This educational action research aimed to explore how applied theatre and visual
activities can be tailored to meet the needs of Welcome Class teachers' pedagogy and be easily
implemented. The collaborative research process involved introducing ten 'd’accueil' Montreal
public elementary school teachers to a wide selection of drama games and performative and
visual activities during two research workshop sessions in the spring of 2024. To improve
communication and understand the socioemotional and linguistic needs of their immigrant,
refugee, and asylum seeker students, the teachers applied new activities in their classrooms
between the first and second workshop sessions. They maintained an 'Activity Journal' to
document their personal process of facilitating, noting students' reactions and outcomes, and
reflecting by sharing with the researcher and their peers and offering modifications to the
activities. This collaborative method enabled and encouraged participants to share experiences,
support each other with resources, and enrich their curricula.
The research outcomes revealed constant struggles teachers encounter, such as a lack of
communication with families due to linguistic and cultural differences related behaviours, pre-
and post-migration traumatic outbursts, and a lack of personal support from their institutions.