Drawing from six-months of action research with spectacle theatre-makers in Chicago, this study explores multimodal, expeditionary practice of teaching artists who apprenticed girls through Redmoon Theatre's Dramagirls program. Concepts of new literacy design and aesthetic experience illustrate teaching in socio-semiotic and material worldcraft,…

This arts-based, qualitative teacher-researcher study considers how a group of mostly white high school students worked with their white facilitators to consider whiteness using Youth Participatory Action Research in conjunction with playbuilding and drama pedagogy. First, the author locates his reflexive stance. Then, relying on critical race…

In a high-school reading class, the author used Reader's Theater as an instructional and motivational strategy for underachieving students. This action research focused on the extent to which implementing Reader's Theater motivated students to read and improve their reading skills. Consistent increases in scores for all students occurred over the…

This article explores collective identity as a useful theoretical framework for understanding social and developmental processes that occur in youth programs. Through narrative analysis of past participant interviews (n = 21) from an after-school theater program, known as "The SOURCE", it was found that participants very clearly describe…

"The Wiley Handbook of Action Research in Education" is the first book to offer theoretical, conceptual, and applied/practical presentations of action research as it is found and conducted solely in educational settings. Covering primarily PK-12 educational settings, the book utilizes a cross-section of international authors and…

This article explores how short form/comedic improvisational theater impacts the development of writing fluency. Students in all disciplines need to be able to purposefully write, however by the time students reach high school many have already given up trying to express even their own thoughts in free writing. Two quasi-experimental action…

Contemporary thinking seems to be particularly interested in the investigation of the role of culture in socio-political life. This article presents aspects of a research project, undertaken in Greece, looking into whether a cultural product can foster intercultural communication and influence young people's perceptions of and attitudes to…

This document presents the proceedings of the 17th Annual Research Forum held June 29, 2012, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included herein are the following 25 action research papers: (1) "Reading and Writing": A Study Comparing the Strengths of Peer Review and Visible Author Writing Strategies (Elizabeth Behar); (2)…