INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY FIELD ISSN – 2455-0620 Volume - 3, Issue - 3, Mar - 2017

‘Drama and art in Education’ as Enhancing Professional Capacities Course

: A case of CASE
Dr. Jyotsna Ashokkumar Amin
Assistant Professor, CASE, Department of Education, Faculty of Education and Psychology
The M S University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, India
Email - [email protected]

Abstract: In the report of the position paper of National Focused Groups on Arts, Music, Dance and
theatre it has been strongly recommended that art and Theater education must become a subject
taught in every school as a compulsory subject. In connection to the same it is further recommended
that these subjects should be included in the teacher training institutions as a compulsory subject.
With the onset of two years Bachelors of Education Course National Council of Teacher Education
(2015) has introduced ‘Art and Drama in Education’ as one of the compulsory courses. This course is
under the head Enhancing Professional Capacities (EPC). This newly introduced course has caught
attention of the whole educated community as well as experts in the performing arts. In has lot of
scope for fostering creativity, socialization, confidence building, organization ability in the student-
teachers at B.Ed. level. It is being visualized that the teachers once professionally equip with the skills
of drama and arts, they will be making difference in the pedagogical practices in classrooms. This
course is being introduced but the really in various institution is different in terms of its
implementation in teacher education. Teacher educators themselves are struggling to do justice to this
EPC Course. Their own Professional Capacities are also challenged in doing so.
Centre of Advanced Studies in Education, The M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara has introduced
the course and has successfully implemented the course ‘art and drama in education’ at B.Ed. level.
The author of the paper being one of the teacher educators dealing with the course, wants to focus on
the integration of this course, its effect on student teachers, implications during the school internship
programme. Does this course really enhances the capacities of the teachers? Does it really transect
the required skills or need some modification? whether we need a separate pedagogy for drama
education or drama itself is a pedagogy? An attempt is being made to answer these questions in this
paper on the bases of field based research experiences.

Key Words: Drama and Art in Education, Enhancing Professional Capacities, Teacher education.

1. INTRODUCTION:
“The teaching professions now face rapidly changing demands, which require a new set of competences.” In order to
meet this rapidly changing demands National Council of Teacher Education has made radical changes in the duration
and subject matters of the study of bachelor of education programme all over India. Having criticized about the
paucity of time to train and develop the teaching professionals during one year two year programme is been
introduced. Two years programme has ample time and the subject under studies has greater scope of integration with
various course to equip the student teachers with the competencies needed for the teaching professional. The major
changes which has come along the time factor is the introduction of enhancing professional capacities courses. These
courses and the engagement with the school as well as school internship programme has vital scope for enhancement
of Professional Competencies if integrated in a synchronized manner.

2. ENHANCING PROFESSIONAL CAPACITIES (ECP) COURSES:

In the curriculum frame work it is mentioned to offer several specialized courses throughout the bachelors of
education programme to enhance the professional capacities of a student-teacher. It is further mentioned that these
courses are to be assessed internally. There are four courses suggested as follows:
Course EPC 1: Reading and Reflecting on Texts (1/2)
Course EPC 2: Drama and Art in Education (1/2)
Course EPC 3: Critical Understanding of ICT (1/2)
Course EPC 4: Understanding the Self (1/2)

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY FIELD ISSN – 2455-0620 Volume - 3, Issue - 3, Mar - 2017

A course on critical understanding of ICTs is offered as an important curricular resource, according primacy to the
role of the teacher, ensuring public ownership of digital resources, and promoting constructivist approaches that
privilege participation and co-creation over mere access to ICTs. Courses that would focus on developing the
professional and personal self of a teacher are designed to integrate theoretical and practical components, transacted
through focused workshops with specific inputs on art, music, drama and yoga. These courses offer opportunities to
self-reflect, study issues of identity, interpersonal relations, while viewing schools as sites for social change;
developing social sensitivity and the capacity to listen and empathize.

