This course design integrates the use of contemplative practices, specifically applied improvisational theater, into writing pedagogies to foster mindfulness and critical engagement. It explores the theoretical, neuroscientific, and practical rationale for incorporating contemplative pedagogies in writing classrooms, arguing that applied improv…

The goal was to assess the effects of a Theatrical Improvisation programme on students' motor creativity. 163 Secondary Education students participated: the experimental group, who experienced a Theatrical Improvisation unit, and the comparison group, who experienced a Drama in Education unit (based on the current Spanish educational law). A…

Readers theatre technique is an interactive learning experience which promotes fluency and comprehension amongst learners. In the same vein, effective reading skills equip learners with requisite competence for a successful academic life. The study explored the effect of Readers theatre technique on learner achievement in reading skills. Lev…

This paper elaborates on the didactic implementation of musical theater with undergraduate education students. Students had to select, prepare, justify, design, elaborate, rehearse, stage, and record an educational tale that targets ecological and environmental values in its main plot or storyline. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation…

Theatre instructional techniques, including reader's theatre and process drama teaching strategies, have been employed as instructional strategies in classrooms to enhance reading comprehension and vocabulary learning in students. In this era of increasing accountability for educational outcomes, quantifying what, if any, impact such instructional…

This white paper presents a selection of model schools who all have, to some degree, fostered deeper learning. Schools were selected by internet search, or through references in "deeper learning" reports and documents. It should be noted that information in these reviews is based on information from school web-sites, in some cases the…

Faced with accountability pressures and limited resources, education policymakers make difficult choices regarding school curricula. In recent years, studies have documented a decreased emphasis in arts and humanities instruction. One potential way for schools to fill this gap includes partnering with arts and cultural organizations to provide…

This article describes a service-learning project designed to increase student group leadership self-efficacy and multicultural competence. Students facilitated debriefing groups for campus and community members after they participated in a theater production aimed at increasing awareness of oppression, power, and privilege. Students completed…

In a dominant Western tradition that reveres cerebral learning, embodied learning approaches have received limited research attention--and less in education than other disciplines. This paper draws on previously reported empirical data from a five-year Creative Partnerships study to argue that psycho-physical theatre practice can promote embodied…

Individuals with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFA) demonstrate atypical development resulting in significant deficits in the areas of perspective-taking and observational learning. These deficits lead to challenges in social interactions and academic performance. In particular, children with HFA tend to struggle with comprehending…

In 2010, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts (Wolf Trap), was awarded a U.S. Department of Education Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) grant. The purpose of the AEMDD grant was to develop, implement, and disseminate a research-based program of professional…

This article examines students' participation in Boalian Theater activities to role-play, rehearse, and develop strategies to use when bullied or witnessing bullying. One intention of the theater was for students to respond and to engage in perspective-taking and empathy as one of the ways of responding to bullying experiences and making sense of…

This study explores the experiences of male college students who participated in a theatre-based, peer-education, sexual assault prevention presentation. The program was established through the use of Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Theatre of the Oppressed, as well as multicultural feminist theory and approaches. These models emphasize subverting…

This is a qualitative assessment of a theater arts peace education program for high-school students. We present the results of qualitative interviews with students who participated in a peace education program. They tell us in their own words what they believe they learned. Given that most peace education evaluation is quantitative or focuses on…

The three papers and the pictorial essay that follow Rustom Bharucha's keynote all originated at "Theatre Applications" (Central School of Speech and Drama, London, April 2010). One theme of the conference was "cultural geographies of dislocation, place and space"; the three papers and pictorial essay respond to that theme. All…