Professional Inquiry Project

Know Your Why, Aim for Growth, Take Ownership

By Karlee Schmitke

Inquiry Question: How can I instill the values (Know Your Why, Aim for Growth and Take
Ownership) of Chinook High School into Drama 10 students through a project-based activity?

Why a Haunted House?

I chose to do this as my Professional Inquiry Project because, I wanted an engaging assignment
that would also contribute to the school community and get other students out to see what the
drama department does. This was also a chance to work with the interact club on raising money
for the We Scare Hunger Campaign. In lieu of an entrance fee, students were to bring a food
donation. The haunted house allowed me to further explore Chinook High School’s values that
are Know Your Why, Aim for Growth, and Take Ownership. Chinook High School seeks to
instill this in all their students and staff.
The Process of Creating a Haunted House
At the beginning of October my students and I ventured into the unknown world of creating a
haunted house. The first steps in this journey were to choose a theme that we wanted to base the
haunted hospital around. I wanted the students to take ownership over the haunted house. We
spent one class period developing an idea around a theme of a haunted house. The students later
pitched their ideas and then we voted on which one that we wanted to collectively create as a
class. I involved both Drama 10 and Technical Theatre classes in the voting for the Haunted
House. We came to a final conclusion that the haunted house would have a hospital theme. From
then on, the students in Drama 10 started to create the storyline of the haunted house. Students in
drama 10 had to create their own character that would be inside of the haunted house. The
students had time to experiment and time to play with this character. They developed a backstory
for their character and a detailed story of what had led this particular character to be trapped in
the Haunted House.
My Technical Theatre class helped to develop the Drama 10s ideas about the theme of the
hospital by coming up with ideas on how to make the Media Centre to look like a hospital and
create a space for students to portray their roles. During my technical theatre class, students
designed the lights and sound effects for the Haunted House, they also built props. When we ran
the Haunted House students in the Technical Theatre class, signed up for jobs that need to be
completed in order to complete the Haunted House, these jobs included building props,
designing/operating lights, designing/operating sound, and set design/set building.
The Question
I decided on my question after revamping my planning after the first week of school. I was
thinking that it would be fun to do something themed for October. I then thought of how the
Haunted House could fit into the Chinook High School’s context. Various times throughout this
project I talked with students about the importance of knowing their why, taking ownership and
aim for growth.
The Data
After the Haunted House was over, I had students reflect on the project about how it helped them
grow as actors, how it contributed to the school community and how it helped them grow as an
actor. In the response I was looking for the three main pillars of the school know your why, aim
for growth, and take ownership. Although I do believe that this project really helped students to
take ownership over their learning by planning and executing this project, this is not the big take
away that I had wished that they would have. They focused on how it contributed to their school
community which, was the why behind the Haunted House. These are snippets from student’s
reflection in the Drama 10 class.
“It contributed to the school community as it gave people a chance to see each other in a new
light, scaring people can instill different impressions on people, and the people around them, it
builds character and exposes vulnerabilities, allowing people to get to know each other better
without even talking to each other. Fear of the unknown builds trust in the known, people will
experience contempt around exposed faces, subtly building trust in the peers you toured the
house with. It brings people closer and helps them learn more about each other.”
“The haunted house also contributed to our school community by bringing people together in one
place, which doesn’t often happen in a school as big as Chinook. As well, not only were people
being brought together, but to a place that would test their emotions and play on hidden fears. To
go into the haunted house means that you were making yourself vulnerable. This can be hard for
high school students who are always trying to impress others and live up to others’ standards.
However, by taking that risk and being vulnerable, people could be brought together in the
haunted house, because people connect the most when they allow themselves to be vulnerable.”
This particular student came up with another question that they thought I should have also
included in the reflection questions.
“How do you think the haunted house helped us grow as a drama class?
I honestly feel so much safer around these other students now, even Seth was pretty chill in the
haunted house. I got to talk with Shawn and Racheal and everyone else in that main theatre
area and I got to know them better. Especially when I switched with Shawn and was working
onstage. I feel like this experience has brought us all just a bit closer together and that tiny bit
has made all the difference already. Expect for today, but that is because it was a Monday. If we
did more stuff like this as a class it would bring us so close together that I’d commit time
outside of school to hang out with drama kids, and that is not something I lightly do, If I am ever
going to “hang out” with somebody I will have had to known them for over a year first but I
might throw that out of the window with our drama class. “
After the Haunted House was completed, I noticed that students were feeling safer around
their peers and were not as afraid to perform in front of their peers. The Haunted House not
only helped to build school community, but it also helped to build the community inside of the
classroom.
My Conclusion
After compiling the data from student responses and responses within the school community, I
would improve the Haunted House in different ways and get more students involved in the
production of it. I would have the students plan different ways to advertise the Haunted House
and invite teachers with their classes to come down to go through the Haunted House. I would
help students create fundraisers to raise money for the Haunted House, so that they would
take more ownership over the Haunted House. Overal this was a positive experience for myself
and for my students as a whole. The tech students enjoyed going through the Haunted House
and the Actors enjoyed scaring people for the duration.