Drama Under the Sea
For two weeks we have focussed on an aspect of Drama Education that is probably the largest source of fear for me as a new teacher: 'Teacher in Role'.
Teacher in role is a drama strategy in which the teacher takes on a role to prompt the students and encourage creativity and creation in the classroom. In our past two classes I have had the pleasure of seeing a group of my peers take on this role and surprisingly, have loved the atmosphere it helps to create.
The presentation this week was focussed on a cross-curricular drama and science lesson for grade 4 students. We (the students) remained students throughout the lesson while one of our group leaders 'acted' as a fake marine biologist expert. The story was that our teacher had hired the marine biologist to come in and teach us about the different oceans, however, when our teacher left the room we learned the marine biologist was not a marine biologist at all. We were then tasked with teaching her about the oceans and creating miniature presentations for when our teacher returned. Throughout the lesson she prompted us to recall information about animals grade 4 students would have learned prior to this lesson. We were then asked to mime the movements associated with an animal of our choice.
As a person who struggles with the idea of performance, Teacher-in-Role seems like a daunting strategy. However, experiencing it from a students perspective made the concept much more appealing. Not only does this type of strategy encourage students to reflect on their understanding of the cross-curricular subject at hand (in this case, science) but it also encourages buy-in. As a teacher candidate I was motivated to help this person in need, so I can only imagine how excited a group of grade 4's would be. Finding ways to encourage students to buy in to an activity is extremely important for areas of the arts where many students feel out of their comfort zones. Statistics have shown that students in a physical education class are much more likely to participate if their teacher is, I imagine this rule would also apply to drama (and dance!). As teacher it is our responsibility to ensure we are incorporating activities that are exciting and engaging for our students and we are using a variety of strategies that encourage participation from all types of learners.
Teacher in role is a drama strategy in which the teacher takes on a role to prompt the students and encourage creativity and creation in the classroom. In our past two classes I have had the pleasure of seeing a group of my peers take on this role and surprisingly, have loved the atmosphere it helps to create.
The presentation this week was focussed on a cross-curricular drama and science lesson for grade 4 students. We (the students) remained students throughout the lesson while one of our group leaders 'acted' as a fake marine biologist expert. The story was that our teacher had hired the marine biologist to come in and teach us about the different oceans, however, when our teacher left the room we learned the marine biologist was not a marine biologist at all. We were then tasked with teaching her about the oceans and creating miniature presentations for when our teacher returned. Throughout the lesson she prompted us to recall information about animals grade 4 students would have learned prior to this lesson. We were then asked to mime the movements associated with an animal of our choice.
As a person who struggles with the idea of performance, Teacher-in-Role seems like a daunting strategy. However, experiencing it from a students perspective made the concept much more appealing. Not only does this type of strategy encourage students to reflect on their understanding of the cross-curricular subject at hand (in this case, science) but it also encourages buy-in. As a teacher candidate I was motivated to help this person in need, so I can only imagine how excited a group of grade 4's would be. Finding ways to encourage students to buy in to an activity is extremely important for areas of the arts where many students feel out of their comfort zones. Statistics have shown that students in a physical education class are much more likely to participate if their teacher is, I imagine this rule would also apply to drama (and dance!). As teacher it is our responsibility to ensure we are incorporating activities that are exciting and engaging for our students and we are using a variety of strategies that encourage participation from all types of learners.
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