APPLIED

CURRICULUM
PROJECT
The project was a short flm developed, written,
shot, acted in, and edited by the students at St.
Josephs Flexible Learning Centre. Students chose
a theme from one of the four founding principles
of the school: Safe and Legal. Through class
discussions, short flm analysis, camera exercises and
screenwriting workshops, I worked with the students
to develop characters they could relate to, and a
script that explored issues that mattered to them.
Under my guidance, students fulflled roles such as
storyboard artist, sound recordist, cinematographer,
assistant director, director, actors extra, and
production assistant.
SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE
DEVELOPED
I gained a great understanding (through discussions with
my mentor teacher, Joe) of the value of peer assessment
and checklists within a project such as this.Checklists of
distinct roles to which students could refer during the
shooting process were invaluable.
Also, the peer assessment questionnaires helped students
to share their appreciation of others skills, and ideas for
improvement. The assessments also helped the students
evaluate what they had learned and achieved.
This project made me acutely aware of the vulnerability
at-risk students feel when attempting creative tasks.
Most of them havent been encouraged in such areas or,
worse still, have been told they are stupid or that creative
pursuits are stupid.
I learned, through my initial unsuccessful attempts at
assigning the students independent script writing, that
this was the wrong approach in a school like St. Josephs.
A lot of the students had no confdence in their own
writing, or werent overly comfortable taking creative
risks.
But, when we talked about characters and plot as a
group, they fed off of each other and encouraged each
other and fuelled each others creativity, and the story
and characters really benefted.
So it was a great learning experience for me to coax
creativity out of them, and to make them feel that it was
worth doing in the frst place. I realised early on that my
enthusiasm for the project was vital to their engagement.
SUPPORT OF
STUDENT LEARNING
Importantly, students (excluding the lead characters)
alternated between roles, to help them try new roles,
particularly those they might not normally have
confdence in attempting.
It was imporant to remind students that they were not
only learning new skills for themselves, but also helping
to complete an exciting group project.
The development of the characters, and then the
plot structure and screenplay gave students a great
opportunity to develop their writing voice and write
personal refections. In this school, in which literacy is
more of an issue than studying canonical literature, the
open forum character/script development discussions
for this flm presented an inclusive atmosphere for
students to play with ideas.
OVERVIEW OF
PROJECT OUTCOME
This flm project was a long time coming for the school
the Head of Campus was quite keen for the students
to explore flmmaking as a form of self-expression, and
also to take advantage of the equipment afforded them.
Furthermore, by shooting the flm on the school
grounds, the students were encouraged to encouraged
to evaluate which locations held meaning for them, and
which theyd like to show others who view the flm.
The school now has a flm made, by its students, about
one of its core principles that can be kept as an example
of what the principles mean to the students, and how
they interpret them.
JAMES
REVENGE!
JUSTIN OLMSTEAD 4492529