P2s, Miss White and I began our 10 week investigation around the idea of “communication”. Our first contact is virtual, using Marratech software.

We began by dissecting and looking at some of the elements of our own communication as we met for the very first time. We focused first on verbal exchange. I put a lot emphasis thoughout in attempting to influence the P2 responses as little as possible by careful questioning.

P2 and I began by thinking about the first thing we would naturally tell each other, which resulted in an exchange of names. We experimented with varying the volume, as well as speaking en masse and individually. The instant record and playback feature within Marratech allowed us to interject the recordings immediately back into our discussion around receiving and understanding as part of the communication process.

At this point all I knew about the pupils was their first name, whether they were male or female and that they were in P2 at Ballydown Primary School. I then asked P2 to “Tell me the most important thing about you”. Miss White and I had agreed to give no examples or direction as to what sort of thing this might be, simply encouraging everyone to say whatever came into their mind. Some pupils leapt easily into response and others seemed to find it difficult – they perhaps might have been more comfortable with further direction? However, the purpose was to present as open a space as possible within which to respond. The collective audio recording resulted in an interesting range in the types of information the pupils chose to convey.

I’m wondering if could we build on this every week, layer upon layer, and see where it takes us. It has the potential to include both intimate and diverse exchange. Then of course, as a group we will have to consider what to do with the work in terms of publication – or even if this is appropriate?

It will be interesting also to discuss with P2 the differences they see in working with a view to publication and  in comparison to working with a view to keeping work, or aspects of it private.