You’ll be speaking at our 2021 Conference, ‘Powerful Practices for All Learners’. What does that phrase mean to you?
Robyn Ewing AM: All learners need to be equipped with a repertoire of learning strategies and processes that will motivate and engage them and help them be lifelong learners.
Jacqui Cowell: Powerful practices for all learners involves creating learning activities and experiences that have a positive impact on all learners.
Can you tell us what attendees can expect from your session?
Robyn and Jacqui: Our session will explore the powerful role that drama-rich pedagogy can play in teaching literacy and history. It will include excerpts from a new powerful teacher professional learning resource developed by the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP), ‘On-Demand Plus’. In the session we’ll explore 2-3 drama strategies which teachers can use in the classroom to teach content and concepts from the primary history curriculum (F-6 Australian Curriculum).
Can you tell us about a time that you saw positive change in the classroom from embracing these ideas?
Robyn: There have been many times throughout our careers that we have seen drama transform a classroom. Drama always engages learners in life’s big issues. In essence drama is about embodiment and enactment – walking in others’ shoes. Embedding drama strategies and experiences across the curriculum can transform the learning dynamic.
Jacqui: One example was seeing students participate in our F-2 Past and Present history unit at Railway Town School, Broken Hill. In this unit we used Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge as the quality text, with the teacher in role as Miss Nancy. The students had to bring in an object from home and talk to Miss Nancy about the memory attached to this object. The students were so engaged with this activity that they kept asking when Miss Nancy was coming back. The teacher of course did have to make a return appearance as Miss Nancy..!
The class teacher, Jane Vaughan said: "It really helped our students to engage with the—often very abstract—concepts that are in that part of the curriculum, but turned them into very concrete physical experiences, which helped them to engage with it in a much better and much deeper way. Things that they remember and keep talking about - that’s a very special thing ... it’s wonderful to find a resource that really has everything. I was really excited to see quality texts be used for the basis of this learning."
If you could change one thing about Australian classrooms, what would it be?
Robyn: Many Australian classrooms would benefit from more emphasis on quality arts-rich and creative pedagogies across all curriculum areas.
Jacqui: That all Australian classrooms embrace cross-curricula learning and access arts-rich learning to teach a range of curriculum and subject areas.
What's one thing every teacher could try right now to embrace drama-rich pedagogy?
Robyn and Jacqui: There are many excellent resources that are easily accessible including ATYP's On Demand Plus. With On Demand Plus, we provide everything the teacher needs for the 8-week unit of work.
As well as classroom resources, On Demand Plus is a professional development tool. Regardless of a teacher's drama training or experience, the program gives teachers confidence through the inclusion of weekly instructional videos taught by ATYP teaching artists that demonstrate each strategy and exercise.
Join Robyn, Jacqui and the rest of our brilliant speakers at the PETAA 2021 Leading with Literacy Conference: Powerful Practices for All Learners. Register now to attend online, or join us in-person at the UTS Aerial Function Centre in Sydney on 15-16 October 2021.