Planning Drama 7-10 learning using Victorian Curriculum Helen Champion Webinar, 22 November 2016

Session overview Victorian Curriculum: The Arts - Drama Planning Design assumptions Content Organisation Planning Working from existing sequences of learning/units New sequences of learning/units

check your understanding with colleagues Where is Drama in the Whole school, Level and Domain plans at your school? On the timetable? Core? Elective? Co-curricula? Inquiry/project-based learning? Make a list; check your understanding with colleagues

VICTORIAN CURRICULUM: THE ARTS Curriculum design VICTORIAN CURRICULUM: THE ARTS Same framework for all Arts disciplines Designed for use in multiple contexts No set pedagogies, texts or styles

Victorian Curriculum: The Arts 4 Strands: explore & express/represent ideas practices present & perform respond & interpret + 2 Organising ideas: students learn as artist and as audience Students learn by making & responding

to communicate ideas and meaning to an audience. Learning in Drama Strand Explore and Express Ideas Drama Practices Present and Perform Respond and Interpret Activities imagining creating characters, roles and situations. respond to stimuli - observation, feelings, experience, texts/playscripts, research and drama they have viewed dramatic play role play process drama improvisation explore dramatic possibilities ways of creating dramatic action developing knowledge and understanding of skills, techniques and processes for creating and sustaining characters, roles and situations in devised and scripted drama. Using the elements of drama, forms and conventions to shape and structure drama, refining their work in response to feedback. applying acting, direction, design elements and stagecraft in performance spaces, rehearsing, refining performances to communicate ideas and meaning to an audience. using Voice movement, gesture, performance and expressive skills and techniques technologies as drama makers, designers, performers and audience., Describing Reflecting Questioning analysing evaluating   interpreting texts Exploring how contexts inform drama from diverse cultures, times and locations how drama connects with other arts forms and disciplines. to communicate ideas and meaning to an audience.

Interdependent content Concept Knowledge and skills Contexts What is to be taught? What knowledge and skills will students acquire or develop? What is the context for the learning?

Unpacking a concept Focus Concentration, engagement, making characters believable, channeling’ energy … etc. performance styles, solo, ensemble, connections to other performance & expressive skills etc.

Focus EXPLORE & EXPRESS PRACTICES RESPOND & INTERPRET Shape, stillness, closed, Imagining, trialling Concentration, engagement, making characters believable, channeling’ energy … etc. PRESENT & PERFORM RESPOND & INTERPRET working individually, in pairs, in small groups etc. performance styles, solo, ensemble, connections to other performance & expressive skills etc.

Curriculum mapping Mapping identifies the extent of curriculum coverage in units of work and clearly links teaching, learning and assessment while working with the curriculum continuum. Mapping templates support teachers to identify where content descriptions and achievement standards are being explicitly addressed within the school’s teaching and learning program Instructions: http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/foundation10/viccurriculum/curriculumplanning.aspx Templates For each Arts discipline Levels A-D F-6 7-10

Activity #1: The big idea What is the purpose of the unit/learning? (The big, central idea) Describe the unit/sequence of learning in 20 words or less Dramatise a song Mask drama Sit-coms Radio plays Save the wetlands Interpret a scene from a script ????? EXPLORE & EXPRESS PRACTICES PRESENT & PERFORM RESPOND & INTERPRET

Activity #2: unpacking why is this activity in the learning plan for this student/group of students? What are the key concepts the students will learn? How will you know what students already know and what learning has occurred? EXPLORE & EXPRESS PRACTICES PRESENT & PERFORM RESPOND & INTERPRET

Activity #2b: more unpacking how is the activity introduced? taught? aligned to prior learning? varied to cater for different levels of knowledge and skill? how does the activity connect to the rest of the unit/sequence? What opportunities are there for formative assessment? self-assessment peer-assessment teacher observation EXPLORE & EXPRESS PRACTICES PRESENT & PERFORM RESPOND & INTERPRET

