Theaters as Teaching Environments is a sympoiesis of materials, visuals, lighting, sounds, stories, and people, all coexisting within drama pedagogy. It is an innovative research project that bridges disciplines and institutions to offer university students and teachers immersive, multisensory, and transdisciplinary experiences. Inspired by Reggio Emilia’s philosophy of the “hundred languages” and the environment as the “third educator,” I envisioned an intersection of scenography, filmmaking, pedagogy, and drama to create magical teaching worlds. Drawing on my background in filmmaking and photography, I crafted visuals for this project, inviting participants into stories deeply connected to sustainability and rooted in forests, gardens, and seas.
Led by myself, Salti Theodora, a doctoral candidate at the University of Lapland, and conducted within Visual Arena’s Residency for Innovators in Art, this project aims to explore how educational spaces beyond traditional university classrooms—such as theaters—can be utilized in the teaching process. It seeks to motivate participants to experience how physical environments and materials can act as a “third educator,” enriching and transforming their teaching practices. Project’s link: https://visualarena.lindholmen.se/projekt/teatrar-som-undervisningsmiljoervisualarena.lindholmen.se
Children of Drama is an arts-based educational action research project with five drama pedagogy actions, launched in 2019 at the University of Gävle, Sweden. It aimed to explore drama pedagogy’s personal and professional impacts on a group of in-service educators using Winnicott’s potential space theory. The results revealed that participants enriched their teaching method toolbox with drama pedagogical techniques and theories, fostering self-exploration and motivation to use drama in the classroom. Notably, the qualities of the drama pedagogical instructor and environment enhanced safety, inspiration, and engagement. This study contributes to research in drama pedagogy and educators’ arts-based professional development.
Salti, T. (2023). Children of Drama: An Arts-Based Educational Action Research Project Applied to a Group of In-Service Educators. Research in Arts and Education, 2023(2), 99–110. https://doi.org/10.54916/rae.122762.