PhaseEExamples

=Examples of Work-in-progress Under Phase E=

Strategic Personal Planning

Strategic Personal Planning
__Governing Question__: What are the steps that I can take to engage the adult learning communities in using the principles of theater arts to prepare them to create social change?

The theme of all of my strategic personal planning is to more effectively narrow my attention to the realistic achievements within my research for the next few months. Generally, I have felt that my research has often expanded rather than contracted, so I have at times become lost in the breadth and depth of research material and have found it rewarding to explore that even though I have also needed time to manage my research process. At this point, a main theme of my continued research is to be satisfied with my accomplishment so far and also be dedicated to the concrete tasks that need to be finished for my final paper/project.

__Current status__:

1. class assignments A-E completed, meaning that I now have a clear research bibliography that I am using to focus my exploration 2. developed a clear notetaking system for my research materials; I have defined a set of subtopics of my research that help me to organize my broad ideas, so now it has become easier to focus my attention on the research, since many of the resources are lengthy books rather than articles. I have spent much time reading but have experienced slow progress because the volume of possible reading is very high. My system of organization is allowing me to selectively choose reading in a more efficient way. 3. I have done some significant work regarding interviewing/visiting relevant to my project. This has included three phone interviews so far and a visit to a theater-based education program. There are two more visits/conversations pending regarding other use of applied theater in social change education. I have come to realize more that this process of finding “allies” and organizations in my search for applications of theater in education toward social change is simply an ongoing process of all of my future work, so I will need to start to consider this more outside of the construct of the Research and Engagement course. In a way, I feel like the expansion of my own involvement in the greater community is itself a ultimate outcome that I have needed from the course. I still need to complete my write-up of the interactions mentioned above.

__Areas of greatest priority for upcoming months__:

1. Shift from spending time reading, interviewing, and reflecting to writing instead. Because I have so many different ideas and thoughts about ways of thinking about my research, it is vitally important to continue to fill out the outline of my research paper with more and more detail and finish my first draft within the next few weeks. 2. Find ways to engage with the other members of the class to work out the remaining questions and challenges to my assumptions. After our upcoming discussion of peer support, I hope to establish at least one “partner” in class with which to share work and offer encouragement. 3. Share my current progress with others in a more regular way. One of my goals for myself was to find ways to include others more in my work, and I’ve found that I need to return to a more basic level of interaction that can move away from the “weight” of research that I’ve done. One way to do this is to talk about the enjoyment of learning with the adults in my workplace and hear more personal stories about what makes learning fun for them. Also, I will plan to speak more with those in my improv. class about rewarding parts of the class.

__Obstacles to moving forward__:

1. Obstacle: As I have continued researching, I have found additional resources that seem relevant, but it is too easy to become involved in their depths, and this takes time. The underlying obstacle is that I feel the need to explore every resource even though there really is not enough time to do so. This seems related to my enthusiasm to learn more and more, which involves some difficult feelings because I realize that I can’t spend all of my time in that way. • Way to address this: I have now formed a revised bibliography, so now I feel that I must remain within that and trust that my resources are highly sufficient even if not globally representative of all of the ideas that I would like to explore. Also equally importantly, I have found that my interactions with others who engage in theater, education, and social change have been extremely fulfilling and have given me a practical view of this area that encourages me to move beyond the written research.

2. Obstacle: I find myself with limited time in terms of my classwork, day job, work as a graduate assistant, and other professional interests. In each of these cases, there is designated time to be physically present in each situation, but the nature of each also encourages some thought before and after. In my “in-between” times, there is competition between my attention to each of these areas, and it can be a struggle to focus on one at a time. • Way to address this: I have decided to define a literal schedule of my free time in terms of which of these areas can be reasonably addressed within that time. For example, I have set my time of Saturday morning between 10:00am-12:00noon for reading and note-taking for one of my classes, and I have designated the times for other activities as well. This has allowed me to discipline myself to confine my thoughts to certain areas and be less distracted.

3. Obstacle: I had some multiple/redundant note-taking systems that were taking too much time to manage. • Way to address this: I have now consolidated my note-taking system and now organize all of my work electronically. Originally, I felt that by writing everything by hand first and then transferring it to the computer, I was giving myself an opportunity for revision and reflection during that task and therefore would find new meaning in my notes/writing/planning. Now, I have established single computer files for each kind of related idea and enter new writings here directly (when possible). Even though I still benefit from hand-written notes as needed, I have had computer experience far long enough to most naturally find organization with computer files and still allow myself the flexibility of revision. For example, typing my weekly class journal in a single file actually makes it much each to review entries from previous weeks and make sense of my current reflections, so the whole process is much more clear and does not feel disjointed, which is what I experienced when taking notes first by hand all of the time.

__Clear steps and tasks to continue my work (to be completed no later than the week of Thanksgiving)__:

1. complete my remaining phone discussions with those involved in adult ed. using theater principles. 2. review web sites of my list of relevant local organizations that integrate theater, education, and attention to social issues. 3. seek a workshop or class for future attendance regarding directing theater 4. review my notes/documentation from my previous CCT classes and include core ideas in my electronic notes 5. write out at least 3 examples of my own ideas for activities that involve using theater in a classroom setting to teach a social change concept, as a foundation for further experimentation, dialogue, and discussion (for possible inclusion in final paper) 6. develop a basic outline for a teacher education workshop which introduces the idea of theater activities into the adult education environment and specifies timing, goals, and suggested flow of the workshop.