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The Rural Media Company (RMC), a media education and production organisation with an emphasis on socially aware media and communications projmaking media ects, worked on the products carried a Gaining Ground project with three sense of cool that Herefordshire Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) was inherently the Aconbury engaging Centre (year 9), The Priory and St Davids (year 10). The project ran for two years, as this was considered sufficient time to enable new practice to become embedded in the curriculum.
What is the impact of working with media practitioners on the pupils and on the schools? How best can such activity become embedded in schools curricula? What were the outcomes?
each module, with training and practical support over the same two-year period. The practitioners brought equipment so that the young people had direct hands-on experience. They constructed a range of different roles for pupils, so they could work independently or with teaching assistant (TA) support, and learned to provide regular opportunities throughout the 45-minute sessions for young people to see results.
Practical media work enabled them to express issues and concerns directly, providing a means of expression in a language in which they knew how to respond. They decided to make a film about a pupils expectation of being bullied when starting a new school. The final shot shows the pupil being welcomed. When none of the group wanted to play the new pupil, it was decided to make the camera the victim, a scenario easily represented through the film medium. The practitioners provided a quality experience. Most young people engaged fully. For some, concentration levels were low due to circumstances outside the classroom. However, they also experienced small, but nonetheless significant, gains.
What is the impact of working with media practitioners on the pupils and the schools?
Chosen for their ability to communicate and engage, practitioners respected and valued pupils ideas. Young people responded to their informal yet structured approach, appreciating their professional skills and experience. They have different experience from teachers. Pupil Initially some finished off pupils work so that it looked professional. Following early evaluation, it was agreed that young people should be involved in every aspect of the creative work, including editing, and this ensured a stronger sense of ownership. The same two practitioners taught two different modules each in year two. The young people learned to trust them during the first input, and were pleased when they reappeared. Their mature approach to the final discussion about the project with the film maker is evidence of this trust.
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Teachers learned new skills, too, and enjoyed seeing pupils respond to media making with professional-looking end products. They felt valued by the investment made in their school. Its great because they are not teachers they have come in especially for them. Teacher Some of the young people participating in year one while at Aconbury moved to The Priory or St Davids for year two, and so had skills to contribute to media activity. Teachers felt able to use them as experts, which added an important dimension to the teacherpupil relationship.
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artforms. However, this very detailed typology of impact can be usefully mapped against the Gaining Ground project outcomes and read to include other media employed as well as film under artform knowledge. Each of the impacts is divided into sub-categories, and those relevant to Gaining Ground are shown in Box 1.
Learning outcomes identified during Gaining Ground were new skills, enhancement of existing skills and social skills. These are mapped onto the total model of impact types in Table 1. Teachers also recognised the therapeutic effects of the digital storytelling on pupils, as an opportunity to look closely at aspects of their lives.
Communication and expressive skills Communication and expressive skills through artform Generic communication skills Personal development Sense of self and identity Self-esteem Self-confidence Moving image confidence Sense of maturity Social development Working with others and team work Social relationships Social awareness of others Changes in attitudes towards and involvement in (film) Attitudes to learning about film Positive image of ability in film Attendance and behaviour during project Attitudes towards career in film (artform) Transfer beyond the moving image Other subjects and other learning Life in school Current life outside school Future life and work Lord et al., 2007
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Table 1 Learning outcomes mapped to impact types Learning outcomes New skills Camera skills Process of editing Claymation Audio recording Basic musical theory Song compilation and structure Ability to listen and compose an individual performance Enhancing existing skills Communication skills Listening skills Numeracy Computer skills Visual/media literacy How to develop creative ideas Social skills Increased confidence Ability to relate well to practitioners from the world of work Personal development Personal development Transfer beyond the moving image Self-confidence Sense of maturity Current life outside school Working with others and team work Communication and expressive skills Transfer beyond the moving image Transfer beyond the moving image Film knowledge and appreciation skills Developments in creativity Generic communication skills Artform knowledge and skills Artform knowledge and skills Artform knowledge and skills Communication and expressive skills Developments in creativity Film (animation) skills and techniques Audio skills and technique Music skills and techniques Communication and expressive skills through the artform Ability to explore and use given ideas Artform knowledge and skills Film skills and techniques Type of impact Sub-category
Other subjects and other learning Other subjects and other learning Interpretative skills Ability to explore and use given ideas
and some, on occasion, took the lead. This demonstrated affective outcomes (sense of achievement), changes in attitudes towards and involvement in film (attendance and behaviour during the project), social development (teamwork). Practitioners noted changes in the pupils attitude as they become more familiar with them during a module. They are more polite, say goodbye, hello and thank you and you can have fun with them, playful fun. Impacts here are in social development (social awareness) and transfer beyond the moving image (life in school).
