children aged between four and five years, attending a long-day inner city early learning centre in Melbourne, Australia. The detailed description aims to capture the essence of the lived experience (Patton, 1990) evident in the session that was documented using the teacher's lesson plans, journal notes, transcripts of children's comments, photographs and children's artworks. Several recorded discussions involving two researchers and the teacher/researcher, focused on this documentation and on a video recording of the session. The goal of this reflective process (Nolan, Raban & Waniganayake, 2005) was to collaboratively describe, interpret and theorise the practice of the teacher. The resultant detailed descriptions were analysed in terms of what was logically related (Prosser, 1994) and psychologically sensitive (Giorgi, 1985), including salience, uniqueness and the emphasis given by the teacher to particular events and conceptions.
Origins of the story—the beginning
As an experienced drama teacher my interests and experiences, and those of the children, generate the content for each session I teach. In the case of 'The Possum Story', I responded to the children's strong interests in local animals and my personal experience of finding a sick possum.
I begin the drama session with the routine of the children taking off their shoes and socks and placing them in the 'shoe shop'. The children enthusiastically move to sit around the edge of a special meeting place that has been created with colourful fabric. At the beginning I always remind the children that this room can turn into another place and we can be other people. I make it clear that we are going on a fictional journey together, and the children are encouraged to 'suspend disbelief' (Dunn & O'Toole, 2002) so as to openly and fully engage in the emergent story.
The children wait with their 'home-room' teacher in anticipation. I re-enter the room with my hands cupped and explain how I have found something on the floor outside. The children ask what it is. I reply that I do not know and I show them what is in my hands, which are empty. Some children say there is nothing there, and I ask them to keep looking or close their eyes and think what it might be. In the case of 'The Possum Story', one child stated 'it is small', and another child said 'it's an animal', and then other suggestions followed. By encouraging children to imagine what is in the empty hands I stimulate the imagination and playful thought which are central to the drama (Toye & Prendiville, 2000).
During the unfolding drama I move through characters and spontaneously respond to the children's ideas, ensuring that interest and energy is maintained for the story. So as to stimulate the emergent story for this drama, I adopted two roles: first a girl who found the sick possum and later a woman who looked after sick possums who we named 'The Possum Lady' (Illustration 1). For young children it is necessary to make any changes in character very clear (Warren, 1999) and in this drama this was achieved through a change in voice and the use of a scarf for The Possum Lady.
The children were immediately engaged by the character of the girl who found the possum, and I asked them, 'Does anyone here know anything about local animals? Because I need local animal experts to help me to take care of this possum.'
Child: 'I do, I do!'
Teacher: 'Well, what do you know about local animals?'
Child: 'They like food.'
Child: 'Possums live near the river.'
Teacher: 'Where do possums live?'
Child: 'In the big trees.'
Child: 'I've got possums in my garden.'
Teacher: 'So what do possums like to eat?'
Child: 'The possums ate our plants at kinder.'
Questioning based on the children's responses encourages them to go deeper into their thinking and to solve problems creatively. It also allows the group to bounce ideas off each other, and I work hard to ensure that all children are given a voice. Throughout the drama I ask questions, such as I wonder? What if? What should we do? How do we? and What else do we need?, so that it becomes the children's story. I consider the children to be not the players but the writers, actors and directors of the work. I seek multiple answers to the questions I pose to create an atmosphere of whole group engagement and exchange. In doing so, the children's responses layer and build upon each other to form into an emergent story that encourages a deeper group response (Warren, 1999), creating an atmosphere of engagement and exchange.
A significant challenge is to involve all children equitably in the development of the story. This is achieved through the use of one-to-one open-ended questioning. Time needs to be found to make contact with each child, and it is important that I am sensitive to the different personalities and learning styles in the group. I involve them in a variety of activities, including song, discussion, movement and humour to cater for their 'different types of intelligence, cultural backgrounds and values' (Wright, 2003a, p. 59). In the case of 'The Possum Story' the children engaged in diverse movements while acting-out crawling into a forest and balancing in a boat, and were regularly encouraged to share their ideas through both words and actions.
Some children are timid and shy and seem apprehensive to work in the group. Some children are very physical with other members in the group—rough/fast. The timid ones seem a little threatened by the more physical. Maybe I need to do some warm-up games to address this before next week's drama.
Teacher's Journal, 2005 p. 28
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My ability to reflect on my own action (Taylor, 1998) is challenging, as I am in the drama. My mind is in many places—the children's voices, the story, the group, the individual—and I strive to achieve a sense of balance across these areas of attention that shift throughout the drama.
Creating the story—the middle
Once the idea for the story is established the process drama continues. Later on in this story I became the Possum Lady who gave each child a hat with an imaginary possum inside (Illustration 2). By engaging in discussion based on how the possum feels and its needs, I was able to explore ideas that have broader human significance, such as empathy and care for other living things (Winston & Tandy, 2001).
Teacher: 'How do you think a possum feels when it is sick?'
Child: 'Sad.'
Child: 'And scared.'
Teacher: 'How can we help the possum?'
Child: 'We have to feed it.'
Child: 'When I am sick my mummy cuddles me.'
Child: 'And makes me a bed in the lounge room.'
Teacher: 'What sort of bed can we make the sick possum?'
Child: 'A warm one, in a blanket.'
Child: 'We need to take it back to its home in the bush.'
Responding to the children's ideas on how to care for the possum, a journey to the river was decided on. The idea of the river developed naturally from the children who had recently undertaken an excursion to a nearby river park. Through questioning we worked out what would be the best way to travel up and over the river: by a boat, by swimming or by a bridge? We discussed ways to build a boat and eventually settled on a construction formed of coloured fabric and imaginary wood. A storm occurred and we had to solve many problems, such as 'How can we row without oars?' 'How can we fix our leaking boat?' and 'How can we see when it is dark on the river?'
