Emma Thayer

Overview

I began my career as a Secondary and FE (Further Education) Drama teacher whilst simultaneously performing and directing in semi-professional productions in Cardiff. I trained with the Royal Shakespeare Company in partnership with Warwick University for three years as part of their Learning Performance Network, subsequently gaining a Postgraduate Certificate in The Teaching of Shakespeare. Through this experience and further training, I developed a passion for Drama as a vehicle for community cohesion. I designed and facilitated two large-scale Shakespeare projects – ‘Regional School’s Festival’ production of The Merchant of Venice (2012) and ‘Shakespeare on Film’ (2013). The aforementioned projects met a community agenda but were also nationally recognised – the BBC gave media coverage to both events and the ‘Regional School’s Festival’ took place as part of the ‘World Shakespeare Festival’ in conjunction with ‘The Cultural Olympiad’, 2012.

I was taken on as lecturer of Drama at Cardiff Metropolitan University in September, 2013 and developed several new undergraduate modules (‘Drama as a Cross-curricular Tool for Learning’, ‘Exploring the Teaching of Drama’ and ‘Other Theatres’) whilst undertaking my MA (Ed), which I completed in 2015. During my second academic year at Cardiff Met, I was appointed as a researcher for the British Council Wales as part of an International Professional Learning Community trip to Los Angeles, where I (along with my fellow delegates from the teaching profession) investigated the use of the Arts within Special Educational Needs contexts.

In 2016 I was successfully appointed as Programme Leader for PGCE Secondary Drama and have since continued to develop my research profile and professional practice. I am currently co-investigating (with other PGCE colleagues) cross-curricular approaches to teaching and learning within Initial Teacher Education in response to Donaldson’s Successful Futures (2015) curriculum reform recommendations.

Research Publications

Research Explorer Profile Visit the research portal