Cyberbullying Workshop Brief and Evalution
Today, myself, Kiera, Katy.A and Katy.B facilitated our one hour workshop to a class of Year 8 Pupils at Hayfield Girls School, Bath.Â
Aim: The aim for our workshop is to create an awareness of cyberbullying. We hope the participants gain an understanding of the issues surrounding this subject and how these issues may be resolved as we work through a variety of dramatic techniques.
Introduction - In a circle, we will introduce ourselves to the participants and introduce the theme of our workshop - cyberbullying. We will ask the participants to introduce themselves and tell the group their favourite social media site. After a short discussion, we have included a brief teamwork exercise to bring the group together and to allow everyone time to focus. â¨â¨We will then ask the participants to form a line and the facilitators will read a series of statements focused around cyberbullying. The participants step forward if they believe the statement to be true, or back if they believe it to be false. They are as follows:â¨
ABI - More than 20% of people online have been bullied on the internet
KIERA - I often see people being bullied online
KATY.B - I have seen cyberbullying online and not reported it
KATY.A - I use my mobile phone for social networking everyday
ABI - I believe cyberbullying is a serious problem
KIERA - I believe cyberbullying online is easier to get away with than bullying someone in person
KATY.B - Boys are more likely to be bullied online
KATY.A - Girls are more likely to be the âbullyâ onlineâ¨â¨(These statements are also referred to near the conclusion of the workshop)
â¨â¨Image Theatre (Augusto Boal) - We will then split the group up in to smaller groups, of about 4 or 5, and direct them in creating an âActual Imageâ of cyberbullying. After a short discussion on the created images, the groups will then be asked to produce an âIdeal Imageâ of cyberbullying. We will then briefly discuss the difference between the two images created before moving on to creating the âTransitional Imageâ.â¨â¨Spect-Actor (Augusto Boal) - We will then continue to show the participants a short scene created by us, the facilitators, centred around cyberbullying. The rules of the spect-actor will be explained, and the participants will have the chance to pause the scene and step in as the protagonist in order to attempt to solve the cyberbullying problem. This will be followed by a discussion on what worked well, and what did not work so well in the scene and why. â¨â¨
Conclusion - The group will then form a circle for an end discussion. At this point, we shall refer back to the previous statements, and read out the facts about cyberbullying:â¨â¨
ABI - More than 20% of people online have been bullied on the internet⨠  Nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online. 1 in 4 has had it happen more than once.
KIERA - I often see people being bullied online                         70% of students report seeing frequent bullying online.
KATY.B - I have seen cyberbullying online and not reported it              90% of teens who have seen social-media bullying say they have ignored it.
KATY.A - I use my mobile phone for social networking everyday⨠           Over 80% of teens use a mobile phone regularly, making it the most common medium for cyber bullying.
ABI - I believe cyberbullying is a serious problem⨠                       68% of teens agree that cyber bullying is a serious problem.
KIERA - I believe cyberbullying online is easier to get away with than bullying someone in person                                               81% of young people think bullying online is easier to get away with than bullying in person.
KATY.B - Boys are more likely to be bullied online⨠                    KATY.A - Girls are more likely to be the âbullyâ online                    Girls are about twice as likely as boys to be victims and perpetrators of cyber bullying.â¨â¨
To finish, we will allow the participants time to ask any questions and give feedback on the session, as well as suggesting some sites to visit if they would like to learn more on cyberbullying.
My Evaluation of the workshop:Â
Initially, I was surprised by the number of students attending the workshop. We expected around 20 participants, but facilitated to about 30. This proved quite difficult as the participants were excited and therefore very loud and chatty. Keeping the group quiet and focused was probably the most challenging part of the process - our initial focus game (with participants ordering themselves alphabetically in silence) helped with this. However, I believe that we would have benefitted from introducing a small technique to refocus the group throughout. For example, if we had established a simple exercise where the facilitators clap and the participants clap back, this would have been an easy yet effective way of getting the attention of such a large group.Â
Another obstacle for us as facilitators was finding a way to encourage participants that were less willing to become involved. We had expected that due to the class being Year 8's, and therefore having not picked Drama as a subject for GCSE, that some participants may not be an enthusiastic as others for the subject. I think that had we known the group more personally then it would have been easier to encourage others. For example, if there was time to get to know the names of all participants, it would be easier to say, 'Okay, Jenny and Olivia have had a lot of ideas today, does anyone else have any thoughts?'Â
I think that the structure of our workshop worked well. By introducing Image Theatre to the group, they were able to work together to create a small piece without the exercise seeming too challenging. This then led on to us performing a short Forum Theatre scene in which the participants could become involved. The head of Drama at Hayesfield Girls School was doubtful as to wether the girls would be willing to perform in the Forum Theatre piece. However, we were pleasantly surprised as the scene was ran about 3 times, with 3 different participants being involved, creating different solutions to the cyberbullying problem shown. We did have a 'back-up plan' incase the participants did not want to perform themselves - we would have asked the group for their suggestions on how to improve the outcome of the scene, but one of the facilitators would act it instead.Â
I would have loved to work with the Year 8's for a longer time, as I believe that the group became more involved as the workshop progressed and were very comfortable toward the end of the workshop during the Forum Theatre piece. During the group discussion to finish the workshop, the participants had many comments for us. The participants had only briefly discussed cyberbullying in the past and many of them were surprised by the facts that we gave them on the subject. This sparked an interesting discussion between the entire group, and they were very honest and open about their own experiences with cyberbullying. I enjoyed the feedback session and their reactions and found the experience very rewarding - especially when one girl approached me at the end and thanked me for coming.Â