I must regularly review what is feeding the story so as to incorporate the children's ideas, but I can't use all their ideas. It is a constant balancing act to develop a coherent story that is responsive to the children's ideas and interests. Questioning the children's ideas requires them to make choices and problem-solve throughout the story. It is important to respond sensitively to the children's ideas that are not acted upon so that these children do not stop contributing. 'Great idea', I hear myself saying regularly, or making a comment such as 'But there are no dinosaurs here. Remember we are trying to find the home for the possum.' Being positive but clear about the story is something that is always in my mind.
Tension in the drama is vital (Dunn, cited in Wright, 2003a, p. 215) to keep the story engrossing and creative. These tensions are generated by provocations from the teacher and the children's questions and responses.
They arise as part of the unfolding drama; for example, through encounters with a river that needs crossing, a mountain that needs climbing, or a dangerous animal that is blocking the way. As the teacher, I guide the children to review, combine and layer their ideas, and to find collective solutions to these tensions. In doing so, I encourage a steady flow to the story. Several times it is necessary to bring the children together to remind them of where they are in the story by re-telling the events so far, a strategy that acts as a way of managing spiralling energy and re-focusing the children's thinking.
This drama moved from one place to another, the use of props—my cloth, my questioning, up-time and down-time, children's voices, the action, the tension, all came together. What a class, how on earth do I know what happened to allow this flow to work again!
Teacher's Journal, 2005, p. 36
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'The Possum Story' continued to grow and develop until we arrived at a satisfactory conclusion. The children had already stated that the possum needed to find its family, so at the end of the journey we found a safe place for its release in the forest (Illustration 3).
The final rituals—the end
The story had now come to a conclusion, but I need to find a way to 'Get back to Kinder'. This is an important part of the process drama, particularly for young children who may still remain in the story and need to be clearly informed that the story has ended (Warren, 1999). I ask for suggestions, and we use an imaginary helicopter to carry the children, one-at-a-time, back to kinder. As a way of ending the session I leave the room and return as myself, thus making it very clear to the children that the drama has concluded.
The ritualistic ending involves sitting together and recapping the story experience, followed by the children drawing 'something remembered from the story', with my transcriptions of the children's verbal captions. The opportunity for children to express their ideas and feelings through images and words expands their ability for representational thinking (Wright, 2003b). In doing so, it allows the experience of drama, drawing and language to enrich and inform each other and, as Dyson states, it provides an opportunity for the children to 'transform the themes of their dramatic play into dictated texts and back again to play' (1990, p. 56). These drawings and captions, along with my record of the drama, are finally compiled to create a story-book for children, parents and other teachers to enjoy at a later time. This valuable information acts as a form of pedagogical documentation (Wright, 2003b) that helps me review what aspects of the drama the children thought were significant and memorable.
Reflection
'The Possum Story' illustrates how the children's and teacher's interests provide authentic content for drama, particularly when children are cast as the 'experts' (Heathcote & Bolton, 1995) who have ownership of the story, bringing with them personal knowledge, experience and ideas. Through opportunities to act out a range of responses in the safety of the imagined place, the children explored possible alternative solutions to scenarios that required careful consideration and empathy, in this case how to best care for a sick animal. In doing so, the children used stories to explore significant issues (Winston & Tandy, 2001) and also learned to work cohesively towards the achievement of group goals.
Throughout the unfolding drama of 'The Possum Story' the teacher moved between the roles of motivator, guide and co-artist so as to stimulate imagination, play and creative problem-solving (Wright, 2003a). Open-ended and responsive questioning were central to a creative approach to teaching that engaged children in collaborative decision making and problem-solving where there were 'no right or wrong answers, only possibilities' (Schirrmacher, 2002, p. 6). The practitioner's ability to 'act on her feet' in response to an emergent child-directed story necessitated reflection-in-action and flexibility. The planned and systematic recordings of the drama session, captured in the teacher journal and story-book, provided the tangible detailed descriptions necessary for effective reflection-on-action, and in this regard the teacher demonstrated the role of a researcher who 'searched and re-searched, experimenting with ideas and seeking clarity' (Taylor, 1998, p. 128).
Conclusion
This paper stems from the commitment of one drama teacher who was prepared to act as a researcher through her efforts to document, and communicate her beliefs and practices to others. It highlights the value of the reflective process as a way of articulating, informing and improving practice, a view supported by Taylor, who states that 'if teachers can empower themselves to believe in their own capacity to act as researchers, if they can generate faith in their own ability to observe and reflect critically on their work, then they are capable of effecting change in their own educational setting' (1998, p. 129).
An analysis of these reflections provides insight into the challenges faced by the drama practitioner working with a large group of young children. These include how to determine engaging and relevant child-centred content, how to stimulate the interests of all children in the developing story and cater for their needs, and how to promote creative problem-solving through open and responsive questioning.
In conclusion, this paper provides an illustrative and instructive example of practice that may stimulate others to engage in process drama experiences that respond to children's interests and provide rich opportunities for children to create, act-out and reflect on significant emergent stories.
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Illustrations
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Illustration 1. 'That's the old lady and she takes care of possums. This girl gave it to her so she can look after it.'
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Illustration 2. 'That's the possum I'm holding in my bag.'
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Illustration 3. 'We followed the footprints to find the possum's home.'
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Australian Journal of Early Childhood Volume 32 No 4 December 2007, pp. 1-6.
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