Rolling Role for creative collaborative learning

Susan Davis

CQUniversity,

Australias . d av i s@ c q u . ed u . a u

Drama Australia Conference 2014, Hobart

ROLLING ROLE: REVISIONING HEATHCOTE’S MODEL FOR

CREATIVE COLLABORATIVE AND LEARNING

Heathcote quoting Machiavelli in 1513

“There is nothing more dif ficult to carry out nor more doubtful

of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new

order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all who profit

by the old order and only luke-warm defenders in all those who

would profit by the new order. This luke-warmness arises partly

from fear of their adversaries who have law in their favour and

partly from the incredulity of mankind who do not truly believe

in anything new until they have actual experience of it”

Rolling Role Tape 1

“drama is a social art dealing with the affairs of mankind”

ROLLING ROLE AS REVOLUTIONARY

PRACTICE

Voracious reader

Early interest in l i terature , h istory, geography and theatre

Strong personal presence –inspirat ional teacher

Per formance experience and professional act ing tra in ing

Great memory

Didn’t t ra in as a teacher but had greatest impact in educat ion

Inte l l igent , many regard her as a genius

HEATHCOTE 1926-2011

Davis, S. (2013) “Dramatic shape-shifter and

innovative teacher - the creative life and legacy of

Dorothy Heathcote” NJ (Drama Australia Journal),

Vol 37, No 1

HEATHCOTE ARCHIVES

MANCHESTER

Mantle of the expert pioneered by Heathcote in the 1960s

Involves the creation of a fict ional world or frame where students assume the role of exper ts in a designated field

I t acts as the means for students to investigate, acquire knowledge and problem solve, with them having a real purpose for learning and discovering

The processes she used might include working in role and introducing students to a ‘commission’ (such as a museum engaging an archaeological team)

Processes might involve mimed activit ies, improvised interactions, interviewing characters in role, writ ing letters, creating ar tefacts, engaging in research

The teacher’s role is to guide the process and the drama, stepping in and out of role as appropriate to st imulate, question, motivate and reflect.

( ‘Mantle of the Expert’ Heathcote & Bolton, 1995

The Treatment of Dr Lister – video with John Carroll)

BUILDS ON MANTLE OF THE EXPERT &

DRAMA INQUIRY PROCESSES

ROLLING ROLE HISTORY

1980s – Developed concept with New Zealand teachers Don McAra & Sally Pearse – overcome tyranny of multiple classes of short duration, potential to connect learning across the curriculum (McAra 2D article)

1980s-90s – Rolling Role projects with post graduate students and workshops (The Jarrow three, Masters research - Claire Armstrong Mills, Joan Kerley)

1990s – Rolling Role tapes – 16 tapes – at time of National Curriculum in England

2002 – Heathcote paper ‘Contexts for Active Learning’ Rolling Role one of four main methods described

2012 – Pam Bowell proposes revisioning Rolling Role for the Heathcote Reconsidered Conference

2013 – The Water Reckoning Project – www.water-reckoning.net

The concept of Rolling Role is to involve dif ferent groups or classes in building a community that then faces some kind of change. The initiators create a common context and agree to the key features, af fairs and concerns of the community. The students/children are then involved in building the community, the lives, events and artefacts of it and add to developments.

Work is often left incomplete so another group can take it forward and continue the drama.

Work produced by classes is publicly open and available to stimulate other work.

Heathcote suggested this work lends it self to sharing through something like a website.

ROLLING ROLL – INTEGRATING MODEL

(Heathcote, D. (2002) ‘Contexts for active learning: four models’

FINDING THE DRAMATIC CONTEXT

A context must be found that is appropriately rich and complex enough to allow for a number of classes to work on it at the same time, with potential for them to be engaged in dif ferent subjects

in most cases three dif ferent communities/perspectives and timeframes are identified as being connected to a specific problem and point of tension (past, present and future . Mills, 1989-90)

ROLLING ROLE TAPES 1993

Tape 1 – Sett ing the contex t

Tape 2 – Shif t ing the approach

Tape 3 – Framing and key ing

Tape 4 – Fashioning the non -negot iab le mater ia ls

Tape 5 – Putt ing the d imensions into the work

Tape 6 – But is i t real ly drama you’ re doing?

Tape 7 – Engaging people to become interes ted

Tape 8 – Keeping your cognit i ve/af fect ive head together

Tape 9 – Making school fee l real

Tape 10 – Recycl ing for investment

Tape 11 – Firming up the non -negot iab le e lements

Tape 12 – The team meets

Tape 13 – See the energy begin

Tape 14 – Planning for detai ls in teach ing

Tape 15 – Putt ing in the d imension e lements

Tape 16 – Outcomes

FRAMING AND KEYING (BEYOND PRE-

TEXT) TAPE 3

In Roll ing Role work a teacher generates material out of the domain of possibil it ies and fabricates it with the degree and sophistication of tension the class social health needs. So framing and keying related with tension are what makes ideas work and create the knowledge we want to impart .

