Year 11
Description of the class
Both groups that were observed consisted of twelve students each, between the ages of fifteen and sixteen years old. When there is a team activity, pupils distribute themselves into the same groups of two, three or four people, with a few occasions where some opt to work alone. Lessons last an hour and a half, there is usually two or three absences and are mostly held inside of the school.
Content Timeline
Students began the semester by learning about different types of application of video (e.g. education, advertising, entertainment), including aesthetic, technical and convention aspects for each format. In order to exemplify each kind of use, different video clips were shown in class, such as a Hugo Boss advertisement and a section from Wallace and Gromit. The concept of mise-en-scene was also taught in class and students were encouraged to investigate how visual elements such as props, costumes, facial expressions and lighting could influence how the narrative is delivered to the audience. Furthermore, they also learned about conventions of the horror genre and different kinds of filming frames and angles. These elements were all taught in this fashion in order to inspire students in regard to their final project of the semester, which was a horror trailer.
High points
Usually year elevens are full of energy and creative individuals. They enjoy activities that demand thinking and that usually are connected with some part of their lives outside school. They are constantly looking for meaning behind something that is taught inside the classroom. Students are inquisitive and critical.
Low points
Many students of this age group are unmotivated in regards to schoolwork. During activities they are mostly energized and dedicated, yet when asked to write their reasoning on their Powerpoints, they behave in a lethargic fashion, distracting each other and producing very little work.
Recommendations
Due to their chaotic nature, I suggested that the teacher adopted a more rigid structure to lessons, as to limit their time in each task in an attempt to make them more productive. Furthermore, it would be ideal if the seating arrangements were shifted, in order to stop certain groups from hindering each other, and if teams were assigned by the teacher. “Student-selected groups are often homogeneous with high-achieving students, white students, minority students, males, and so on working together. Student-selected groups also tend to have less on-task behaviour.” (Johnson, Johnson and Holubec, 1994) In addition to structure being reinforced, it was also suggested that teams engaged in team bonding activities in order to build trust and openness between members.
Cooperative learning is important to stimulate teamwork but also to raise and educate strong individuals. Furthermore, according to Sir Ken Robinson, schools should attempt to get closer to its students and their interests. When this process takes place, pupils become more engaged in schoolwork. In order to try to motivate pupils in relation to their future careers and their everyday lives as digital media students, I elaborated a friendly Industry Report Card that encompasses my observations of each student in relation to their strengths, points that they could develop in order to become better future professionals and suggestions of possible careers in the media industry. In some cases, students had told me that they were aiming for careers in other fields. For example, one of them desires to be a marine biologist and another wants to be a web developer. In these instances, the card offered them a message of full support on their choices. As a last tool, I also suggested coaching sessions, in order to get a better grasp of what students want in life and how could the school push them further in the direction of their dreams and desires, while keeping them close to reality.
Feedback
Their teacher thought that all recommendations were appropriate to be tested. She believed that students could benefit from more structure and industry advice, as it would be an attempt to transform lessons into more productive environments. Furthermore, she approved the coaching sessions with a few students and suggested which ones I could run a testing phase with.
Testing
Despite the teacher’s approval of team bonding activities, there was no time to execute the activity that was planned. It was supposed to be an adaptation to a Hyper Island dynamic from Way Week, where students listed three things that shaped their lives. The version intended to be executed with the year elevens would encourage them to draw something that represented their favorite food, hobby and film or tv series.
Structure and results of coaching
I managed to conduct one coaching session with two distinct students. These meetings occurred after school and ran for approximately an hour. As stated previously, the goal was to get to know the students and about their ambitions for their futures in order to be able to support them. In addition to that, it was a good opportunity to also interview them in regards to the subject matter of this project.
Sessions started with a summary of what activities we would engage in for the next hour. The structure went as it follows:
- A brief energizer, called Hello Kitty, where participants need to make each other laugh. This was the first activity, as students are usually with low energy after a long school day and I thought that it would be a good tool in order to get their attention, as well as to wake them up;
- A “get to know” exercise, where each one had to draw something that symbolized their favorite food, hobby and movie or tv series. This exercise was inspired by the first presentation students do at Hyper Island, telling crew members three things that shaped their lives. A timer was set to one minute, in order to be a quick activity, with fast thinking and spontaneity. As the student would be answering questions about itself, it would seem fair that the interviewer would also present itself for the interviewee, creating a trust bond and openness between the two;
- First round of questions, regarding their habits in school, such as their favorite and least favorite subjects, what they believed were their strengths and weaknesses, what characteristics built a great student and teacher, and what made a class fun and enjoyable. Other questions were asked as well, such as what animal they thought that they thought they resembled, what was their favorite type of music and what they believed that was holding them back from realizing their true potential, as well as how the school could help them;
- A quick drawing exercise of what they believed that the future classroom would look like in a hundred years. It stimulated their creative thinking and created a break in between questions;
- Second round of questions, where they were asked about their preferences regarding teamwork, if they liked the use of digital platforms in the classroom, if they enjoyed learning online and what they would like to do as a career in the future;
- Based on their answer for the career question, we had a conversation about it, where they explained the origin of their desire and why they believed that this path would suit them. I would them give them suggestions of tools to use in order to practice and achieve what they wanted, as well as names of people that worked in the desired field that could serve as reference;
- We finally wrapped up the session, with a brief reflection of their key takeaways from the activities. They also gave me feedback for future sessions.
