Post #5-Elisabeth

I decided to look at Direct Instruction. What is really entertaining is that when I first looked it up online, the first website listed how flowed it is as a teaching method, and the second said that it was God's gift to teaching. I'm not either is accurate, but it is amusing to see such polar opposites.

Direct Instruction follows 4 basic steps. First, introduce the skill. Second, describe and demonstrate the skill. Third, have students use the skill. Fourth, assess their understanding. This seems like a pretty basic way to set up lesson plans, and could certainly be used in a theatre classroom. Introducing a skill or concept, saying what it's purpose is and why it is being studied, allows students to put it into context. When I was in high school, I spend a lot of time doing activities without having any idea how they were helpful. If my teacher had taken the time to explain the skills in acting or directing or whatever we were learning from these exercises, it would have been much easier and more useful.

Demonstrating can be difficult in a theatre class, especially with performance, because you want students to find their own way of doing things instead of copying someone. But it can also give students an idea of what you expect. If you give multiple exampes, and if you use different scenes than the students are performing, they can see what you mean without copying you.

Having students demonstrate a skill is the basis of theatre. We have the perform, direct, design, etc instead of just talking about it. In many cases that is the only way to learn a theatre skill. So it makes sense that they would have to demonstrate understanding by using the skill.

Assessment can come from the the demonstration of the skill. It is easier to assess student's understanding in theatre when they are doing something than by having them talk about it. Using Direct Instruction in a theatre classroom can create a structure that allows students to understand what they are doing and why.