Drama and Dialogue: Supporting Migrant and Refugee Learners Through Creative Expression
Introduction
How can we give voice to every learner, beyond language barriers? This course explores how drama and dialogue can empower migrant and refugee students, fostering inclusion, confidence, and expression through creative, safe, and participatory learning experiences.
Description
This course examines the pedagogical potential of drama and dialogue as inclusive tools to support migrant and refugee learners in diverse educational settings. Grounded in principles of intercultural education, social-emotional learning, and trauma-sensitive practice, it equips educators with practical strategies to foster communication, belonging, and identity development. Participants engage in experiential activities such as non-verbal expression, storytelling, role-play, and collaborative performance, while critically reflecting on ethical considerations and classroom realities. The course emphasises the role of creative methodologies in overcoming language barriers, enhancing learner agency, and building inclusive classroom communities. By connecting theory with practice, participants will design adaptable, learner-centred activities that promote participation, empathy, and integration, in alignment with Erasmus+ priorities on inclusion, diversity, and equity in education.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
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Understand the educational needs and challenges of migrant and refugee learners
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Apply principles of inclusive, intercultural, and trauma-sensitive pedagogy
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Use drama-based techniques to support communication beyond language
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Facilitate storytelling activities that promote identity, voice, and belonging
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Design and implement role-play and dialogue activities to foster empathy and social integration
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Support language development through creative and participatory methods
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Create safe, inclusive classroom environments that encourage expression and participation
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Develop collaborative drama projects addressing themes of inclusion and diversity
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Reflect critically on ethical considerations in working with vulnerable learners
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Adapt drama-based methodologies to their own educational contexts
Methodology and Assessment
The course adopts an experiential, learner-centred methodology combining practical workshops, collaborative learning, reflection, and guided discussion. Participants engage in hands-on drama activities, peer exchange, and micro-teaching. Assessment is formative and continuous, based on active participation, reflective tasks, and the design of classroom-ready activities and action plans.
Materials, Digital Tools & Other Learning Resources
Participants will use a range of creative and digital tools, including storytelling prompts, visual stimuli, and collaborative platforms such as Padlet and Mentimeter. Additional resources include case studies, lesson templates, and open-access materials from platforms like eTwinning and the European School Education Platform (ESEP), supporting ongoing professional development.
Preparation
After registration participants will receive pre-course questionnaire which will be used by the trainer to learn about participants’ teaching backgrounds and to assess their exact needs. Before the beginning of the course a basic reading list will be suggested to participants to prepare for the training. Participants will also be asked to prepare a presentation about themselves, their professional context and their culture which will be presented during the course. Participants will receive information about the country they are going to visit in order to prepare them for their cultural experience.
Follow up
After the course participants will be asked to share what they have learned with the rest of the staff in their schools. Further books and articles to deepen the topic and contacts with some other practitioners all over Europe and in the world will be suggested by the trainer. The methods shared and explored and the bibliography given will allow the participants to complete and improve their educational path.
Certificate
Each participant will get a course attendance certificate and on request we will complete the Europass Mobility Document.
Accommodation
We do not directly offer accommodation and subsistence and participants are responsible for organizing it by themselves.
Paperwork
We also provide all the support with paperwork you might need for your Erasmus+ project documentation such as mobility agreement and registration letter.
Fee: 560 €
Cancelation policy
Free cancellation up to 30 days before the start. After that, the reservation is not refundable. Changes in name and profile of the participant are possible any time before the start of the course (replacement participants from the same school/org are accepted at any time). In case the school/org doesn't find a replacement, we will still offer a place at any of our confirmed courses later in the year without any additional costs but we can not guarantee that every course session will be confirmed and the school/org will only be offered to choose from already confirmed course sessions. In case it will not be possible for the participant to attend the course or for us to organize the course due to extraordinary circumstances (classified as such by the European Commission) which present themselves in the period of less than 30 days before the start of the course and we don’t manage to find an alternative solution, we will keep 50 % of the payment and refund the remaining balance of 50% to the payer’s bank account.
Draft Programme - 35 didactic hours
Day 1
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Welcome and introduction
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Outline of the programme
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Cultural exchange
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Warm ups and icebreakers
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Course expectations and needs analysis, setting up a collaborative learning environment and creating an educational contract
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Introduction to drama in education
Day 2
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Principles of inclusive and trauma-sensitive education
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Learner profiles
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Barriers to learning and participation
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Inclusion and language support through drama
Day 3
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Trust games and body awareness
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Expression beyond language
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Non-verbal storytelling techniques
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Strategies for scaffolding participation
Day 4
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The power of stories in identity formation
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Cultural storytelling traditions
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Empowering student voice through narrative
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Creating safe fictionalised or symbolic narratives
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Voluntary participation and boundaries
Day 5
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Role-play as a tool for empathy
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Exploring multiple perspectives
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Structured role-play scenarios
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Facilitating dialogue in diverse classrooms
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Managing sensitive topics and conflict
Day 6
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Drama for language development, dialogue and confidence
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Improvisation activities for communication skills
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Inclusive drama scenarios (belonging, identity, inclusion)
Day 7
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Design of personal implementation plan for supporting migrant and refugee learners through creative expression
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Presentation of outputs(personal implementation plans)
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Group reflection, feedback and discussion
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Dissemination strategy and European dimension
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Validation of the learning outcomes
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Evaluation of the course
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Closing session