Title: "Exploring Applied Theatre in Teacher Education: A Methodology for Professional Development"
Convinced that teaching is a dynamic, embodied process requiring physical presence and emotional engagement, I embarked on a series of workshops to investigate how Applied Theatre could enrich Teacher Education. These workshops aimed to delve into the performativity of teaching, dissect the skills that empower teachers to create interactive and dynamic learning environments, and stimulate critical reflection and dialogue among participants. The goal was to elicit feedback on the effectiveness of these activities for Teacher Education, and more importantly, to identify specific performative skills teachers can apply in their practice. I also wanted the workshops to equip participants with facilitation skills, empowering them to lead similar workshops in the future. Here's an overview of the objectives:
To ensure maximum participation, we advertised a series of three 3-hour workshops held on consecutive Saturday afternoons at a private training center in Istanbul. The workshops were designed to nurture facilitation skills, essential for any training or event involving discussions and interactions aimed at promoting change. The curriculum explored embodied approaches to professional development, team building, trust-building, engagement maximization, and fostering collaboration and personal disclosure, among other performative skills.
Twelve participants, all English Language teachers, with diverse backgrounds, joined the workshops. Prior to the sessions, I shared an informative email explaining the focus on drama activities, exploring the experiences of an ELT teacher, and the intention to present our findings to an invited audience after the final workshop. Participants were also informed about the reflection process, focus group interviews, and the filming of workshops. All participants willingly signed a consent form to use data collected in future dissemination of findings.
The workshops were structured around three main components:
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A. Games and Participatory Activities: I carefully selected theatre games and activities with potential benefits for teacher development, including problem-solving activities that emphasize collaboration, self-awareness, and trust-building. These activities were sourced from Augusto Boal's 'Games for Actors and Non-Actors' and the Geese Handbook. Post-activity reflections were particularly valuable for teachers, fostering deeper self-awareness and introspection.
B. Community Forums: Inspired by Augusto Boal's Forum Theatre (FT), the workshops incorporated a process of active participation, drawing on personal narratives and experiences to encourage self-awareness and critical thinking. This "bottom-up" approach to change allowed for a deep exploration of the challenges and rewards of teaching.
C. Reflection and Dialogue: After each activity and at the end of each workshop, we encouraged reflection and dialogue to gain an in-depth understanding of participants' perspectives. We collected feedback through questionnaires and focus group interviews, and the audience attending the Community Forum also contributed their reflections.
These workshops serve as a potential framework and methodology for participant-led, solution-oriented teacher professional development. Applied Theatre, with its participatory approach, fosters dialogue, reflection, and community cohesion. The methodology was designed not only to enhance participants' understanding of their situations but also to facilitate actions to address them. The adaptation of Forum Theatre proved to be an effective tool for teacher professional development. In essence, the methodology was both the object of research and the means to probe reflection and gather data, highlighting the potential of Applied Theatre in enriching Teacher Education