Evaluation and feedback on final workshop

Analysis of your own practice as a facilitator in the workshop (final workshop) 
As a facilitator one aspect of the workshop I enjoyed was generally observing the participants and listening to all the great ideas they had of the seasons. For example, in the sculpting exercise one member of the group I worked with sculpted me and another group member into an angel and a halo. When one of my peers asked the group member (the sculptor) what the images was, that participant said what the images were and explained that he was Catholic so he drew on that experience to create the sculpture.

One part of the workshop that went well for us as a group was that we established a code linked to the seasons to bring back the focus in the session. The Misfits and us made an agreement that when we say tweet tweet, the participants make a thundering sound. This code worked well throughout the workshop, especially when the participants played the collage game because at one point in the game they were getting over excited and noisy so we had to bring back the focus. From my own observations one aspect of the workshop that went well for me as a facilitator was when speaking to participants, I bent down and spoke at their level if they were shorter then me. I made the decision to do this because I did not want the participants to feel that I was over-powering and intimidating them. An example when I done this was in the activity where the participants had to create four moving images of what happens in the season and the environment. I sat down on a chair and had a discussion with my small group on this activity which made the atmosphere feel friendly, welcoming and safe for the participants.

However, one part of the workshop that did not go so well was near the beginning when I guided the whole group through a series of warm up exercises. When i asked the participants to make a loud sound from high to low sounds with our voices I was unaware that some members of the group does not like loud sounds. This dilemma was quickly resolved in the moment as one of my peers said to the participants that if they don't like loud sounds then they could cover their ears in this part of the exercise. In future as a facilitator if I am working with those with disabilities and/or mental health conditions I need to make sure that I communicate with the main person that works with this group on a regular basis and ask that person if there is anything I need to know about the group and take note of. This way I will not unintentionally get participants to do an activity that is either inappropriate or uncomfortable for the participants. Another part of the workshop that did not go well was just the fact that it ran overtime which meant that there was not much time for the participants to give us feedback on how they found the session. This may of been because at the beginning of the workshop we spent a very long time playing the name game with the participants, creating the contract with them and establishing a code of behaviour. It was very difficult to manage the time at the beginning of the workshop as we did not want to rush the participants and put any pressure on them. Also another reason why the workshop may of run overtime is because we may of took long with the participants to complete each activity. For example, in the sculpting exercise I personally found it difficult to explain the activity in way that my small group would understand. I had to explain the sculpting exercise twice which took up a lot of time. In the future my group and I need to be more strict with timing of each activity so then we do not run overtime. This can be achieved through giving clear instructions for each activity and having a clear objective for each activity and the overall workshop,  

If I had the opportunity to do the workshop again I would make sure that I done more research before hand on the needs of the Misfits. I would then be able to guide them through activities and games that are accessible and appropriate for them. I would also make sure that the workshop has a clear aim. By having an aim, I would be able to ask the participants questions which would get them to think further in the activity they participate in.

Generally in this workshop I thought that I played more of the role of a teacher rather than a facilitator as I constantly gave instructions for each activity in my individual group. I felt that my group needed these instructions though because for them it acts as a reassurance so then they know what they need to do.   

Seasons Workshop- Rehearsal Diary

The client group and research

As mentioned in one of my earlier post, my group and I decided to work with and present our workshop to adults with learning differences and multiple disabilities. However, in order to make sure that our activities and approaches were appropriate and accessible to them, we all had to research into the target group.

 

Here is some information below that I had found out about our target audience:

When a person has a learning disability, it effects how they process and understand information and communicate (NHS choices, 2015). Other things they may have difficulty in is to learn new skills and to cope independently. However each person is unique in their own way and they have different capabilities and skills so the learning disability they have could be mild, moderate or severe (NHS choices, 2015). For example, there may be some people that struggle to learn new skills but they can communicate with people and look after themselves whereas another person could struggle to communicate at all and they may have multiple disabilities. When a person has multiple learning disabilities, this is known as Profound and multiple learning disability (PMLD) (NHS choices, 2015).   

 

There are multiple reasons why some people have a learning disability. For example, the learning disability may be inherited, meningitis, problems during birth which means that not enough oxygen got into the brain and many other factors (NHS choices, 2015).

Here is a list of some different types of learning disabilities and disorders:

• Dyslexia (LDA, 2017)
• Dyspraxia (LDA, 2017) 
• Auditory Processing Disorder (LDA, 2017)
• Dyscalculia (LDA, 2017)
• Dysgraphia (LDA, 2017)
• Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities (LDA, 2017)
• Language Processing Disorder (LDA, 2017)
• ADHD (LDA, 2017)
• Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit (LDA, 2017)

The specific group you're working with (ideally through meeting with them)

Some members of my group went out to visit the Misfits to find out what they would like to see in a workshop. From this visit they found out that the Misfits likes to participate in a workshop that involves movement based activities, imagination and a lot of fun. The Misfits also likes to work towards a performance at the end as they like to show their ideas. From this information I found out, I realised that we needed to think a lot of movement based activities but at the same time had to take into consideration on those with limited mobility.  

