Post pandemic it is opportune to consider the importance of the embodied physical presence of learners and teacher in the learning encounter as this raises vital issues as to the nature of teaching and learning. Sir Ken Robinson (2006) in a TED talk that went viral on You Tube ridiculed the competence-based factory model of education portraying a systemic process of teachers as transmitters of knowledge fixated on subject matter, obsessed with planning, and straitjacketed by lesson materials. He advocates a more appropriate metaphor of teaching as art with teachers viewed as facilitators building lessons that are personalised and learner centered requiring flexibility and improvisation.
The concept of teacher artistry has been largely ignored in Teacher Education. There is a need for training in performative methods to understand the potential of the arts in “transforming consciousness, refining the senses, and enlarging the imagination” (Eisner 2002:4) but this requires teachers with awareness of performative competences. Through my workshops I aim to introduce teachers to a range of techniques to raise awareness of the performative and a reveal a fresh landscape of creative embodied expression, enjoyment and gratification.
1. Teaching as performance
What is the essence of a great teacher? As a teacher trainer I observed many technically effective lessons delivered by well-prepared teachers, but they lack a ‘spark’, an essential ingredient that is apparent in a lesson that truly enthuses both learners and teacher. My intuition is that the secret ingredient is hidden in the embodied behaviours and interaction of teachers and learners.
To search for this ‘spark’ I have turned to Applied Theatre believing that teaching demands skills that are pertinent to performers. Teaching is performative in that it is based on judgements formed through action (heuristic); it is influenced by contingencies that happen in real time and are unpredictable (improvised); it involves physical and emotional engagement (embodied) and learning is created in the process (emergent). (Wahl, 2011) draws compelling parallels between teaching and performing suggesting that teachers are taught how to instruct but not how to engage their students emotionally. Audiences she says are expecting to ‘feel’ so what about students? (Wahl, 2011, p. 21)
2. Research Questions and objectives.
My research question centres around an exploration of how AT can inform Teacher Education (TE). My philosophy is that teachers develop through critical reflection on experience and that teaching is an embodied and dynamic process demanding physical presence and emotional engagement. Teaching is a heuristic process of making decisions in real time and space according to the interaction between people therefore it is unpredictable and improvised. Teachers are rarely trained in skills to assist them to be physically present, emotionally aware and able to improvise creatively to emergent needs. The workshops provided an opportunity to explore the performativity of teaching and unpack the skills that allow teachers to create an interactive and dynamic learning environment.
The workshops have four objectives: (1)To experience AT methods to elicit feedback on their efficacy for TE (diagnostic); (2) to critically reflect on and evaluate the methodology and its effectiveness for TE (methodology); (3) to identify through dialogue and reflection performative skills that teachers can utilise in their development;(4) to develop facilitation skills that participants can apply in the future (transformational).
3. Findings.
Not surprisingly given its proven track record in similar contexts, the workshops demonstrated the efficacy of AT methods in TE, particularly the structure provided by Forum Theatre (FT). Participants highlighted the authenticity of the content as it was generated from lived experience, the safe distance provided by fictional drama to explore solutions without consequences and the opportunities to develop facilitation skills. More remarkable is the vast range of performative skills the participants identify as valuable skills to overcome oppressions. These sensory and affective skills include awareness of self, others, and context. Despite the importance participants attribute to these performative skills in the workshops, they are disregarded in most TE. The workshops revealed, through personal narratives and reflections, insights into the participants’ identity (why teachers act in the way they do). These meta-performative skills explore the participants’ embodied experience raising awareness about self-identity, beliefs, and agency.
For information about how to attend a workshop: http://www.iti-istanbul.com
Tom Godfrey 