My approach to both education & theatre focuses on the intersection of the personal and the professional.
To that end, I work to develop students who are:
- Values driven: able to arrive at a personal definition of “why?”, not just “how?”
- Independent: able to make creative choices on their own, moving away from mimicry.
- Broad-minded: able to draw from a diverse range of influences as they hone their craft and able to understand how their work fits in the ‘big picture’.
Values driven: I believe that it is important to help students understand how their own values and experiences shape the work that they do. This is particularly important for theatre teachers. Personal values and life experiences directly influence the choices each person makes and how they view their work. An educators job is not necessarily to privilege a particular set of values or experiences over another, but to help students understand the effect that values have on the choices they will make, both intentionally and subconsciously. To have a clear grasp of why one teaches theatre enables a person to make stronger, more purposeful pedagogical choices. Meanwhile, cultivating a strong awareness of personal values (and assumptions) can help a teacher avoid potential blind spots in her/his own teaching and interactions with students.
Independent: Independence comes from a combination of having solid foundational skills, exposure to a variety of approaches, and having opportunities for practical application. In the classroom, I try to create an atmosphere where students can take constructive risks and be allowed to fail gloriously (all within an atmosphere of care and empathy). As such, I grade selectively at key points to evaluate students’ progress and to ensure a degree of accountability, but I also offer some ungraded experiences to allow students to explore without fear of sacrificing a grade.
Broad-minded: As an instructor, I position myself as someone with a specific set of knowledge and experiences to share, rather than as a singular source of wisdom on the topic. I actively include a diversity of styles, identities and perspectives in the materials & guests I select and I openly encourage students to examine approaches to theatre and education that are different from my own. I also try to get to know my students well so I can identify areas where they can be pushed and challenged. Finally, I attempt to communicate to students about what topics/concepts a course will and will not address, while standing ready to facilitate student interests that go beyond the bounds of the course.
A word about academic rigor: I define academic rigor as asking students to engage with the content at a high level. I prefer teaching concepts in depth over providing a barrage of material that we cannot meaningfully address during the course. When students develop a deeper understanding of a given topic, they are more likely to be able to transfer that knowledge to other situations and other applications. To that end, I try to set clear goals for a course and to set high standards that are descriptive (but not prescriptive). During a course, I strive to offer students multiple opportunities for engaging with the content and to gradually increase complexity and difficulty as they progress. My students will also notice that I will engage in frequent reflection with them about their work. Following a major assignment, I deliberately build in time for debriefing, either in small groups or individually. When done properly, assessment (both formal and informal) can drive student learning and can also drive successful teaching. I strive to model this spirit of reflection by using what I learn from assessments to shape how I teach the class. Assessment is an important tool in the teaching and learning process, not simply a means for assigning a grade. Ideally, if have created an ethos of reflection and self-assessment, the student’s final grade is rarely a surprise. Ultimately, if I have succeeded in instilling a sense of independence and values, the students are able to walk away with a sense of direction, greater clarity of purpose, and hopefully greater satisfaction in their work.
Blake Wilson 