Session Outline

The Can We Talk About This? project develops theatre-based dialogic structures which foster proactive prevention for addressing student and staff challenges. This session will support academic personal tutors in their role to enable student success and transitions.

The project use

nnovative theatre techniques to open up dialogue about challenges for staff and students which are not commonly addressed at university (with a focus on wellbeing and inclusion), and which have nuanced complexity. We aim to address gaps in training and resource overload, varied levels of Personal Tutor expertise/confidence, differing understandings of the nature of the role and identifying safeguarding responsibilities, navigating student barriers to accessing support and to unpack staff bias and privileges.

Working one-step-removed via fictionalised distance, fictional narrative and imagined characters enables self-reflection and increased awareness for those taking part. This practice is taken from Applied Theatre practitioner Augusto Boal’s Forum Theatre theory and practice (1985) and uses theatre artist and educator Paulo Rohd’s ‘Activating scenes’ (1998).In addition we draw upon the practice of Paulo Freire (1993) and Bell Hooks (1994).

The workshops, developed and facilitated by Drama UG & alumni performers open up critical dialogue about areas of concern or complex challenge within Personal Tutor settings. Using innovative dialogic theatre techniques to facilitate conversations about how we approach situations with students in PT meetings and in our educational community here at Exeter.

Short scenarios, addressing common issues in tutoring, co-written by drama students, are presented to small audiences via Zoom. The audience is then asked for feedback on the interaction, and to suggest different ways to work with the ‘student’ in order to enhance the support offered. The actors then replay the scenario, amended to reflect the audience suggestions.

The sessions create a safe space for staff as audience participants, to unpack complex questions around the role, responsibility, and best practice of a personal tutor in wellbeing themed Tutee meeting scenarios. It will highlight and address boundary issues which may help tutors to manage their role in a way that supports their own wellbeing as well as that of their tutees.

We begin with a live forum theatre scene performed by graduate actors, that presents a complex scenario between a personal tutor and a tutee. Participants are invited to safely engage in conversation around the themes of privilege and marginalised students, unconscious bias, wellbeing and tutor best practice that arise from the performance. Participants then see their suggestions played back to them by the actors, and the dialogic safe space is reopened for participants to discuss the complex questions that arise around the best practice of a personal/academic tutor in these scenarios.