As i walked up to the entrance of Antrim Grammar School to meet Natalie, the head of the Drama department, a realisation struck me, i am no longer entering a school as a student. When the students see me, i will be perceived as a knowledgeable educator who they can turn to for trusted advice, a dynamic that i am unfamiliar with. This sparked a slight nervousness within me, however, upon meeting Natalie and one of her classes, their friendliness put my nerves at ease. We discussed the various levels of classes i will be working with, and i was informed of how i will be able to assist GCSE and A-Level students with their assessed performance pieces.

To assist me in my evaluation of my first day in Antrim Grammar School, i will be applying Gibbs reflective cycle to reflect on my initial feelings, the achievements and the struggles, and what i could do to further enhance my skills for the remainder of my placement. The importance of reflection is highlighted by Margot Pearson and David Smith, ‘Simply to experience, however, is not enough. Often we are so deeply involved in the experience itself that we are unable, or do not have the opportunity, to step back from it and reflect upon what we are doing in any critical way.’ (1985,69)

Description – What Happened?

The first class of the day that i assisted with was an A2 class, in which the students were taking time to rehearse one of their selected monologues for their final assessed performance. I was tasked with taking a group of the students into a separate room so they could show me how their monologues were progressing, and ask me any questions they had in terms of staging and character. This was the first opportunity i had to give the students feedback and directions, and i could observe that they were intrigued to hear my opinions. The second class of the day was one of the year 11 classes, who were working on their devised group performances, which were required to include a movement piece. Their given prompt was identity. For the first half of the class i worked with one of the groups who opened their piece with a song, then used mirror image movement to express different emotions. During the final half of the class I worked with the second group who used dance moments to create a physical image of unity through identity. My main objective throughout this class was to aid with sharpening their movements and feed them ideas to improve the flow and dynamic of their performances. The third class of the day was an AS class, who, similarly to the A2s, were working on their assessment monologues. They were given individual time to either work on written work or their monologues. One student was requesting help with her monologue, and I was assigned to take her to a separate room and run through her performance. Together we worked on staging options and character development. For the final two class slots of the day, Bruiser Theatre Company came into school and delivered a performance of Shakespeare abridged, then took the students through an acting workshop. I was able to observe Bruiser in action, and witness the students’ reactions to the material. 

Feelings – What were you thinking and feeling?

Before my first day began, I had several questions going through my head. What do teachers wear? How big are the classes going to be? What will they expect from me? I felt suitably nervous to return to school as a teacher, mixed with a sense of eagerness to prove myself and to be as helpful and involved as I possibly could be to the students. When I was told I would work one on one with the A2 students, I was initially doubting myself in terms of the quality of my feedback. I was anxious as I wouldn’t have Natalie alongside to give a second opinion on their monologues, and I found myself feeling the pressure of delivering valuable advice. I recall thinking that the students might expect a lot from me, being a third year drama student. While I was working with the groups of year 11 students, I was intrigued to see how they were working together as a group to think creatively, and I found it interesting to observe their group dynamics. I felt confident while guiding them through their movement sequences, as I have a dance background and enjoy physical performances. I felt my confidence beginning to grow at this stage of the day, and that I was enjoying the student and educator dynamic. I also find myself reflecting on my feelings of moving around the school itself, which I initially found strange as I was unfamiliar with my surroundings. I enjoyed sitting in the staff areas with the other teachers, while having to adjust to the idea that I am now allowed to be in this staff space. 

Evaluation – What was good and bad about the experience?

From evaluating my first teaching day, I am able to draw on my positive experience of utilising my prior knowledge of physical movement to aid the students in sharpening their physical performances. I successfully led them through a timing exercise, and gave them an idea of how to utilise letter cards for their ending sequence. A further positive point from the experience was I was able to familiarise myself with new monologues that I have not yet experienced, and I enjoyed hearing from the students about what they made of the characters. I also found it enjoyable to observe the students becoming passionate about their work, and taking onboarding any advice I was giving them. Furthermore, I found it valuable to watch Natalie teaching the students, and I was able to take note of the methods she implements to create an engaging and valuable lesson. The slight downside to my first day was the wavering confidence, and my tendency to doubt myself. I also found myself restricting my own ideas due to this, in fear that they were invaluable and did not make sense. The visit from Bruiser was a positive part of the day as myself and the students included enjoyed watching the humorous performance. However, the slight downside for myself was that I was not included in the workshop, meaning that I had little to do at the end of the day. 

Analysis – What else can you make of the situation?

After analysing the strong elements and the weaker elements of my first day, I came to the realisation that I do not have to be on the same level as the experienced Drama teachers. The purpose of myself partaking in this placement is to learn from them and to enhance my teaching skills from the knowledge that I already have. I can make the situation into a positive learning experience both for the students and for myself, and both parties can take advice and development from each other. Furthermore, careful analysis has revealed that being anxious of how I am perceived by students and staff can be made into a positive situation, as it shows that I am keen to make the most of my placement and make a good impression. 

Conclusion – What else could you have done?

Upon reflection, an action that I could have taken to help minimise my nerves with teaching the students one on one is to have a conversation with Natalie prior to the class about effective ways to run monologues, as well as examples of potential areas for development for the students to work on. This action would have been beneficial to my confidence. The importance of this is highlighted by John J. Figueroa, ‘But although teaching is a matter of projection it cannot be carried on merely by technique and methods of projection, it can only become truly alive by being nourished by an inner self which is worth projection.’ (1964,46) Additionally, I could have been slightly more honest whilst discussing how the classes went with Natalie, and asked for help when I became aware of my confidence lowering. This would have ensured that I knew how to retrieve my confidence, therefore aiding me in becoming less afraid to share my more out of the box ideas. 

Action Plan – If it rose again what would you do?

As Gillie Bolton states, ‘Reflective practitioners recognise responsibility for their own life stories, the structures around them and their actions within those structures. They can then create strategies for responsibly taking charge of as many areas of experience as possible’. (2006,208) In my action plan for improvement as my placement continues, I have included making a list of exercises I could carry out with the students, ranging from vocal warm ups, games and acting techniques. This would further boost my confidence and expand my teaching skills, and create an enriching class for the students. Additionally, in order to deliver guidance with their monologues to the best of my ability, an action I could take would be to research monologues and plays that I am unfamiliar with, to ensure that I am not entering classes unfamiliar with the material ahead. Finally, a crucial part of my action plan is to ensure that I ask questions and seek feedback on how I am doing, as this will reassure me, improve my overall performance and ensure that I am absorbing every learning opportunity that will come throughout my placement. 

Bibliography 

Boud, David, Keogh, Rosemary, and Walker, David, Reflection: Turning Experience into learning, Chapter 4 : Debriefing in experienced based learning, (Taylor & Francis Group, 1985-04-01) 

Bolton, Gillie, Narrative writing: reflective enquiry into professional practice, Educational Action Research Vol. 14, No. 2, (June 2006)

Figueroa, John J, On Becoming a Teacher : British Journal of Educational Studies, Vol.13, No. 1 (Nov, 1964)