Framing of class is paramount - I f you want to do tasks with an af fective perspective, you need to give them a point of view from which to enter that situation.

You need to ‘key’ the frame – endow them with now time – key them into what their power is in the situation. Most teachers begin with instructions. (Not ‘what we are going to do today’ but keying is in ‘now’ t ime. You are in the circumstances and empowering them to enter)

Now ‘keying’ is a matter of learning to combine a variety of signs and clues in combination – i t can be RISKY

IT WON’T WORK IF …

No requirement of investment

No commitment to outcomes

No recognizable valuable purpose for the ‘worker’

No immediate relationship with their real l ife

WATER RECKONING PROJECT –

HEATHCOTE RECONSIDERED CONFERENCE

COLLABORATION

What local and contemporary

experiences can we draw on to inform

our drama?

How do people cope in times of water

crisis?

Why is water so important to our lives

and cultures?

What are the major issues facilng

humanity involving water?

Context 1 –Inhabitants of

Ardus Unda before the disaster

Context 3 –Emissaries, survivors &

descendants of Ardus Unda

Context 2 –Researchers

who are researching the history of Ardus

Unda

Point of change/tension – Should the

original site become open to tourism. If

possible, should the original inhabitants

be unfrozen?

The Water Reckoning – Rolling Role Project

www.water-reckoning.net

Jason deCaires

Taylor imagery

WAY IN - STIMULUS RESPONSE –

PHYSICAL, DRAMATIC, WRITTEN

Example of written response -Little boy

Dear Diary, I 'm confused and lost... everyone's gone into hiding, leaving many to suffer and fend for themsleves. The 'unknown' is coming to sweep terror across our homes but we have no way of stopping death from coming to us all. I ' l l stick it out til l the end. I have sat here for days now, engulfed in my own thoughts. Perhaps there is something out there that would save us all.. .

DIFFERENT CONVENTIONS

Second hand account

A written account or report

A story told about another

A letter in the voice of the writer

Action as if from a fi lm

Creation or re -creation of painting or photograph

Finding or drawing up plans

Drawing or map

Rules or instructions

Clothes or ar tefacts of a character, t ime or place

Enacted Role

Effigies

Portraits

Identikit creation of role

Life sized model

A conversation overheard

A reported conversation

Finding a cryptic message

Rituals & ceremonies

Formal demonstrations, meetings, briefings

p. 166-

167

PIVOTAL EXPERIENCE – TUVALU VIDEO, WATER

SHARING EXPERIENCE – REAL

WORLD/DRAMATIC WORLD

Student writing afterwards….

I realize what a struggle our mother went

through to enable our survival, what she

sacrificed.

I was an orphan amongst the chaos. I

longed to go back but there was nothing to

go back to. So I grew up here in this land.

Although not fully accepted, we have

learned to live, survive, celebrate and

commemorate our losses and gains.

The world still does not know, or want to

know what really happened at Ardus Unda.

Now we need to speak the truth, to tell our

story so that justice can be done.

KEY ROLE OF PUBLISHING

The way the project actual ly ‘rol ls’ is that work is of ten lef t incomplete, but publ ished and shared, so other groups can use it and take it forward to continue the drama

Embodiment and crystal l isation of ideas and emotions

This helps val idate the work created, and extends the community of practice and col laboration

Shared ownership and negotiation of the creative outcomes that can be shared with the world

Artefacts can be endowed with new meaning

Original pre-

text

Queensland beach

photo shoot &

response

Queensland

beach shoot

– character &

symbolic

clothing

Greek follow on

Visual examples of work ‘rolling’

At the beach – I s tar ted understanding what i t was a l l about, feel ing i t

Watching the v ideo af terwards, the way i t was put together helped to make sense

When people did di f ferent scenes, for example the one where one group did a water r i tual

The cup of water act iv i ty – feel ing what i t might be l ike

Per forming and having other watch, watching others present

Choosing what to do with our cup of water, had to th ink about the issues

In the v i l lage, l in ing up and wait ing for water, i t helped me appreciate how i t might be in developing countr ies

Having the pr int out of di f ferent scenes we could choose from

Watching the v ideo of Tuvalu, real iz ing th ings l ike th is actual ly happen, the s i tuat ion isn’ t tota l ly unreal ist ic

When we got one l i t re of water and had to decide how to use i t

IMPORTANT LEARNINGS FOR STUDENTS

Flexibil ity of the model (options for application, one teacher multiple classes, multiple teachers one school, multiple teachers across different schools)

Learning that matters – context connecting past, present and future

Importance of team planning and communication throughout

Importance of aesthetically charged mediating tools, framing and keying in

High selectivity in artefacts, signing and pivots

Power of teacher who empowers

Rules of collaboration – using the work of others

Publication of work that is then used for meaning making

Facil itating learning that translates across boundaries

LEARNINGS FROM PROJECT

Rolling Role – There is not a lot written on it

yet. it is so radical, but we will create a

dif ferent way of thinking. We are on the cusp

of something.

(Heathcote Tape 16)