On Monday, 24 March, we hosted Strategies and Tools for the Modern Community College Classroom, a one-hour webinar discussing the unique - and often unaddressed - needs of community college theatre programs.
Joined by Todd Siff (Monterey Peninsula College), Kate Stone (San Diego City College), and Russell Schultz (Santa Fe College), here are our key takeaways from the session...
Watch the full webinar on-demand here!
Make learning relevant (and collaborative)
The session opened with a discussion of critical thinking skills, and how introductory theatre appreciation courses - especially those delivered primarily through online classes and lectures - can engage students with the material at hand.
Associate Professor of Dramatic Arts, Kate Stone, approaches this challenge by looking for the 'beginning' in the materials that she uses:
"It's a question of meeting students where they're at, and giving them things that are relevant and engaging - and that ask them to do more than just plug a question into ChatGPT."
"To me", she continued, "that feels like the start of developing critical engagement."
"If they can find something that relates to their lives, if they can see themselves reflected in the material, then they realize that they can dig deeper and ask questions that spark their curiosity."
Our 'Key Concepts' e-learning videos are a great way to engage students - and spark curiosity!
This idea of 'sparking curiosity' came up throughout the session, and Kate later explained how this core principle of engagement influences course design through 'flipped classroom' strategies:
"I'm asking students to engage with material in a different way, not just the traditional 'Buy the textbook. Read the textbook'. And part of that is practical - it's hard for many of my students to afford textbooks, but it also makes the learning experience more collaborative."
She continued: "It's about finding ways for students to engage with material that isn't just a 'stand and deliver' methodology. We recently did a project where I asked the class to create Shakespeare zines - something they could print and distribute outside the classroom. They responded to it so well."
Take an exploratory teaching approach
Exploratory learning promotes "critical thinking, creativity, and the development of problem-solving skills as individuals engage in deep and meaningful discussions to uncover new insights".
Characterized by open-ended questions, active listening, and a willingness to experiment, this approach is one that Associate Professor of Theatre (Fine Arts) Russel Schultz puts at the center of his theatre appreciation courses:
"In an online format, everything has to be almost 'handmade' for the individual student, because that's how the student experiences the class. We all want students to develop an appreciation and passion for theatre, but it's also important to give them skills they can take into other fields. And one of those is communication."
This webinar was hosted by DT+ Head of Higher Education, Talia Rodgers.
In 2024, a professor at Paul Smith's College in New York began incorporating improv games into his business classes. As a result, he found that students were "more willing to work together, engage in productive discussions, practice active listening, and feel confident in making mistakes".
Russell takes a similar approach to learning, defining communication skills as the ability to anticipate: to know what you want to ask, and to be curious enough to ask it.
"No matter what area of work you go into", he explained, "everyone is looking for that natural sense of curiosity. If you can foster that - and the skills to communicate it - that's a great place to start."
Adapt your course design to suit your students
Finally, our panel discussed tangible changes and strategies that can be made to engage modern and non-traditional community college students.
Here, Todd Siff (Theatre Arts Department Chair) spoke about the changes he has made to the course design of his theatre appreciation programs, starting with TikTok:
"My students kept showing me these theatre TikToks - there was one series, where one of the lead actresses in a Broadway production of Wicked takes you through 'A Day in my Life' as a performer.
"I've used that series to show my students that - Look! She woke up at 8am this morning, her show is at 7pm... here is everything she needs to do before she goes on stage."
An example of 'Day in My Life' videos on TikTok.
Returning to the added difficulty of teaching theatre appreciation in an online format, Todd echoed Kate and Russell's points about creating forums for discussion and collaboration.
"Getting to know your students in an asynchronous setting", he explained, "is a very difficult thing to do, and it can make it tricky to gauge engagement."
"I find that the synchronous aspect of online courses helps. Even in the asynchronous classes, I record my lectures synchronously, so that students who can attend can participate and ask questions. That way, students who can't be there can still see their classmates and connect with them - they can see that they're all asking the same questions."
You can watch the full panel conversation in the free replay of Strategies and Tools for the Modern Community College Classroom, now available via our On-Demand Events page.
To discuss your community college needs, please get in touch today!
You can see this exercise in action in the Shakespeare In Your Space Workshop