A final performance could constitute an extremely rewarding final project for all the class participants, as it would offer countless occasions for more profoundly involved reflections on the play. Of course a theatrical production project cannot fit everybody’s teaching needs and contexts; however, as the activities listed above exemplify, smaller and simpler performance exercises can provide excellent entry ways into the text and launching points for discussions.
As I have already mentioned in the introduction, all of the above is meant to encourage teachers to experiment with different techniques, adapt and modify them, and make them their own. Most of the strategies I have suggested can be recombined and recycled; for example, asking students to phrase three core points or ideas, as I suggest at the end of the pre-reading activity, can of course be a useful way of concluding other discussions as well.
Awareness of one’s learning process is a crucial component for deep and effective learning and retention; it is therefore always advisable to engage students in explicit reflections on processes. All the activities here proposed are intended to encourage such reflections and to sparkle productive discussions, which, differently from what instructors sometimes hope or expect, rarely just happen out of the blue. As educators know very well, lesson plans and syllabi should be carefully designed so that students are engaged in active learning, are guided from easier and lower-stakes activities to more complex and higher-stakes tasks, are supported in developing the skills we want them to acquire, and are provided with frequent occasions for formative feedback. The approaches and tasks here suggested might help instructors achieve these goals and build a community in which students can work within an enjoyable and safe learning environment.
A final word on the role of the instructor/teacher/facilitator/educator/… (the literature is indeed rich with terms that attempt to describe this complex figure): so much has been written on this delicate, exhausting, gratifying, impossible role, and I obviously cannot hope to address the topic in a few words; I just want to conclude by saying that it is imperative that we know both our students and ourselves really well, so that we can comfortably embark on wonderful journeys together.
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by Anna Santucci (PhD Candidate, Brown University)