Riikka Pyysalo is a Finnish PhD student in Education at the University of Cambridge, England

Many researchers claim that much learning that takes place in school is alienative. My interest is in students' agency and personal engagement in their own learning and their experiences of learning in school. Storyline provides one interesting context for such work as its explicit aim is to enable student ownership of their learning. Instead of the previous conceptions of learner motivation as some internal and relatively stable 'state' or 'disposition' of a learner, current theoretical models of learner engagement emphasise the learning environment and the opportunities for personal engagement and risk-taking it provides. In Mrs Plaskitt's class in I aim to look at how these phenomena are shaped in actual classroom practises, how students experiences these activities and their own engagement in them.

My role in the ACS is thus a challenging one; I am not a teacher, nor am I a student - I want to learn from the pupils and from the teacher. My role is also a privileged and enjoyable one, being able to take this time for observing school activities and talking to pupils. In this role I have felt nearly like a new pupil in this school: Learning to find my way around, learning the ways of the school, learning about the thinking of the pupils in 'my' classroom. And as such, I have felt very welcomed. I have been welcomed in the classroom. Further I have been helped greatly by the staff of the lower school. I am very thankful for Rebecca Plaskitt and her class as well as the staff of ACS Cobham for this opportunity and their help in my work.