For more than twenty years, Drama for Schools at The University of Texas at Austin has partnered with educators to explore the potential of drama-based pedagogy across disciplines and educational contexts. In this interactive workshop, participants will experience a range of practical strategies that use dramatic inquiry to support active learning, collaboration, reflection, and creative problem-solving. Through structured dramatic experiences, participants will investigate how the arts can deepen engagement with curriculum, build classroom community, and create opportunities for meaningful dialogue around complex issues. Drawing on lessons learned through two decades of research and professional learning partnerships, the workshop will introduce adaptable practices suitable for higher education as well as school settings. No drama experience is required. The session invites participants to learn through doing, reflecting on how drama-based approaches can transform teaching and learning while creating spaces for participation, imagination, and shared meaning-making.
About the speaker:
Kathryn (Katie) Dawson is a Professor of Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities at The University of Texas at Austin, USA, and Director of Drama for Schools. Her research examines arts-based educational research, drama-based pedagogy, community-engaged learning, teaching artist practice, and professional learning for educators. A leading scholar in drama education and arts integration, she has worked extensively with schools, museums, and community organisations to explore the role of the arts in transformative learning. She is co-author of Drama-Based Pedagogy: Activating Learning Across the Curriculum and The Reflexive Teaching Artist, and author of Drama for Schools and Beyond: Transformative Learning Through the Arts.