Interactive drama in initial teacher education: developing pre-service teachers’ empathy

ABSTRACTHigher education in pedagogy is abundant in theoretical courses and knowledge, whereas practicum in schools in Russia, for example, only takes place in the 3rd or 4th year of the bachelor's degree programme, with a maximum length of 4 weeks, thus leaving the theoretical propositions without proper application. The gap between theory and real life teaching can be bridged through interactive drama in a teacher training course. The article demonstrates how this approach can be implemented in teacher education. It argues that applying these methods when teaching both pre-service and in service teachers can enhance their empathy.KEYWORDS: Teacher education; pre-service teachers; performance-based approach; interactive drama Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).