What is Drama about?
[ Video Resource ]
- Title: Drama
- Description: Drama Subject Expert Group members discuss their experiences in the Review of Achievement Standards
- Video Duration: 5 minutes
- Video URL: https://player.vimeo.com/video/571910480
- Transcript: In conversation with Bianca Till Kim Bonnington James Wenley Transcript below: I guess one of the big things people will notice is that we are moving to the four standards. That's across all subjects. Particularly in Drama
In conversation with
Bianca Till
Kim Bonnington
James Wenley
Transcript below:
I guess one of the big things people will notice is that we are moving to the four standards. That's across all subjects.
Particularly in Drama, that's given us the challenging opportunity to think about what is the essential learning that we want to cover in Drama. What's the best assessment that's going to support that with flexibility for what teachers want to choose to do in their classrooms.
I totally agree.
When you look at the external exams in the past in Drama, they've been written exams. We recognise that's a step away from what happens in terms of the performance aspect of our subject.
While students may choose to write in order to show their knowledge about different aspects of our curriculum that particular assessment is assessing, it allows us some other modes of assessment to put together a digital portfolio for students to respond to Drama.
The significant learning we do in the classroom, having the assessments fall out naturally from what we're doing. Being able to assess the kids in the way that they work.
The learning matrix was one of the things we had to start with in our group. Think about what are the big ideas of our subject, if we have to get to the essence of what Drama is and what's special about it. I thought that was a nice place for us to start, and then have the provocation of what is the essential learning that can't be left to chance.
At the end of Level 1, what is it that we want our students to have experience and know about Drama? That's a great starting place.
From the beginning, how does mātauranga Māori fit in that. Because it does really well.
We've tried to have every student be able to feel connected to who they are, where they are from and where they stand. I think we've tried really hard.
We've also explored for teachers how it is that that happens in the processes and the kaupapa of the way that we operate within the pedagogy in a real way.
For some teachers it will mean some learning about how to make those connections. For others it will be about doing a little bit of extra reading, discussions, and maybe some PLD, and then making some small shifts.
We really want to be able to engage with mātauranga Māori. There's so much knowledge and wisdom that we can draw from, which I think is going to enrich the experience for all of our learners.
The great thing about being on a SEG is that I love talking pedagogy. I love talking about teaching, learning, and assessment. You're all laughing, but it's true. Because it's close to all our hearts.
Not only that. I've spent all this time talking with other people who love talking about that, and I'm not weird. It's been great.
It's been an opportunity to have high level conversations with other people who are passionate about what we do every day. Being really student centred, and the students are at the centre of everything that we've been doing. Being able to look at why we do this. It's been great.
A lot of responsibility having to think about different critical perspectives. Different lenses of how we're looking at the work that we are producing.
It's been really interesting for me coming from the university space. I've enjoyed being able to immerse myself in what's happening in secondary. Hopefully bring some of those connections closer.
Don't feel like you have to do it all now, or like you even have to be doing anything that's specifically about the standards that's coming.
Think about what it is about your current practice that incorporates te ao Māori, and principles of mātauranga Māori into your teaching. Place-based pedagogy, authentic teaching and learning context. How assessment can fall out of those. If you're working with those principles, those teachers are gonna find the changes a lot easier.
It's a big journey ahead, but everyone's going to be in it. To keep up that conversation as to what's happening, how you're finding it, and share the knowledge.
It's going to be huge.
We're attempting to decolonise our education system. It's going to be huge shifts, but I think there'll be the support, and the networks to help us.
Subject-specific terms can be found in the glossary.
Drama is for everyone. We all have kōrero, pūrākau, and stories to share. Drama helps us to understand diverse cultural perspectives and worldviews and connect with our community. It allows us to recognise the uniqueness of our place in the Pacific, the identity of Aotearoa New Zealand, and the rich cultural histories and traditions from all over the world that are expressed through performance.
Ākonga will understand that the function of drama is to heal, educate, entertain, or transform society. They discover how theatre can either challenge the status quo or reinforce it, gaining an awareness of how impactful the medium can be. Drama provides opportunities for ākonga to express their identities and heritages, and explore the heritages of others, creating empathy and understanding for the experiences and whakapapa of people from diverse backgrounds.
Through the relationships creators and performers make with audiences, Drama exists as a powerful medium to foster hauora – nurturing and maintaining both individual and community wellbeing in its ability to empower and inspire others. Ākonga engage with the ways in which Drama can uplift and sustain the mana of communities, groups, and individuals.
Ākonga explore and manipulate ideas and take creative risks. They share, rework, construct, and deconstruct work that is dynamic and evolving. The progression of ākonga in Drama is demonstrated through their increasing sophistication in storytelling, independence, and communicating their creative vision, as well as increasing comprehension and deeper understanding of the creative vision of others.
Concepts of Drama
The following concepts act as the foundation of any Drama learning environment. They empower ākonga to participate in drama processes and create impactful and inspiring performances.
Drama celebrates and explores the concept of whakapapa. It is a carrier of traditions, cultures, and ideas that can be preserved within texts and then expressed by creators and performers through their own experiences. By providing windows into the past, drama helps us to prepare for the future by challenging us to reflect on the attitudes and beliefs of characters within local, regional, national, and global contexts.
Ākonga engage with the creative process through the concept of taonga tuku iho (wisdom passed down through whakapapa), manawa tuku iho (the traits and skills one develops or inherits), and pumanawa tuku iho (creating ideas and bringing them to life). Ākonga can explore kōrero, pūrākau, and ideas from our past to contribute to the stories that carry forward into the future.
Drama is a collaborative art form. As such, the ao Māori concept of whanaungatanga is vital to the process of creating a performance. Whanaungatanga leads to the realisation of kotahitanga, whereby creators and performers work towards a shared vision. Ākonga grow their ability to collaborate constructively and serve the intention of the drama.
