ISJ November 2017: Historical vignette – The theories of Lev Vygostsky as a framework for a critical analysis of learning during drama festivals organized by the International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA)

Jennifer Tickle

Abstract:

My work in various capacities for the International Schools Theatre  Association often involves discussion and feedback on the processes  taking place and the value and validity of the ISTA experience. I see  high quality outcomes for students in three key areas: the development  of creativity and theatre making skills; the ability to develop and express  new understandings about a chosen starting point (theme or concept)  through the arts; and the development of social and emotional attributes  often associated with the IB Learner Profile (IBO, 2014), specifically  international mindedness. Student and teacher feedback support these  observations.

The drama experience allows a student to ‘symbolize her sense of  the world and an audience to see and hear the world from another’s  perspective’ (Neelands 1990). I set out to analyse the generic framework  of an ISTA festival in the context of three key aspects of Soviet  psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s work in order to investigate the theory that  might underpin the learning taking place.