Drama in the Classroom: Boosting Emotional Intelligence, Trust, and Creativity

Bringing drama into the classroom is a fantastic way to make learning more engaging and create a comfortable, dynamic space for everyone. It’s much more than just putting on a play; it’s an effective method for building teamwork, sparking creativity, and really boosting emotional intelligence. When teachers use drama, they’re basically giving students a safe platform to mess around with new ideas, bond with classmates, and find their own voice.

From 25/01/2026 to 31/01/2026, a group of educators from across Europe gathered in Tenerife for the course “Drama in Education: Tools for Creativity, Trust, and Emotional Intelligence in the Classroom”. The participants in this group were: Maria, Donzília, and Corália, representing Agrupamento de Escolas Fernão do Pó (AEFP) in Portugal, and Ivana and Blaženka from Dječji vrtić Dječja mašta in Croatia.

The week started on Monday with introductions and a friendly talk about everyone’s expectations, what they could contribute, and any worries they had. The first sessions looked at the basic ideas of using drama in school, focusing on how it is different from—and similar to—acting in a traditional theater.

On Tuesday, the group focused on emotional intelligence using Daniel Goleman’s ideas. Through active drama games, participants explored the “emotions wheel” and practiced role-playing to build better social skills. They also learned storytelling methods and discussed how sharing stories can make school lessons much more interesting.

Wednesday’s activities were all about trust, working together, and improvisation. In small groups, everyone took part in a “10 quests” challenge. Each task taught them one of the ten rules of improv. This helped them see how teamwork and feeling like part of a group can truly change the way students learn.

Thursday looked at how drama can help students understand different cultures and celebrate diversity. Participants practiced performance activities that show the value of different backgrounds. The day also included a creative session on using music in the classroom to keep students interested and excited about learning.

On Friday, it was time to put everything together. The group looked at simple ways to use drama in different subjects, like languages, history, math, and science. For the final task, participants designed and presented their own original activities using the tools and ideas they gathered during the week.

By the end of the course, the group left with a great set of new strategies and a better understanding of how drama builds creativity and trust. The experience also helped teachers from different countries become friends, giving everyone fresh ideas and new energy to take back to their own students.

Discover more about this course here.