Discover the Immersive Theatre of Learning

Immerse Yourself with DREAM

In my work as a learning enabler, I have always felt close to people in the world of theatre and the performing arts. Art, theatre, film, music shows, theme parks or the circus sell dreams and take us away into a world of its own.

As learning enablers, we also sell a dream. Or rather help learners find the dream they want to come true. The dream of a new role they want to play in life. The dream of a better future. The dream of getting better at what they do. And we help learners achieve their aspirations. What could be a better acronym for the key ingredients of transformational learning experiences than DREAM?

D is for Drama. What I mean by drama is a dramatic arc structure that engages learners as if they were in a play or a movie. With a rising action and a climax. With significant, dramatic moments we can refer to as peaks. With an open, unpredictable ending that learners need to discover, or even create themselves. Some twists and turns and even setbacks to make it a little harder.

Drama spurs curiosity and wonder and engages learners emotionally. Drama includes story. And the narrative of learning is the story of change.

The drama of learning can be as exciting as life itself, but it is set in a safer place. In the Theatre of Learning, the learners/actors can try and fail and try again, develop resilience and perseverance and thus get ready for deploying new skills in the real life. The drama in the Immersive Theatre of Learning is a rehearsal for the real life.

R is for Relationship. Learning Experiences are not only about the cognitive process of understanding a concept with your conscious mind. They are not only about adding information and knowledge to the data you have already stored in your memory. Learning experiences are about making connections.

On the one hand it’s about connecting the dots and linking the new stuff to what learners already know to create a larger or more accurate picture of reality.

But then it is also about the human connection.

There is a critical correlation between the human relationship of learners and learning enablers and the learning outcomes. It involves trust. It may lead to a feeling of belonging. It involves a deeper relationship than anyone would have with a lecturer. One that allows learners to open up and share. And this relationship is also critical among learners in a group. It can change groups of strangers into bonding and supportive learning ensembles, where members learn from each other.

Relationship stands for the thousands of connections we make when we learn: socially, by meeting other people; physically, by connecting our neurons and cognitively, by relating new information to what we already know.

E is for Emotion. This is one of the key differences between classic approaches to learning, especially in academic or professional settings, and a learning experience. There are not a lot of emotions in lectures. The professional attitude of a professional trainer in the classic sense is that they make the learning as scientific and matter of fact as possible.

Learning experiences do not only involve emotions, they are also designed for emotions. Emotions help learners relate on a deeper level. Emotions create memories.

The emotional state of learners is critical for a learning experience to be effective. And emotionally rich experiences are more vividly encoded in memory, making them more likely to be retained over time.

So let’s summarise the three key roles emotions play in learning:

     ready the learner for curiosity and openness, but also by making them feel safe

     engage the learner in a deeper way

     build stronger memories and therefore anchor what we learn

A is for Action. It is as simple as that. In a lecture, the learners are passive. They are sitting down and listening to a talk. In a learning experience they get up and do things. They learn with their bodies and their minds.

When learners take action by trying things out or applying what they have learned, they gain valuable insights and reinforce their understanding. Action includes hands-on activities, roleplay, problem-solving, practical exercises, games, excursions, simulations and so much more.

Action may be as simple as sticking notes to a wall of ideas. It may include building a bridge or another structure with what is often referred to a Serious Lego, even if we do not actually use Lego bricks. Or it may be a travel expedition to find some deeper truths. Transformational travel is one of the big trends in tourism today.

M is for Meaning. Certainly the most important ingredient. Learners need to be able to relate to what they are learning on a personal level. It needs to be meaningful for them. It has to serve a particular purpose, leading them to the transformation they aim for. But it also has to be valuable, like making a dream come true.

Meaning is not exactly a synonym of purpose. While most learning programmes do have (or should have) a stated purpose that is often the same for the entire audience, I see meaning on a very personal level. It often varies significantly from learner to learner.