Practising the Samoan concept of vā creates a safe relational space where voices can be heard, ideas can be negotiated, and the mana of all participants can be respected. When it comes time to provide and receive feedback, ākonga can recognise and learn from the perspectives and experiences of others.
Tikanga provides guiding principles for being and interacting within the Drama learning environment. Respecting and enacting tikanga Māori imparts a taonga of wisdom and practical knowledge that informs the teaching and learning of drama.
The Arts Learning Area Whakataukī
The Arts Learning Area, including its whakataukī, informs this subject's Significant Learning – learning that is critical for students to know, understand, and do in a subject by the end of each Curriculum Level. This covers knowledge, skills, competencies, and attitudes. It also includes level-appropriate contexts ākonga should encounter in their education. The Learning Area's whakataukī is:
Te toi whakairo, ka ihiihi, ka wehiwehi, ka aweawe te ao katoa.
Artistic excellence makes the world sit up in wonder.
The Arts whakataukī acknowledges ihi, the energy within that allows an artist to inspire, and wehi, the emotional reaction that ihi inspires. Wana then manifests as the feelings that arise within the audience that may stay with them long after the performance is over. The whakataukī also calls for artists to aspire to aweawe, where their skills are at their peak. These concepts encapsulate the visual, aural, and contextual factors that can come together during a performance to create action and reaction through feeling.
Just like the iro carves its way through the trunk of the tree, ākonga as makers and creators carve out spaces for themselves to nourish their artistic skill, knowledge, and expression. Drama provides the environment and opportunity for them to experiment, develop, and express their own artistic identity to flourish into creators, performers, and audiences of theatre.
The whakataukī speaks of how a creative outcome can evoke a powerful response. When experiencing artworks, the pinnacle of excellence is achieved through empowering, challenging, and enriching the self and others.
Drama connects the past, present, and future. It weaves our paths together with manaakitanga in a space that connects creators, performers, and audiences in a shared performance experience. These experiences act as links that bridge the physical and spiritual by enthralling the audience and instilling a sense of wonder.
Drama also connects people through the concept of vā. Relational spaces of creating, sharing, and giving are created, navigated, and nurtured through the shared experiences and reciprocal relationships that are formed between creators, performers, and audiences. The immersive nature of drama creates an active audience who are participants in a performance, leaving a lasting impression that they carry with them into their communities.
Subject-specific terms can be found in the glossary.
Drama is for everyone. We all have kōrero, pūrākau, and stories to share. Drama helps us to understand diverse cultural perspectives and worldviews and connect with our community. It allows us to recognise the uniqueness of our place in the Pacific, the identity of Aotearoa New Zealand, and the rich cultural histories and traditions from all over the world that are expressed through performance.
Ākonga will understand that the function of drama is to heal, educate, entertain, or transform society. They discover how theatre can either challenge the status quo or reinforce it, gaining an awareness of how impactful the medium can be. Drama provides opportunities for ākonga to express their identities and heritages, and explore the heritages of others, creating empathy and understanding for the experiences and whakapapa of people from diverse backgrounds.
Through the relationships creators and performers make with audiences, Drama exists as a powerful medium to foster hauora – nurturing and maintaining both individual and community wellbeing in its ability to empower and inspire others. Ākonga engage with the ways in which Drama can uplift and sustain the mana of communities, groups, and individuals.
Ākonga explore and manipulate ideas and take creative risks. They share, rework, construct, and deconstruct work that is dynamic and evolving. The progression of ākonga in Drama is demonstrated through their increasing sophistication in storytelling, independence, and communicating their creative vision, as well as increasing comprehension and deeper understanding of the creative vision of others.
Concepts of Drama
The following concepts act as the foundation of any Drama learning environment. They empower ākonga to participate in drama processes and create impactful and inspiring performances.
Drama celebrates and explores the concept of whakapapa. It is a carrier of traditions, cultures, and ideas that can be preserved within texts and then expressed by creators and performers through their own experiences. By providing windows into the past, drama helps us to prepare for the future by challenging us to reflect on the attitudes and beliefs of characters within local, regional, national, and global contexts.
Ākonga engage with the creative process through the concept of taonga tuku iho (wisdom passed down through whakapapa), manawa tuku iho (the traits and skills one develops or inherits), and pumanawa tuku iho (creating ideas and bringing them to life). Ākonga can explore kōrero, pūrākau, and ideas from our past to contribute to the stories that carry forward into the future.
Drama is a collaborative art form. As such, the ao Māori concept of whanaungatanga is vital to the process of creating a performance. Whanaungatanga leads to the realisation of kotahitanga, whereby creators and performers work towards a shared vision. Ākonga grow their ability to collaborate constructively and serve the intention of the drama.
Practising the Samoan concept of vā creates a safe relational space where voices can be heard, ideas can be negotiated, and the mana of all participants can be respected. When it comes time to provide and receive feedback, ākonga can recognise and learn from the perspectives and experiences of others.
Tikanga provides guiding principles for being and interacting within the Drama learning environment. Respecting and enacting tikanga Māori imparts a taonga of wisdom and practical knowledge that informs the teaching and learning of drama.
The Arts Learning Area Whakataukī
The Arts Learning Area, including its whakataukī, informs this subject's Significant Learning – learning that is critical for students to know, understand, and do in a subject by the end of each Curriculum Level. This covers knowledge, skills, competencies, and attitudes. It also includes level-appropriate contexts ākonga should encounter in their education. The Learning Area's whakataukī is:
Te toi whakairo, ka ihiihi, ka wehiwehi, ka aweawe te ao katoa.
Artistic excellence makes the world sit up in wonder.
The Arts whakataukī acknowledges ihi, the energy within that allows an artist to inspire, and wehi, the emotional reaction that ihi inspires. Wana then manifests as the feelings that arise within the audience that may stay with them long after the performance is over. The whakataukī also calls for artists to aspire to aweawe, where their skills are at their peak. These concepts encapsulate the visual, aural, and contextual factors that can come together during a performance to create action and reaction through feeling.
