Using Drama in Education

“True education is where you tap into the talents of the learner.’-Athiemoolam Logamurthie

Day 3 of the 11th Pan African Literacy for All Conference brought in a spectacular topic using Tableaux to enhance literacy development by Athiemoolam Logamurthie from Nelson Mandela university among other topics that were discussed in the various sessions.

Drama in education is the use of drama to convey meaning through voice,gestures and actions usually within a classroom setting.

Strategies for including drama in education include tableaux,role play,improvisation and plays(theatre-in-education).I will shade more light on tableaux which is the least used among the mentioned strategies.

Tableaux is a frozen scene or simply a still picture. According to google,Tableaux is a group of models or motionless figures representing a scene from a story or from history.

Tableaux enhances literacy development. It facilitates learner comprehension since they have to visualize the actions and events that they need.

A range of skills are involved in developing their sense,building and activating background knowledge and asking questions.

The tableaux creation process is quite simple and worthy of all the work;

-Start by identifying a a text to a theme or issue that you want to be discussed

-Attach reading material to a text

-Start discussion on the topic

-Divide text into scenes and act it out

-The facilitator asks learners what they get from a character.

-The characters too are asked what they are portraying.

This form of learning is quite captivating especially for the learners. It allows them to develop their thought process and engage at all levels.

I enjoyed this session because tableaux was a new term to me and I can`t wait to try it out in various workshops I will be facilitating.

What are your thoughts on tableaux?