Improvisation in teaching and education—roots and applications

• Main Authors: Kari Holdhus, Sissel Høisæter, Kjellfrid Mæland, Vigdis Vangsnes, Knut Steinar Engelsen, Magne Espeland, Åsmund Espeland
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2016-12-01
• Series: Cogent Education
• Subjects: improvisation; dialogue; structure; repertoire; teaching; teacher education
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1204142

The main aim of this review article is to understand and discuss the concept of improvisation as a professional skill for teacher educators. The literature review suggests that five academic traditions are especially relevant to examine: Rhetoric, music, theatre/drama, organizational theory and education. The dialogic, open-scripted, interactive and responsive aspects of improvisation are common features for all the traditions we have examined and could provide a common basis for improvisation as a key curricular concept in teaching, and hence teacher education. Every day teachers are challenged to act in accordance with the situational needs and requirements arising in different pedagogical situations. We have identified four different aspects of improvisation, which appear to be of crucial importance in any discussion about improvisation as a key concept in education: (1) Communication and dialogues: Communication in improvisation can be described along a continuum of two positions: From the internal process of communication itself to the external intended result of it. The purpose can also vary from emphasizing the effect on the audience to emphasizing the process of exploration. (2) Structure and design: All traditions claim that to be a good professional improviser, you have to be aware of and be skilled in planning and structural thinking. (3) Repertoire: Learnable repertoires, shaped by content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, are an underlying prerequisite for improvisation in education. (4) Context: Professional improvisational practices are context dependent and domain specific to a great extent.