| Key resources 4 - Managing space, time and contracted learning
Trainees will need to understand that the creative elements of drama – space, time and human presence - are also the problematic elements of the social encounter with students in drama lessons! They can use these screens as the basis for discussion and for identifying their own needs in terms of classroom management in drama
The particular characteristics of teaching and learning in drama
The drama teacher usually works in large open spaces with large numbers of students in short periods of time. The space, the students and the teacher are the material for the lesson – it is rare to find drama being taught from textbooks in the conventional manner- it is a practical subject. Nor can students be forced to do drama – take roles and make enactments – against their consent. These characteristics of the drama lesson make additional demands on a teacher’s existing classroom management skills. The mode of management that will be used is the contract and we will return to the skills of contracting later.
Trainees should understand that lack of space is not a sufficient reason for denying pupils their entitlement to drama!
Drama may also be used in the usual classroom setting when there is no alternative space to use. However, in many schools English departments have looked for additional spaces for drama within English work.
These Conventions work well in the classroom: Circle of Life, Collective Drawing, Writing in Role, Role on the Wall, Teacher in Role, Hot-Seating, Meetings, Mantle of the Expert, Objects of Character, Still Images, Soundtracking, Interviews/Interrogations
 
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