Rachael Hains-Wesson

Multimodal Theatre Experiences: Africa and 2 Dimensional Life of Her

Australias theatre for young audiences (TYA) has concentrated on young peoples interest in techno-savvy narrative complexities since the early 1990s, and has done so with positive outcomes. Building from a reflective inquiry, which is based on a TYA practitioners viewpoint, I explore two Australian contemporary theatre productions for mixed audiences: My Darling Patricias Africa (2011) and Fleur Elise Nobles 2 Dimensional Life of Her (2011), which utilize old and new technologies for differing purposes. I present the following article in two parts: The first section briefly contextualizes TYA plays in Australia using digital technologies, along with a review of the literature that introduces an ongoing dialogue about digital media in theatre. The second part showcases the creative development process and the synopsis of Africa and 2 Dimensional Life of Her before I discuss the use of old technology in Africa in the form of a techno-tele-character, and the impact of new technologies in 2 Dimensional Life of Her as a transmediated theatrical occurrence. Recommendations are made for ways that TYA practitioners might consider mixing old and new technologies with the live to compete in the cultural marketplace.

A collaborative autoethnography study to inform the teaching of reflective practice in STEM

ABSTRACT The paper explores a collaborative self-study, autoethnography research project, which aided in informing practice for the teaching of reflective practice in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at an Australian university. Self-report methods were used, because it enabled the collection of a variety of self-awareness data generated processes to help produce insights and understandings. This was achieved by undertaking a systematic approach to the exploration of a critical friendship between two academic support staff members alongside reflections from a recorded, focus group interview with nine STEM teachers. Four self-awareness data generated processes were used: (1) self-reflections; (2) collaborative reflections; (3) reflections on pertinent literature findings and (4) reflections from nine STEM teachers. A thematic analysis of the data was undertaken, which resulted in the discovery of three turning points such as moments of understandings that challenge assumptions and/or lead to new insights. The findings indicated that a STEM-centric, scaffolded approach that utilised the scientific method for reflective practice enabled the development of a shared understanding around teaching and assessing reflective practice for STEM teachers. First, because it boosted self-confidence and second, because it reduced scepticism around reflective practice as a non-scientific form of learning.

Sharing Stories among Teachers

A casual review of the literature reveals a modest collection of studies that draw on personal experience about academic development in higher education. The following Postcard outlines a strategy employed by academic development staff in an attempt to increase participation in sharing best practice at an Australian university. Our aim was to provide teaching staff with a variety of online examples of innovative teaching practice, which were accessible at any time. We titled the project Stories in Teaching.

Creative teaching in STEM

ABSTRACT If Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines in higher education are to retain students, there needs to be a shift towards teaching in more enriching and interesting ways. Creative teaching needs to become more prominent in STEM. This article presents a study that defines creative teaching in the STEM context and investigates attempts to teach creatively as experienced by nine STEM educators in an Australian university. The results highlighted that achieving creative teaching is difficult and that the element of surprise is essential. Despite the struggle required, creative teaching afforded fulfilment for teachers. We examine the characteristics of those interviewed and suggest strategies for fostering creative teaching. The findings extend beyond the STEM discipline.

Why aren’t we talking? Third-party providers and mobility programs

A current call for the reform to private providers (which also includes third-party providers (TPPs)) who offer educational services to registered training and higher education organizations has produced an urgent space for debate around standards. In a recent article, Danckert (2015) highlighted distressing stories about private providers such as Australian Careers Network, Ashley Services and Vocation in terms of their emphasis on sales and profit rather than on quality education. In 2015, a media release from the Senator, the Hon Simon Birmingham, then Assistant Minister for Education and Training, expressed that, when Registered Training Organizations (RTOs) breach standards, they are to be issued with an immediate fine under the new infringement notice scheme (The Department of Education and Training Media Centre 2015). This is essentially a soft-touch penalty designed to eradicate dodgy marketing practices by RTOs and TPP organizations – a modest punishment! The Federal Government is presently supporting Australian universities to increase mobility programs by offering student grants and aiding institutional mobility initiatives such as the Overseas Study Higher Education Loan Program (OS-HELP), introduced in 2004, the Study Overseas website, the World Class campaign, the Asia Abroad and New Colombo Plan to name just a few (International Education Association of Australia [IEAA], 2015 ). This also means an increase in the contracting of TPPs to aid in the co-delivery of learning in-country. With this in mind, it is imperative to continue to look into how universities are determining best practice in their policy development and how ongoing relationship-forming with TPPs concerning the co-delivery of learning is to be evaluated. There is a pressing need for empirical research that is timely and relevant in this area. While TPPs can assist universities’ mobility programs to enhance the student experience, without the due diligence designed to monitor, regulate and increase collaborative efforts between TPPs and mobility stakeholders, important knowledge will be lost. Bestpractice policy guidelines, research and evaluation, and the open sharing of knowledge between universities and TPPs is therefore crucial. While there are best-practice guidelines available from the UK, USA and Australia, including the IEAA’s Guide to working with third party providers, these guidelines are based on modest empirical research. We know very little, for instance, about how educators employed by universities to support international learning experiences when students are immersed in in-country learning experiences work collaboratively and successfully with TPPs.

Theorizing the imaginary character in David Holman's the small poppies

For this project, I focus on David Holman’s The Small Poppies (1989) as a case study to highlight the significance of the imaginary character in a stand-out Australian theatre-in education (TIE) play. The main premise of the article is to extend the study of imaginary characters and its association with young children, using a reflective inquiry that is based on an artist-in-school practitioner’s viewpoint. Holman’s play negotiates the competing forces between a child’s positive notions about the imaginary companion and society’s varied comprehension of such imaginings, which at times is unflattering. The story of Clint and his imaginary dog, Digger, in The Small Poppies emerges as a micro-socio-psychological phenomenon in the form of: (1) an invisible, known identity; (2) an emotional stabilizer; and (3) shared imaginings. In this study, the analysis pivots solely on the imaginary character at particular performative “turning points” (Bullock and Ritter 2011) within the play. The theorization of the imaginary character in The Small Poppies offers a new perspective for young people’s relationships with imaginary characters from the field of Australian TIE.