Teaching during COVID 19 times – The experiences of drama and performing arts teachers and the human dimensions of learning

ABSTRACT As countries moved to halt the spread of the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020 access to physical sites of learning was restricted, so teachers across diverse educational contexts were required to rapidly embrace different modes and combinations of delivery. With a desire to profile the voices of teacher experience, a number of educational researchers initiated a research project to examine the experiences of teachers during COVID-19 times. The stories of performing arts teachers revealed some shared areas of similar concern with other teachers namely a rapid increase in using different technologies and online tools and an extensive increase in workload. Teachers expressed concern for those students who became ‘invisible’, and for the ‘invisible’ aspects of the classroom and learning that were difficult to replicate online. The research highlighted the importance of the ‘human dimensions’ of learning in these art forms and the important role played by professional networks.