This study investigated whether the Science on Stage, a theatre and drama project, taught middle-school students more about the lives and discoveries of great scientists and whether it helped them develop positive views and attitudes towards the science course and scientists. This 8-month study employed an embedded design. The sample consisted of…

The implementation of theatre as a didactic tool for teaching science provides a new perspective on the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in the construction of meaningful learning experiences. Gamification and collaborative work are functional strategies to teach scientific concepts in a creative way. However, there are still conceptual…

There is a knowledge gap in best practices for incorporating performance arts into science instructions. The study focused on the design and implementation of the Performance Arts Enhanced 3-Stage Instructional Model (PAEIM), which incorporated drama, dance and music. The PAEIM was implemented in mixed factorial quasi-experimental research during…

Students learn about science in a range of life contexts. Unfortunately, science classrooms are often disconnected from the ways of knowing about science that are embedded in, and embodied by, the life experiences of students. Drama has been identified as a potential means by which deeper understandings of the nature of science can be derived and…

This paper highlights an investigation of how middle school students responded to a theatre performance designed to portray science as a humanistic and relatable endeavour that youth -- similar to the youth in the audience -- engage in during their everyday lives. The play included in this study was generated as a part of a design research project…

Energy Theater is a dynamic, full-body activity that engages all students in representing the flow of energy in various phenomena, such as a light bulb burning steadily or a refrigerator cooling food. In Energy Theater, each participant acts as a unit of energy that has one form at a time. Regions on the floor correspond to objects in a physical…

This document provides Q&A with webinar presenter, Susan Riley. Riley's presentation looks at broad ideas of clarifying best practices in using arts integration (AI) and/or STEAM at any grade level. Questions cover topics such as: the creativity crisis in US schools, integrating art into math adult education (GED and ESL), theater arts in the…

This article discusses Al Souza's "Orlando City Maps," which was created not by adding colored ink to paper, but by cutting the printed paper away. Seven layers of pages are stacked upon one another and, except for the intact bottom layer, oval-shaped holes are cut through each page to reveal the layers below. When designing "Orlando City Maps,"…

With the increasing prominence of "How science works" in science courses in England and the imperative of equipping students to engage with the controversies thrown up by the advance of science, science departments need new teaching strategies. Here we describe the application of "Dramatic Enquiry" to GCSE science. The project,…

The federal "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" (NCLB) legislation required school districts to ensure that all teachers of core academic subjects met the requirements to be designated highly qualified by July 1, 2006. However, because no Maryland counties were able to comply with the 100 percent highly qualified designation by July 1,…

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)…