The Possum Story

Abstract

SUPPORT FOR REFLECTIVE PRACTICE (Dewey, 1910; Schön, 1983) as a way of reviewing, articulating and informing practice, is well-established within teacher education and research, though there is still much to learn from the individual experience of the practitioner who grapples with the reflective process. This paper highlights the deliberations of a teacher undertaking a process drama (Heathcote & Bolton, 1995) program with one group of four-to-five-year-old children. One story stemming from this program, entitled ‘The Possum Story’, is presented to illustrate the complex decision-making processes and teaching strategies evident in the work of the drama practitioner who was faced with several challenges, including how to determine engaging and relevant child-centred content, how to stimulate the interests of all children in the developing story and cater for their needs, and how to promote creative problem-solving through responsive questioning. This paper examines the teacher as a reflective practitioner and provides a useful reference for other early childhood practitioners grappling with the possibilities and challenges related to exploring drama with young children.

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