Developing a Code for Collaboration

Creative Dramatics Workshop 3

On a rainy Cape Town day, several busy bodies, hopped, skipped and jumped into our second Creative Dramatics workshop. Some new nervous faces joined our group which was very exciting but also a little challenging. It’s always idea if all kids can start a process together, but as that is not always possible, I wanted to find ways for the kids to comfortably join the class. Catching kids up without them feeling behind or other is really hard but also super important. So the mission for today was exploring collaboration and working on team-work competencies, not because we had new faces in the class but because our goal it work collaboratively in creating a story.

First things first, we started off by acknowledging the new faces and welcoming kids into the space and the group and then used this moment to revise some of the ideas we explored in the previous workshop simultaneously adding some new ideas, keeping things fresh for all this kids. We spoke about our mission to to collaborate in creating a story and revised the elements that all stories need. We also explored ways in which story creators could use their bodies, faces, voices and imaginations to create different elements of the stories. In the spirit of revision we played Space Walk again, but with a variation.

Last week our focus was exploring how different settings and spaces effect the way we move, this week we explored how to move through space as if we were different characters. I promoted the kids to use their imaginations, bodies,faces and voices to explore ways that they could augment these elements to create characters and move in different ways. I had a shy little person, who was quite reluctant to participate, but sought the opportunity to get her involved in the class by helping me think of various characters to call out for the other kids to transform into, we went from ballerinas to pirates to robots to snakes to tigers to old people all within the the space of 10 minutes.

Pretent play and embodying various characters require kids to accept different roles and act them out. Pretending to be someone or something else not only requires kids to interpret, invent and self-regualte but requires kids to transform objects and actions symbolically.

One kid in particular demonstrates high quality/ advanced embodiment in pretend play activities. Forget the fact that he is 8 years old, I have never seen even professional actors embody various animals in as much detail and with immense conviction as he does. I can only wonder which and to what degree his cognitive functions are at play that enables him to to this? Is it observation, memory recall, inhibition and self regulation? I am curious as to why this manifests in him being able to embody animals in an almost realistic fashion as well as being fully immersed in his pretent world.

*I help a friend, Rue Avant, at the LCE Summer Forum think up a fun way to approach classroom agreements, this activity is inspired by those discussions. We then moved onto creating our brainstorm for the week. The theme for this week was establishing a “code” (in other words criteria) for collaboration.

The goal for this for the group to create their own classroom agreements or social contracts. The group is responsible for creating their own standards rather than “an authority” imposing rules. It also gives the kids a sense of agency and responsibility in generating ideas as to how to hold themselves and their peers accountable. Developing the code collaboratively enables the group to develop their language that everyone understands and that then serves as prompts throughout the workshops.

Then keeping our new codes in mind, particularly “Listening to each other”, “being kind to each other” and “Everyone can have ideas” , we played Yes! Let’s… Repeating this game, allows kids to practice giving instruction and responding to stimulus well strive to mastering miming. Miming or acting out objects and actions when props are omitted requires a significant amount of recall and attention to detail. Most of the group was fairly comfortable with the activity except one boy who froze up when it was his turn to give the instruction.

It is at this point that “I reminded the group that they always have a choice”, they don’t have to give an instruction they can say “pass”. I had forgotten to give this instruction at the beginning of the game, so when it got to this kids turn, the game kind of broke down, and he literally ran away. I explained that he could pass, no one has to do anything that makes them uncomfortable, however I would like him to stay in the circle and just say pass. So the game resumes, the second time round he “passed” and instead of fleeing, remained in the circle, win! The third and fourth round he participated giving instructions, epic win!

Giving kids a menu-like choice rather than free reign, the are able to experience a sense of autonomy. When playing games and working with kids I am optimise for genuine engagement not compliance. While I can’t have a class of kids bouncing off the walls doing as they please I want to have scenarios in which kids get to exercise choice and are pleased with what they are doing.

The same is true for working in groups, giving kids tools with which to navigate and make choices within a group setting enables them to practice working with others, but by adhering to a code. Because they are involved in making up the criteria for that code, they seem to fair better at implementing it.

I then ask the groups to invent an name for their machine and decide what there machine does. The kids really come up with fascinating ideas such as Awesome-bot, a machine that produces biofuel and Xerox 44, a machine that catches stuff and makes solar-flares. Fun variations include getting groups to make their machines operate at differing tempos, moving at 100% all the way down to 5%, operating in slow-motion. Whatever the speed, the kids have to collaborate and time their actions and sounds accordingly to get all the parts to move as one machine. Now that’s collaboration!

Kids who choose to opt in are likely more motivated than kids who are forced to participate, not only that they are more likely to stay on task and find connection with the task at hand which hopeful leads to a sense of achievement for each individual. Creating spaces that maximises a kid’s agency in their own learning means to design experiences in which kids face challenges and can choose to practice being self-determined and in doing so experience a sense of competence.

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