Results
Both students reacted positively towards the session. Both enjoyed the energizer and felt more excited after it. The “get to know” exercise was also successful, as they demonstrated curiosity towards my choices and liked when I asked questions about theirs. With this bond formed, the first round of questions went well, as both were open when answering my queries. One confessed to be very lazy at home and playing too much video game, which he believed that was keeping him from realizing his full potential. Both thought carefully about their answers, as the session progressed in a light hearted atmosphere. They really liked the future classroom exercise, drawing it quickly and explaining later their reasoning behind it. It was noticed that the general structure of the classroom remains the same in their imagination, with more technological elements added to it. The second round of questions also shared a few common answers, as both think that working in groups is something valid when doing something creative, as there are more people to share ideas and responsibilities. Furthermore, they both like the use of technology and fun activities in lessons, but with a specific purpose. Finally, we talked about their wishes regarding their future careers. One wants to work with animation and landscape and wildlife photography, while the other wants to be a creative writer. For the first, I gave names of interesting photographers of the chosen genre, and told him that we could research about animation jobs on the following week. Finally, I pushed the second into creating a blog where he would post video games and movie reviews, as well as short stories. We agreed on a deadline for the first post.
In the days that followed, it was noted that true bonds were formed during the sessions, as both students were excited about the feedback and suggestions that was given to them. They communicated more with me as well, showing affection and trust. As both had exams, we did not have the opportunity to follow up on our session, but we exchanged e-mails and will keep in touch.
Reactions to Industry Report Cards
Before handing students’ their personalized Industry Report Cards, a brief explanation was delivered about its purpose. The Report Cards were elaborated based on observations made by the author over the course of two months. Future careers were suggested taking into consideration behaviours presented during lessons, informal conversation about students’ ambitions and dreams, and, in one case at the time, a coaching session. Furthermore, the Cards were written from the perspective of a member of the creative digital media industry. Students were also told that this tool was not meant to restrict their choices whatsoever, but to support them and aid them into finding a good direction for their future.
On the first group where Reports were given, most students were grateful and satisfied with what had been written about them. They showed that by thanking the author, smiling and talking about it with each other.
Due to the fact that the second group was engaged in exams at the time of the delivery of the Cards, there was no opportunity to create the same environment in class as the first group experienced. However, the Cards were handed out during breaks, with a short verbal explanation to each student. Most of them were very grateful, reading the feedback carefully. One of them even mentioned that he would show it on a college interview he would have the following day.
The experience was very positive, as students from both groups demonstrated that they felt proud about their results and supported by a member of industry. This could be a valuable foundation work for career work at the school.
Final project
The brief for Year eleven’s final project was a horror trailer. Students were encouraged to utilize conventions from the genre, and were supposed to do all the technical work, such as filming and editing by themselves, under their teacher’s supervision. Pupils were allowed to arrange their own groups and write their own narratives. They had to elaborate storyboards, create a location log, risk assessment report and a shooting schedule. They had three to four lessons to film and, if in need of any more material, they would have to film in their own time. Furthermore, each student had to be responsible at least for a part of the filming and each one will edit the material as it sees appropriate. This will result in different versions of the same narrative, but it will allow students to be assessed individually.
Secondary feedback
The Year eleven teacher thought that the report cards were a good idea. She believes that it gave a “boost to a lot of students”, as well as some ideas for careers paths for a few of them. Furthermore, she said that some of them felt supported by the school, as it has been recognized where they are good at and points to improve.
In regards to the coaching for students, she also thought of it as a good idea. She said that it gave those students a one to one inspiration session, as they had a few insights of what they could do in the future.
Comparison between years 10 and 11
During their final projects, year tens and elevens worked in groups to create a digital media piece. Leaving aside the level of difficulty of both tasks, there was one main difference between the two year groups: group structure. This important element made a considerable difference on final products from both groups.
Year tens had their groups assigned by their teacher and had specific roles for each student, while year elevens were allowed to arrange their own teams and did not have to decide on particular tasks for each member.
Year ten groups were consistently productive over the course of the lessons. All of them produced a good amount of photos and were very respectful towards members of their teams. With proper encouragement, they pushed forward and engaged in a steady process, with positive interdependence.
Many year eleven groups were often very distracted and took a long time to focus and get into task, even when supervised. Furthermore, some disrespectful behaviour was witnessed in a couple of teams, where members cursed and/or did not listen to each other. Some teams worked well together, but were not always on task, hindering productivity. Due to the fact that there was only one teacher and one assistant to supervise, not every group was being observed at all times, which also restricted the amount of encouragement provided to them. Process was often chaotic and tiring. It culminated with many groups not having the appropriate amount of material to edit in order to create their final piece.
This comparison reinforces even further the premise that teachers should assign groups and create a framework for students to follow, especially when it concerns pupils who are easily distracted.
