PAL: Using Art and Creativity to Build Social and Emotional Skills

I stumbled upon this course organised by the Social Service Institute and I attended a 2-day workshop conducted by Ms Caroline Essame. You can read more about the course overview here. I had to go for this because it seems so helpful for my planning of the PAL lessons. To find out more about PAL, please click here. 

There was a balance of theory and practical sessions during the workshop. The participants consist of people from various social service sectors. We worked individually to collaborative play and finally we have case studies where we do role play. We randomly picked a note that states the roles we are supposed to play and I was assigned the role of a social worker. My task was to work with 4 clients (my group members) whom each of them has different specific needs. It was exhausting at the end of the session! My group member were fully immersed in their roles and it was hard to get everyone to be on task.

In one of the activities, Ms Essame gave each of us a randomise unknown number to hold up against our foreheads. The numbers are only visible to other participants. Since there were 20 of us, she instructed us to guess our own number at the end of the activity using non-verbal language. We were to told to assume that the person holding the number 1 was the most noble and respected and the number 20 was the most undesirable. So, it works like a number cline. Of course the activity begins by seeing a number of participants bowing, smiling and waving to a lady, needless to say, she was holding a #1 and more participants flocked towards her. As the activity continues, we saw a man holding #20, some shoo-ed him away or just brushed him aside. The more "dramatic" participants pretend to spit when they see him approaching. 

When the activity ends, Ms Essame facilitated the session by asking all of us to stand in line according to what we thought our number was. She went one at a time and asked how we felt and to give the reason why we chose to stand in a particular position in the line. #1 was no brainer because of the treatment the lady received. She said that at one point she felt really good because everyone treated her so well so she thought she must be #1 even though she had no idea what her number was. The participants whose numbers falls in the middle range didn't receive much reactions and they were very much ignored. When we finally come to the man who received a #20, he had a very interesting comment. He was very sure of his number because of the responses he had received. At one point, he claimed that since he knew he could not change his number and the unkind treatment he had received, he decided to "scare" other people by approaching them because at least he felt powerful by having some sense of control to cause others to recoil in fear. 

It was really interesting to hear from everyone. We also reflected about our own practices after this activity. This simple and effective activity allows us to think about the class dynamics in general. Typically, the class would consists of teacher pleaser, class clown etc so to keep them in mind, teachers can engage them more effectively.

A collaborative work around the room

Things we would have learnt after an activity

     

Some recommended readings

To find out more, please visit:

www.spreaker.com

www.carolineessame.com

www.suejennings.com

Artventure: NAEA Journals

Someone told me before in order to do our job well, we need to know what's going on two levels below us and two levels above us. This statement was a lot of me to unpack then but I didn't ask further. I guess understanding two levels below us is quite achievable since we all can accumulate work experience or learn on the job.

The tricky part is understanding what's going on two levels above us. The question is if we knew what is beyond us, wouldn't we be at that level instead? So, to work towards that two levels above us could mean that we have to learn continuously. I think the most accessible way to learn is to read and by reading I mean through quality sources. That said, we can learn from our friends or acquaintances too. Rather than meeting our usual circle of friends and staying in our comfort zone, it's likely that our learning curve might become a constant. However, when we venture out to a group that's unknown to us, it can be quite daunting and uncomfortable at first but that's also where we can learn the most.

I sign up for NAEA membership many months ago and today I've just received the printed copy in my mail. The journal articles are great and I look forward to reading them. For some reason, NAEA is dedicating 2 issues of their journals to STEAM. What are the odds, right? because I'm doing a new project related to STEAM next year. As Paulo Coelho says in The Alchemist When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

Artventures: To other schools

All newly-minted art teachers undergo this Beginner Teachers Programme that has a learning journey component to other schools. There's a list of schools pre-selected by the faculty and you can take your pick. The ones that I've attended in the beginning of this year have either a workshop or a talk conducted by the teachers from the school. It was a great experience and I went to Ngee Ann Secondary, Raffles Institution and St. Joseph Institution.

When I get an opportunity to go for workshop or learning journey, I'm not usually looking for quick fix where I can "steal" people's ideas and implement them in class and since I'm teaching in a primary school, I'm sure I'll get many opportunities in the future to visit other primary schools. Thus, I've chosen not to visit a primary school this time and see what teachers of higher education are up to.

Housekeeping: How I remember names

This year, I have 566 pupils under my charge for Art class. My goal was to remember all their names before summer holidays. It's year end now and I still fail to do so. During our first Art lesson, I had everyone write their names on a mini whiteboard and take a photo. So, with these images in my phone, I arranged them in folders according to classes so I can do my memorization at home. I guess I will still continue with this next year and supplement my diet with ginko biloba.

PAL: Books I use

PAL lessons are structured mostly around books/ videos that touches on Social Emotional Learning. They act as starting points for discussion as the children would be familiar with the routine of their English language lessons by reading a book first and followed by discussion. 

Artventures: Canadian International School (CIS)

I love visiting other schools! It's great to immerse in a different environment and culture and especially cool if it's a different context. I attended CIS STEAM fair this year and saw many eye-opening activities. Enjoy some snapshots below!

Saw some connectors and plastics saw for making cardboard slide.

Artfriend is selling this 36"x 48" Corrugated Tri-Fold Display Board-White + header for $8.80 *Gasp* My hopes are dashed.

Some classrooms have these tennis balls on chair legs to muffle noise.

Makey-Makey

Each level has a common area. So cosy.

Artventures: Pulau Ubin

Hi everyone! I had a community art project between September and December 2015. Every weekend, I live in a kampong house in Pulua Ubin. It was a very enriching experience. I was still very thankful that friends, family and colleagues came to support. To find out more, you can read my weekly blog here.