50 Dramatic Engagers for Learning and Performance

About the Book

Learn by doing!

This is a must-have guide on active and collaborative strategies aligned with the brain’s natural way of learning. This resource is based on educational research, neuroscience, and drama-based learning and contains practical suggestions on how to incorporate engagement into different learning objectives.

The authors bring an innovative perspective to teaching and training. This practical guide allows for almost any content, message, and learning point to be relayed more dramatically and quickly than with a lecture. This practical sourcebook adopts an active and collaborative approach to learning and performance by taking on what appears to look like complicated strategies and collapses them into 50 easy-to-do and easy-to-understand activities. The guide also provides a strong rationale and offers basic brain principles into every creative exercise.

Readers will be able to:

—Reduce brain distractions
—Increase attention span
—Increase retention
—Heighten sensory stimuli
—Help participants transfer new information from short-term to long-term memory
—Reinforce lesson planning and training design

About the Author

Carmen White, Ph.D., RDT. /BCT. Speaker, Drama Therapist, Consultant, Trainer, and Coach

Carmen White is a spirited inspirational speaker, drama therapist, and passionate educator who engage audiences worldwide by enlightening the mind and energizing the heart. A leading authority on drama-based training and experiential learning, Carmen is the Founder and President of Dramatic Solutions, Inc. (DSI)—a comprehensive drama education company and clinical practice. Also, an acclaimed actress and choreographer, Carmen embraces creativity as a medium to educate, develop, and nurture talent. She has spent more than 15 years collaborating with government agencies, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and corporations to facilitate development of their personnel. Predicated upon an underlying framework of creative drama, brain-based learning, and organizational development theories, DSI’s interventions include interactive workshops, workforce development training, and Internet-based distance learning curricula. Through DSI and her private practice, Carmen’s individualized programming helps to teach individuals and organizations how to ‘invent’ their future. She maintains an underlying passion for helping culturally diverse teams work together to improve performance, enhance morale, and reach their full potential.

Carmen received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction and Human Development at the University of Maryland, College Park; a Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership from New York University; and a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University in Educational Drama. Carmen is a Kennedy Center Artist-in-residence, certified Process Communication Model Trainer, and Board Certified-Registered Drama Therapist. To contact Carmen about a workshop or keynote address, please call 202-438-7031 or e-mail dramadoctor@verizon.net.

Lennie Smith, M.A., BCT./RDT. Consultant, Drama Therapist, Trainer, and Coach

Lennie Smith is a seasoned clinician, university professor, and entrepreneur, with over 20 years of experience in public school systems, alternative education programming, corporate and non-profit organizations. Lennie currently serves as the director of a university-based theatre program in Washington, DC and maintains a private practice with a focus on creative drama, curricula development, and clinical interventions. Lennie is a strong advocate for active and collaborative learning in the classroom for disengaged learners. During his tenure as Co-founder and Director of a non-profit drama education organization, Lennie successfully developed and implemented an interactive life skills program at a juvenile detention center, consisting of user-specific curricula and training modalities. Lennie is also a seasoned professional in the theatre circuit, having amassed a prolific body of work in just the past few years alone.

Lennie strongly believes in the power of drama to educate, empower, and enlighten. He is currently a Doctoral Candidate at Morgan State University’s Community College Leadership Program. Lennie trained professionally in the Acting Studio at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Educational Drama and a Master of Arts degree in Interpersonal Communication from New York University. Lennie is a Board-Certified Registered Drama Therapist, with additional credentialing in Process Communication Model Training and Quality Matters Online teaching. To contact Lennie about a workshop or devising curriculum, please call 202-438-6985 or e-mail bdramatic@verizon.net.