Experimenting with Roles in Adolescence: Applying Drama for Constructing the Zone of Proximal Development

Abstract

In 2019 a multidisciplinary research project “Digital Storytelling Theater” was launched in Moscow State University of Psychology and Education. The project aims at elaborating, evaluating, and introducing drama technologies into secondary school settings with the goal of applying them as a powerful tool for learning and development. The article focuses on the ways, in which drama can be used for constructing the zone of proximal development in adolescence. It is argued that not any kind of drama-based activities is consistent with the principles of a developing environment in the framework of the Cultural-Historical Paradigm. Creating such a setting is a challenging research task, which requires organization of such types of activity and interaction as role exchanges and reflexive communication. On the example of creating a play with a class of adolescents, it is demonstrated how drama, based on role experimenting, can contribute to overcoming group contradictions, boosting learning motivation and turning personal “pereghivanije” into a resource for development (on the experience of living through the pandemic of COVID-19).