Title
Mapping the Adventure of Middle School Theatre: A guide to developing an international middle school theatre curriculum

Workshop description
This step by step guide takes the teacher through some of the stages of building an authentic, creative and engaging middle school theatre course using ISTA’s ensemble approach and pedagogy.

Learning outcomes

• To develop curriculum planning skills
• To understand the components of an international MS theatre course
• To examine the ensemble method and ISTA pedagogy and how this can be used to enhance an international MS theatre programme
• To examine the different roles theatre plays in an international school curriculum
• To develop strategies for reflection and for the recording of process
• To examine authentic assessment tasks and criteria

Target audience
Teachers of middle school and middle years theatre

Benefits for curriculum development and delivery

• Curriculum planning aligned with and bespoke to school’s mission, values and community
• New pedagogical approaches to teaching theatre
• Making a programme authentically international
• Considering the development of creativity
• Exercises and approaches to reflection and recording the learning process
• Designing authentic assessment tasks
• Becoming part of an international network of middle school theatre teachers from around the world

Session #1
Introductions: Developing an international MS course, ensemble and the ISTA pedagogy
This session examines the building blocks of an international middle school theatre curriculum and the role of the ensemble approach.

Saturday 16th October 2021 (1 hour)
Region 1 – Asia & Europe: 15:00 -16:00 SST (Singapore Standard Time)
Region 2 – Europe & Americas: 14:00 – 15:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time)

Session #2
Reflection, assessment for learning and journals
This session introduces strategies for creative reflection, ways of capturing process and approach to developing authentic assessment tasks.

Saturday 16th October 2021 (1 hour)
Region 1 – Asia & Europe: 16:00 -17:00 SST (Singapore Standard Time)
Region 2 – Europe & Americas: 15:00 – 16:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time)

Session #3
Theatre as a tool of investigation: Learning and teaching through theatre
This session introduces drama-in-education exercises and activities as well as practical approaches to using theatre as an investigative, cross-curricular tool to examine the world and develop conceptual understandings.

Saturday 16th October 2021 (1 hour)
Region 1 – Asia & Europe: 17:00 -18:00 SST (Singapore Standard Time)
Region 2 – Europe & Americas: 16:00 – 17:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time)

Session #4
Theatre making: Creating original theatre with middle school students
This session examines the development of theatre making skills with particular emphasis on originally created material that can be used as a school production or in school gatherings such as assemblies.

Sunday 17th October 2021 (1 hour)
Region 1 – Asia & Europe: 15:00 -16:00 SST (Singapore Standard Time)
Region 2 – Europe & Americas: 16:00 – 15:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time)

Session #5
Theatre studies: Learning and teaching about theatre
This session examines the teaching of theatre as an art form as well as how to introduce styles, genres, traditions and practices from around the world into your course.

Sunday 17th October 2021 (1 hour)
Region 1 – Asia & Europe: 16:00 -17:00 SST (Singapore Standard Time)
Region 2 – Europe & Americas: 15:00 – 16:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time)

Session #6
Approaches to planning a 5 year course and resource share
This session helps the teacher to consider their programme and how it can be developed or enhanced. Teachers share resources, approaches and activities.

Sunday 17th October 2021 (1 hour)
Region 1 – Asia & Europe: 17:00 -18:00 SST (Singapore Standard Time)
Region 2 – Europe & Americas: 16:00 – 17:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time)

Total course time:
6 hours

Dinos Aristidou
I’m a playwright, director and education consultant working internationally. Covid-19 has changed my process to working digitally to make/share work. I am working with Birmingham Royal Ballet and as creative learning director of UCAN, developing Storystarters. As artistic director/playwright of the Hear Us Out Verbatim Theatre Festival I am working with older people and their stories.

My passion is for Verbatim theatre, working with communities to discover empowering ways of theatrically presenting untold stories. My work with students and teachers focuses on reflection, its role in learning, social activism and building compassion. As an artist I am interested in what it means to make art with kindness.

I am the editor of ISTA’s book The ISTA Method where I write about curriculum design at MS. I am also a teacher trainer for InThinking and for IB Diploma Theatre and held the position with the IB as curriculum manager of the MYP review of the arts. I have worked extensively on the role of reflection at middle and high school level and my ReflectiON cards are used by teachers around the world.

Event Coordinator
Helen Abbott

Workshop timings
Region 1 – Asia & Europe
16th & 17th October 2021 (Same time both days)
08:00 – 11:00 BST (British Summer Time)
09:00 – 12:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time)
15:00 -18:00 SST (Singapore Standard Time)

Region 2 – Americas & Europe
16th & 17th October 2021 (Same time both days)
08:00 – 11:00 EDT (Eastern Daylight Time)
13:00 – 16:00 BST (British Summer Time)
14:00 – 17:00 CEST (Central European Time)
20:00 – 23:00 SST (Singapore Standard Time)

The studio will take place on Zoom.
Joining instructions will be emailed to participants 24 hours before the event.
Places are limited to 25 participants.

The cost of this studio is GBP £150 per person for ISTA members and GBP £200 per person for non members.

Any materials shared with you prior to the studio, such as the workbook. A notebook and pencil are always useful.

Space requirements
If possible, please try to have a small amount of space near to you for any practical work.