I was quite uncomfortable in this workshop as I have not done any sort of activities like this since I was in primary school. In saying this I was quite excited as it did take me back to my pre-teenager days and it truly felt like I was a kid again.

What were your most uncomfortable moments?

Definitely doing the activities in front of people, especially because I do not know them well. Having to raise my voice and do dancing in front of these new people definitely had me aware of what they thought of me.

What were your most enjoyable moments?
Even though it was uncomfortable, it was still very enjoyable, and seeing full-grown adults do the activities we were doing was quite humorous. Getting out of the comfort zone and expressing yourself in this instance was scary but a challenge well worth it.

What did you discover about how you learnt in this workshop?

I discovered that I learn in a more visual practical way rather than in a written theoretical way. I much prefer hands-on practical activities as opposed to sitting down at a desk by yourself doing worksheets.

How might primary students learn in drama?

I believe that they will learn in the same way, being more practical and hands-on, not sitting at a desk doing worksheets that they do so often. I could imagine the kids getting great enjoyment out of expressing themselves amongst their friends.

In terms of learning the arts, learning in a practical setting definitely helps me learn. Actually being able to apply the theory in the lectures to real-life activities makes the content a lot more understandable and relatable. Not only this but it definitely helps memorise the theory as there are real memories of the topics that help consolidate learning, as opposed to just reading the content.

Can you gauge your reaction to this workshop, compared to the first?

I did feel a lot more prepared as I knew what to expect and the kind of activities we will be doing. It was definitely a lot more comfortable doing the activities now as the class is starting to get along with each other and know each other better. I wouldn't say we're a close group yet, however, we are starting to be more comfortable with each other, increasing my confidence.

What do you think is meant by the concept that students learn by symbolically representing their world through drama?

I think that it means the personality and thoughts of people come out through their actions and mini-performances. Their attitudes and personalities arent written or spoken, but performed.

How does drama foster collaboration and cooperation?

Many of the activities in drama are group-based, allowing for an opportunity for the class to work with each other. They also get to learn from each other and get an insight into others' thoughts and ideas. Fostering both collaboration and cooperation in the classroom.

Dance can be used to express yourself and your creativity as the opportunities for creativity are limitless. This can be used to explore primary students to create and express themselves in their own unique way through the dance. There are many different activities to give students for them to explore their creativity and what they are capable of.

I realised how daunting it is to do activities in front of people. The risk of being judged or doing the wrong thing is always in the back of your head and always making you second guess yourself. I thought I was quite a confident person and didn't have much shame however I most definitely had nerves and worried when doing drama activities with so many people around.

Why is it the most important?

This is the most important as when teaching children drama it is vital that you make them feel comfortable and safe when doing activities. You want the children to have confidence in themselves, and encourage them to have a go. 

I know that the media arts has a lot to do with representing the arts through the use of technology. Examples include film, imagery, and videos. I have had some experience in making films and using filmmaking applications so I would feel most comfortable in this part of media arts.

How can you plan to develop your competency in media arts education?
I can improve my competency in media arts by completing the work in the module aswell as practising the skills required for media arts education.

By far my favourite activity was the creative performance we did as our largest assignment. The way we were able to work on something major as opposed to the very short activities in the class allowed us to produce something we were proud of. Also having to combine multiple topics of the arts into one piece was an awesome challenge to combine all the pieces of the puzzle and put them together in a performance piece. Also being able to develop relationships and use everyone's ideas to combine and make such a unique performance was extremely rewarding for me.

Has anything surprised you about teaching dance, drama and or media arts to primary students?
Being able to experience being taught the arts, it surprised me how different I thought I would feel about an activity and how I actually felt. Its so important to put yourself in the shoes of the students when teaching the arts and being creative in front of others is such a daunting feeling. It will be crucial to push the students past this point and for them to be comfortable to express themselves comfortably in front of their friends. 

I am extremely keen to give the students a variety of tasks to complete and being able to see how they respond to tasks and the way they approach it in their own unique way. But if I had to choose one strategy it would be the drama performances as I will find it so interesting to see what primary students come up with in their minds and then perform something from that.