Week 7 

Can you think of a time when theatre you have seen has left an impression on you?  In what way did it impress you?  Did it make you think or feel differently about a topic or idea?I mentioned in class that Stolen left a big impression on me because it personalised the stolen generation debate.  I was shocked by the revelation that one mother had been declared unfit (and her children were consequently taken away) because she had an out of date can of peas in her pantry.  You read about sad stories such as this, but when you actually see them performed, you begin to feel for the characters and become more emotionally involved.  This production was all the more powerful because the stories were based on actual events. 

Can you think of any examples of theatre specifically designed to educate/influence adults?Most theatre productions convey a message and thus aim to get people thinking about different themes.  In my opinion, whether or not a show influences the audience’s way of thinking depends on how successful it is.  Productions educate about central topics to varying degrees also (depending on how much the audience already knows about a topic/theme).  I can’t think of a particular didactic show targeted at adults, so I will do some searching online. 

What examples can you think of where drama is used to educate/train adults?Most professional trainers use role-play in training, but this can often be utilised and performed at a superficial level.  Drama is experiencing resurgence as a popular medium to explore issues at a community level, particularly in developing countries (O’Toole 2000).  I have previously listed a Welsh website that uses drama to resolve community issues with adults and children alike.  O’Toole (2000) writes that theatre provides ‘vital conditions for community learning; it is a social and public forum, where people meet together, and statements can be made, questions raised, that are shared by all’.  

What are the factors that inhibit the use of drama as a pedagogy for adults?In class we discussed how adults often feel they know all they need to know, and often bring this unhelpful attitude to training sessions.  Society still accepts that children can play, but adults should not; and because drama is seen as a form of play, it is sometimes considered ineffectual for adults. 

Are there any ways of ameliorating these factors to make drama more palatable for adult learners?Do adults learn differently from children and do they therefore need a different pedagogy? (O’Toole 2002).  I would answer yes and no and no and yes, because it is a very complex question.  Surely knowledge is constructed in the same way, but perhaps the attitudes adults bring to learning affects their ability to make new connections and thus needs to be countered by an innovative approach.  I think the more that drama is used in an educational way in adult settings; the more the public will be swayed about its potential as a learning tool.  I studied theatre performance for three years and it is only recently in this class that I have begun to realise the true educational value of drama! 

Suggest some further ways that drama may be used or applied in the teaching of adults.I think role play is often used too superficially in training environments.  The role play may only last 30 seconds or so and magic fixes are quickly found.  Instead, I think adults should be involved in more complex “learning through drama” scenarios like the type we have trialled in class, but which relate to their job/profession.  For instance, I can see great potential for training student teachers in classroom management through indepth “learning through drama” scenarios.  This is an area which is greatly neglected in our training, and one we all wish we had more experience in.  A scenario could begin with a child and their recurring problem behaviour; then you could introduce other staff members and possibly parents, etc.

I had to leave this session early but I did catch up on the readings and check out the websites!  Looking back on my school days I can see that I was quite awful to other children at times, so when Jo asked us to sketch a bully I drew myself.  I believe that my own behaviour was a direct reaction to having been bullied by another girl (not that this is an excuse but it is a factor).  Bullying wasn’t as talked about as it is now, so I never saw myself in this light.  If I had participated in a workshop such as this, and been made aware of my negative effect upon others, perhaps I would have modified my behaviour.  

I think it is easy for me to acknowledge that I was a bully now because it is a long time past; however it may not be the same for current primary/high school students.  The good thing about the workshop format is that the activities allow you to explore different viewpoints, without actually giving your personal opinion or saying, “This happened to me”.  In this way students have a certain amount of anonymity and safety in voicing an opinion; and this is one of the great advantages in using drama for enhancing social learning. 

The beauty of drama is that you can actually FEEL what it is like to be in another person’s shoes.  I think this is an important part of developing social awareness: to treat others as you would wish to be treated or to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.  They’re such worn out clichés, but they are obviously so often forgotten when people interact in society. 

I really enjoy the practical suggestions as to how these units can be developed in the classroom (ie. the MindMatters website).  The Response Ability website, however, seems to be purely background information for teachers and is therefore not as interesting for me. 

I feel that teachers can play an important role in social activism and can see so much potential to do this within the dramatic realm.  I personally still see a need to educate students about basic human rights issues and how these can contribute to a culture of peace.  I think that racism, resilience and family conflict can all be examined under this banner, and workshops could be devised which follow the some format as the bullying workshop.  Obviously some activities would work better than others or some may need to be changed to suit the specific issue.  It all depends on the outcome the teacher wants to achieve. 

I found a Welsh website that uses drama as a tool for developing social awareness in the community http://www.valleyandvale.co.uk/drama/drama_index.htmHere’s a lesson plan for increasing landmine awareness through role-play http://jalt.org/global/30Exp.htm

Our workshop was really successful and so much fun! The students obviously didn’t have a lot of experience with drama as they were initially very silly during the warm-ups. As time went on and the scenario was effectively developed by us, the students were carried along by the unfolding drama and became more focussed. They really seemed to be “in the moment”, which was demonstrated by their strong desire to find out “whodunit”. It was interesting to see how it became almost like a detective game for them, and although this was not necessarily our intention, it worked quite well.I had been a little worried about my improvisation skills but I found that it all came back to me when I was in character (especially Jemima Goode). I forgot to include some important bits of information in my Newsroom Supervisor speech, but Jo interjected and reminded me to talk about headlines (for which I was grateful!).

As the “suspects”, we didn’t have too many inconsistencies in our stories (even though the students tried to very hard to find them!). My first rotational group didn’t seem to really grasp what they were supposed to do, so I led them, in character, in the direction of how to begin their questioning. Once they figured out what they were supposed to do, they became much more confident. The last group leapt at me with questions and accusations, and I almost felt like I really was at a press conference! They’d listened carefully to the other characters and had obviously decided to believe some stories over others. In this way, they weren’t acting objectively as a true journalist should (perhaps a follow up class could further examine the journalistic code of ethics?).

I’ve always been aware that a vital skill for teaching is the ability to be able to improvise and think on your feet, and our workshop really proved this point. You just never know which way students are going to go; especially in a class discussion, an inquiry-based unit of work, or in a learning through drama scenario. It is important for teachers to be well-informed about a topic, to be prepared with re-focussing questions and activities and to be able to run with students ideas.

It was fantastic to see how engaged the students were throughout the workshop; even when it came time to write up their stories. The class teacher suggested quietly to us that certain children might have trouble with the writing aspect and wouldn’t produce much work, but to everyone’s delight, those very students proved her wrong! There was a great deal of collaborative learning taking place, with students helping each other to complete the task.

I was a little disappointed with the final discussion as the students became quite shy and didn’t offer much in the way of feedback. Perhaps it was too formal a setting for them to voice ideas? Perhaps they don’t work in this way normally? It would also have been helpful for us to know more about their prior learning in this area, as we could then have delved further with our questioning, so as to ascertain the learning that occurred.

All in all, a great first class! I think we all benefited from it.

P.S. I’ve found a Canadian website titled Learning Through the Arts which has lesson plans in a similar format www.ltta.ca/lesson_plans.html. There are not a lot of drama lesson plans (there are more dance ones) but I did find one on medieval life which could be useful. There is an International Lesson Plans icon and not much on offer - maybe we should email them ours?