creative work
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This progress was a great achievement for the pupil and for the centre. While Gaining Ground was only one part of the curriculum, it made a significant contribution to this pupils development.
Type of impact Social development Personal development Sub-category Working with others and teamwork Self esteem Self confidence Moving image confidence Sense of maturity Satisfaction Transfer beyond the moving image Affective outcomes Life in school Immediate enjoyment Sense of achievement Immediate motivation Thinking skills Concentration
Sub-category Sense of self and identity Immediate enjoyment Sense of achievement Immediate motivation
Changes in attitudes towards and involvement in film Social development Thinking skills
Changes to attendance and behaviour during project Working with others and teamwork Concentration
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Gained confidence going on camera (filming). Impacts affective outcomes (enjoyment, wellbeing and therapeutic), film knowledge (film skills and techniques), personal development (self confidence) and social skills (social relationships).
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Impacts artform knowledge and skills (knowledge, appreciation, skills and techniques, interpretative skills), communication and expressive skills and transfer beyond the moving image (other subjects and learning).
the creative approaches learned on Gaining Ground to support coursework (e.g. GCSE art). At St Davids, while the music module had less impact because teachers found it difficult to wean them off their own music, the St Davids teacher said: i-movie and digital photography are now part of what we do and we all do it. The animation work was deemed inspiring, but one teacher wanted time to develop her own use first, before delivering in the classroom. The headteacher at Aconbury believes the project enabled a culture change. Aconbury now offers media studies, taught by staff that participated. Teachers use their new skills and the RMCs models to deliver digital stories, comic strips and other practical activity. Film is used in history, art and drama lessons, and animation using clay is learned in art. Resources have been accessed to enhance curriculum delivery. Gaining Ground was a fantastic investment in what we do here. It has helped us to move forward in a way we couldnt have done without the project. The pupils gained selfesteem, but it worked for the staff and the centre as a whole, because it means people understand the work we do and hold it in esteem. Headteacher
Conclusions
Gaining Ground provided a quality experience in terms of skills learned, creativity developed and classroom relationships between pupils, teachers and practitioners. Pupils gained self-esteem through the experience of working with these practitioners and through seeing the results of their work. For some, it represented their best achievements. While the legacy is most evident at The Aconbury Centre, The Priory and St Davids also continue to use approaches learned during the project.
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Gaining Ground provides a partnership model for application in PRUs, and a vehicle for linking 1419 mainstream and PRU delivery. Its findings could inform the work of the Diploma in Creative and Media.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to RMC, Herefordshire Council Children and Young Peoples Services, PRU staff, practitioners and young people, for their willingness to discuss the project.
References
Harland, J., Kinder, K., Lord, P., Stott, A., Schagen, I., Haynes, J., Cushworth, L., White, R., and Paola, R. (2000). Arts Education in Secondary Schools: Effects and Effectiveness. Slough: NFER. Wilkin, A., Gulliver, C. and Kinder, K. (2005). Serious Play: an Evaluation of Arts Activities in Pupil Referral Units and Learning Support Units. London: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Lord, P., Jones, M., Harland, J., Bazalgette, C., Reid, M., Potter, J. and Kinder, K. (2007). Special Effects: the Distinctiveness of Learning Outcomes in Relation to Moving Image Education Projects. Final Report [online]. Available: http://www.creative-partnerships. com/content/researchAndEvaluation Projects/140103/ [7 February, 2008].
Contact details
Cathy Poole cathyp@billsaunders.plus.com
Copying permitted
The NFER grants to educational institutions and interested bodies permission to reproduce this item in the interests of wider dissemination.
Weblinks
Gaining Ground www.gainingground.org.uk
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