My Journey: The Beginning

      My experience with education through Dramatic Arts thus far has been a wonderful learning and development opportunity. Since we have engaged in numerous drama strategies that have been informed by educational theory, I have come to see the breadth and depth that Drama brings into the classroom. Specifically, the numerous cross-curricular activities did not only demonstrate the ability to integrate other subjects into Drama, but also how seamlessly Drama can be integrated throughout the curriculum on a regular basis.

Position Mapping with Tap-In
I am close to the chair with eager expression, but not too close...

 
       Although many individuals, myself included, were timid on the first day, the sequencing, progression of activities, and the socially safe environment quickly helped many within the class to transition and become more open and willing to engage in Drama. Specifically, position mapping with “tap-in” have been great strategies used throughout the class that highlight where we situate ourselves to drama, to social and global issues (i.e. discrimination, multiculturalism), and so on. As I stood close to the chair on the first day, I was eager to learn but felt inexperienced.

  The living Venn diagram: Choosing "drama," "theatre," or "both" as your side of the diagram according to the statements given

 

       What is valuable to note here, however, was the use of the living Venn diagram; which allowed for us to experience the comparison between theatre and drama. Since most of the expectations covered call for drama rather than rehearsed theatre, much of my performance anxiety was lifted. I find that this point is relevant to my practice as it is necessary to consider the needs of the students within my classroom and the ways in which I can alleviate negative associations with any misconceptions my students have about drama or previous negative experiences deterring them from engaging with the curriculum.

       Through my experience using line-ups, where we ordered ourselves from shortest to longest pinky fingers, I discovered a moment of discomfort that I may not have anticipated. Although not of great concern, I quite literally have the shortest pinky finger (ever?!) which was emphasized through this simple activity using a mathematical measurement concept of estimating length in centimetres. My experience in Drama at that moment enabled me to reflect on the needs of the students within my own classroom. It is essential as an educator to consider the whole child, where they come from and potential areas of social or emotional risk. Is it possible to know that someone will be self-conscious of the size of a pinky finger? Probably not. However, throughout Drama, opportunities for students to deflect the socio-emotional impact an activity has on them by using puppets, playing in role, or using hypothetical situations helps mitigate the potential of social risk. Additionally, another way for students to feel at ease in situations that pose risk to their self-efficacy or concept, is to employ the right to pass. Had I wished to pass on this activity as to not draw atttention to this tiny self-efficacy problem, the class would continue on and no harm would come of it.

Counting through storytelling

         By using literature containing math concepts, such as counting, one-to-one correspondance, and fractions, groups were able to retell the story using tableau, or by reading through and acting out the math concept. The book my group used was called, "Math Fables." I would suggest that this strategy is cross-curricular in nature - it quite naturally could feed into other areas such as Social Studies or Science when the content changes. In older classrooms, I would adapt the strategy so that the students chose a particular way to show their concept to utilize more of the Creative Process model.

       Overall, the first class was progressive, intentionally welcoming and allowed for the students to not only listen, speak, and do; but also to teach the class through their final activity. Dwyer's Learner's Theory of having students retain and learn more through doing and teaching was utilized throughout this lesson to provide students with an array of opportunities to learn.

Feel free to browse the tabs at the top of the page to explore some great resources, drama strategies, cross-curricular connections and more.