Search the Drama Teacher Academy

It’s never too early for assessment planning. The work currently being done in your classroom is providing a baseline of growth throughout the year, but if you don’t capture this data right now, you can’t present it to your administration when it is time to assess your program. Join us for a discussion of tips and strategies when it comes to assessments in your classroom.

Assessing students is always a challenge, but in the Drama classroom it's a challenge on top of a challenge! We assess knowledge, of course, but we also assess commitment, skill and performance. Assessment is fundamental to education, but the how and why of assessment differs from classroom to classroom, and lesson to lesson. Join us as we navigate the twists and turns of Assessment in the Drama Classroom.

As the year that just finished rides slowly into the sunset, (or mercifully falls off a cliff!) this is the time to take a minute and reflect on the highs and lows of your classes and productions from this past year. What new things did you try? What worked? What didn’t? How can I make it better and what are my goals for the coming year? Join our panel for a discussion on the process of looking backwards and moving forward.

Theatre is an art form designed to bring people together. But what do you do when you can’t teach your students face-to-face? Whether it is a family vacation, unexpected emergency or natural disaster, there will be times when you will need to teach your students from a distance. You will need to engage your students in Distance Learning.

But distance learning comes with its own set of challenges: Do you have the right materials? Do you have the right technology? Do your students? Join us for a crash course discussion about the strategies and challenges associated with Distance Learning.

The holidays are upon us. Whether you’ll be meeting a new group of students in January, or you’re at the midway point, now’s the time to reassess, refocus, and reboot your classroom.

Reflection is a fundamental component of teaching. It is also a cornerstone of running a successful program or production. It can be hard to ask the tough questions once the year is over and all you want to do is just forget it all and move on. But that post-mortem is where the real learning happens! When you reflect on the successes and failures of the previous season or year, you bypass future mistakes before they have a chance to take root, and sow the seeds of a successful new year. So join us for the Year End Post-Mortem: What did you try, what did you skip, what worked, what didn’t. It’s time to build the foundations of the new year on the ashes of the old.

One of the more valuable lessons that we learned during the pandemic was that "Less is More" when it comes to our curriculum. We found that even though we didn't cover as much material, we were able to cover that material in much greater depth. This led to students taking a deeper dive into materials that normally they might skim across. And that, in turn, led to a better understanding of materials. So...Wait, we cut down on our curriculum and increased learning? How did that happen?!

Join us in this PLC where we will discuss a "Less is More" approach to your curriculum and find out!

Curriculum 911

Curriculum planning help for drama teachers - lesson planning, how to integrate cross-curricular activities, resources, and more!

Hosted by DTA instructors Matt Webster, Karen Loftus, and Lindsay Price.

Recorded on October 6, 2015 at 8pm.