#EduConvs: Called to Connect: Story-based drama pedagogies connecting adults from refugee backgrounds

Drama has an amazing ability to enhance literacy and inclusion in the EAL/D (English as an Additional Language or Dialect) classroom. This session showcases strategies from the successful Connected program, a partnership between Sydney Theatre Company, Western Sydney University and the University of Sydney that teaches English through Drama to refugees and people seeking asylum. Piloted at 11 sites in Western Sydney, teaching-artists use folk tales to create humanising curriculum that connects language and body, accessing learner’s creativity and imagination. This session will present the research findings from the program, examining the strategies used to engage participants in embodied language learning. This session provokes discussions about connections in the learning environment, reflecting on the ways that drama can be used to combat marginalisation, racism and disadvantage through embodied learning strategies. PRESENTED by Dr. Rachael Jacobs: lecturer in Creative Arts Education at Western Sydney University. She is a former secondary teacher (Dance, Drama and Music) and primary Arts specialist. Her research interests include assessment in the arts, pre-service teacher education and embodied learning. Rachael conducts research projects situated in refugee communities in Sydney in partnership with the Sydney Theatre Company. She has been engaged by the OECD to assist in the development of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. In 2013 Rachael released her first textbook, addressing arts education in the Australian Curriculum. She is the current Director of Research for Drama Australia.. Promoted by the Centre for Educational Research (CER) #EduConvs light lunch provided in both campuses.