Browsing by Author "Singh, Lorraine Pushpam."

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Birth and regeneration : the arts and culture curriculum in South Africa, 1997-2006.
(2007) Singh, Lorraine Pushpam.; Malcolm, Clifford Keith.
Co-directing, co-creating, collaborating: a self-‐reflexive study of my collaborative theatre-making practice.
(2018) Van der Walt, Tanya Lenore.; Singh, Lorraine Pushpam.
One of the first things any Drama or Theatre student learns is the maxim ‘Theatre is a collaborative art’. However, the question of what it means to be truly collaborative in one’s approach, the range of different types of collaboration, and the deep seated workings of the collaborative act, are rarely discussed in considering the art of theatre-‐making. This study uses self-‐study methodologies to examine my own practice of collaborative theatre-‐making, in order to gain a greater understanding of the educational implications of my work as director, theatre-‐maker, and educator. In so doing, I reflect on my own long-‐term, scholarly, creative, and pedagogical partnership, by examining our co-‐created work, the FrontLines Project, as the focal case-‐study of this thesis. Section 1 answers the question “How do I enact my collaborative theatre-‐making practice? (with specific reference to the FrontLines Project), through a discussion of theories and practices of devising theatre, and a detailed analysis of the making of the FrontLines Project. Section 2 considers the question “Who am I as a collaborator?”. I engage with theoretical understandings of collaboration, and creative collaboration, and excavate my own practice as a collaborative theatre-‐maker, identifying a series of ‘selves’ at work in my practice. Section 3 asks “How does my practice of collaborative theatre-‐making create a space for teaching and learning? Why?”. I identify ten different types of teaching and learning which can be identified in the FrontLines Project. Then, I posit a theoretical understanding of why this teaching and learning took place in the project, using a Vygotskian model. In so doing, I conceive of my collaborative theatre-‐making practice as a complex Zone of Proximal Development, in which we can grow and develop as collaborators and co-‐constructors of meaning, as both knower and learner, teacher and student, leader and follower, more capable peer and less capable peer, thinker and doer. In this way the process of collaborative theatre-‐making becomes a developmental process in which affective skills, critical thinking skills, communication skills, creative skills, and cognitive skills are grown and expanded.
Facilitating ownership in visual communications learning : a lecture's self-study.
(2014) Downing, Graham.; Singh, Lorraine Pushpam.
This self-study focuses on investigating and exploring my teaching and learning philosophy and my role as a teaching and learning facilitator in a private tertiary institution, and how that role critically empowers students to shift their attitude and take ownership of their own learning. My motivation and rationale for conducting this self-study is in response to what I had observed as a disconnection between my teaching practice and the learning attitudes of my students. I used Personal History Self-study and Developmental Portfolio Self-study methodologies to explore and reflect on my early educational teaching and learning experiences and my lived teaching and learning practice. My aim was to identify whether or not my lecturing practice encouraged or discouraged the learning ownership of my students. In this study I made use of ‘memory work’ as the primary method for generating data for my study. The data sources I utilised were – letter writing, memory drawing, and artefact retrieval, such as photographs and actual objects. These sources assisted me in reflecting on educational contexts and the people that have made a significant impact on my teaching and learning experiences. From these self-study methodologies, I formulated teaching and learning principles that speak to and reflect my teaching and learning philosophy and ideology and the implications they have for enhancing students teaching and learning experiences. Thus, I have learned that I needed to be critically aware of my teaching behaviour and therefore proactively change my practice in order to foster healthy interpersonal relationships that empower and emancipate my students in their teaching and learning experiences. Through this study, I became aware that a self-study methodology is a lifelong learning tool that is essential for teacher development.
Out the box : flamenco as educational : a living theory study of dance in primary education.
(2010) Fernandez, Lynn Pamela.; Singh, Lorraine Pushpam.
This study arises out of my experiences of conducting flamenco dance workshops in a number of schools. During my visits I became concerned by what I observed happening in dance education at these schools. In discussion with the teachers I began to identify various challenges and constrains that had the effect of ‘boxing’ dance in the formal education curriculum. I became concerned with the effect these ‘boxes’ were having on dance education and I felt compelled to try and address some of the issues and challenges I observed. The diversity of cultures found in many urban schools that I visited, presents a tremendous challenge for educators wishing to include dance into their learning programmes. As a result dance is either not being offered at these schools or is approached in a tokenistic way. In many instances the teachers I spoke to were inadequately trained or ignorant of the requirements for dance in the formal curriculum. This study seeks to offer a way to address these issues. In my research, I have reflected on some of the educational and social factors that I believe are challenging dance education in these schools. I have conducted a Qualitative Action Research with an Auto Ethnographic, Self Study approach using the Living Theory Methodology as a point of departure. I have used my knowledge of flamenco and dance education to open the ‘flamenco box’ in order to introduce it to mainstream dance education in South Africa. I have come to term my approach ‘flamenco as educational’. In accordance with the Living Theory Methodology I include personal and educational aims and values and through rhythm and flamenco dance reflect on the interconnectedness of existence. I use critical reflection to engage with the issues I observed influencing dance education in a multicultural learning environment.