The main issue that you will be engaging with in the workshop

The main issue that I will be personally engaging with in the workshop is to try to make sure that the activities we've thought of are accessible to adults with learning disabilities and multiple disabilities. This will be quite difficult to do as I have not met the Misfits in person so I do not know fully what they are capable of and what skills they have.

The space where the workshop will be held

The workshop will be held in a big performance space so there will be plenty of space for the target audience to take part in different activities and exercises. From what I have found out, the space we will do the workshop in has plenty of chairs so some of the participants can sit down and take a break from the workshop if they get a bit tired.

Different games/exercises/approaches to workshops beyond what has been covered in class

Near the beginning of our rehearsal process my group and I had decided the activities we could get our target audience to take part in are one of Augusto Boal's sculpting exercise, the a b c game, creating 4 moving images, the collage game and tickle murder (adapted from wink murder). However, during our discussions we decided to get rid of some of the moving around the room exercises we first thought of as we thought that there may be members of the target audience that may have limited mobility so we did not want to exclude them. Also for this same reason, on the actual day before the workshop we decided that I was not going to get the group to do three star jumps or to jog on the spot. Instead, I would get them to pat their arms shoulders and legs in their sitting or standing position.  

In our rehearsal we also decided that we wanted to give the Misfits the opportunity to come up with a contract when it came to the workshop as we want them to feel that they have some ownership of the workshop and what they should and should not do in it. To also give them some ownership and responsibility of the workshop we made the decision to let them come up with a sound or movement related to the seasons that can be used to bring back focus in the session if it gets a little bit noisy.

Rehearsal preparations before facilitating the workshop for real

In our rehearsals we had to think about how to create an effective workshop of the seasons that was going to be accessible for the Misfits. In order to do this, we thought about some of Boal's stages on creating a effective workshop and how this could fit into our seasons workshop.

The first stage of creating an effective workshop is to get participants to know their body. This means that participants do exercises to explore this. Through these exercises the participants identify their habitual behaviours and their strengths and limitations with their body. For the seasons workshop my group and I have partly included this stage (Boal, 2008). This is more evident for the beginning of the workshop when I will ask the group to pat their bodies up and down. This is also evident at the beginning when I will ask the group to make high and low noises with their voices.

The second stage is to make the body expressive. We have partly included this stage for the workshop. This is evident when we will get the group to do the sculpting exercise where they have to in groups sculpt each other into the traditions they participate in in their chosen season. Even though the sculpture is not expressing themselves through their bodies ,in this exercise they will be expressing their views and experiences of traditions in a season by moulding others in their group in an image. Also this stage is more evident in the exercise where we will get individual groups to create four moving images of the things they do in a season and the environment, so this is a very expressive exercise as each member of the group will be expressing themselves through their bodies.  

The third stage is theatre as language. It has three degrees which are simultaneous dramaturgy, image theatre and forum theatre (Boal, 2008). We have not included this stage in the workshop because the aim of the workshop is for the Misfits to explore the seasons, not to create a story and a dilemma for audience members to solve. We have decided to stay away from the idea of forum theatre and the other elements as our aim is to not to help the Misfits to rehearse for life, nor is it our aim to directly try and change audiences perspectives on social and political issues. However, throughout the seasons workshop we will be taking the Misfits through a series of games and exercises so then they can create a final piece near the end of the workshop. The final piece will have a element of a narrative as their will be a beginning, a middle and the end so we will be supporting individual group with this structure.  

  
The fourth and final stage is theatre as discourse. This stage is to do with theatre that is finished, so its a performance that is finished and presents a spectacle. It is said that the oppressed groups do not know what their world will be like and what it will reveal, so the oppressed groups rehearse in preparation for life instead of a spectacle (Boal, 2008). We have not included this stage in our seasons workshop as our aim is to not prepare the Misfits for life or to create a spectacle,  instead our aim is promote what the Misfits already knows about the seasons and to help them enhance on their life skills.  

During our rehearsal process once we all decided on the activities we wanted to facilitate, we then created a lesson plan and also a rough script to prompt us on what to do on the day of the workshop. A couple of times my group and I met up to go through the script and the lesson plan and we questioned whether each activity had a purpose for the workshop and whether they were suitable for the Misfits. For example, on the actual day moments before the workshop my group and I decided to get rid of the a b c game as we thought that it would be too complicated to explain to the Misfits and we also thought that they may struggle to grasp the instructions on how to play this game.

  

Reference List

Boal, A. (2008) Theatre of the oppressed. London: Pluto Press.

LDA (2017) Types of learning disabilities [Online] Available from: https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/ [Accessed 25 February 2017]

NHS choices (2015) What is a learning disability? [Online] Available from: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Childrenwithalearningdisability/Pages/Whatislearningdisability.aspx [Accessed 25 February 2017]