3. DRAMA AN ART IN EDUCATION AS ENHANCING PROFESSIONAL CAPACITIES (EPC) COURSE:

In the report of the position paper of National Focused Groups on Arts, Music, Dance and theatre it has been strongly
recommended that art and Theater education must become a subject taught in every school as a compulsory subject. In
connection to the same it is further recommended that these subjects should be included in the teacher training
institutions as a compulsory subject. With the onset of two years Bachelors of Education Course National Council of
Teacher Education (2015) has introduced ‘Art and Drama in Education’ as one of the compulsory courses. This course
is under the title Enhancing Professional Capacities (EPC). This newly introduced course has caught attention of the
whole educated community as well as experts in the performing arts. In has lot of scope for fostering creativity,
socialization, confidence building, organization ability in the student-teachers at B.Ed. level. It is being visualized that
the teachers once professionally equip with the skills of drama and arts, they will be making difference in the
pedagogical practices in classrooms. This course is being introduced but the really in various institution is different in
terms of its implementation in teacher education. Teacher educators themselves are struggling to do justice to this EPC
Course. Their own Professional Capacities are also challenged in doing so.

4. STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE; DRAMA AND ART IN EDUCATION GIVEN BY NCTE:

Drama in Education transcends the where and how, to travel through time - to the past, to the future, while it also
allows us to freeze time. Thus we can live or relive moments and evoke or even recreate situations that can help us
accept them better. Drama in Education is not merely doing theatrics or ‘acting’ in a superficial manner, but is for
creating that ‘dramatic pressure’ or tension, where the student would arrive at a .problem or an understanding in a new
way (Heathcote & Bolton, 1994). The challenge is for prospective teachers to understand the medium, in order to
transpose learners into a different time and space, to shape their consciousness through introspection and imagined
collective experience. For instance, activities such as ‘hot seating’ can be used to raise critical questions addressed to
characters from the textbook or those in history, to think about significant developments within diverse social
contexts. This also helps to stretch the learner into areas of ‘discomfort’ and ‘confusion’, to then seek resolution,
clarity and understanding. In the present context where children are growing up in starkly segregated environments,
bounded by caste, class, religion or gender, drama must be used to potentially interrogate these categories - Who is the
other? Why? How is the process of ‘othering’ happening in different lives? Mere moral sermons do not help build
sensitivities. The ability to feel empathy for and relate with the other can be nurtured through drama based on
experience, emotion and interpretation. It also gives opportunities for learners to recognize their agency, for
transformational action.
Drama as ‘critical pedagogy’ can move beyond the classroom, to invoke the collective consciousness and involve the
community to participate in educational and social change. Teachers will need to experience different genres of street
theatre that continue to engage with life, through folk and contemporary traditions, improvising and critiquing, while
mobilizing for transformative action The course on Drama and Art in Education also helps in understanding the self
and as a form of self-expression for enhancing creativity. The components of fine arts aim to develop aesthetic
sensibilities in student-teachers and learn the use of art in teaching-learning (Prasad, 1998).Encouragement needs to be
given to understand local culture and art forms and interpret art works, movies and other Media. Likewise other
activities can be used to build trust and cooperation, the sense of responsibility, pursuing tasks collectively and
exploring varied perspectives. Be it visual or performing, the practice of art deepens children’s ability for perception,
reflection and expression, providing them with alternative languages to experience and communicate subtle, diverse
and unfamiliar territories, from human to the larger consciousness of nature (Armstrong, 1980; Davis, 2008). The
challenge of teacher educators lies not only in expanding the landscapes of children’s art, but in also perceiving their
world, their artistic processes and then from that sense of understanding, explore ways of assessing their work (Carini,
2001).

