{"id":{"repo_id":"montana-tech","oai_identifier":"oai:scholarworks.umt.edu:etd-2338"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/montana-tech/oai:scholarworks.umt.edu:etd-2338","repository":{"repo_id":"montana-tech","name":"Montana Technology","base_url":"https://scholarworks.umt.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Beginner's Mind: Teaching From a Position of Not Knowing","abstract":"Most students believe that their teachers are experts in all aspects of the field they teach in. In April of 2009 my drama students asked me to teach Commedia dell’Arte during the upcoming school year. I did have a strong knowledge of the subject but I decided to approach the project with a beginner’s mind and take a risk teaching a form of theatre I knew little about. Over the course of the school year, my students and I learned together. We researched the history, movement, and production elements of Commedia dell’Arte. The end result was a Commedia inspired performance where Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet collided with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While studying Commedia dell’Arte the students learned how to take risks, work together, write a show, produce a show, and enjoy the journey to an end result. I discovered that it is not necessary to be an expert in everything I teach. All it takes is a willingness to risk and approach the subject with a mind open to possibilities.","abstract_html":"Most students believe that their teachers are experts in all aspects of the field they teach in. In April of 2009 my drama students asked me to teach Commedia dell’Arte during the upcoming school year. I did have a strong knowledge of the subject but I decided to approach the project with a beginner’s mind and take a risk teaching a form of theatre I knew little about. Over the course of the school year, my students and I learned together. We researched the history, movement, and production elements of Commedia dell’Arte. The end result was a Commedia inspired performance where Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet collided with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While studying Commedia dell’Arte the students learned how to take risks, work together, write a show, produce a show, and enjoy the journey to an end result. I discovered that it is not necessary to be an expert in everything I teach. All it takes is a willingness to risk and approach the subject with a mind open to possibilities.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sullivan, Tara Lynn"],"institution":"University of Montana","degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:14:30Z","subjects":["Beginner's Mind","Commedia dell'Arte","Theatre"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/1319","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sullivan, Tara Lynn"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Montana"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Professional Paper"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Beginner's Mind","Commedia dell'Arte","Theatre"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/1319"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Most students believe that their teachers are experts in all aspects of the field they teach in. In April of 2009 my drama students asked me to teach Commedia dell’Arte during the upcoming school year. I did have a strong knowledge of the subject but I decided to approach the project with a beginner’s mind and take a risk teaching a form of theatre I knew little about. Over the course of the school year, my students and I learned together. We researched the history, movement, and production elements of Commedia dell’Arte. The end result was a Commedia inspired performance where Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet collided with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While studying Commedia dell’Arte the students learned how to take risks, work together, write a show, produce a show, and enjoy the journey to an end result. I discovered that it is not necessary to be an expert in everything I teach. All it takes is a willingness to risk and approach the subject with a mind open to possibilities."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Beginner's Mind: Teaching From a Position of Not Knowing"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Sullivan, Tara Lynn"],"dc:description.abstract":["Most students believe that their teachers are experts in all aspects of the field they teach in. In April of 2009 my drama students asked me to teach Commedia dell’Arte during the upcoming school year. I did have a strong knowledge of the subject but I decided to approach the project with a beginner’s mind and take a risk teaching a form of theatre I knew little about. Over the course of the school year, my students and I learned together. We researched the history, movement, and production elements of Commedia dell’Arte. The end result was a Commedia inspired performance where Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet collided with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While studying Commedia dell’Arte the students learned how to take risks, work together, write a show, produce a show, and enjoy the journey to an end result. I discovered that it is not necessary to be an expert in everything I teach. All it takes is a willingness to risk and approach the subject with a mind open to possibilities."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/1319"],"dc:publisher":["University of Montana"],"dc:subject":["Beginner's Mind","Commedia dell'Arte","Theatre"],"dc:title":["Beginner's Mind: Teaching From a Position of Not Knowing"],"dc:type":["Professional Paper"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:14:30Z"}