Blog #2 - Authentic Intellectual Work in the Drama Classroom

As educators, we know there is not a one size fits all with providing classroom instruction because not all students learn the same way. That's where incorporating Authentic Intellectual Instruction is key. As teachers, we naturally want to offer our students the best education, therefore, incorporating various teaching styles, along with the standard rigorous curriculum, allows the teacher to meet the unique needs of every student.

So, what is Authentic Intellectual Instruction? As a drama teacher, you have probably been incorporating it naturally into your lessons without knowing it. You see, as theatre educators, we teach transferable life skills by utilizing highly creative, and sometimes, unconventional methods. 

Authentic Intellectual Instruction provides real-world (transferable life skills which are Authentic) while also implementing challenging and rigorous activities (memorization, theatre games, public speaking, scene study, character analysis, which are Intellectual). It is to no surprise why students who are taught utilizing this method of instruction seem more engaged and involved in the subject being taught. They tend to embrace taking risks because of the safe learning environment created by the teacher while also trusting the process of what learning should ideally be. 

An empirical study of the quality of teacher assignments and student work was made by the Ministry of Education in Singapore schools. The study found the following: "The correlations between the quality of teachers’ assignment tasks and student work were strong and significant at all grade levels. Where teachers set more intellectually demanding tasks, students were more likely to generate work or artefacts judged to be of higher quality. The findings suggest that teacher professional development in authentic intellectual assessment task design can contribute to the improvement of student learning and performance. It is argued that this will be a key requisite of educational systems like Singapore that are seeking to expand pedagogy and student outcomes beyond a focus on factual and rote knowledge. (Koh, Kim-National Institute of Education, 2009)

Drama Education can significantly impact classroom learning  while offering positive change in the culture of classrooms. Drama for Schools (DFS), a professional development program, has made it their mission to do just that. Through research, they have seen major shifts in the learning culture of classrooms by implementing improvisation, role playing and interactive games. 

In my previous blog post (Blog #1 - Embracing Technology in the Drama Classroom), I expressed the importance of implementing new and exciting technology in the classroom to enhance the learning experience. I believe that if teachers implemented both Authentic Intellectual Instruction with technology it could very well transform the educational experience for students and teachers in many way. 

Since the 2010 National Education Technology Plan (NETP), the United States has made significant progress in leveraging progress. "Research and experience have improved our understanding of what people need to know and the skills and competencies they need to acquire for success in life and work in the 21st century. Through pre-service teacher preparation programs and professional learning, educators are gaining experience and confidence in using technology to achieve learning outcomes." (NETP, 2017) 

An example on how Authentic Learning Instruction integrates with technology was presented in the first section of the NETP 2017 plan (Learning) stating that "Technology-enabled learning environments allow less experienced learners to access and participate in specialized communities of practice, graduating to more complex activities and deeper participation as they gain the experience needed to become expert members of the community." This example supports Liz Kolb's Triple E Framework (Engagement, Enhancement and Extension) because technology is not being used passively. Kolb states that "the technology is supporting the students to keep their minds on the learning goal. Thus, active learning and high-level thinking can happen around the technology tool." (Kolb, 2020).

I hope this blog post encourages you to incorporate more technology into your classrooms because, after all, it's the 21st century, right? Integrating Authentic Learning Instruction with technology will ultimately result in a more creative, engaging and empowering learning experience for ALL learners. 

Theatrically yours,

Ivette Viñas