Using the methods of drama-pedagogy in pedagogy and education

Pappné Demeter Magdolna

Using the methods of drama-pedagogy in pedagogy and education

Drama-pedagogy is based on human activity, being taught by actions. In other words, drama is known as a pedagogical method.

Drama originates itself from children games. Calls the participants for action to join the learning activity by the childhood natural claim for games. " I can hear and I can forget; I can see and I can memorize; I can do it do and I can understand. "- the wellknown Chinese proverb confirms what the psychopedagogy revealed in a survey: we remember only 10 % of what we read, we remember 20 % of what we hear, we remember 30 % of what we can see, we remember 50 % of what we see and hear at the same time, we remember 70 % of what we talk about and we remember 90 % of what we personally try and do. That is to say what the participants experience in/by drama makes them more open and intereseted, enlarging their knowledge unnoticed.

Drama, by revealing the actual reality, creates consciousness of the world that must be acquired by the students. At the same time, by creating an imagined world, involves the students to the process of creating consciousness. In this sence the consciousness created by/within drama is not only a well-circumscribed objective essence but is somewhat more because it is enriched by subjective and objective contents, and the recognition of the relation between abilities and the values based on the acquisition of these ablities.

During dramaclasses the tutor, together with the students, creates an imagined environment.

Examining problems, displaying conflicts the students become players as parts of their imagined world, thus participants of the drama can gain real knowledge and experience.

Learning by drama automatically exludes the autocratic leadership attitude since nobody can be forced to spontaine drama activity. The group must be open and receptive, contrary to the traditional school education groupings. Partner, equal relationship must be developed which clearly indicates a turn in the teacher-student behaviour. An attitude-change is needed.

The methods of drama-pedagogy can be used regardless of age, subject and discipline.

Drama has been present in the curriculum and the NAT (National Basic Curriculum) before. It was called Dance and Drama and had a very law number of lessons and only in a few grades, combined with puppet and dance arts. This is an activity-centered subject aiming to gain specific abilities instead of theoretical ones. However, theoretical knowledge consequently appears as a result of the practical activities. This is a productive learning process that leads into creative knowledge.

Dance and Drama subjects are often taught by teachers mayoring Hungarian Grammar and Literature, often without the minimal fundamental traning on it. Or, more common, teachers mayoring any type of fields, due to the luck of their number of classes. Teaches of this type and their work are helped by the periodicals and publications of the Hungarian Drama Pedagogy Society, in order to unite the drama education. (also class-descriptions, videos and extra subsidiary materials are available)

As I mentioned before, drama is usually integrated (or so to say disappeared) into the Hungarian Grammar and Literature subject, referring to the lack of trained experts and the lack of subsidiary materials. In addition, the huge requirements and the more problematic student -body makes the independent drama, puppet and dance classes almost impossible. What the basic reason for this could be that the educational values of drama-pedagogy are still not revealed and realized untill today. It is often mixed up with acting, dramatizing, special personal developmental trainings and with folk dramatic games…with games at any rate. But drama-pedagogy has no time for playing games. We do not play games for the sake of the game itself but for using the games as a device to reach the students with target consciousness and knowledge, help them learn the actual reality.

The fact must be settled, what we consider evidency is that we want to make the students understand instead of make the students "study". We do not want to make decisions instead of the students but to create situations in which they are in need of making decisions. Of course it requires effort and hard work.

We have to show more often that it is possible. If the teacher-colleagues saw and experienced this, if the efficiency of the method was supported by surveys, it would be easier to have the method accepted in wider aera, e.g. in other subjects and blocks of education. For this of course an attitude-change is needed.

Let us think about how deep educational contents are there within the compulsory readings in schools that loose their values by the traditional school teaching methods. Human values are being lost then:

historical events, situations, historical persons evaluated positively or negatively who decided right or wrong in given situations. Some of these persons or eventualities are desperately similar to today`s persons or eventualities.

Usually in most of the classes unfortunately there is no way to have a clearcut drama class, on the contrary we integrate some methods and conventions into the traditional lesson. By doing this the lesson it easier, understandable and enjoyable. Thus the child can experience how they lived, how they worked, strived, what the relations were between men and society, what the cultural relations were, how they thought in a given period of time. By the help of a well-trained teacher they can learn unnoticed, their knowledge will be deeper and easily adaptable (not only the text on pp 83-89 is memorized for a very short period of time…)

The methods of drama-pedagogy have inevitable role and significance in personal development as well. Children learn not only to study but to enjoy studying. They make others accept themselves easily and they accept the others easily. Drama activity is an activity done by a group, requires cooperation, sensibility and tolerance. In summary, it definitely improves the group cohesion.

Children and adults participating in drama activities adopt themselves easily in new communities and work places. They are more open and creative in their way of thinking and their behaviours.

The quality of education means to set those people free who are in possess of abilities which enables them to use their knowledge properly. It requires also, that those who teach them should have different attitudes and abilities than the traditional ones. As Eva Ancsel says: " what seems to be the most difficult among the activities of a drama-teacher is to acquisite how he/she thinks…"