Abstract:
(En) acting the affordances Of Drama' - How Five Early Career Drama Teachers, Teach The World
Excerpts from a Play in 3 Acts
This paper will discuss a performance of text that uses O'Grady's (2015) PhD data to explore the way five early career drama teachers enact the affordances of drama to teach their students about the world. This performance of text owes a theoretical debt to the work of Eisner (2008) and Denzin (2003) who argue for the use and place of research practices that are informed by a dialogic approach such as those recruited by the teachers in their drama classrooms.
The performance is set in a drama classroom where the action that takes place enables an understanding and critiquing of the affordances of drama to teach students about the world by mediating the world. The scripted performance is originally structured in three acts that juxtapose interior monologues, duologues and the involvement of audience members to reveal and interrogate drama as a tool for social engagement, empowerment and improving the life chances of students (Freebody and Finneran, 2013). For the purposes of this research paper an excerpt has been chosen and will be performed from the 3 Act play as part of the discussion. Opportunities to deconstruct and reflect on the implications of performed research for teacher practice will be made available after the reading.
The performance reflects a particular line of inquiry and offers the audience an opportunity through artistic endeavour to situate themselves in classrooms of early career teachers as they explore the particular capacity of drama to teach about citizenship, social justice and disability. As a new way of knowing (Harris and Sinclair, 2014) this play hopes to engage audiences through an artistic methodology (Belliveau & Lea, 2017) with insight into the ideological proclivities of early career teachers in their hopeful recruitment of the pedagogy and practices of drama.
Excerpts from a Play in 3 Acts
This paper will discuss a performance of text that uses O'Grady's (2015) PhD data to explore the way five early career drama teachers enact the affordances of drama to teach their students about the world. This performance of text owes a theoretical debt to the work of Eisner (2008) and Denzin (2003) who argue for the use and place of research practices that are informed by a dialogic approach such as those recruited by the teachers in their drama classrooms.
The performance is set in a drama classroom where the action that takes place enables an understanding and critiquing of the affordances of drama to teach students about the world by mediating the world. The scripted performance is originally structured in three acts that juxtapose interior monologues, duologues and the involvement of audience members to reveal and interrogate drama as a tool for social engagement, empowerment and improving the life chances of students (Freebody and Finneran, 2013). For the purposes of this research paper an excerpt has been chosen and will be performed from the 3 Act play as part of the discussion. Opportunities to deconstruct and reflect on the implications of performed research for teacher practice will be made available after the reading.
The performance reflects a particular line of inquiry and offers the audience an opportunity through artistic endeavour to situate themselves in classrooms of early career teachers as they explore the particular capacity of drama to teach about citizenship, social justice and disability. As a new way of knowing (Harris and Sinclair, 2014) this play hopes to engage audiences through an artistic methodology (Belliveau & Lea, 2017) with insight into the ideological proclivities of early career teachers in their hopeful recruitment of the pedagogy and practices of drama.