Heather's Response-4

Cooperative learning is something I think can be and is almost naturally done in a theatre classroom. Theatre is really about cooperating and I think using the methods of cooperative learning will only enhance the theatre classroom. I see cooperative learning being used in so many different situations of a theatre classroom. A specific idea that came to mind for me was how a production team is really like a cooperative learning group. I have this idea to do 10-Minute Play projects in my advanced theatre classroom where students rotate in different groups and each gets the opportunity to be the director, actor, designer, dramaturge, stage manager, and producer. This was one of my favorite learning experiences in high school and something I feel all students can benefit from. When thinking about these projects, each group is a cooperative learning unit. They each have a specific job within their group and are responsible to their group in getting their part done. The play can’t go on if one person doesn’t do their job. Within these jobs, each student is also teaching and assessing one another. There is so much helping one another out and evaluating and making sure things get done correctly.
This is just one example of the use of cooperative learning in the theatre classroom. Thinking of teaching in this way seems to really be opening up tons of new teaching ideas for me. I think cooperative learning comes naturally to the theatre teacher, but when really thought about and understood can enhance the theatre classroom SO much.