5. OUTLINE OF THE COURSE DRAMA AND ART IN EDUCATION IN DEPARTMENT OF

EDUCATION:
In the department of education The M S University of Baroda the course drama and art is designed in consultation of
the faculties of performing arts & fine arts. Mainly the course is divided into five Units:
Unit I : Drama and its Fundamentals: Which talks about the drama as a tool of learning, Different Forms of Drama,
Use of Drama for Educational and social change (Street play, Dramatization of a lesson), Uese of Drama Techniques

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY FIELD ISSN – 2455-0620 Volume - 3, Issue - 3, Mar - 2017

in the Classroom: voice and speech, mime and movements, improvisation, skills of observation, imitation and
presentation.
Unit II ; Music ; Gayan and Vadan Sur, Taal and Laya (Sargam); Comprised of
Vocal - Folk songs, Poems, Prayers, Singing along with “Karaoke”, Composition of Songs, Poems, Prayers,
Integration of Gayan and Vadan in Educational practices.
Unit III : Art of Dance deals with the topics related to Various Dance Forms - Bharat Natyam, Kathakali, Folk dance
: Garba, Bhavai, Bhangada, Bihu and various other dances, Integration of Dance in educational practices &(Action
songs, NrityaNatika).
Unit IV: Drawing and Painting has topics like Colours, Strokes and Sketching- understanding of various means and
perspectivesDifferent forms of painting- Warli art, Madhubani art, Glass painting, Fabric painting and various forms
of painting, Use of Drawing and Painting in Education -Chart making, Poster making, match-stick drawing and other
forms.
Unit V : Creative Artsdeals with the basics of Creative writing -Story writing, Poetry writing, Model making - Clay
modeling, Origami, Puppet making, Decorative Art - Rangoli, Ekebana, Wall painting, Designing - Computer
graphics, CD Cover, Book cover, Collage work, The use of different art forms in Education.
Above syllabus is taking care of the concerns of NCTE framework and objectives of the B.Ed. programme as well.
The transaction of the syllabus is challenging but interesting. Detail about the transaction of the syllabus and its
assessment is mentioned in the processing paragraphs.

6. TRANSACTIONS OF “DRAMA AND ART IN EDUCATION” AT DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:

Centre of Advanced Studies in Education, Department of Education, The M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara has
introduced the course and has successfully implemented the course ‘art and drama in education’ at B.Ed. level. This
course is having weightage of 3 credits ; (2thoery + 1practical), (50+ 25 marks) in the bachelors of Education
Programme. It is transected in the semester II of first year.
Lecture:It has four periods in the time table two for theory and two for practical. During the theory period the
theoretical concepts, basics of drama, art , music their importance in the education and application aspects are
discussed and taught.
Practical: During the practical work period students are given tasks based on the theoretical concepts and they are
doing it in group. If needed it is assisted by the teachers concerned. There are various drama techniques such as hot
seating, paired conversation, still image, tableau, mime, conscience alley, using props exc. are practiced by the
students in small group so as to develop drama skills.
Workshop: A workshop is being organized by the department to provide them exposure about the Drama skills
further, Dance forms like Bharat Natyam, Kathakali, kathak, Manipuri, various folk dances of India, integrating them
in the classrooms. Warli-painting is introduced to them by an experts from warli-art.

