All drama experiences are metaphorical; they are symbolic representations of life. As students make connections between dramatic situations and their own life experiences, they will discover meanings that they may not have otherwise uncovered. Making and sharing these connections will enable students to clarify, deepen and extend individual understandings of human behaviour and to discover universal meanings within dramatic situations.
Reflection is an important part of this process, as it is during periods of reflection that students will take the time to consider and clarify these meanings and to share their understanding with others. Their spoken and written comments will provide evidence of the extent to which they genuinely use reflection to uncover meaning in the work.
Evaluation
When evaluating an individual student's progress toward achieving this objective, the teacher should provide opportunities for students to reflect upon and share the meanings that they have discovered in the work. The teacher can observe the following:
Experiences in drama provide students with opportunities to become self-confident, self-motivated learners. By working with other students in a supportive,
co-operative environment in which all contributions are honoured, students will develop trust in the group and will participate openly and confidently.
As students become more experienced working in dramatic situations, they will continue to deepen their commitment to the group and its work. If the environment is one in which student initiative is encouraged, students will also develop a strong sense of ownership in the drama experiences and will take increasingly more responsibility for their own work and for the success of the collective work of the class.
Evaluation
When evaluating the self-confidence, self-discipline and self-motivation of an individual student, the teacher can observe the following:
All drama experiences are collective in nature. Through experiences in drama, students will learn to work co-operatively with others and will develop an understanding of the processes involved in working in groups of various sizes. Students will develop abilities in listening, expressing and initiating ideas, negotiating, problem-solving, decision-making and consensus-building.
As students become more competent at working in groups of various sizes, they will experiment with a number of different functions within groups. These include task functions such as giving and seeking information and opinions, co-ordinating ideas, energizing the group and evaluating the group's progress. They also include maintenance functions such as listening, encouraging others, compromising and clarifying ideas.
Students can also become actively involved in the evaluation of the contributions of various members of groups, including themselves. By evaluating these contributions, students not only participate in the formal evaluation process, but also monitor and enhance their own progress in group process abilities.
Evaluation
When evaluating an individual student's progress in group process abilities, the teacher should observe the student's behaviour in various groups, provide opportunities for the student to reflect on his or her contributions to the work within these groups, and ask the student to evaluate his or her contribution to specific group projects. The teacher can consider the following:
As students work together to create their own works of dramatic art, and as they study works created by others, they will develop an understanding of the processes and elements involved in creating such works. Processes in which students may be involved include choosing topics, researching, synthesizing, identifying the focus of their work, translating ideas into dramatic form, reflecting, refining, rehearsing and performing.
Students will also begin to incorporate into their work the theatre elements of focus, tension, contrast and symbol. It is the existence of focus, tension, contrasts and symbol within drama that creates form and uncovers and deepens meaning. These elements function to serve the intentions of all dramatic artists (playwrights, actors, directors, set designers, etc.) and to connect the work of all of them in the dramatic art they create together. It is important that students learn to recognize the theatre elements and understand how they function, both within their own work and within works of dramatic art created by others.
Students' understanding of these processes and elements will be demonstrated in their increased ability to work productively in structuring and participating in contextual dramas, improvisations and episodes for collective creations, as well as in their ability to apply their understanding to their work with scripts. By using a process like "Looking at Plays", students will also be able to recognize and discuss the existence and function of the theatre elements in drama experienced as audience.
Evaluation
When evaluating an individual student's progress toward achieving this objective, the teacher should observe the behaviour and work of the student and also provide opportunities for the student to reflect on the progress of the work. The teacher can observe the following:
When students translate their ideas into dramatic form, they strive to symbolically represent life as they know it. The skills and abilities that students use in these dramatic representations are ones they have acquired, for the most part unconsciously, in their daily lives. Acting skills are essentially communication skills. As students develop confidence working within dramatic situations, they will develop increased ability in the use of movement, speech and improvisation. They will learn to sustain roles in dramatic situations for extended periods of time and to incorporate the theatre elements into their work. They will also develop their abilities to create and sustain characters and to communicate these characters through movement and speech.
These skills will not be developed in isolation but will be incorporated throughout the students' drama experiences. Depending on the requirements of the work at hand, students may work on developing specific acting skills that will help them to better express and communicate their ideas. The development of a specific skill might be one of several objectives for a unit of work; development of another skill might be included in the objectives for the next unit.
Evaluation
When evaluating the development of acting skills for an individual student, the teacher should observe the student's work and provide opportunities for the student to reflect upon his or her progress in the development of specific skills. The teacher can observe the following:
Students may have opportunities to view live dramatic presentations. Productions are mounted regularly by professional theatre companies, community theatre groups and school groups. Some of the province's professional and non-professional theatre companies sponsor touring plays for schools and communities.
Teachers can guide students toward deeper understanding and greater enjoyment of their experiences as playgoers. A process like "Looking at Plays" provides students with opportunities to thoughtfully discuss dramatic presentations and to write carefully considered play reviews. Students should also practice applying critical analysis to their own work and that of their classmates. Open, supportive discussion of student work in class can help students to become more informed audience members outside of class.
Evaluation
When evaluating an individual student's progress toward achieving this objective, teachers can observe the following:
Through the creation of works of dramatic art and the study of works created by others in present and past cultures, students will learn how drama both reflects and influences societies. In their work in drama, students will draw on their own cultural backgrounds and learn how their drama reflects their understanding of their world. By studying the works of some of today's dramatic artists, students will have opportunities to explore the cultural views expressed by them and to increase their knowledge and understanding of various cultures. By studying the various forms that dramatic expression has taken in the past, students will become aware of the cultural influences and effects of drama in earlier times and across cultures and will begin to understand how dramatic art form has evolved.
Students will demonstrate the connections they have made between their cultural backgrounds and their own work, both in the form and content of the work itself and also in oral and written comments during periods of reflection. They will demonstrate their understandings of the role of drama in various cultures in their critical analysis of dramatic presentations and in their ability to share with their classmates their knowledge of the various forms that dramatic expression can take.
Evaluation
When evaluating an individual student's progress toward achieving this objective, the teacher can observe the following: