Gallery teachers are constantly searching for new ideas to better reach and connect with their audience. Professional development sessions often focus on what we say to our communities, but how often do museum education departments offer trainings that focus on basic principles of human interaction like listening and communication? Improv…

Innovative classroom-tested approaches to cross-cultural communication--diversity, equity, and inclusion--and personal and professional development are featured. Readers can explore 10 teaching creations debuted at the 2023 "My Favorite Assignment" sessions at the Association for Business Communication Annual International Conference…

In the leadership development sector, it is widely acknowledged that there is a gap between the theory and practice of leadership. Within the field, rapid changes in business, technology, political, and social factors have resulted in a genuine need for knowledge workers to put into practice leadership skills and to draw conclusions about the…

Consumer insights are all around us. Yet it can be difficult for students to examine everyday consumption practices and see how this understanding has application. Using the simple premise of a favorite family recipe, students learn how insight can be hidden in plain sight. Beginning with conducting an in-depth interview, the assignment gives…

Innovation and learning come together in a vibrant manner during dynamic arts education classes led by teachers who understand the importance of collaboration and student improvisation.

Art therapy can be particularly successful in addressing the specific needs of individuals struggling with anorexia nervosa (AN) through the use of the creative process. This article provides an understanding of the effect of malnourishment on the brain for individuals with AN and discusses how their unique needs can be met through the application…

In this essay, we center hip-hop culture and Black cultural legacies. We envision and offer a two-fold framework which illuminates the intersection between the two. We explore ways that the Black cultural experience (or better yet Black cultural praxis) has always brilliantly and organically demonstrated the shape and form of a scholarship of…

The present article introduces, develops, and illustrates a perspectival framework for the creative process drawing on current developments within the cultural psychology of creativity and the social theory of George Herbert Mead. The creative process is conceptualized as a form of action by which actors, materially and symbolically, alone and in…

Empathy development is foundational to counselor training, yet there is scant research on techniques for teaching empathy aside from traditional microskills models. The authors discuss empathy as a skill set, highlight how improvisation (improv) can be used to enhance training, and describe how to incorporate improv activities within the classroom.

The importance of STEM Education has become central to discussions about the future of schooling over the past 20 years. Predicated on the idea that a primary purpose of schooling is to prepare skilled and knowledgeable workers, these discussions have been grounded, in part, in cold-war era concerns about rapid advancements in STEM fields driven…

"Improvisational theater" is a collaborative art form in which performers co-construct unscripted narratives, often based on audience suggestions, and always guided by a set of central principles. One practice common in improv instructional settings is "side-coaching," the move of providing immediate, public, verbal feedback…

Work produced during a course of study in the creative arts may differ from assessment in other disciplines in the following ways: (1) it is non-text-based: work may consist of a performance, video recording, digital or interactive work, music composition, audio recording, or physical artefact; and (2) it is creative: works demonstrate individual…

An important aspect of Applied Improvisation and Applied Drama is using and perceiving the body. What happens when this room is virtual? Can adaptations be made to enable embodied work online without jeopardizing impact? This paper focuses on adaptations and inventions two academics have made to engage participants in online embodiment processes.…

As children with autism spectrum disorder become adults, social participation continues to be an area of need. Within creative arts, there is a growing body of literature about the use of theatre arts, improvisational theatre, and improvisational techniques as a way to address social participation for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The…

Artbooks, which are a combined form of picture and story book created using mixed media, can be a simple yet powerful way of supporting children affected by war and displacement to tell their stories. They allow children to work through the creative arts, which protects them from being overwhelmed by difficult memories. They also allow, even very…