Browsing by Author "Mokoena, Moratoa Trinity"

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    A pandemic shakes our pedagogy: Attempts to honour the integrity of a South African tertiary institution’s Applied Drama and Theatre curriculum in online learning platforms as a result of COVID-19
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-06) Mokoena, Moratoa Trinity; Janse van Vuuren, Petro
    A pandemic shook our pedagogy. The arrival of COVID-19 changed the face of higher education in South Africa and in many parts of the world. As an Applied Drama and Theatre department whose work is predominantly embodied and experiential, we were faced with the question: How do we migrate our kind of work online and honour its fundamental objectives? A characteristic Applied Drama and Theatre practice is embedded in principles of participation and collaboration, reflection through praxis and immersion in social contexts. All of these are largely experienced with physically present bodies in a common space for the purposes of social transformation and education. Due to the pandemic, the effects of the digital divide were rapidly exposed and its limitations on access, connectivity and synchronicity delayed the progress of teaching and learning. Can we honour the integrity of the complete Applied Drama and Theatre pedagogy online and remotely, especially when the digital divide impacts connection with students and the marginalised communities that the pedagogy is suited for? While we acknowledged that digitising our educational practices had become a progressive necessity, would online learning alone be sufficient for the teaching and learning of embodied curricula? Through ethnographic case study and as teaching assistant, I observed University of the Witwatersrand’s Drama for Life department and their Applied Drama and Theatre educators during their encounter of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown periods of 2020 and 2021. By use of interviews, field notes and documentation, this study inquired how we reacted to the pandemic and its anticipated implications on the pedagogy and the academic programme. Furthermore, I established the evident threats that online learning poses to the pedagogy and investigated the disconcerting effects of the digital divide on student access and content delivery. Central to the study is the exploration of these educators’ practical strategies and collective approaches in maintaining the integrity of the Applied Drama and Theatre pedagogy. Through a journey of trial and error, the department and its educators were tasked to re-envision the pedagogy and negotiate appropriate multimodal online modes of delivery, in efforts to save the academic programme and achieve its pedagogical intentions. Even though the data and literature demonstrate the possibilities of migrating similar pedagogies online, remote learning has certainly compromised the practical and physical demands of a conventional Applied Drama and Theatre experience. Additionally, even though the theoretical components could be negotiated online, the findings highlighted that the pedagogical objectives as a whole were fragmented. Thus, in the case of the professionalisation of students and the provision of the full Applied Drama and Theatre pedagogy – the educators’ efforts fell short. The pedagogy, though shaken, still stands. The study concludes that the pedagogy is highly dependent on uninterrupted physical presence and even if the digital divide is managed its integrity remains tainted without connection. The findings emphasise that we cannot do away with contact teaching post-pandemic and any idea of a pedagogical utopia requires a carefully negotiated balance of appropriately designed online and offline approaches. The discussions and findings in this study do not only impact the Applied Drama and Theatre fraternity, departments and practitioners alike, but also shed light on the available possibilities for other multidimensional pedagogies. Institutions are encouraged to take the full repertoire of the pedagogy into account when designing their Learning Management Systems, to provide adequate support for staff and student training and their digital affordances. Moreover, it is noteworthy to address the feasibility and equity of online learning within a particular South African context as a whole.
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    The role of drama in education in fostering a soft skills curriculum in the paperless classroom of South African primary schools
    (2019) Mokoena, Moratoa Trinity
    We welcome the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and its technological advancement with open arms. Well, we do not have much of a choice because whether we like it or not, it plans to stay. With this digital progression, South African educational bodies migrate its educational framework to the ‘paperless classroom’: a teaching and learning transition from pen and paper to blended learning (technologically enhanced) systems (Shonfeld & Meishar-Tal 2017:185). Emerging conversations around 4IR have one wondering what this educational shift will result in, especially around our human connection and interaction. I question the implications of the paperless classroom and its technologies on a learner’s interpersonal aptitudes and how it will achieve the development of a holistic learner. The research warns that the paperless classroom may put a higher value on hard (technical) skills over soft (interpersonal) skills, which may result in learners’ limited ability to foster positive relations, communication and collaborative effort (Elmore, 2014). Using a summative evaluation through an analytic approach, I present the possibilities of introducing Drama in Education as a relevant and dynamic educational strategy in the paperless classroom, alongside the voices of practitioners, researchers and educational specialists. Although the research is not conducted practically, it proposes that when specific Drama in Education strategies are successfully implemented by educators, they may further motivate a soft skills enhancing curriculum. This may foster a beneficial hard-soft skill balance in the learner. The research is catalyzed by the observation of a leading paperless primary school, in their Blended Learning Facility and focuses on their endeavors to create an alternative educational experience. I investigate the school’s paperless model, identify possible gaps and recommend Drama in Education as a mediating learning instrument. Finally, in the commitment to hone in on a holistic individual in an ever-changing educational environment, this transformational approach to education is recommended to core educational bodies in South Africa for consideration.