Defines theater as a medium in which students can channel their energies in positive and creative ways. Addresses the issue that major universities should concentrate on training secondary theater teachers rather than performance actors in order to improve theater education at the secondary level. Recommends a unification of the national theater…

The production of plays enables the students to associate themselves with the total matrix of the play--its social, political, economic, and cultural aspects; thus theater teaching should be ideally suited to learning cultural concepts about a specific country. This study tested a program of theater teaching against a more conventional teaching…

Includes an annotated bibliography of documents in the ERIC system that (1) provide insight on the value of role playing and dramatic play in the classroom and (2) suggest a variety of classroom activities that use improvisation as tool to help children retain ideas, emotions, or any academic lessons. (JD)

Emphasizes the educational benefits derived from research in dramatics arts. Cites research indicating that role playing has a positive effect on oral language, moral reasoning, and self-esteem. Points out that teachers and administrators do not include dramatic instruction in their curriculum, and offers ways to make dramatic arts more appealing.…

The full power of drama as both a teaching and learning medium can be realized only when the inner world of meaning is harnessed to the outer world of expressive action. The teacher has available a number of techniques that can involve the students in the vital interaction of both frames. To involve the students in the expressive frame, the…

Noting that new approaches must be found to decrease the numbers of inmates returning to United States prisons and to provide means for productive changes that will result in self-improvement and new options for inmates both inside and outside the prison after their release, a drama program was established in 1979 for inmates at the Federal…

Profiles Sherry Stidolph and her ongoing efforts to bring Shakespeare to children. Stidolph uses her knowledge of child development to decide which plays to choose and which elements to emphasize. Includes drawings by the children illustrating scenes from the plays. (MJP)

Interactive drama, a simplified form of drama, is a vehicle through which children can become involved with literature. When preservice teachers are presented with interactive drama in a college setting, it serves as an introduction to the simple, effective learning experiences available through informal drama activities. In an interactive drama,…

Describes the process through which a multiracial, urban elementary class of remedial students adapted the children's story, "Dr. DeSoto," for an in-class presentation. Expands on this example to discuss the role of drama in language, cognitive development, and problem solving. Includes extensive transcripts of the children's…