Reframing ‘The Rainbow of Desire’ as embodied self-reflexivity in initial teacher education

Abstract

This is a photographic and textual account of research that reframes the Boalian technique 'The Rainbow of Desire' (TRoD) as a form of embodied self-reflexivity within initial teacher education. In particular, TRoD is applied as an embodied reflective process to provoke reflection on the emotional dimensions of learning to teach. The application of TRoD in this research subverts the traditional privileging of logical-rational knowledge forms and processes within higher education. As such, this research produces a new, politicised purpose for TRoD itself, which has traditionally been categorised as a therapeutic applied theatre practice.

The Emotional Dimension in Becoming a Teacher

“…Emotional experiences imply the interaction between affect and cognition , between feeling and sense-making and the body is the self-evident space where this happens. Further research on the embodied nature of teaching and learning to teach is not only important because of its theoretical relevance, but also pedagogically it holds important and fascinating promises (see for example Jordi, 2011 ;Forgasz, 2014 ).…”

“…We already mentioned Burton's study ( 2012 ) on working with drawings. A different example can be found in the work by Forgasz ( 2014 ). She uses Boal's ( 1995 ) methodology of the "Rainbow of Desire" to have her drama student teachers refl ectively explore their emotions in practice teaching through different theatrical techniques in which the use of language is postponed.…”

Using Embodied Practices with Preservice Teachers: Teaching and Reflecting Through the Body to Re-think Teacher Education

“…Although at times uncomfortable, their bodies became a powerful reflective tool for the preservice teachers, whether by enabling them to experience or access emotions, or by supporting them to uncover new meanings and deeper insights about themselves. Related to our students' experiences of their body's role in knowledge construction, these data largely reflect the kinds of ideas about the nature and value of embodied learning advanced by Nguyen and Larson (2015), Freiler (2008), and Forgasz (2014Forgasz ( , 2015.…”

Embodiment: A Multimodal International Teacher Education Pedagogy?

“…The body is, but the body also does, it speaks and it knows' (Forgasz, 2014a(Forgasz, , 2014b. In this chapter, I hope to re-member embodiment as a pedagogical approach for teacher education by focusing on embodied pedagogies that explicitly embrace the wisdom of our bodies as a legitimate source from which to draw when teaching and learning about teaching in teacher education programs.…”

“…Research from the United States and Israel explores the use of improvisational theatre techniques to teach skills such as facilitating classroom discussion (see Griggs, 2001;Sawyer, 2004;Shem-Tov, 2011). In the United States and in Australia, techniques from Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed (1979) have been successfully applied in teacher education contexts, for example to explore issues of race and power (Placier, Burgoyne, Cockrell, Welch, & Neville, 2005), to develop students' multicultural awareness (Burgoyne et al, 2007), to help students come to terms with the experience of difference and diversity (Bhukhanwala & Allexsaht-Snider, 2013), and as a form of embodied reflection on teaching (Branscombe & Schneider, 2013;Forgasz, 2014aForgasz, , 2014b.…”