 |
Drama: Secondary| Key resources 3 - Using conventions (drama techniques) to structure and develop drama
Introducing the conventions and techniques for drama
We shall make lively use of all means, old and new, tried and untried, deriving from art and deriving from other sources, in order to put living reality in the hands of living people in such a way that it can be mastered.
Bertolt Brecht 1938 |
The idea of convention is basic to any understanding of drama as a form
Raymond Williams 1968 |
|
N.C. S&L 4 (a) – Use a variety of dramatic techniques to explore ideas, issues, texts and meanings |
| Drama Objectives Bank: Teaching needs to be based around objectives and draw on a repertoire of conventions and techniques in relation to a text or situation. It is not enough for teachers to arrange situations and trust that this will encourage pupils to develop their skills in drama. Pupils need focused and effective teaching to enable them to develop through encountering, investigating, experimenting with and reflecting on a wide range of drama experiences. The teacher has a key role with the whole class in drawing explicit attention to the features and conventions of drama, and in modelling them (sometimes as teacher-in-role) in relation to an issue or text. |
Knowing and using the dramatic techniques, or conventions as they are sometimes referred to, is the key to teaching and learning in drama and underpins the approaches recommended in all of the guidance documents.
The most comprehensive listing and guide to the conventions approach is available in Neelands, J. & Goode, T. (2001) Structuring Drama Work 2nd Edition CUP.
There is a guide to a selection of commonly used techniques in the DfES KS3 Drama Objectives Bank and there is a useful poster of techniques recommended for KS2 included in the Primary Strategy materials.
Ask trainees to obtain these sources of information about conventions and identify which they are familiar/unfamiliar with. In sub-groups trainees select a fictional or non-fictional text and suggest how using a sequence of conventions might enhance pupils’ exploration and understanding. Trainees might also download Emily (Drama Units Year 7 Term 2) from the QCA’s Giving Voice materials and identify the different conventions used and comment on the logic of the progression or sequence of conventions.
 
|
|
