This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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Understanding Early School Leaving
An overview of the current situation of early school leaving in Europe
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Methodological and Pedagogical Aspects
A definition of what experiential education is
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Theatre as Experiential Learning Tool
The role of theatre as a site for learning in a community context
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Practical Examples of Theatrical Laboratories
15 proposals of theatrical laboratories
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Contractual Partners
From this section it is possible to access to a description of each contractual partner of OFF-Book Project. There are 8 partners from 3 different European countries.
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Schools
From this section it is possible to access to the information about the schools involved in the OFF-Book Project in the 3 European countries participating in the project. The school teachers and students contribute to the testing of all the intellectual outputs.
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Associated Partners
As a result of the exploitation activity a number of associated partners officially joined the project in order to contribute to the improvement of the project impact on their target groups and to ensure the project sustainability by continuing using the project deliverables in the next years.
Information & Events
Latest News
The students have to deal with maltreatment, possible neglect, bullying and discrimination issues in the...Events
The OFF-Book project has been promoted trough conferences and articles.
Conferences
The OFF-Book project was presented in a number of events in order to report about the activities carried out and the results achieved
Press Review
The OFF-Book project partnership made contacts with web sites focusing on the fields of educationThis section of the OFF-Book portal provides administrative information for the project contractual partners and for the European Commission and it is password protected.
Teachers’ Guidelines
Homepage > Teachers’ Guidelines > Theatre as Experiential Learning Tool
The role of theatre as a site for learning in a community context and how it can provide informal learning opportunities for young people experiencing social difficulty
Theatre as Experiential Learning Tool:
Step by Step Process to Implement Theatrical Laboratories in Classroom
4.3 Target Group
To manage a group is a very sensitive issue. You can have two similar groups, in purposes and composition, but even when using the same approach, you always have different responses.
OFF-Book project wants to encourage and qualify differences and uniqueness of every individual and so of every group. Complexity needs to be considered a value. The experience proves the best results come from very heterogeneous teams, where purposes are clear and shared, and the work reward originality instead of standardisation.
In a team composition, you technically must consider these characteristics: number of members, age, gender, difficulties and disabilities.
For an effective work, the number of students involved should be between twelve and twenty people. Nevertheless, you can work very well with less than twelve students or more than twenty. It depends also on the type of room and the specific qualities of the professional. Groups made up of more than thirty people are difficult to manage in concentration, listening, and time dedicated one by one.
As it concerns the age, we have two possible scenarios: a class group or a mixed group.
The mix is always preferable, because it breaks roles and habits, inherent of a class group. However, it is always necessary to work on knowing each other, even though participants already do.
A positive aspect of a mixed-age team is contamination: the older people drag the others and the youngest bring discovery, amazement and simplicity of thinking.
However, it is better to separate pre-adolescents from adolescents: as an indication, from 10 to 14 years and 14 to 18, even though each person grows up in a different rhythm. So, it is a task of the educator to understand which work adapts better to every student.
We consider it to be more productive with groups composed of both males and females. Actually, we recommend the maximum mix as possible. OFF-Book Theatre Lab works on emotional growth, on meeting the others, on respect each other's age, race, religion, gender identity and sexual orientation.
The same is true for disability. Of course, you have to provide the presence of a support staff, that works with students with difficulties, according to their times and needs.
In a team, knowing each other means to know limits and qualities of all and learning how to manage them. Students themselves can learn to deal with the troubles of the members, and this would already be a great result.
OFF-Book project wants to encourage and qualify differences and uniqueness of every individual and so of every group. Complexity needs to be considered a value. The experience proves the best results come from very heterogeneous teams, where purposes are clear and shared, and the work reward originality instead of standardisation.
In a team composition, you technically must consider these characteristics: number of members, age, gender, difficulties and disabilities.
For an effective work, the number of students involved should be between twelve and twenty people. Nevertheless, you can work very well with less than twelve students or more than twenty. It depends also on the type of room and the specific qualities of the professional. Groups made up of more than thirty people are difficult to manage in concentration, listening, and time dedicated one by one.
As it concerns the age, we have two possible scenarios: a class group or a mixed group.
The mix is always preferable, because it breaks roles and habits, inherent of a class group. However, it is always necessary to work on knowing each other, even though participants already do.
A positive aspect of a mixed-age team is contamination: the older people drag the others and the youngest bring discovery, amazement and simplicity of thinking.
However, it is better to separate pre-adolescents from adolescents: as an indication, from 10 to 14 years and 14 to 18, even though each person grows up in a different rhythm. So, it is a task of the educator to understand which work adapts better to every student.
We consider it to be more productive with groups composed of both males and females. Actually, we recommend the maximum mix as possible. OFF-Book Theatre Lab works on emotional growth, on meeting the others, on respect each other's age, race, religion, gender identity and sexual orientation.
The same is true for disability. Of course, you have to provide the presence of a support staff, that works with students with difficulties, according to their times and needs.
In a team, knowing each other means to know limits and qualities of all and learning how to manage them. Students themselves can learn to deal with the troubles of the members, and this would already be a great result.
Online Resources
- Creating a School CommunityWhat would be on your mind? You might be wondering, “Will I make friends here? Will I be popular?” Or, “Will my teachers like me? Will they care about me?” Or, “Will I be able to do the work here? Will I be smart enough?” Or, in too many cases, “Will I be safe here? Will I be teased, shunned, humiliated?” or even “Will I be ripped off or beaten up?”. These questions reveal our basic psychological needs—for emotional and physical safety; for close, supportive relationships—a sense of “connectedness” or “belongingness”; for autonomy, or a say in what happens to us; and for a sense of competence—a belief that we are capable people and able to learn. These fundamental needs shape human motivation and have major implications for learning and development.
- Characteristics of a groupAs a general rule, a heterogeneous mix of students in each group provides the best chemistry for interaction and achievement of task.
