What does Enthusiasm tell us?

 Over the last couple of weeks, I have had two videographers from my target group of students who have shown interest in being the videographer at in-school events. In these situations, they have been the ones who have suggested being the videographers. This sign of enthusiasm tells me a lot about the mindset of these students, how they feel valued and confident in themselves and that being a videographer is something they are good at and can lead in.

This anecdotal evidence is hugely valuable to see the success in using videography as a way of developing confidence in some children.

In an article on the Western Weekender, an opinion piece (Confidence and enthusiasm) talks about the importance of enthusiasm and confidence in a business environment. I think the same can be said in education. In the article, it states that "being enthusiastic in what you do breeds confidence." This article also makes an interesting point about confidence. It explains how people feel reassured by people who are confident which in turn leads to greater trust. I would add an extra element to this which is that this could be seen as a never ending cycle as feeling trusted by others can also help your confidence to grow. 

Footage Rubric

I have created a rubric which I can use to assess the quality of footage the students gather during a videography experience:

Anecdotal Reflection

So far, my inquiry is going very well. I have started sending my target group of children off on sports tournaments as videographers and the response from them is really positive. One student has now filmed at 2 tournaments so I am beginning to get self assessment responses to form a comparison.

Responses from the students has been positive and they are starting to be more reflective with the improvements they are making. 

As the students begin going to more tournaments, I will be able to start comparing their footage to see how it has improved. I therefore need to create a rubric to assess the quality of the filming.

Roaming Videographers Feedback/Survey Responses

 The children who filming at sports events last week have now given feedback and responses to their experience. I have compiled the responses here:

Of the three children who filmed for the Matariki Day celebration, all felt they enjoyed filming a sports event more than filming at the Matariki Day.

Some things that children felt they got better at included:

-Learning how to use the camera cover during rain.

-Felt they got more confident each time they recorded.

Some children went to the events by themselves while others went as a buddy. Responses were positive for all children, despite whether they were by themselves or with a buddy:

- "I felt good by myself. I felt like I needed to work independently."

- "We were able to record games with not many complaints or arguments."

- "He was a good buddy with recording was because he helped me a lot with recording and he was very fun videoing with."

The responses from children who went out to sports events as videographers was really positive. This can be seen in the graph above. All children came back feeling that they had a positive experience. Reasons for this included:

- "I loved it! but I got soaking wet."

- "It was a good experience because I came out of my comfort zone and it was just a lot different."

- "Because I loved videoing them playing [sport] and watching how good they are."

- "I enjoyed it because recording them was fun. I thought I got some very good shots..."

I feel that these responses couldn't be better! The children's written responses are all positive and enthusiastic.

Of these four children, one was happy sticking to being a videographer. The other three all expressed interest in giving other news roles a go too. None of the children said they didn't want to be doing it. I feel that this is a really good indication that they are feeling more confident through being videographers.

Videography experience - Self Assessment/ Survey

 Today I created a survey for children to fill out after being a videographer at an out-of-school sporting event. We have 3 events this week so it will be really interesting to see how they get on and find the experience! 

The survey I have created is quite open-ended to allow the children to tell me what they have got out of the experience.

How will I collect information about implementation of changed practices/intervention?

 Hypothesis: If a less experienced classmate is supported by a more experienced classmate to learn a new skill, then their confidence in this skill will begin to develop. Confidence will begin improving in this skill as well as in other areas of school and life once they are out making decisions for themselves as members of the PENN (school news) crew. 

Inquiry Question: How does confidence of children improve by being given leadership roles as part of the school news team?

This is my second year in the Creative Space role. Last year, a lot of time was spent in Lockdown and when we were at school, we had to run things a bit differently. We were fortunate to have some sports competitions throughout the year. Last year, I relied on children who came to me expressing an interest in being videographers for sports tournaments. I also relied on children who had previously been presenters on PENN news. I worked with a small number of keen year 5 children to begin training them up as news presenters. 

This year, I began by utilising the same children who I had as my PENN crew last year. I had two keen year 7 children who expressed an interest in being videographers for sporting events. I had two keen year 8 children who expressed an interest in being videographers for assembly.

More recently, I have begun implementing a different approach. In the first half of my inquiry, I have identified a target group of children whose confidence I want to develop through being members of the PENN crew. These children are unlikely to be children who would step forward and ask to be given an opportunity like this. Instead, I am encouraging them to step into this role.

During the first half of this term, I have begun transitioning towards these target learners being the regular PENN videographers and photographers. One of these children has even stepped forward to give presenting a go!

During the final term and a half of this year, I will try to give these children as many opportunities as possible. I want them to see themselves as the PENN roaming videographers and photographers.

I will create blog post summaries of these experiences. It will be essential that I gather self-assessment data from the children after these experiences as I am not present with the children when they go out and video at sports events.

Other data that would be useful to gather will be to create a rubric to mark the quality of the footage that the children video. This will be important to make any comparisons in the quality of what they produce between now and the end of the year.

Restating my inquiry question and chain of events/ theory of action

Hypothesis: If a less experienced classmate is supported by a more experienced classmate to learn a new skill, then their confidence in this skill will begin to develop. Confidence will begin improving in this skill as well as in other areas of school and life once they are out making decisions for themselves as members of the PENN (school news) crew. 

Inquiry Question: How does confidence of children improve by being given leadership roles as part of the school news team?

Monitoring Progress (Assessment):

- Self confidence survey (see previous blog post and graphs)
- Anecdotal notes of children's confidence (from past teachers)
- Empowerment and Agency progression

Chain of Events (What I have done so far):

Chain of Events (What I will do next):