Description

ABOUT THIS COURSE

This course is for teachers who wish to ensure achievement of students in the written element of the Pearson A-Level Drama and Theatre exam. By providing tried and tested teaching resources and techniques, the course aims to help teachers raise attainment by improving confidence in the classroom, knowledge and strengthen understanding of what examiners are looking for.

BENEFITS OF ATTENDING

• Develop a range of approaches to tackling set texts in practical and written lessons
• Take away feedback and marking strategies to raise attainment
• Increase understanding of the differing requirements and key elements of the written exam, including technical design terminology, steering towards appropriate director’s concepts, effectively analysing and evaluating live theatre.

PROGRAMME

Developing A Level written work

10.00 – 10.30am

• Moving forward on feedback from the most recent year on the written paper
• Theatrical terminology to support written work and effective homework planning to support in class learning
• Revision checklists
• Who are our learners? How can we develop their higher order thinking? How can we differentiate accordingly?

Component 3, 1) Live Theatre Evaluation

10.30 – 11.00am

• Developing students’ confidence in analysing live work, including the key skills of analysis and evaluation
• Making the right choices: choosing productions and questions that best suit your candidates
• Supporting lower ability students in written work, including the preparation of production notes: strategies that work best
• Practical strategies to stretch and challenge the very able student
• Avoiding pitfalls looking at an example response on Frantic Assembly

Discussion: coffee break

11.00 – 11.15am

Component 3, 2) Page to Stage: realisation of an extract from a performance text. Performer and Designer

11.15 – 1.00pm

• How to approach exploring the set texts: informing students’ own ideas
• Practical strategies and approaches to teaching the set texts
• Encouraging secure understanding of acting and designing for a set text, focusing on style, genre and context
• Aiming for excellence: how to achieve the top marks
• Looking at an example of a candidate’s response on Accidental Death of an Anarchist

Lunch and informal discussion

1.00 – 2.00pm

Component 3, 2) Page to Stage: Teaching skills to answer the extract based exam questions

2.00 – 2.45pm

• Teaching essay writing skills to meet the assessment objectives and ensure that candidates justify appropriate decisions
• How to encourage your students to focus on achieving a clear interpretation of the extract, underpinning their work with meaningful context
• Analysing a candidate’s design response on Accidental Death of an Anarchist, making feedback on written work meaningful to encourage students’ progression
• Different strategies for essay writing and exploring the questions in class. Cutting down your marking load

Component 3, 3) Interpreting one performance text, in light of one practitioner for a contemporary audience

2.45 – 3.30pm

• Practical text based workshop to focus on developing students’ directing skills that underpin the question
• Approaches to encourage independent production concepts
• This session provides ideas of how to encourage students to take creative risks in imagining their own production, and encourage influences from their wider theatrical experience in their approach to directing in order to access the higher mark bands of the criteria.
• Getting the students to apply the practitioner confidently
• Breaking down an example of a candidate’s response on Lysistrata and Brecht

Questions and evaluation

3.30 – 3.45pm