Field visits: The University has Department of Fine Arts & Performing arts in the campus. Students have visited the
faculty of Fine arts to know about the types of paintings, printing styles, graphical arts & Performing arts to probe
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further about the dance styles of India. After completing the same they are given the assignment on various topics
mentioned below.
Internship: Student teachers integrate these learning experiences as per their understanding in their internship
programme during the school visits in third semester. Here they make an attempt to prepare lessons to integrate any of
the art form in their classroom teaching either for preparing TLM, for introducing a lesson or as a part of their CCA.
Assignment is given to them for the assessment of the inputs given to them during the semester and enhances their
professional capacities. These assignments are given to them in the group decided by them only. Student teachers have
to select any three tasks from the list having different categories i.e. Dance, Drama, Art, Panting, music etc.
 Prepare a pictorial monograph on “Various folk dance of Gujarat”.
 Prepare a pictorial monograph on “Various classical Dance forms in India”.
 Prepare a calendar chart on “Various Musical Instruments in India”.
 Develop a pictorial monograph on various types of Paining of India.
 Select five different objects and paint it with any painting style you have learn (warli painting) pen-stand, pot,
greeting card, canvas paper, cloth, wall of the department
 Design a warli painting for the wall painting
 Develop an Audio CD based on newly composed Poems of Gujarati / Hindi language.
 Visit the Faculty of Performing Arts in your city and prepare a detailed report on its multifarious functioning.
 Visit the paining department, learn about various type of painting. develop a uniform size sample painting
frames.
 Develop a creative design based on your choice for CD Cover or Book cover.
 Develop a design or picture based on collage work.
 Develop a script of any lesson in any subject of your choice to perform a Play / Drama in annual function.
 Develop a script for the street play focusing on “Girl’s education and Women empowerment” and perform in
annual function.
 Prepare a script of Bhavai based on some Socio-political issues and perform it in annual function. Issues may be
– environmental education, population education, sex education, removal of blind belief.
Department has the 100 B.Ed. interns who have prepared various objects and assignments are being projected in the
form of an exhibition cum assessment of their performance and product.

Some reflections:
 From the experience of two years’ implementation of the course and transecting and assessing the course,
feedback of the student teachers are taken for the further improvement. Certain reflections are made by students to
which teachers are also agreeing. Few of the vital are presented here.
 Student teachers were happy with the inclusion of this course in the B.Ed. curriculum.
 They were not of the opinion to teach this course through lectures but practical work needs to be more.
 Drama has s vital scope in the integration in the main curriculum. It has enhanced their confidence,
communication ability, and insight about the body language.

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 Their experience during Internship revealed by them is due to their exposure to drama they could conduct CCA
very well in school.
 Language students have used this skill in the classroom to improve reading habits of the learners.
 Dance and music are the area where more exposure and work is needed to integrate in the classroom. As student
teachers as well as teachers find it limited to awareness area only.
 Art has again vital scope of integration in the classroom and school activities. It enhances their creativity,
productivity and imagination ability. Few of the students shared that it was surprising to them that they could do
this in a manner they have done it.
 During the workshop feedback was taken from the students and they all shared that this course has a great
potential of transforming the novice into the professional.
 As a teacher educator, I feel, in order to teach this course commitment and devotion is required because when you
are dealing with students in the practical work, time is consumed and emotional attachment is established.
 Few of the topics can not be delt in the classroom as it requires field exposure to historical places which is some
time difficult from administrative point of view.
 Specialized professionals are not in a position to do justice to deal with the course so, we as a teacher education
community should come out with the customized course module on Drama and Art in Education.

7. CONCLUSION:
Drama is a performing art, an outlet for self-expression, and a way of learning. Drama is an effective learning tool
because it involves the student intellectually, physically, socially, and emotionally. Activities in improvisation,
pantomime, play-making, and scene reenactment serve to develop the creative potential in the participants and help to
develop critical thinking skills. Arts and its various forms are helping one express creatively in differently. The efforts
and objectives of NCTE in introducing it in the form of the EPC course can be realize by putting efforts to transect it
in its full zeal and enthusiasm. We should get away from the boundaries of the evaluation and paper pencil test but
evolve the mechanism of monitoring the students’ progress in this area.

REFERENCES:

1. NCTE (2006). Position Paper on “Arts, Music, Dance And Theatre” by National Council of Educational
Research And Training ; New Delhi
2. NCTE (2015) Frame work for Two years B.Ed. Programme byNational Counsil Of Educational Research And
Training ; New Delhi
3. Nakrani, H. (1988). Gamta Gaao Geet. Rajkot, Pravin Prakashan.
4. Deva, B.C.(1981). An Introduction to Indian Music. Publication Division, Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting, Government of India.

WEB RFERENCE:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/elements-of-drama.html

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