Scenario: A Journal for Performative Teaching, Learning, Research. Vol. XIV Issue 02
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Item Foreword - Vorwort(Department of German, University College Cork, 2020) Even, Susanne; Miladinović, Dragan; Schewe, ManfredItem Getting them back to class: A project to engage refugee children in school using drama pedagogy(Department of German, University College Cork, 2020) Vitsou, Magda; Papadopoulou, MariaThe paper presents aspects of a drama based six months’ project with refugee children during their first period of schooling in Greece. The project aimed to investigate whether drama sessions could facilitate second language learning, strengthen children’s participation in classroom communication and enhance interaction among pupils and teachers with few shared language resources in an attempt to provide them with positive experiences. Drama strategies were used to provide a joyful and welcoming environment and boost children’s communication skills. In most cases, drawing and painting, music and art were also used to support the drama activities. According to the research results, the children made use of various linguistic and non-linguistic resources (mother tongue, English, Greek, gestures, facial expressions, body movements, eye contact etc.) for interaction and self-expression and they developed positive feelings towards their classmates, their tutors and schooling. The language, which was produced through drama, was employed within a social context and was appropriate to the specific participants, setting and topic. Thus, the students were engaged in purposeful and meaningful communication. The findings from this case study highlight the beneficial effect of drama pedagogy on refugee children’s second language learning and on their socialization in the school environment.Item Teaching through performing arts in higher education: Examples in engineering and psychology(Department of German, University College Cork, 2020) Kloetzer, Laure; Henein, Simon; Tau, Ramiro; Martin, Susanne; Valterio, JoëlleThis paper introduces two courses making use of performing arts at university level. The first course, taught by Prof. Simon Henein and his colleagues, called Improgineering, aims to teach collective creation through improvisation to master’s degree students in engineering at the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland). The second course, taught by Prof. Laure Kloetzer and her colleagues, aims to introduce the Psychology of Migration via a sociocultural approach to bachelor’s degree students in psychology and education at the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland). After briefly introducing the topic of performing arts in higher education (section 1), the paper offers a description of the two courses (sections 2 and 3). These are complemented by teachers’ and students’ impressions of the course, as analyzed from individual interviews, focus groups and students’ learning diary entries (section 4). The conclusion presents some reflections on the convergences of the pedagogical designs of the courses, drafting a pedagogical model for using performing arts within higher education (section 5).Item The social art of language acquisition: A theatre approach in language learning for migrants and its digitization in the Corona lockdown(Department of German, University College Cork, 2020) Best, Christine; Guhlemann, Kerstin; Ona Argemí GuitartToday's challenges and developments − migration flows, globalization, diversification of educational pathways – clearly indicate that language teaching can no longer only take place within the framework of school and vocational training. Outside the context of schools, approaches which combine language learning with other goals of development or that are linked to concrete objectives appear most promising. A particularly challenging field is teaching languages to adult refugees, since language courses can seldom address the learning culture, the different learning speeds and key competencies adequately. In the wake of the current Corona crisis, the problem is becoming more pressing. By digitalization of language courses, there is the danger that people with better prerequisites benefit more from the offered courses than those more in need, and the gap between people with higher or lower learning success will widen further. The article uses the practical example JobAct Sprachkultur, which is a German programme for job placement, based on a combination of theatre methods, language learning and social work, to investigate the extent to which theatre methods can contribute to reducing educational inequality in the language acquisition of adult refugees/migrants. Based on a document analysis and qualitative spotlight surveys with the trainers of the program, the potentials and limitations of the theatre approach and its digital implementation can be shown.Item Drama-in-education for critical historical thinkers: A case study in the Greek context(Department of German, University College Cork, 2020) Kosti, Katerina; Papaioannou, TheodoraThe case study presented in this article refers to the connection of drama-in-education and critical thinking in history, in order to highlight the importance of drama for the teaching of history in primary schools in Greece. The research plan adopted is quantitative and qualitative, and the research strategy applied is that of case study. For the purposes of this study, four scenarios based on drama-in-education techniques were designed and applied on a sample of forty-three primary students. The analysis of the findings show that the students’ understanding of historical contexts and objectives of historically active subjects was encouraged by drama-based instruction.