- Could you tell us how you would identify yourself as a practitioner and the context in which you would like to work including who your audience or target market would be?
I am pleased to confirm that I have successfully gained a place with Ebor Hope Teaching Alliance on their secondary PGCE provision, where I will train to become a qualified drama teacher. As I near the end of my degree in Drama in Education and Community, I have evidenced my facilitation abilities during specific modules, which has allowed me to explore approaches in which I can provide knowledge and information creatively, whilst gaining a valuable understanding of enabling agency within the arts. As an aspiring teacher, I value the ability to provide others with the skills they need, to be able to apply knowledge unaided and will make every effort to achieve this, once qualified.
I have greatly developed my research and analysis abilities, which is evident within the reflections I have written, and endeavour to conduct further research projects relevant to drama and education, throughout my career.
In addition to my teacher training, I will continue to lead the community theatre group, St Aelred’s Players, as this is where I first realised my passion for performing. I feel there is great importance to the work I do collaboratively with the creative team, to continue to provide opportunities for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Being a member of a small performing community, allows the young people to develop their skills in drama and theatre but also helps them to become well-adjusted and valued members of the community.
I have directed my portfolio towards anyone who has an interest in facilitation of the arts and those involved in the employment of secondary school teachers and theatre schools. This would include headteachers, school governors and education employment agencies, as well as community arts organisations.
- How is your identity as a practitioner both reflected in the portfolio; and produced by the portfolio?
My portfolio includes reflections of the 3 most prominent modules in my academic career to date, which I believe highlight my abilities as a facilitator and as a student. It presents my initial phase in becoming an educator but is a valid and integral achievement, which I will continue to build upon, over the coming years.
I chose to give titles to the written reflections of my work which are relevant to the aspects of my future ambitions, rather than using the module titles, as I felt that they may not have been accessible to someone who is not familiar with the degree content. I did this to highlight the specific content of the reflections, so that the reader would have some indication of what they were about to read.
The utilisation of drama in education is something that I believe should be promoted throughout all school years, and I feel that my reflection evidences the benefits of this. The account of my work in the performance in social context module, promotes the positive aspects of forming a community within society, that allows individuals to establish a collective to unite and support each other, whilst improving physical and mental health. I also feel that this reflection evidences my determination to improve upon current skills and continuous professional development, as I placed myself out of my comfort zone and delivered dance and movement activities, which I had no experience of previously.
Including a reflection of the research I completed for my dissertation, allowed me to evidence my deeper knowledge of mandatory educational procedures, that I will inevitably encounter when I gain employment in a school. Investigating cultural capital from a drama facilitator’s perspective, helped to create a link between passion for drama in education and the way in which it could enhance the cultural capital of pupils, through exposure to experiences that they may not receive in the home. It also allowed me to further explore the controversy surrounding the term, whilst viewing it from an unbiased perspective. I was able to see both the positives of Ofsted’s definition and inclusion of cultural capital in the curriculum and inspection framework but could also appreciate why the critics were against it.
Whilst writing my reflections on past modules, I was able to revisit the elements of my degree that lead me to where I am presently. I was able to identify further relevance from my previous experience, uncover additional attributes and was reminded of how far I have travelled from a first-year student, to an experienced facilitator, with the motivation to keep learning and improving.
- Drawing on evidence from your portfolio, what would you identify as the most significant moments of insights to your learning as a practitioner?
Researching intimacy in theatre introduced me to an aspect of performance that I had not previously considered, however the way in which it linked to safeguarding pupils in drama lessons was significant. It enabled me to clearly define the guidelines within teaching and what to be aware of in sessions where physical contact is prominent. Although drama is not mandatory for pupils in year 7-9, some schools that offer drama as a GCSE subject, also provide weekly drama classes for the lower year groups, therefore there is no guarantee that all participants will be willing to contribute fully to the classes. This section of the portfolio allowed me to consider how I would deal effectively with pupils who may not be comfortable with touch during lessons.
I originally wanted to be a primary school teacher, during the time I completed the drama facilitation module, but when I recalled the success of the workshops, I felt that there were far more opportunities to help and support young people in that specific age group. Exposure to drama at any age is highly beneficial in my opinion but there was a raw, grittiness to tackling difficult issues with teenagers, that just did not compare to working with younger children. Giving young people the agency to explore difficult situations, and the accompanying emotions, helped them to express themselves in a way that could not be achieved through sitting at a desk. The drama activities within the workshops were designed to engage the young people with a variety of tasks, that kept them on their feet, thinking, discussing and devising work that allowed them to identify solutions to issues that are prevalent in society.
Reflecting on my dissertation evidences my awareness of the national curriculum and related Ofsted documents, which are essential to every school and all teachers within it. During the research process of my dissertation, I had to read through the entire contents of the national curriculum to locate the reference to cultural capital, as I did with the school inspection handbook and the education inspection framework. In completing this, I gained sound knowledge of the practices and procedures involved during a school inspection, along with the requirements and expectations of the judgement criteria. In exploring cultural capital and the importance that is placed on it by Ofsted, I have proved my awareness and understanding of an important element within education, that must be evidenced in schools to achieve a ‘good’ judgement during an inspection, alongside a suggestion that cultural capital can be enhanced through access to drama.
- What do you want to do next and how do you think your portfolio evidences and helps this ambition?
After university I will complete my secondary PGCE training, which involves lesson observations, a long-term placement in a secondary school, creating and delivering drama lessons and completion of assignments and a research project. As my portfolio is focussed on different aspects of education, all the content is relevant to a career in teaching.
The personal statement from my UCAS application, gained me 3 interviews with teacher training providers and demonstrated my previous experience of facilitating workshops and working creatively with children and young people in a community theatre group, as well as depicting specific techniques I utilised to manage a large group of children. As part of my portfolio, it allowed me to evidence my relevant experience that I had gained outside of university, which was achieved over a significantly longer period. The personal statement also compliments my CV, which lays out all my volunteer roles and clearly evidences the skills and abilities I already possess, that will benefit me as I train to become a teacher.
Finally, I feel that my video pitch articulates my passion for drama and teaching, along with the benefits of embedding drama into PHSE lessons, where appropriate. Following the success of the ‘It’s not OK’ performance and associated workshops, I feel that a similar approach to other difficult topics within the PHSE curriculum, could be beneficial to secondary school students.