Just like the iro carves its way through the trunk of the tree, ākonga as makers and creators carve out spaces for themselves to nourish their artistic skill, knowledge, and expression. Drama provides the environment and opportunity for them to experiment, develop, and express their own artistic identity to flourish into creators, performers, and audiences of theatre.
The whakataukī speaks of how a creative outcome can evoke a powerful response. When experiencing artworks, the pinnacle of excellence is achieved through empowering, challenging, and enriching the self and others.
Drama connects the past, present, and future. It weaves our paths together with manaakitanga in a space that connects creators, performers, and audiences in a shared performance experience. These experiences act as links that bridge the physical and spiritual by enthralling the audience and instilling a sense of wonder.
Drama also connects people through the concept of vā. Relational spaces of creating, sharing, and giving are created, navigated, and nurtured through the shared experiences and reciprocal relationships that are formed between creators, performers, and audiences. The immersive nature of drama creates an active audience who are participants in a performance, leaving a lasting impression that they carry with them into their communities.
Big Ideas and Significant Learning
This section outlines the meaning of, and connection between, the Big Ideas and Significant Learning, which together form the Learning Matrix. It then explains each Drama Big Idea.
The subject's Big Ideas and Significant Learning are collated into a Learning Matrix for Curriculum Level 6, 7, and 8. Teachers can use the Learning Matrix as a tool to construct learning programmes that cover all the not-to-be-missed learning in this subject. There is no prescribed order to the Learning Matrix within each level. A programme of learning might begin with a context that is relevant to the local area of the school or an idea that students are particularly interested in. This context or topic should relate to at least one Big Idea and may also link to other Big Ideas.
There are four Big Ideas in Drama. The nature of this subject as a discipline means aspects of Significant Learning often cross over multiple Big Ideas and vice versa.
This section outlines the meaning of, and connection between, the Big Ideas and Significant Learning, which together form the Learning Matrix. It then explains each Drama Big Idea.
The subject's Big Ideas and Significant Learning are collated into a Learning Matrix for Curriculum Level 6, 7, and 8. Teachers can use the Learning Matrix as a tool to construct learning programmes that cover all the not-to-be-missed learning in this subject. There is no prescribed order to the Learning Matrix within each level. A programme of learning might begin with a context that is relevant to the local area of the school or an idea that students are particularly interested in. This context or topic should relate to at least one Big Idea and may also link to other Big Ideas.
There are four Big Ideas in Drama. The nature of this subject as a discipline means aspects of Significant Learning often cross over multiple Big Ideas and vice versa.
Big Idea Body:
Drama enables the exploration of the past and how it informs the present and future. Drama recognises theatre as a cultural connector that can reach across time and place. It requires us to examine the experiences of ourselves and others and to look at how peoples' understandings are shaped by their experiences and their contexts.
Ākonga learn through practical embodiment of roles and situations. They explore the purpose of drama and theatre, including the expression of culture, in their own and others' communities. Through exploring the stories of diverse characters and situations, ākonga have the opportunity to see themselves in the roles they inhabit. This allows them to explore their own stories, and to understand and celebrate their own identities – who they are, what they believe, where they belong, and where they're going. These reflections emphasise the value of fonua, where a sense of connection with their own identities, and the identities of others, allows ākonga to thrive.
Ākonga are encouraged to engage with theatre Aotearoa as a unique theatrical context. Theatre Aotearoa is an umbrella term for drama, plays, and theatrical performance created in Aotearoa New Zealand or made by creators with connections to Aotearoa New Zealand. While theatre Aotearoa work can be set in Aotearoa New Zealand and performed to local audiences, it can also feature international settings or be toured and performed on the global stage. Theatre Aotearoa has developed through an intermix of cultural identities, perspectives, and practices including contributions by Māori, Pacific, Pākehā, and tauiwi practitioners.
Te ao Māori is an integral aspect of theatre Aotearoa with Te Whare Tapere being the foundational performance tradition of Aotearoa New Zealand. As such, the opportunity to learn through Māori theatre (theatre made by Māori, accessing heritage and kaupapa Māori and applying tikanga Māori) is vital for all ākonga to access. It not only allows deep and enriching engagement with theatre Aotearoa, but also shows them how theatre provides opportunities to challenge dominating cultural and societal narratives and question the status quo.
Drama can be used to explore and articulate cultural and national identities. Drama holds a mirror up to society and can encourage reflection. Through Drama, ākonga explore the lives and worlds of others. Through the practice of manaakitanga, they develop empathy for others and a deeper understanding of themselves.
Titiro whakamuri, kokiri whakamua – Drama is influenced by whakapapa and is a way to respond to and share identity, culture, and perspectives
Drama enables the exploration of the past and how it informs the present and future. Drama recognises theatre as a cultural connector that can reach across time and place. It requires us to examine the experiences of ourselves and others and to look at how peoples' understandings are shaped by their experiences and their contexts.
Ākonga learn through practical embodiment of roles and situations. They explore the purpose of drama and theatre, including the expression of culture, in their own and others' communities. Through exploring the stories of diverse characters and situations, ākonga have the opportunity to see themselves in the roles they inhabit. This allows them to explore their own stories, and to understand and celebrate their own identities – who they are, what they believe, where they belong, and where they're going. These reflections emphasise the value of fonua, where a sense of connection with their own identities, and the identities of others, allows ākonga to thrive.
Ākonga are encouraged to engage with theatre Aotearoa as a unique theatrical context. Theatre Aotearoa is an umbrella term for drama, plays, and theatrical performance created in Aotearoa New Zealand or made by creators with connections to Aotearoa New Zealand. While theatre Aotearoa work can be set in Aotearoa New Zealand and performed to local audiences, it can also feature international settings or be toured and performed on the global stage. Theatre Aotearoa has developed through an intermix of cultural identities, perspectives, and practices including contributions by Māori, Pacific, Pākehā, and tauiwi practitioners.
