DYCE
Developing Young People’s Empathy & Critical Thinking
WHAT IS DYCE?
DYCE School workshops give children & young people the opportunity to safely engage in a dialogue of empathy and critical thinking based on themes that acknowledge world events through fun & interactive process drama activities led by highly skilled facilitators.
WHAT IS PROCESS DRAMA?
Process drama is a method of teaching and learning where both the students and teacher are working in and out of role. It involves the group becoming part of a world where they are invited to take a walk in someone else’s shoes.
“…a task to be undertaken, a decision to be made, or a place to be explored.”
- Cecily O’Neil, Educator & Scholar
DYCE workshops are based on stories that are developed with young people at Unique Youth Theatre, ensuring the content is relevant to participants.
WHY NOW?
In a time when it feels like we are living all the worlds’ tragedies in real-time we want to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. We want to encourage hope. We co-develop all creative work with participants and focus on one theme annually that encapsulates the most pressing challenges for communities. DYCE was developed as part of our 2021-22 Snakes & Ladders season during which young people explored real life stories of survival in times of turmoil. The hope was that through these stories children and young people could strengthen their own resilience in the face of current events. Participants at our youth theatre service created a new play inspired by these stories, this play was then taken to schools as DYCE workshops. The stories that students at school explore as part of DYCE are relevant because they have been created by children and young people. DYCE participants are given the opportunity to explore difficult subjects in a safe space and always result in a positive outcome that encourages hope.
CHALLENGES ADDRESSED THROUGH WORKSHOPS
CHALLENGE ONE
Children & Young People are overwhelmed with the volume of extreme news.
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Children & Young People become apathetic leading to mental health struggles.
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Each workshop explores one clear story with clearly signposted moments where action can be taken. This gives participants the opportunity to focus on a problem one step at a time.
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Participants begin to learn to approach problems step-by-step without getting overwhelmed with the magnitude of the situation.
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Children & Young People have improved mental health.
CHALLENGE TWO
Children & Young People alone in their feelings about world events.
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Children & Young People become isolated from their community.
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Participants are invited to step into someone else’s shoes in the workshop and experience what it is like to be someone else.
Participants are encouraged to share their thoughts & feelings with staff and each other throughout the workshop.
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Participants are able to empathise with someone else’s experience and find human commonalities that are universal.
Participants begin to speak with others about what they think and how they feel.
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Children & Young People feel more connected with their community.
CHALLENGE THREE
Children & Young People feel powerless to make any significant or positive change.
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Children & Young People do not feel empowered to achieve their potential leading to struggles at school and in other aspects of their life.
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Participants get to experience a story in which they are faced with a challenge and have to overcome it within the workshop time.
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The experience of overcoming challenge gives participants the opportunity to experience success empowering them to face more challenges in the future.
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Children & Young People feel more resilient in the face of challenging world events.
WORKSHOPS
"I loved it because it was all about the community."
DYCE Workshop Participant, Stag Lane Primary School, 2022
HOPE ROAD
AREAS OF FOCUS
Migration, Social Media & Political Instability
AGE GROUP
Year 5 - Year 9
THE STORY
Hope Road? More like Hope-LESS Road. Broken, neglected and covered in potholes. But for the fishmongers, florists, gamers & librarians, it's home. Every morning the same routine: fish is delivered, causing a smell that enrages the florists; the librarians try to quieten the noise as the inevitable arguments ensue; people are reading books after all… only the brief silence is broken again with excited screeches, the gamers just broke through level four hundred and three! This is life until one day 'the officials' bring news - the road is being bulldozed! Who will be the first to go? Through a media storm, the residents have to make a decision about whether to blame each other or work together. The messaging from the officials is strong and as the shops begin to argue about who is the most important, the road is lost for everyone.
Having lost their homes they journey to New Avenue where life feels a little better except there’s a catch, they hate newcomers and there are always problems with 'the economy'. There are officials here too and all they care about is being elected and what better way to do so than to blame all their problems on the Hope Road disaster? Another media storm, this time against the newcomers. Hope Road residents are invited to look at their own choices before their home was destroyed and put their learning into action.
Will history repeat itself, will anyone ever learn?
ACTIVITIES
Focus & teamwork introduction
Definition of ‘Empathy’ & ‘Critical Thinking’
Physical exploration of Hope Road
Character assigning - Fishmonger, Florist, Gamer, Librarian
Announcement of the bulldozing - speeches about who should stay
Bulldozing & physical journey to New Avenue
New Avenue officials announcement
Point of learning - what mistake was made last time, how can we help New Avenue?
Creating advert in groups to teach New Avenue residents
BENEATH THE SURFACE
AREAS OF FOCUS
Overcoming Fears, Tolerance, Open-mindedness
AGE GROUP
Year 3 - Year 6
THE STORY
Do you remember how hard it was to be small when you were a child? For our young heroes it turns into a nightmare so frightening that they get transported to a world of Marshmallow, Sugar and Worcestershire Sauce monsters. Some children freeze, some fly, some shield, while others want explore the danger. Their instinct forces them to make a quick judgement, but could it be that the monsters aren't really scary at all?
ACTIVITIES
Wellbeing check-in
Focus & teamwork introduction
Definition of ‘Empathy’ & ‘Critical Thinking’
Physical exploration of falling asleep & magically landing on a shelf in the kitchen
Seeing ‘monsters’ on the shelf - fearing them at first
Character Assigning - Mr. Sugar, Marshmallow, Worcestershire Sauce, Cheerio
Learning about the ‘monster’ characters
Finding empath for ‘monsters’ through working with giant puppets
Each group creating a presentation of each character
Point of learning - Are they really monsters?
Saying goodbye and physical exploration back to the classroom.
Wellbeing check-out
Feedback gathered
THE SUPERMARKET
AREAS OF FOCUS
Cost-of-Living Crisis, Food Shortages, Gas Lighting
AGE GROUP
Year 6 - Year 11
THE STORY
Toilet paper shortages, counting single grains of sugar and impossibly high prices. You may call young people snowflakes but what we have all experienced in recent years is as we have heard countless times 'unprecedented'. This workshop takes you into the inner-workings of a Supermarket as a microcosm of what is going on in the wider world.
But who is to blame and how on earth do we stay sane through all the madness? Join this talented young cast as they try to figure out what is going on and how we got here.
ACTIVITIES
Wellbeing check-in
Focus & teamwork introduction
Definition of ‘Empathy’ & ‘Critical Thinking’
Physical exploration of a Supermarket
Character assigning - Stockroom Staff, Cafe Staff, Managers, Cashiers, Customers
Announcement about toilet paper shortages
Race to get the final toilet roll
Announcement about higher prices and cost-cutting
Group work - reactions to the announcements
Announcement from a ‘CEO’ that everyone is over-reacting
Point of learning - Are we over-reacting? Who is to blame?
Group work - plan for a better future
Wellbeing check-out
Feedback gathered
