Location: PNX140
Abstract
Failure is a primary part of any learning process, and many students are more concerned with getting a good grade vs. engaging in the process of learning, which must leave room for mistakes and failure. Rather than putting learning first, students make grades their priority and are afraid to challenge themselves for fear of getting a “bad” grade; they chase the grade vs. chasing the learning. This is in no small part the fault of an education system that rewards grades over learning. Learning becomes transactional: the student does the work and the teacher gives them a grade in return. Students become consumers in a system of transactions, and this can lead to student disengagement in their own process of learning.
In theatre training, play and experimentation are teachers themselves and essential for development and growth. How can teachers guide students to challenge themselves and risk mistakes as part of their learning trajectory when they are being graded?
Theatre educators, Danielle Meunier, Mike Griffin, Shannon Hughes, and Danielle Wilson have been exploring alternative ways to build assessment that guide and support student success without using a grading system that often results in surface learning. We are proposing a 90-minute roundtable discussion on alternative forms of assessment and grading practices in performing arts higher education as a way to guide students to invest in their learning by nurturing a growth mindset using grades as the primary motivating factor.
Presenters
Danielle Wilson (dwilson@brocku.ca)
Danielle Meunier (danielle@ccpacanada.com)
Mike Griffin (mgriffin@brocku.ca)
Shannon Hughes (shughes2@brocku.ca)
Shannon Holmes (moderator) shannon.holmes@uregina.ca
Biographies
Danielle Wilson – Brock University
Danielle is a professional actor, director, and theatre maker and is an Associate Professor, specializing in Voice and Acting, in the Department of Dramatic Arts at Brock University in St. Catharines. In addition to her MFA in Performance and Voice Teaching from York University, her teaching practice has been informed by additional studies with Patsy Rodenburg and Roy Hart based practitioners. She is also a certified teacher of Vocal Combat Technique. Her research involves multiple forms of inquiry into techniques and practices that inform embodied expression.
Danielle Meunier
Danielle has worked in the UK as voice & speech coach, singer and educator for the last 20 years. Her positions as Senior Lecturer in Voice & Speech and Head of Theatre, Acting and Dance at Falmouth University (UK) has led her to develop a broad range of degree programs in acting, devised theatre, musical theatre and contemporary dance. Her research involves exploring the intersections between the sung and spoken voice. In addition to an MA Voice (RCSSD) she is a Designated Linklater Teacher with a teaching practice informed by additional studies with Barabara Houseman, Dr Meribeth Dayme, Frankie Armstrong, the Estill Method, Roy Hart and Grotowski-based practitioners. Danielle has held the position of Director of Education at the Canadian College of Performing Arts since 2021 where she continues to teach voice, speech and singing.
Mike Griffin
Mike is a professional director, playwright, and Assistant Professor at Brock University where he teaches in the areas of acting, movement, mask, directing and devising. He is the co-artistic director of Microscope Theatre, which focuses on investigating the inner world of mental health, illness, and injury through methods of physical theatre, mask, and puppetry. His last play, The Mysterious Mind of Molly McGillicuddy, explores mind traumatic brain injury and related mental health issues through physical theatre and mask. Current research explores the relationship between physical theatre and fantasy and accessibility in movement-based pedagogies.
Shannon Hughes
Shannon is a theatre educator, applied theatre practitioner, and pedagogical storyteller whose work bridges classrooms, communities, and continents. She is completing her PhD in Theatre & Performance Studies at York University and holds an MA in Applied Drama from the University of Cape Town. Shannon teaches at Brock University, with additional experience at York, UTSC, TMU, and Jungwon University in South Korea. Her writing appears in Canadian Theatre Review, TRiC, and Performing Migrancy and Mobility in Africa, alongside practice in documentary and community-engaged theatre