Te ao Māori is an integral aspect of theatre Aotearoa with Te Whare Tapere being the foundational performance tradition of Aotearoa New Zealand. As such, the opportunity to learn through Māori theatre (theatre made by Māori, accessing heritage and kaupapa Māori and applying tikanga Māori) is vital for all ākonga to access. It not only allows deep and enriching engagement with theatre Aotearoa, but also shows them how theatre provides opportunities to challenge dominating cultural and societal narratives and question the status quo.
Drama can be used to explore and articulate cultural and national identities. Drama holds a mirror up to society and can encourage reflection. Through Drama, ākonga explore the lives and worlds of others. Through the practice of manaakitanga, they develop empathy for others and a deeper understanding of themselves.
Big Idea Body:
In Drama, ākonga are required to collaborate and embody the creative process. They investigate, explore, and practise different ways of creating and structuring drama, as well as refining and crafting the tools of the actor. Following and upholding tikanga, within both the wider discipline of drama and their specific learning environment, will help ākonga to draw from and acknowledge theatrical traditions, movements, and practices to empower their learning and creating.
Drama is a collective activity. It connects creators, performers, and audiences through the ihi, wehi, and wana of a performance. Ākonga will learn how the analogy of vaka can foster practices of collectivism in drama through creating supportive spaces where they share a sense of belonging and purpose. Participation in these spaces can instil the importance of service to others by taking on leadership roles with responsibility, humility, and confidence. They will grow in their understanding of the importance of serving the needs of the drama through the work of a group.
The process of making through collaboration helps to develop learners' skills in listening, as well as communicating their own ideas. When taking direction, ākonga must listen to, interpret, and respond to suggestions and guidance, and then incorporate this into their performance. To contribute effectively, ākonga need to communicate their ideas in a clear and constructive way.
Ākonga will test different ideas to create effective, engaging, and purposeful drama. In group feedback situations, they will explore how to incorporate constructive and appropriate feedback from multiple sources.
Mā whero, mā pango, ka oti ai te mahi – Drama is a collaborative, creative process
In Drama, ākonga are required to collaborate and embody the creative process. They investigate, explore, and practise different ways of creating and structuring drama, as well as refining and crafting the tools of the actor. Following and upholding tikanga, within both the wider discipline of drama and their specific learning environment, will help ākonga to draw from and acknowledge theatrical traditions, movements, and practices to empower their learning and creating.
Drama is a collective activity. It connects creators, performers, and audiences through the ihi, wehi, and wana of a performance. Ākonga will learn how the analogy of vaka can foster practices of collectivism in drama through creating supportive spaces where they share a sense of belonging and purpose. Participation in these spaces can instil the importance of service to others by taking on leadership roles with responsibility, humility, and confidence. They will grow in their understanding of the importance of serving the needs of the drama through the work of a group.
The process of making through collaboration helps to develop learners' skills in listening, as well as communicating their own ideas. When taking direction, ākonga must listen to, interpret, and respond to suggestions and guidance, and then incorporate this into their performance. To contribute effectively, ākonga need to communicate their ideas in a clear and constructive way.
Ākonga will test different ideas to create effective, engaging, and purposeful drama. In group feedback situations, they will explore how to incorporate constructive and appropriate feedback from multiple sources.
Big Idea Body:
Drama is a vehicle through which we can engage in kōrero from generation to generation. It can be a link to the spiritual realm of potentiality, where there are equal parts everything and nothing and stories are waiting to be born.
Ākonga will explore the ways in which drama can influence and enhance wellbeing. They may engage with the spiritual dimension of many drama traditions, from Māori, Pacific, and other Indigenous performing arts, to the religious origins of Greek theatre. Taha tinana, taha wairua, taha hinengaro, and taha whānau are all represented in creating and performing drama, as ākonga must draw from the physical, spiritual, emotional, and social to bring a performance to life.
In order to fulfil its function to heal, educate, entertain, or transform society, drama should allow opportunity to be confronting, challenging, and interactive. As a subject, Drama can offer a defined and empowering environment, safe for both ākonga and kaiako, where budding creators and performers can be encouraged to share their inner world. Whenever dark themes are explored, it must be done safely, responsibly, and with purpose – to convey a message, challenge dominant narratives, or raise awareness of important issues, expressing the power of drama to find light in dark places.
Ākonga should be encouraged to experiment and take risks through their work in order to develop resilience and perseverance within their writing, directing, and performing. Audiences may not always respond to their work as desired. But ākonga will be able to strengthen their craft and refine their skill as creators and performers through reaction and feedback to their work.
Ākonga will explore how the stories we tell and the way we tell them shape our understanding of ourselves, our world, and our place in it. They will explore and respond to stories as a means of understanding other people and other worldviews, and they will experiment with storytelling as a means of self-expression.
Poipoia te kakano kia puawai – Drama communicates through storytelling and creative expression to nurture and nourish people
Drama is a vehicle through which we can engage in kōrero from generation to generation. It can be a link to the spiritual realm of potentiality, where there are equal parts everything and nothing and stories are waiting to be born.
Ākonga will explore the ways in which drama can influence and enhance wellbeing. They may engage with the spiritual dimension of many drama traditions, from Māori, Pacific, and other Indigenous performing arts, to the religious origins of Greek theatre. Taha tinana, taha wairua, taha hinengaro, and taha whānau are all represented in creating and performing drama, as ākonga must draw from the physical, spiritual, emotional, and social to bring a performance to life.
