Intensive Programme Reykjavík
In Collaboration with adolescents in Borgarholtsskóli
This intensive programme offered a four-day workshop focusing on how the arts support and enhance the well-being of vulnerable adolescents. The aim was to develop adolescents’ self-esteem and interpersonal emotional well-being through group work. The SWAIP students were inducted through training and guidance on working with vulnerable young people. Specialists from the field taught drama techniques, and ways of working with sound, as well as art therapy:
Unnur G. Óttarsdóttir: Processing Emotions and Memorising Coursework through Memory Drawing.
Gunnar Ben: Creative Music Communication.
Vigdís Lebas Gunnarsdóttir: Pedagogy and Theatre of the oppressed.
After these introductory workshops, the students designed their own workshops for the adolescents at the school in Borgarholtsskóli (Upper-Secondary School in Reykjavík).
The adolescents (16-20 years old) in Borgarholtsskóli followed a study track for teenagers that have not met the standards to enter the general study, due to various reasons (i.e. ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia or social circumstances). The workshops run, by SWAIP students facilitated group work within the interdisciplinary arts, offering creative activities, skill development, self-expression and creative enjoyment.
Learning Outcomes
The following learning outcomes were used to prepare and evaluate the workshop:
Transposing his/her professional, artistic knowledge to the context of the young people in danger of dropping out of school. The SWAIP students learnt about the general profile of the young people in Borgholtsskóli and had to find ways to connect their knowledge into a cohesive workshop. The students were asked to organize themselves into interdisciplinary groups to obtain different viewpoints based on their own cultural and disciplined knowledge and experience. Each student working group, supported by SWAIP staff, designed, prepared and was expected to run an interdisciplinary workshop for the wellbeing of the 16-20 year-old adolescents. In general, this was achieved and the students managed to integrate their field specific background: fine art, music, architecture, drama and art therapy. This was challenging especially because they were expected to materialise their proposals without knowing who would finally attend or how many. There was also a need to build up trust right from the beginning when introducing their proposed workshop to the adolescents. This was a risk that had to be taken due to the adolescents‘ vulnerabilities and the fact that the students did not know about the interests beforehand. This demanded active listening, flexibility and readiness to react and change course.
Identification of specific emotions in adolescents in danger of dropping out of school. Different techniques were used to achieve this. For instance, finding a stimulus and interest by listening, detecting body language and facial gestures.
Developing the ability to create connections with the adolescents in danger of dropping out of school. The students discussed this in their groups while they were giving shape to their workshops. They had to recruit the adolescents upon arrival in Borgarholtsskóli, explaining the themes of the workshops convincing them to join. Students showed empathy with the adolescents’ interests and were flexible in changing directions if needed in order to gain their trust and confidence. Positive body language was considered important.
Reflect on and evaluate their own performance from a professional and learning perspective. As in the first Intensive Programme in Alicante, teachers shared views and contrasted opinions with the SWAIP students, taking care in giving them freedom to explore on their own first. The students materialised their ideas in the proposed workshops with the adolescents based on their various disciplines and cultures, senses and cooperation.
Document general results of the group work as well as the execution and results of projects. At the end of the workshop, a folder in Google drive was created where all the participants (SWAIP staff and students) were invited to upload their graphic material (drawings, photos and videos) for everyone to share and learn from the other. Confidentiality was observed in not taking visual material where the adolescents could be identified due to the Personal Data Protection Authority.
Transmit his/her skills, ideas and knowledge in the field of the arts and adolescents to the interdisciplinary groups and in different contexts. The nature of the group work, at the Iceland University of the Arts and in Borgarholtsskóli, allowed fluidity and closeness between the participants. Sharing and exchanging skills, ideas and knowledge was thus encouraged from the very setting.
Evaluation of Objectives and Impact
It was a demanding four-day workshop in terms of an interdisciplinary group of students sharing skills, working together, learning to listen, building up trust and demonstrating empathy. The students were faced with unknown challenges that they met with sincere efforts, discussions, letting go and finding equilibrium in interdisciplinary discovery. This elasticity was important when working with the adolescents and proved to be very valuable in achieving the main goals of the workshop: social inclusion and well-being.
The workshop was a real test of the students‘ ideas and preparation in how to materialise their workshop proposals with adolescents some of whom had ADHD, Autism or Dyslexia. They had to be open-minded and to see creative possibilities for social inclusion and well-being. The subject of change formed part of the process as a positive element, both in time and as a subject matter. The teaching style facilitated learning through experiential methods rather than telling the participants what or how to do.
The workshops demonstrated the entire process of starting from the unknown to working with the adolescents and their emotional life. It was thus an oscillation between the individual emotional life and the group dynamic where trust and social inclusion was at the centre of the learning experience. The SWAIP staff experienced a wide range of teaching styles and approaches across the student groups, which added a great deal to the input for the future master curricula.
