Kiely's Response 5

I looked at the teaching method of simulations. Using this method, the teacher creates a situation or scenario in real life, carefully describes it, and the students act like they are in that situation. The discussion afterwards talks about the similarities and differences between their life and that of the simulation. Using simulations help students get a more personal understanding of the situation and helps them learn more about it in an active way.

This teaching method is perfect for the theatre classroom. In some ways, students use a form of simulations when performing because they create the scenario in which they act. However when using this as a teaching method, the simulation is carefully crafted by the teacher and explained so the students don't have gaps in the world they are going to become a part of. There is also a discussion afterwards so the students are learning specific things that the teacher is aiming to teach.

Simulations can be used in different ways in the classroom. The teacher can use them when the students are rehearsing a production and are not connecting with the world of the play. Often times students just see themselves on stage with their peers, and don't fully realize or see the stage as the actual place in the script. Using simulations can help get a better handle on the physical place of the play and can help make it more real to them. Simulations can also be used to help students get over problems with each other. In classes where there are racial differences or socio-economic issues that seem to be effecting the work and cooperation among the students, the teacher can create a simulation in which the students put themselves in the world of their classmates so they can learn what their life is like, and perhaps create a better understanding and appreciation for each other.