In order to fulfil its function to heal, educate, entertain, or transform society, drama should allow opportunity to be confronting, challenging, and interactive. As a subject, Drama can offer a defined and empowering environment, safe for both ākonga and kaiako, where budding creators and performers can be encouraged to share their inner world. Whenever dark themes are explored, it must be done safely, responsibly, and with purpose – to convey a message, challenge dominant narratives, or raise awareness of important issues, expressing the power of drama to find light in dark places.
Ākonga should be encouraged to experiment and take risks through their work in order to develop resilience and perseverance within their writing, directing, and performing. Audiences may not always respond to their work as desired. But ākonga will be able to strengthen their craft and refine their skill as creators and performers through reaction and feedback to their work.
Ākonga will explore how the stories we tell and the way we tell them shape our understanding of ourselves, our world, and our place in it. They will explore and respond to stories as a means of understanding other people and other worldviews, and they will experiment with storytelling as a means of self-expression.
Big Idea Body:
Drama connects people through the reciprocal relationship between the audience and performer. This relationship extends to the writer and director, with the wairua of the text being realised and channelled through the performer. These connections and relationships highlight the importance of live performance in Drama, as it relies on people gathering together for a shared purpose: to create and to experience an immersive, unique, and inspiring experience that promotes hauora on both an individual and community level.
This allows ākonga to explore the connections between themselves as performer and those around them, including the wider community. Drama enables ākonga to actively promote whanaungatanga through creating and exploring these connections. They practise building and sustaining connections between performers, as well as between the performer and the audience.
Ākonga will have opportunities to experience both sides of this relationship, exploring how performers work to evoke audience response and how that response feels as an audience member. They will engage with the immediate and transient nature of live drama and recognise that no performance experience, for either performer or audience, is ever exactly the same.
Te whāriki kia mōhio ai tātou ki a tātou – Meaning in performance is created through whanaungatanga
Drama connects people through the reciprocal relationship between the audience and performer. This relationship extends to the writer and director, with the wairua of the text being realised and channelled through the performer. These connections and relationships highlight the importance of live performance in Drama, as it relies on people gathering together for a shared purpose: to create and to experience an immersive, unique, and inspiring experience that promotes hauora on both an individual and community level.
This allows ākonga to explore the connections between themselves as performer and those around them, including the wider community. Drama enables ākonga to actively promote whanaungatanga through creating and exploring these connections. They practise building and sustaining connections between performers, as well as between the performer and the audience.
Ākonga will have opportunities to experience both sides of this relationship, exploring how performers work to evoke audience response and how that response feels as an audience member. They will engage with the immediate and transient nature of live drama and recognise that no performance experience, for either performer or audience, is ever exactly the same.
Key Competencies in Drama
Developing Key Competencies through Drama
Learning in Drama provides meaningful contexts for developing Key Competencies from the Aotearoa New Zealand Curriculum. These Key Competencies are woven through, and embedded in, the Big Ideas and Significant Learning. Drama provides learners with opportunities to develop insightful and collaborative practices and behaviours in practical and engaging contexts.
Thinking
Students of Drama will:
- reflect on ideas and explore them physically and in the moment
- listen and respond to creative offers and feedforward to advance the drama
- put their own thought into action
- respond and adapt their whakaaro (thoughts and ideas) based on mahi tahi (working collaboratively)
- reflect on work and adapt based on feedback and self-assessment
- develop understanding and critical thinking about the context of work – historical, social, cultural, political, and economic – in order to create meaningful drama
- develop subject-specific research skills, including dramatic inquiry, when exploring the contexts of dramatic work
- explore their own and others' ideas in work they experience and work they create
- investigate roles, worlds, contexts, attitudes, and themes in drama to build new knowledge (including cultural, historical, social, and political knowledge).
Using language, symbols, and text
Students of Drama will:
- develop their use of language in rehearsal, scripting, directing, and devising processes
- discuss their work and experiment with language used in performance
- understand and use discipline-specific vocabulary and develop multi-modal literacies including audio, gestural, linguistic (verbal and written), spatial, and visual
- interpret texts, stories, and direction
- engage with and explore what can be expressed through props, costume, set, technologies, motifs (recurring symbols), text, dialogue, movement, gesture, and conventions.
Relating to others
Students of Drama will:
- negotiate, cultivate, and explore a variety of relationships, such as:
- the relationships between performers
- the relationships between characters
- the relationship between the performer and the role
- the relationship between the performer and the audience
- the relationship between the playwright, director, and designer.
- practice whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, and vā in working with others with care and compassion
- explore the perspectives and experiences of others, increasing their cultural awareness, responsiveness, and acceptance
- understand and play to different strengths in order to uplift the work.
Managing self
Students of Drama will:
- develop self-discipline and an understanding of their role as part of the group
- practise self-management in practical contexts – arriving to rehearsals on time, learning lines, being prepared, and taking responsibility for different aspects of production (eg props, costume etc), theatre, and performance protocols
- set goals
- self-review
- accept direction and feedback
- question and critique themselves and others
- follow the established kawa of their learning environment to create a shared relational space.
Participating and contributing
Students of Drama will:
- work together to contribute their own ideas and respond to the ideas of others
- establish kotahitanga in group work, value each other’s strengths, and improve the quality of the work
- build a kawa that will become established practice within their learning environment
- explore how to adapt and work in different environments with different people, and contribute to building a group dynamic that is responsive to the needs of the work and the participants
- develop courage and generosity in making offers to advance the drama and giving feedback as well as openness and humility in accepting feedback and extending the ideas of others.
Key Competencies
This section of New Zealand Curriculum online offers specific guidance to school leaders and teachers on integrating the Key Competencies into the daily activities of the school and its Teaching and Learning Programmes.
Developing Key Competencies through Drama
Learning in Drama provides meaningful contexts for developing Key Competencies from the Aotearoa New Zealand Curriculum. These Key Competencies are woven through, and embedded in, the Big Ideas and Significant Learning. Drama provides learners with opportunities to develop insightful and collaborative practices and behaviours in practical and engaging contexts.
