A challenge, a Threat and a Promise: Drama as Professional Development for Teacher Educators

Abstract

The e-mail went on to list four possible topics to be explored on the day arid there at the top of the list was 'drama as pedagogy'. Having spent most of my life as a student of drama, a teacher of drama and now a lecturer in drama education in the faculty, I am a great believer in the power of drama for teaching and learning. As well as being involved in preparing teachers of drama and theatre, I am regularly using drama in classes to enable reflection on students' practice as beginning teachers. As I read the e-mail, part of me felt jubilant at the thought that some other members of staff outside of the drama area were also considering the value of drama for teaching and learning in their own classes. I imagined that one or two other colleagues with experience in using drama as a methodology might be interested in collaborating with me in the planning and delivery of this session. The idea of sharing the risk appealed. I wrote the following tentative reply to the organiser of the Professional Development (PD) day.