For twenty years Big Brum Theatre in Education has been working with children and teachers, mainly in the West Midlands, writes Jane Woddis.
Central to the development of its work is a commitment to rigorous evaluation, both during and after each project. Such analysis is seen by the company not simply as a requirement of our funding support (although this is an aspect which we take seriously too). It is primarily undertaken in order to understand, develop, and make more effective, our methodology - both in practice and in theory.
Big Brum?s evaluation takes several forms, and is itself continually under scrutiny in order to increase its effectiveness. During a TiE programme with each group of children, the actor/teachers are fine-tuning their approach, adapting it for the particular needs and concerns of that group. At the same time, during a TiE tour (usually two or three months) the company is seeking feedback from teachers who have used the programme. This is elicited in a number of ways, including feedback forms, informal discussions and in-depth interviews. Feedback is also requested from children who have seen the programme, either in the form of work they have produced in the classroom afterwards, or in interviews. We have also been trialling a ?working diary? and log book for the actor/teachers to record their observations, children?s reactions, and teachers? immediate responses to the work.
At the end of each project an internal company review is carried out, which includes not only the actor/teachers and artistic director, but also the designer, outreach worker, and administrator who have been involved with the project. We also seek to organise reviews of the programme with groups of teachers. These are sometimes undertaken in collaboration with other agencies such as Educational Action Zones and the Development Education Centre.
We are concerned, wherever we can, to bring in an ?outside eye? to the evaluation of our work. To this end we invite other arts professionals, educationalists, and funders to come and see our work in schools and to discuss with us their responses to it. We have also established relationships with academics. Professor David Davis, a specialist in drama in education, has become the company?s education consultant, and Professor Harry Daniels, an expert in special needs education, is preparing a major research project on our work in pupil referral units.
Evaluation is often seen as a chore by arts organisations, but we believe it needs to be a living, on-going activity ? one that is constantly questioning what we are doing, and how and why we are doing it.
Jane Woddis is the Administrator of Big Brum Theatre in Education Company. She teaches a research strategies course at the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies at Warwick University. e: jane.woddis@talk21.com