Backward as Forward-Thinking

Lately, the idea of backward curriculum design has seemed like a new concept for many of the students working towards their educational degrees.  For us as aspiring theatre teachers though, we are well-aware of the backward model and have seen it in action in many classroom settings already.  Most Drama in Education and Applied Theatre educators we have spoken to over the years have mentioned how each class is different despite the curriculum they would like us to learn and how our differences adjust the learning.  They mention how we explore things differently as individuals and in groups and how certain lesson plans change depending on group discussion.  But one thing is for certain, and that is that we always end up with a formidable end result, even if it strayed slightly from the initial attempt.  A contingency most educators accept as long as good thought and work was made.

As someone who has been in countless theatre classes and hopes to teach some someday, I can see how the backward model is utilized for majority of theatre work.  An example of a theatre educator who worked this way is the one and only Bertolt Brecht.  Regarded as one of the most brilliant playwrights in the twentieth century, he did not write for audience enjoyment but for educational purposes.  His goal was to provide a new kind of theatre that made audiences think about what they were watching rather than just accept what it had to offer.  (And coming from a man doing this during the rise of the Third Reich and one of the top men on Hitler's kill list, that's incredibly formidable).  Through the use of alienation methods, or commonly known to theatre students as the verfrumdungskeffect, he was able to create his form of Epic theatre that made audiences consider what they were watching rather than invest in it.  For example, his piece Der Jasager was presented to school children to make them think about traditions and when there needs to be changes.  The students erupted with disappointment at the scene's end result and delved into full discussions and debates on when traditions should be valued and when they should be changed.  Bertolt Brecht was using the backward model back in the thirties for audiences: knowing their capabilities and giving them tools to discuss the issues presented and allowing them to change their societies based on this kind of learning.  An early 21st century teacher.

In the case of the modern drama classroom, the backward model is essential to creative teaching. Because the curriculum for the arts is based on students learning certain forms, the backward model is useful in seeing the class dynamics and being able to teach these methods in a way that is stimulating and encouraging to the students as individuals and as a group.  Because we all know, nothing is more boring than teaching straight-up tableau.

But what can also be seen with this backward model is how teaching theatre can be brought past the basics of the curriculum.  That we can use it to analyze our classrooms and plan out all sorts of lessons, activities, and discussions we as teachers can keep in our lexicon for when we use the basic theatre building blocks in the curriculum to stimulate students to use theatre to explore issues and ideologies in our world and society.  

Because no student thinks exactly alike, it is impossible to have one set curriculum lesson for teaching students in any subject.  Using the backward model of knowing and assessing one's students, planning out some of the know, do, and be for certain subject areas and then using some essential questions to get them started, the day-to-day work will take off in its own direction but one that can be easily followed and monitored by the teacher.  Plus, it makes teaching a lot more interesting.