Thinking
Students of Drama will:
- reflect on ideas and explore them physically and in the moment
- listen and respond to creative offers and feedforward to advance the drama
- put their own thought into action
- respond and adapt their whakaaro (thoughts and ideas) based on mahi tahi (working collaboratively)
- reflect on work and adapt based on feedback and self-assessment
- develop understanding and critical thinking about the context of work – historical, social, cultural, political, and economic – in order to create meaningful drama
- develop subject-specific research skills, including dramatic inquiry, when exploring the contexts of dramatic work
- explore their own and others' ideas in work they experience and work they create
- investigate roles, worlds, contexts, attitudes, and themes in drama to build new knowledge (including cultural, historical, social, and political knowledge).
Using language, symbols, and text
Students of Drama will:
- develop their use of language in rehearsal, scripting, directing, and devising processes
- discuss their work and experiment with language used in performance
- understand and use discipline-specific vocabulary and develop multi-modal literacies including audio, gestural, linguistic (verbal and written), spatial, and visual
- interpret texts, stories, and direction
- engage with and explore what can be expressed through props, costume, set, technologies, motifs (recurring symbols), text, dialogue, movement, gesture, and conventions.
Relating to others
Students of Drama will:
- negotiate, cultivate, and explore a variety of relationships, such as:
- the relationships between performers
- the relationships between characters
- the relationship between the performer and the role
- the relationship between the performer and the audience
- the relationship between the playwright, director, and designer.
- practice whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, and vā in working with others with care and compassion
- explore the perspectives and experiences of others, increasing their cultural awareness, responsiveness, and acceptance
- understand and play to different strengths in order to uplift the work.
Managing self
Students of Drama will:
- develop self-discipline and an understanding of their role as part of the group
- practise self-management in practical contexts – arriving to rehearsals on time, learning lines, being prepared, and taking responsibility for different aspects of production (eg props, costume etc), theatre, and performance protocols
- set goals
- self-review
- accept direction and feedback
- question and critique themselves and others
- follow the established kawa of their learning environment to create a shared relational space.
Participating and contributing
Students of Drama will:
- work together to contribute their own ideas and respond to the ideas of others
- establish kotahitanga in group work, value each other’s strengths, and improve the quality of the work
- build a kawa that will become established practice within their learning environment
- explore how to adapt and work in different environments with different people, and contribute to building a group dynamic that is responsive to the needs of the work and the participants
- develop courage and generosity in making offers to advance the drama and giving feedback as well as openness and humility in accepting feedback and extending the ideas of others.
Key Competencies
This section of New Zealand Curriculum online offers specific guidance to school leaders and teachers on integrating the Key Competencies into the daily activities of the school and its Teaching and Learning Programmes.
Connections
The Arts development cycle underpins the approach taken in Drama of generating and refining artistic ideas through cycles of action and reflection.
Drama provides a framework to provoke deep thinking, discussion, and expression about culture, identity, and society. This in turn creates a bridge between Drama and other disciplines and contexts.
Many of the skills and concepts learned in Drama can be applied across The Arts Learning Area, especially fellow performing arts subjects like Music and Dance. Learning gained from the Visual Arts can be transferred to drama when producing performances. Knowledge attained in Art History can be drawn from when examining certain movements and genres of drama.
Working with texts in Drama may connect to important learning linked to thematic and genre exploration in English, as well as the development of literacy skills.
Drama also has strong ties to History through the rich whakapapa of theatre dating back to classical civilisations and even earlier. Drama can also draw influence from many other Social Science subjects in its exploration of society, identity, culture, politics, community, and humanity.
The nature of drama as an embodied art form with deep connections to wairuatanga means that it also links strongly to the Health and Physical Education Learning Area.
Drama encourages curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and information seeking, which are key attributes and skills in the Sciences.
Technologies are a core aspect of Drama, as performances rely on costuming, lighting, audio-visual media (including recording devices), and digital distribution and streaming to be brought to life and made accessible for audiences to experience.
Even Learning Languages has a connection to Drama, as it remains one of the most universal forms of artistic expression, and a powerful medium with which to experience and connect with cultures and communities from all over the world.
The Arts development cycle underpins the approach taken in Drama of generating and refining artistic ideas through cycles of action and reflection.
Drama provides a framework to provoke deep thinking, discussion, and expression about culture, identity, and society. This in turn creates a bridge between Drama and other disciplines and contexts.
Many of the skills and concepts learned in Drama can be applied across The Arts Learning Area, especially fellow performing arts subjects like Music and Dance. Learning gained from the Visual Arts can be transferred to drama when producing performances. Knowledge attained in Art History can be drawn from when examining certain movements and genres of drama.
Working with texts in Drama may connect to important learning linked to thematic and genre exploration in English, as well as the development of literacy skills.
Drama also has strong ties to History through the rich whakapapa of theatre dating back to classical civilisations and even earlier. Drama can also draw influence from many other Social Science subjects in its exploration of society, identity, culture, politics, community, and humanity.
The nature of drama as an embodied art form with deep connections to wairuatanga means that it also links strongly to the Health and Physical Education Learning Area.
Drama encourages curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and information seeking, which are key attributes and skills in the Sciences.
Technologies are a core aspect of Drama, as performances rely on costuming, lighting, audio-visual media (including recording devices), and digital distribution and streaming to be brought to life and made accessible for audiences to experience.
Even Learning Languages has a connection to Drama, as it remains one of the most universal forms of artistic expression, and a powerful medium with which to experience and connect with cultures and communities from all over the world.
Learning Pathway
Ākonga in Drama enhance their interpersonal, collaborative, and communication skills, which will serve them well in all areas of learning and life. The ability to work with others, understand different points of view, and communicate ideas and information effectively is highly valued in any future pathway. Participating in, and responding to, drama allows ākonga to develop confidence in expressing their ideas as they seek to communicate with a variety of audiences.
