Tag Archives: creativity
Kahaani CAS Reflection 2
Pottery CAS Reflection 1
LO5 Collaboration
Although my peers and I made our pottery products individually, the initial process of planning and discussing how we should approach our projects was definitely a collaborative effort. As the students who I worked with as well as myself were fairly new to pottery and the mechanisms behind what makes an aesthetically pleasing and sturdy pot, we found our first few sessions challenging. However, we decided to take an entire lesson to plan and brainstorm what we would like to make. Due to the vast amount of freedom we had to decide what we would like to make, this process was difficult but also incredibly creative. Ultimately, by the end of the lesson we were able to form individual ideas of our first project in this activity, through online research and also by asking questions to the teacher supervisors who already had pre-existing knowledge of pottery.
I believe that through our collaboration, we were able to discover new ideas as well as suggest our known. This meant that the ideas we had were endless, which gave us a great imagination and sense of creativity, which is crucial for being successful in this activity.
LO6 Global Value
Although I had not initially thought of the global significance of pottery, I began to get an idea of how pottery can be used on a global scale and carry important functions other than decorative elements. In this activity itself, although I am focusing on aesthetic pieces, I did carry out initial research which led to me to how ceramics are used in global development. What I learnt was that the use of ceramics as technology could be used to revolutionise industrial processes on a smaller scale. What I found most striking was that some cook stoves can cause pollution, and that women and children in developing countries suffer from respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia, caused my smoke and fumes caused by cook stoves and lack of ventilation. Sustainable ceramic technologies can be used to reduce these fumes as well as treat pathogen-contaminated water. This type of technology is not only sustainable but also has low costs which makes it a suitable alternative for daily appliances. After my initial projects which are mainly decorative elements, I hope to carry out additional research to investigate how I could create something that promotes the global advantages of using ceramics. Lastly, I think that even by conducting individual research on pottery, I was able to grasp a deeper understanding of how this material can be used globally and carry such importance.
Culturama 2019 CAS Reflection
LO 2 – Challenge
What did I find challenging?
Since I had never participated in a dance show in a very long time, I initially found the choreography challenging as although the leaders taught it step by step, there was a lot to learn and perfect. Although since most members of our group were not people who dance regularly, the environment was very comfortable as it was easy to help each other out and not feel intimidated. I also made sure to practice regularly in order to keep up with everyone else.
What risks have I taken?
Although I am not a dancer, I was very eager to get out of my comfort zone by placing myself at the front row for example or helping others. I was able to do this by practicing the choreography consistently and making sure that I was completely comfortable with the entire dance, as I knew that it would make the performance easier for myself and for others as well. I think that by taking such risks I have been able to discover a newfound interest for large school shows and performances which I haven’t had since primary school. I have enjoyed being apart of a process where I can get to know new people and develop my individual skills.
What new skills have I developed?
Culturama has taught me a lot of different skills of not only the actual dancing we did but also through the challenged we faced and how we overcame them. Apart from the dance skills I gained, I also improved the skill of perfecting movements and routines in a set period of time. I am more used to developing my skills in sports or academics so learning skills in the arts was very interesting and is something that I plan on continuing in the future. However, although I learnt skills in the arts, I feel that I would still be able to apply them in different areas of knowledge. For example, from now on I think that I would be more committed to learning our moves in Touch Rugby or even developing a certain skill in maths. Since Culturama had a set time period I was able to become more organised and set clear goals for when I wanted to achieve a certain move or step, which made the entire process a lot easier for myself.
How did I measure my improvement?
Our rehearsals were recorded regularly, so by watching those I could see how my movements were and where I needed to improve. Since one of the dances was with a partner, I was able to tell if we improved by our coordination and ability to move around the stage smoothly.
LO 5 – Collaboration
Who did I collaborate with?
For Culturama 2019, I was apart of the Spain dance group, which included mixed gender Grade 10, 11 and 12 students. This was my first time participating in this event, and although dance skills were not required, I was still relatively nervous at the beginning of the rehearsal process.
What made it easy or difficult to work together?
In our group there were definitely people who knew each and had friends with them, but I still think that we all collaborated with each other. Since the dances are student-run, it was initially difficult for everyone to pay attention and learn the choreography as some might have felt more ‘relaxed’ as teachers were not present. Despite that, as a few weeks past, we managed to work more effectively. Although I did not know many people in my dance, I found that I was still able to ask questions to others to clarify choreography and also to help them. I think what made it eventually easy to work together was the fact that we all shared the same goal of having a successful outcome and performance for the show. I believe that this is why leading up to the show we were more determined and motivated to make the weeks rehearsing worthwhile, by cleaning up the dance and turning it into a real performance.
What challenges did we face when working together and how did we overcome them?
Throughout the weeks leading up to the show, some of the challenged we faced were that there were a lot of absences during the practices as a lot of people were committed to other activities and hence could not make it to every rehearsal. This made it more challenging towards the end as it was hard to organise formations without the presence of every group member.
How important was collaboration to achieving the outcome?
Collaboration was key in achieving the outcome as the show required team work in order to make sure that the dance was successful. Although the group consisted of people who might not have known everyone closely, it was vital that we interacted with everyone to ensure that our movements on the stage were coordinated.
