Enhancing the aesthetic response and learning in the drama classroom

This enquiry is a conceptual study that challenges the ways that teachers and students learn about the creative process of Responding as defined in the Queensland Senior Drama Syllabus 2001. During the term of this research I have been challenged to rethink my attitudes to responding by contemplating new experiences and opportunities to enable my drama students to engage fully with live theatre. Theatre visits are integral components of learning about drama and they do not necessarily entail assessment. However, the subject of this enquiry is in part about the assessment of the Responding objective, given the trend that teachers frequently use live theatre for responding tasks. As distinct from qualitative research, this study seeks to conceptualise a variety of responding models that can be employed in the drama classroom. Some new concepts proposed in this thesis may be intellectually challenging for school students, however I believe that it is healthy to continually challenge the learning experiences and related assessment tasks that we implement in our drama classrooms. There are no certainties in conceptual research, but assumptions and ideas that link with theory and perhaps lead to improved practice. It is my view that rethinking the models that teachers use to teach responding will enable more students to engage meaningfully with live performance. This research endeavours to raise awareness of new possibilities in the area of responding to live theatre. My own journey of thinking about responding is reflected in the structure of this thesis. Early discussions with teaching colleagues and arts providers have been included as these have been integral in setting a background context for this field. The focus of the literature review in this enquiry is the concept of the mature responder, which has informed my exploration of four models of responding developed from theory and my own classroom practice. My interest in this research project has been generated from attempts to design challenging and authentic responding tasks for my senior drama students