Drama students demonstrate high engagement, empathy, and courage in their learning, as the subject allows them to have fun while taking creative risks within a safe environment. They quickly learn that they are responsible both for themselves and for others.
The collaborative, creative process of drama develops skills in giving and receiving constructive feedback. Drama students learn to share, develop, and extend ideas to realise a shared goal and serve the intention of the drama.
Drama examines and challenges established ideas and prejudices. It encourages critical and creative thinking and innovation. It generates new ideas and reflects on trends in society.
Studying Drama opens numerous pathways within the creative industries, particularly within theatre, film, and television. Careers include but are not limited to:
- performer
- director
- writer
- designer
- producer
- stage manager.
Beyond school, ākonga in Drama will have gained many transferrable skills and life experiences that help them greatly, both in tertiary education and the world of work. This includes:
- creativity
- innovation
- public speaking and performance skills
- idea generation and content creation
- self-reflection and analysis
- critical thinking
- lateral thinking
- communication
- collaboration and working with others
- relational empathy
- negotiation
- punctuality and time management
- reliability
- confidence and assertiveness
- self-esteem and self-efficacy
- delivering products to a deadline
- identifying target audiences and promoting work to them
- supporting the ideas of others and providing constructive feedback
- technical production skills, such as lighting, sound, and costume and prop design.
They will also understand the significance of whakapapa as they engage in the community, recognising and embracing diversity of cultures and perspectives. Whakawhanaungatanga and skills in relationship building will also be developed through their experience in forming, nurturing, and maintaining collaborative and reciprocal relationships (with performers, audiences, writers, designers, and directors).
Ākonga in Drama enhance their interpersonal, collaborative, and communication skills, which will serve them well in all areas of learning and life. The ability to work with others, understand different points of view, and communicate ideas and information effectively is highly valued in any future pathway. Participating in, and responding to, drama allows ākonga to develop confidence in expressing their ideas as they seek to communicate with a variety of audiences.
Drama students demonstrate high engagement, empathy, and courage in their learning, as the subject allows them to have fun while taking creative risks within a safe environment. They quickly learn that they are responsible both for themselves and for others.
The collaborative, creative process of drama develops skills in giving and receiving constructive feedback. Drama students learn to share, develop, and extend ideas to realise a shared goal and serve the intention of the drama.
Drama examines and challenges established ideas and prejudices. It encourages critical and creative thinking and innovation. It generates new ideas and reflects on trends in society.
Studying Drama opens numerous pathways within the creative industries, particularly within theatre, film, and television. Careers include but are not limited to:
- performer
- director
- writer
- designer
- producer
- stage manager.
Beyond school, ākonga in Drama will have gained many transferrable skills and life experiences that help them greatly, both in tertiary education and the world of work. This includes:
- creativity
- innovation
- public speaking and performance skills
- idea generation and content creation
- self-reflection and analysis
- critical thinking
- lateral thinking
- communication
- collaboration and working with others
- relational empathy
- negotiation
- punctuality and time management
- reliability
- confidence and assertiveness
- self-esteem and self-efficacy
- delivering products to a deadline
- identifying target audiences and promoting work to them
- supporting the ideas of others and providing constructive feedback
- technical production skills, such as lighting, sound, and costume and prop design.
They will also understand the significance of whakapapa as they engage in the community, recognising and embracing diversity of cultures and perspectives. Whakawhanaungatanga and skills in relationship building will also be developed through their experience in forming, nurturing, and maintaining collaborative and reciprocal relationships (with performers, audiences, writers, designers, and directors).
Introduction to Sample Course Outlines
Sample Course Outlines are intended to help teachers and schools understand the new NCEA Learning and Assessment Matrices. Examples of how a year-long Drama course could be constructed using the new Learning Matrix and Achievement Standards are provided here. They are indicative only and do not mandate any particular context or approach.
Sample Course Outlines are intended to help teachers and schools understand the new NCEA Learning and Assessment Matrices. Examples of how a year-long Drama course could be constructed using the new Learning Matrix and Achievement Standards are provided here. They are indicative only and do not mandate any particular context or approach.
Assessment Matrix
Conditions of Assessment for internally assessed standards
These Conditions provide guidelines for assessment against internally assessed Achievement Standards. Guidance is provided on:
- specific requirements for all assessments against this Standard
- appropriate ways of, and conditions for, gathering evidence
- ensuring that evidence is authentic.
Assessors must be familiar with guidance on assessment practice in learning centres, including enforcing timeframes and deadlines. The NZQA website offers resources that would be useful to read in conjunction with these Conditions of Assessment.
The learning centre’s Assessment Policy and Conditions of Assessment must be consistent with NZQA’s Assessment Rules for Schools with Consent to Assess. This link includes guidance for managing internal moderation and the collection of evidence.
Gathering Evidence
Internal assessment provides considerable flexibility in the collection of evidence. Evidence can be collected in different ways to suit a range of teaching and learning styles, and a range of contexts of teaching and learning. Care needs to be taken to allow students opportunities to present their best evidence against the Standard(s) that are free from unnecessary constraints.
It is recommended that the design of assessment reflects and reinforces the ways students have been learning. Collection of evidence for the internally assessed Standards could include, but is not restricted to, an extended task, an investigation, digital evidence (such as recorded interviews, blogs, photographs, or film), or a portfolio of evidence.
Effective assessment should suit the nature of the learning being assessed, provide opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students, and be valid and fair.
Ensuring Authenticity of Evidence
Authenticity of student evidence needs to be assured regardless of the method of collecting evidence. This must be in line with the learning centre’s policy and NZQA’s Assessment Rules for Schools with Consent to Assess.
