50 Dramatic Engagers for Learning and Performance: A Guide on Active and Collaborative Strategies Aligned with the Brain’S Natural Way of Learning

50 Dramatic Engagers

FOR LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE

A Guide on Active and Collaborative Strategies Aligned

with the Brain’s Natural Way of Learning

Carmen I. White, PhD, RDT/BCT and

Lennie A. Smith, MA, RDT/BCT

AuthorHouse™

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© 2014 Carmen White. Lennie Smith. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the authors.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/05/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-4392-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-4391-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014917699

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Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

About the Authors

Functions for Dramatic Engagers

Chapter One: Introducing Dramatic Engagers

Engagement with the Brain in mind

Movement

Socialization

Emotional

Meaning

Safety

Enrichment

Active and Collaborative Learning

Understanding Creative Dramatics

making a case for Social and Emotional development

Processing Strategies for Dramatic Engagers

Guidelines for Processing Dramatic Engagers

Chapter Two: Setting the Stage for Learning

Warming Up Participants

Classroom Management

Practical Application Tips

The Contract

Setting the Atmosphere

Using the Creative and Authentic Voice

Chapter Three: Engagers That Prepare the Brain for Learning

Countdown

Crossover

Earthquake

Fruit Bowl

Give Me Liberty

Help or Hurt

In Good Company

Zip-Zap-Zop

Chapter Four: Engagers That Develop Team Building

Add-on-Scene

Body Builders

Character Charades

Grab-N-Go

Living Picture

Meet and Greet

Scene Partner

Stand in Line

Team Back-to-Back

Team Groupings

Team Storyboard

Team Tapestry

Team Think-Link-Sync

Untangle

Chapter Five: Engagers for Social and Emotional Skills

All Around the Room

Back-to-Back

Busy Highway

Guess Who the Leader Is

Hear My Story, Tell My Story

Human Barometer

Inner and Outer Circle

Positive Corridor

Positive Push-Ups

Spect-O-Gram

Chapter Six: Engagers to Teach Content and Skills

Add-on-Story

Brainstorm A-Z

Commercial

Content Pantomime

Jack-in-the-Box

Learner-in-Role

Meet the Press

Pair Think-Link-Sync

Pair Walk-and-Talk

Role on the Board

Star Witness

Teacher-in-Role

Word Ball

Chapter Seven; Engagers for Review and Reinforcement

Four Corners

Grab-N-Review

Review A-Z

Review Barometer

Review Toss

References

Preface

The key to effective teaching and training is to ensure that participants are motivated to learn and to retain information. Because we have so much content to review in today’s performance-packed world, we spend an enormous amount of time lecturing in our classrooms but not giving participants ample opportunity to absorb the information. Therefore, Carmen and Lennie have designed this book to be a ready-to-apply resource of engaging activities that you can use immediately in your classroom and/or training session.

This book contains creative, practical activities that were specifically designed to engage your learners in utilizing techniques that incorporate whole brain learning. The activities, which can be used for must subjects, are fun and intended to increase academic achievement, improve social and emotional development, increase motivation, and help participants develop communication skills. When participants are engaged, they are more likely to pay attention, learn more of the content, be motivated, and most important, retain the information. Dramatic Solutions’ Engagers have the capacity to capture the attention of participants of all ages. A traditional teacher or trainer spends 80% of the time lecturing his/her participants. He/she prepares long lectures or training workshops and does most of the talking leaving participants disengaged. His/her participants rarely receive an opportunity to practice what they learned and are not involved in the lesson. Therefore, most of what is taught is not retained and the learners remain unchanged. Dramatic Solutions’ Engagers uses a learner-centered, creative, active, and collaborative approach to actively engage EACH participant by implementing strategies so that the learner’s take-in new information, retain more, and apply the knowledge.

Far more than a technical guide, the publication provides an initial overview of whole brain learning theory, creative dramatics, and the underlying science behind learning and cognition. As educators, clinicians, and practitioners, we were eager to share our empirical studies and the resultant methodologies gleaned from our work. Over time, we have formulated ‘consumer-specific’ methodology for all learners, young and adult learners.

More published content is needed on emerging and evidence-based practices in brain-based learning theory and cognition—particularly regarding exploration of the ‘human agency’ factor in art and drama-based academic applications. To establish a theoretical framework for our multi-faceted curricula, this manual provides an overview from the literature on creative drama, brain-based learning, and related theories on cognition as well as arts education. In doing so, we highlight the fact that credible research exists to solidify the correlation between neuroscience, creative drama, learning comprehension, and socio-emotional development.

Importantly, 50 Dramatic Engagers for Learning and Performance delves into common learning styles through the lens of both leading theorists and empirical observations from our own practice experiences. This book also examines the process of cognition in the context of multiple intelligences. We explain how our use of dramatic engagers can not only attract, but also actually stimulate and connect, learners by looking at what the literature reveals—underscored by our own practitioner experience.

(Wenger, 1998) asserts that when we are with a community of practice, we learn certain ways of engaging in action with other people. Our hope is that individuals and organizations will embrace this guidebook and find our work both relatable and viable in terms of replication potential. As educators and clinical practitioners, DSI’s corporate principals have specialized in drama-based instruction, learning theory, and cognition for more than 20 years.

At this juncture, we were eager to share highlights from our applied work. We are honored, and frankly relieved, to take this time finally to reflect and ‘put pen-to-paper’ to illustrate our stories of success, lessons learned, and enlightening experiences. We knew in our heart of hearts that DSI’s work was far from ephemeral—but rather had long-lasting results! The compendium of benchmarks overtime served to validate further the integrity of what we do underscoring the necessity to disseminate our body of work.

We envision that our readership will find Dramatic Engagers both motivational and inspiring. The book’s presentation of instructional material comprises implementation guidelines and recommended methodologies, enlivened by ‘real-life’ application scenarios. Our interactive approach enhances the reader’s ability to grasp DSI’s dramatic engagers and infuse them into selected content areas with confidence. Our hope is that you will evolve into a space of transformation much like we came to do. To extend opportunities for others to be engaged is the highest form of being active and present in the moment. It is pure joy. We discovered that it was important for us as educators, trainers, and practitioners of change to take a moment to pause, reflect, and re-examine some of our instructional patterns on both a personal and professional level.

Our personal and professional approach to learning has always had its etiology in the dramatic arts—a path embarked upon 20 years ago and leading to this point in time. Our work led us to places where dramatic engagers ended up being the life line not just for the lost learners placed in detention facilities but also for administrators, educators, and counselors who were losing hope and passion for doing the very thing they once loved. We also observed and discovered our work going into places where we did not want to go; we asked questions where we had to become students all over again to our own thoughts and actions. While scary, it was positive to go into the darkness and to come out inspired and ready to move ahead!

The development of this publication allotted us the opportunity to seek more answers, to ask better questions, and to take more risks in the future. As this process of meta-cognition occurred, we found ourselves energized and discovered a space of self- improvement and renewal. There were moments when this was scary and a dark space to work, but ever so worth it—a found space that was amazing