Sif Beckers-Gunnsteinsdóttir

Rými til vaxtar
leikur, flæði og samræður

This dissertation is based on a action research conducted over a period of 6 months, from October 2019 to March 2020.

After having gained experience through teaching for a few years and gotten more knowledge of different schools of thought I felt the need to combine the two and sharpen my approach as a teacher.

I knew I did not want to teach the same way I had been taught as a child, but rather break down barriers I felt existed and support students in navigating their way to find their own voice and create on their own terms.

I approached the thesis from the perspective of the individual student and his or her inner landscape, the student's way of sensing his or her surroundings and how he or she is connected to society.

I, for example, explore John Dewey's theories about democracy and equality, the ideas of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi about flow, Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology and Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy on the empowerment of the individual.

The main resources I relied on during the research were my research journal, photographs, informal conversations and sound files I collected.

My findings suggest that by placing the creative work process at the centre of the teaching, - through play, flow and conversations, students found their own strengths and voice.

It was a pleasant surprise to discover how important it is to start and end each class with a check-in and check-out game. It was similar to when an orchestra tunes up before a concert to play in sync.

The journey I have embarked upon, which is this action research, has increased my self-confidence and empowered me. I have a better sense of what kind of a teacher I want to be.