The Teatro Collective, a group of Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social (SESP) policy graduate students, recently performed for -- and with -- Chicago–area educators who work with teens at the Chicago Public Library's Teen Services Conference.
Northwestern’s Teatro program, adapted and developed by Shirin Vossoughi, assistant professor of learning sciences, is an
“This type of theatre aims to blend reflection, art, and leadership,” said Vossoughi, who delivered the event’s keynote speech. “In the spirit of emancipatory social change and leadership development, the larger goal of
After introducing the audience to the history and practice of
The final scene, for example, involved a student who continually antagonized a recent immigrant and emergent bilingual student. In line with the tenets of
“It highlighted the difficulties educators might experience in addressing political and social tensions (injustices) within the classroom,” said Ava Jackson, a member of the Teatro Collective and a learning sciences doctoral student. “The scene and subsequent iterations, where audience members could choose to become participants, gave the educators the chance to reflect on how the scene unfolded and think about what they would do differently.”
Afterward, Vossoughi led a discussion on the use of
For doctoral candidate Trey Smith, a highlight came when the educators participated with the students on stage. “We were able to draw on our understandings of the characters we had created and respond in real time to any new directions the educators tried to take to resolve the conflict in the scene,” Smith said.
“In some cases, new conflicts emerged and audience members were able to critique the direction of the evolving scene and intervene by replacing someone else on stage. It was a rich opportunity for educators to explore pedagogical choices and their possible consequences.”
The annual professional development event was hosted in partnership with Chicago Public Schools.
Pictured, left to right: Jeremy Dunn, director of teen services, Chicago Public Library; Natalia Smirnov, learning sciences doctoral student; Trey Smith, learning sciences; Amanda Herrera, psychology; Sugat Dabholkar, learning sciences; Shirin Vossoughi, assistant professor of learning sciences; Ava Jackson, learning sciences; Christina Pei, learning sciences; Chris Leatherwood, learning sciences.