The Health and Creative Drama Workshop Was Held at the Healthy Development Platform

On February 29, 2024, between 14:00 and 16:00, students from the Faculty of Health Sciences attended the event; The event began with a speech by Asst. Prof. Nurten ELKİN, the Addiction Combat Coordinator at Istanbul Development University and the Head of the Child Development Department. ELKİN briefly explained the concepts of health and creative drama and their relationship, then handed over the floor to the instructor of the event, Instructor Buse KERİGAN.

KERİGAN, before moving on to workshop activities, discussed fundamental concepts related to creative drama. She talked about the purpose and importance of creative drama, and as students of the Child Development department, she mentioned the gains that could be obtained when they embark on their profession by using this method with children. In her speech, she said, "Creative drama is when a group, guided by an instructor in a specific space, enacts scenarios based on their own experiences around a particular topic using role-playing and improvisation techniques. The processes of creative drama are based on spontaneity, pretending, and role-playing. Creative drama can be effective in achieving many goals in solving problems encountered in educational programs and in the development of programs. Based on this, the general aim of creative drama is to raise individuals who are creative, self-sufficient, self-aware, able to communicate with their surroundings, and able to develop these skills, with enhanced expressive power and forms, capable of imaginative thinking, and with developed aesthetic concerns, democratic attitudes, and behaviors, through enactments by children, adolescents, and young people in all areas. Looking at what creative drama offers to children, it enables physical activity and assists in physical development. It teaches to be participatory rather than passive. It teaches the use of body language. It facilitates self-expression. It fosters public speaking skills. It helps to shed shyness and stiffness, increasing self-confidence." Then, the workshop activities began. At the end of the workshop, students' evaluations were collected, and the event concluded.