Author: Elana Shyong

I used to think that being a good educator meant having to know everything.Now I am seeing the importance and value of knowing how to ask. We’re moving away from the traditional “banking model of education,” where the teacher is the keeper of all knowledge, to something muchmorepowerful:co-construction of learning. Visible thinking routines like a…

✨ Exciting news! Next month, I’ll be in Singapore as a co-facilitator and MC for the TIYA Conference 2025. This event will be held at the beautiful Tzuchi Foundation Humanistic Youth Centre and bring together passionate young people from across Asia-Pacific to take action toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I’m very much looking…

At the end of last month, I joined my fellow trustees and members of ISTA – Global Learning Through the Arts for three days of in-person strategic planning meetings in The Hague. It was a full-circle moment I’m still so excited about – and proud of! As a student at Shanghai American School, I attended…

🎙️ It was such a pleasure to be interviewed for The Recess Rundown podcast last month. This podcast is run by #homeschoolers Maddie and Ella, two inspirational members of Recess, a digital platform where #kids are empowered to #design their own education. These young creators were so prepared, thoughtful, and professional, it truly felt like…

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐩! Every year I design and deliver an online drama in education programme for Ouch Theatre, an applied theatre company based in Nanjing, China. We just finished our last series on Sunday and I am feeling very proud of how much each participant has grown. Here are three top tips that I shared…

Every day I am reminded what a privilege it is to do what I love – play! Not just as performance or fun, but as a way of knowing, connecting, and engaging with the world around us. 🎭✨ From drama class in school to using it as a tool for creative self expression in university,…

After many rewarding years of running Learning Off Book drama clubs in international schools across Barcelona, I’m wrapping up this chapter… the final showcases this past week were bittersweet. So proud of the kids and missing them already! 💔🎭✨ What started as a spark of an idea with Phylly Jones and I nearly four years…

In 2025 I have been doing a monthly series of online drama in education workshops for a client based in Nanjing, China. Each month I introduce a different drama technique and how to apply it for education, and last month we explored the tool Split Stage! 🎭💻 In the photo, you can see the classic…

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑾𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔. 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝑬𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔.” – Lily, SEN Teacher, Participant Such lovely feedback to finish up my week. I just wrapped up a 5-day Drama in Education training…

𝑺𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 Drama in Education 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒓! 🌏🎭 ✨ After working with this applied theatre company online during the pandemic and delivering a successful in-person training last year, I’m honoured to be invited once again to lead a three-day professional development programme on Drama in…