The idea of incorporating theater discipline in education started in UK in 1965, which later developed as a formal application in present learning systems. Referred to as Theater in Education or TIE, it takes form as a student-centered live stage presentation appropriately adapted to an educational setting. Actors and actresses role play to depict specific experiences encountered by individuals in fictional or real-life events.
Typical tools used in communicating underlying lessons of a theater presentation include but are not limited to speeches, music pieces, songs, dances, facial expressions as well as hand and body gestures. In addition to live performances, the TIE approach engages students in discussions, and encourage contributions geared toward the development of creativity.
That is because TIE aims to satisfy all kinds of learning, to which discussions, contributions and creativity are also developed by way of essays.
However, essay writing as an aspect of TIE is more often than not, an area of difficulty for students.
Making Essay Writing Task an Effective and Creative TIE Exercise for Students
Essay writing is difficult enough for most students, not so much about the topic and the ideas to express. Difficulty starts with how to create a composition in ways that coherently and cohesively convey understanding of related texts. Here, students must have a clear understanding that essay-writing is about taking ownership of views. To write an essay is to analyze the contents of a reading material in order to arrive at a conclusion supported by proofs and examples found within the text.
Let us say the TIE presentation is about “Les Miserable,” to which an essay is to be written regarding one’s understanding of Jean Valjean’s purpose in confessing to Marius Pontmercy. As proofs of having analyzed the chapter narrating the scene, the writer of the essay is to cite rhetorical devices used by Victor Hugo in conveying Valjean’s purpose.
Even mentors experience difficulty when conducting essay writing exercises because once all papers have been submitted, they take on the role of editor. Nowadays, some teachers look for the best essay editing service provider available online, to help reduce the volume of editing tasks to accomplish. Still, they must keep in mind that the essence of their TIE approach is not just about developing grammatical and composition skills.
It is also about teaching the art of writing by providing constant feedback, and by training students to self-edit and strengthen ideas. Mentors must also allow students to experiment and reflect on their own methods of voicing opinions via written compositions.
