Remembering drama...

I believe that I, as well as many others in our generation had a similar experience in drama Steph!  I too, remember learning lines and attempting to play a character that was already created by someone else.  The one thing I don’t remember is creating my own character with its own set of emotions, beliefs and characteristics.  What was lacking was that sense of creativity, of learning through experimentation and inquiry (O’Toole, 2012).  Aprill states that this way of learning is crucial for students to build important skills such as seeing alternative solutions to problems, being flexible, persistent and responsible for their own choices (Rabkin & Redmond, 2004, cited in Sinclair, Jeanneret , Watkins, Swainston & Reid, 2012).   In order to teach a drama workshop, I am to use strategies that allow students to inquire, create and express their own thoughts and emotions without too many boundaries.  This quote on Fairchild’s (2002) website sums up for me how important it is to integrate drama into the classroom:

“I can teach them math until I am blue in the face, but this [theatre experience] is what they will hold in their hearts years from now.” – Anonymous

When reading this, I feel that that is exactly how students should be learning.  Learning through drama is allowing students to make their learning personal and relatable to their own lives and prior knowledge (Bird, Donelan, Freebody, O’Toole & Sinclair, 2012).  Furthermore, I believe that drama can lead students to further inquire about their lives, thus allowing self-reflection and awareness.  Also, in my constructivist view, allowing students to construct and assimilate knowledge based on prior knowledge through an engaging medium has to be more successful than just being talked at by a teacher?  Do you agree Steph? 

I really enjoyed this week's tutorial, especially getting into the character roles!  I think this gives students a chance to be someone else, be creative and think more deeply about other people!  I think I will have to practice teaching in this way though because I feel it could be a bit daunting at first... especially if the students don't respond well!  In class, I believe that almost any lesson can be enhanced through the use of drama.  I think your idea of how to teach the water tower is fantastic!  I especially love that you would take on such a complex storyline!  I also think it can be done with almost any book, including extremely simple ones!  I found a very simple book: Hooray for Fish (Cousins, 2005).   

Although it looks too simple at first, the book is a vault of opportunities for creative drama and inquiry.  The book has a variety of different fish of different sizes, types and personalities.  I used 'Grumpy Fish':

Grumpy fish

The real grumpy fish?

Students could use drama to create why the fish might be grumpy.  Was it something that happened in his day?  Is it just the way he is all the time?  I believe this could lead to deeper inquiry questions about the type of fish and its true nature, and could even allow students to delve into the complex subject of emotions (for fish or humans).  The fact that just one picture in a book could start such a range of activities is really exciting and motivating.

Teaching Tool kit:

The site the quote above came from (click here) also gave me some good ideas for teaching.  It seems to aim to inspire teachers to integrate the arts with a few simple examples.  It also gives links to useful web resources, example lessons and educational games!  I recommend you have a look if you have time! 

References

Bird, J., Donelan, K., Freebody, K., O’Toole, J., & Sinclair, C. (2012). Drama: Social dreaming in the 21^st century. In C. Sinclair, N, Jeanneret, & J. O’Toole (Eds.). Education in the arts (2^nd ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.

Cousins, L. (2005). Hooray for fish. Vauxhall Walk, London: Walker Books Ltd.

Fairchild, R. (2002). Creative teaching through drama: Resources for teaching drama in the traditional classroom.  Retrieved from www.angelfire.com/ego/edp303.oldindex.htm

O’Toole, J. (2012a). Art, creativity, and motivation. In C. Sinclair, N, Jeanneret, & J. O’Toole (Eds.). Education in the arts (2^nd ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press. 

Sinclair, C., Jeanneret, N., Watkins, M., Swainston, A., & Reid, J. (2012). Integrating the arts. In C. Sinclair, N. Jeanneret, & J. O’Toole (Eds.). Education in the arts (2^nd ed.).  South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press