Measuring the shadow or knowing the bird: evaluation and assessment of drama in education

Abstract

I feel the problem primarily stems from our inability to define what kind of learning is taking place in the drama lesson; and only when we are clear about that issue can we begin to consider how to go about evaluating it. Of course precisely how we evaluate learning in drama is, in itself, no simple process and can give rise to a number of methodological debates. The issue is more complex than simply making external judgements about the quality of dramatic productthat is those dramas or performances at whatever level of sophistication or theatrical panache made by students-because making judgements about learning is qualitatively different from making judgements about aesthetics and the arts in general; although there are points of overlap. For example, before students’ dramatic output may be judged to be of interest to anyone outside theprocess of making, there is a need to assess its levels of interest and suitability for the participants. That is, the material chosen has to be capable of making good drama, but also must be meaningful and of interest for the participants. In this context I see the drama (that is both performance skills and its structure or dramaturgy) as form, and those matters that are dramatised within the medium through the use of the form as the material. These two facets of the drama constitute its content and are central to my discussion of what makes up ‘drama learning’.