Ensure that the student’s evidence is individually identifiable and represents the student’s own work. This includes evidence submitted as part of a group assessment and evidence produced outside of class time or assessor supervision. For example, an investigation carried out over several sessions could include assessor observations, meeting with the student at a set milestone, or student’s use of a journal or photographic entries to record progress.
These Conditions provide guidelines for assessment against internally assessed Achievement Standards. Guidance is provided on:
- specific requirements for all assessments against this Standard
- appropriate ways of, and conditions for, gathering evidence
- ensuring that evidence is authentic.
Assessors must be familiar with guidance on assessment practice in learning centres, including enforcing timeframes and deadlines. The NZQA website offers resources that would be useful to read in conjunction with these Conditions of Assessment.
The learning centre’s Assessment Policy and Conditions of Assessment must be consistent with NZQA’s Assessment Rules for Schools with Consent to Assess. This link includes guidance for managing internal moderation and the collection of evidence.
Gathering Evidence
Internal assessment provides considerable flexibility in the collection of evidence. Evidence can be collected in different ways to suit a range of teaching and learning styles, and a range of contexts of teaching and learning. Care needs to be taken to allow students opportunities to present their best evidence against the Standard(s) that are free from unnecessary constraints.
It is recommended that the design of assessment reflects and reinforces the ways students have been learning. Collection of evidence for the internally assessed Standards could include, but is not restricted to, an extended task, an investigation, digital evidence (such as recorded interviews, blogs, photographs, or film), or a portfolio of evidence.
Effective assessment should suit the nature of the learning being assessed, provide opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students, and be valid and fair.
Ensuring Authenticity of Evidence
Authenticity of student evidence needs to be assured regardless of the method of collecting evidence. This must be in line with the learning centre’s policy and NZQA’s Assessment Rules for Schools with Consent to Assess.
Ensure that the student’s evidence is individually identifiable and represents the student’s own work. This includes evidence submitted as part of a group assessment and evidence produced outside of class time or assessor supervision. For example, an investigation carried out over several sessions could include assessor observations, meeting with the student at a set milestone, or student’s use of a journal or photographic entries to record progress.
Student evidence at any achievement level must include how manaakitanga has been demonstrated in the context of exploring theatre Aotearoa.
Assessor involvement during the assessment event is limited to:
- providing students with theatre Aotearoa contexts to engage with at the start of the assessment
- providing observations to students.
The process must be student-led without assessor feedforward to guide it.
Submissions should consist of:
- a student performance:
- This performance must be given for an audience. An audience can include an assessor, a class group, family and friends, or the wider community.
- The performance needs to be within a 2-4 minute timeframe.
- a reflection consisting of evidence collected over time:
- The reflection may be presented in written or oral form.
- The reflection can be accompanied by physical demonstration, visual images, audio-visual recordings of student progress, written or oral statements, notes, or assessor observations.
Suggested time and word limits for the statement of reflection are:
- a written reflection (up to 700 words)
- a recorded response or self-tape on video (up to 4 mins).
Evidence must be submitted individually.
Evidence must show individual participation in a group context where appropriate.
The internal mode of assessment for this Achievement Standard allows for the collection of evidence over a period of time as the creative process takes place.
Evidence may be submitted in a number of ways and must include both evidence of a performance and reflection.
Evidence of participating in a performance should be presented as a filmed recording of a performance.
Evidence of reflection may be presented by the student in a range of forms, including:
- annotated visual information
- oral presentation
- physical demonstration accompanied by verbal or written explanation
- written information
- digital formats
- audio and visual recordings
- in-class presentation.
Students may not use the evidence submitted as their reflection for this Achievement Standard as evidence for Achievement Standard 1.4 (Respond to a drama performance). Students may, however, use their performance for this Achievement Standard as the context for discussion, to submit as a separate reflection, in Achievement Standard 1.4 with their assessor’s approval.
Assessors should ensure the outcome is appropriate for Level 6 of The New Zealand Curriculum.
Evidence for all parts of this assessment can be in te reo Māori, English, or New Zealand Sign Language.
Evidence for this Achievement Standard will be participation in creative strategies during the devising process to create a drama.
Assessors should ensure student evidence at any achievement level includes how whanaungatanga has been promoted during the devising process.
Assessor involvement during the assessment event is limited to:
- providing students with a stimulus for devising
- providing observations to students.
The devising process must be student-led without assessor feedforward to guide it.
Assessors should not provide any further feedforward advice, guidance, or instruction.
Submissions should consist of:
- the devised drama, which will be presented as a 2-5 minute live performance
- a portfolio of evidence collected over time, including the title and key message of the drama:
- The portfolio can include physical demonstrations, visual images, audio-visual recordings of student progress, written or oral statements, notes, or assessor observations.
- This must be student-led but can include annotations of assessor observation of the student’s participation in creative strategies in the devising process.
Suggested time and word limits for the portfolio are:
- a written reflection (up to 700 words)
- a recorded response or self-recorded video (up to 4 mins).
Evidence must be submitted individually and, where appropriate, show individual participation in a group context.
Evidence may be submitted in a number of ways and must include both evidence of the devised drama and an accompanying portfolio.
Evidence of participating in the devised drama should be presented as a filmed recording of a performance.
Evidence of reflection may be presented by the student in a range of forms, including:
- annotated visual information
- oral presentation
- physical demonstration accompanied by verbal or written explanation
- written information
- digital formats
- audio and visual recordings
- in-class presentation.
Students may not use the evidence submitted as their reflection for this Achievement Standard as evidence for Achievement Standard 1.4 (Respond to a drama performance). Students may, however, use their performance for this Achievement Standard as the context for discussion in Achievement Standard 1.4 with their assessor's approval.
Assessors should ensure the outcome is appropriate for Level 6 of The New Zealand Curriculum.
Evidence for all parts of this assessment can be in te reo Māori, English, or New Zealand Sign Language.