Activity #3: identifying possible connections Thinking about the same activity or aspect of the unit/sequence, when students are ‘exploring’ or ‘expressing’ what drama practices are they using? are they also ‘responding’ or ‘interpreting’? does this activity contribute to presentation of a performance? an actual performance how are digital technologies used for learning and teaching in this activity? How could they be used? EXPLORE & EXPRESS PRACTICES PRESENT & PERFORM RESPOND & INTERPRET

Activity #3a: making connections Levels 7 and 8 Content Descriptions Levels 9 and 10 Content Descriptions Explore and Express Ideas Combine the elements of drama in devised and scripted drama to explore and develop issues, ideas and themes (VCADRE033) Develop roles and characters consistent with situation, dramatic forms and performance styles to convey status, relationships and intentions(VCADRE034) Improvise with the elements of drama and narrative structure to develop ideas, and explore subtext to shape devised and scripted drama (VCADRE040) Manipulate combinations of the elements of drama to develop and convey the physical and psychological aspects of roles and characters consistent with intentions (VCADRE041) Drama Practices Plan, structure and rehearse drama, exploring ways to communicate and refine dramatic meaning(VCADRD035) Develop and refine expressive skills in voice and movement to communicate ideas and dramatic action in different performance styles and conventions(VCADRD036) Practise and refine the expressive capacity of voice and movement to communicate ideas and dramatic action in a range of forms, styles and performances spaces (VCADRD042) Structure drama to engage an audience through manipulation of dramatic action, forms and performance styles and by using design elements(VCADRD043) Present and Perform Perform devised and scripted drama using a range of performance styles, maintaining commitment to role and applying stagecraft (VCADRP037) Perform devised and scripted drama making deliberate artistic choices and shaping design elements to unify dramatic meaning for an audience(VCADRP044) Respond and Interpret Analyse how the elements of drama have been combined in devised and scripted drama to convey different forms, performance styles and dramatic meaning (VCADRR038) Identify and connect specific features and purposes of drama from contemporary and past times to explore viewpoints and enrich their drama making(VCADRR039) Evaluate how the elements of drama, forms and performance styles in devised and scripted drama to convey meaning and aesthetic effect (VCADRR045) Analyse a range of drama from contemporary and past times to explore differing viewpoints and enrich their drama practice (VCADRR046)

Activity #3a: making connections 7-8 Explore and express: Combine the elements of drama in devised and scripted drama to explore and develop issues, ideas and themes (VCADRE033) Develop roles and characters consistent with situation, dramatic forms and performance styles to convey status, relationships and intentions (VCADRE034) Stimulus? Ensemble/solo/personal within an ensemble Using technology EXPLORE & EXPRESS PRACTICES PRESENT & PERFORM RESPOND & INTERPRET

Activity #4: Which level? Consider the information you’ve gathered about this activity/aspect of a learning sequence and Identify the content description/s and level/s that is/are the best fit/s Are adjustments required to align all of the activities in the unit/sequence of learning with a single level? How can each activity be varied to cater for different learning needs? (for example, within a group) higher level lower level EXPLORE & EXPRESS PRACTICES PRESENT & PERFORM RESPOND & INTERPRET

Activity #5: Document audit results and ‘things to do’ or ‘questions’ For example, Check that all information required for school planning template is available revise, add or delete activities incorporate formative assessment opportunities use digital technologies enhance skill development

… and, how does your Drama learning program connect with CAPABILITIES INQUIRY LEARNING OTHER LEARNING AREAS LITERACY, NUMERACY OR ICT CO-CURRICULAR EVENTS

Next steps update rubrics, success criteria, learning intentions etc. transfer information to school curriculum planning template discuss the process and findings with colleagues and/or curriculum leaders & maybe repeat for other units write a new unit or sequence of learning using this process as a checklist

Feedback Please complete the survey the F-10 unit will email to you so that I get your feedback about the relevance of this presentation for your work and whether it met your expectations. You can also email me directly: Helen Champion Curriculum Manager: Performing Arts phone: 61 3 9032 1723 email: champion.helen.h@edumail.vic.gov.au