There is growing evidence for the impact of arts engagement on later life cognition. However, confounding by socioeconomic factors may have led to an overestimation of this association. We analyzed data from 4,344 older adults in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. We measured participatory (e.g. painting, making music, crafts) and receptive (e.g.…

Students are often unmotivated to engage with their online coursework. Research has shown that concretely visualizing one's goals (e.g., photo-taking) can improve motivation to learn. This study explored the effect of taking a photo of one's study space (i.e., a "studygram" photo similar to a post on Instagram) on students' motivation to…

This paper shares preliminary findings from a reflective inquiry into the nature of collaboration and mentorship through digital spaces within a national SSHRC-funded research team the authors form a part of. Our research collaboration has been marked by particularly close friendships, co-creation and mutual learning that have helped to deepen our…

Commercial dance forms, specifically musical theater dance, remain highly marginalized within higher education research. This article presents the need to establish more scholarly research in musical theater dance and points out the ethnographic identity of the genre in our global society. Ethnographic study can be useful in validating musical…

Childhood states are commonly invoked by adult humans in derisory ways and as put-downs. While infantile and clownish ways of behaving are often met with insult, we argue that these ways of being could instead be seen in terms of their productive potential. Drawing on posthuman and feminist theories and invoking clownish qualities of Haraway's Bag…

This paper follows the author's trajectory as he collaboratively experimented with ethnodrama (theatre scripts generated from interviews, media artifacts, and written media) and devised theatre performance (theatre collaboratively created with a group), culminating in the analysis of a performance with high school students combining elements of…

Chuanjiang Haozi, a distinctive form of folk music originating from the Yangtze River Basin in Chongqing, China, serves as a unique cultural treasure, blending utility with artistic expression. This study aims to investigate the preservation and promotion of literacy through performing arts education in Chuanjiang Haozi in Chongqing Province,…

This text presents a novel experience in a university in the University of Granada (Andalusia, Spain) aimed at facilitating learning from the potential of the arts and applied theatre through the creation of a space open to the university and non-university community. The description and analysis of this experience as a case study shows us that…

We explored the semiotic choices children in grades 1-6 made that nurtured embodied, dramatizing performances in science classes at urban public schools, serving predominantly students of color in a large US city. We studied how such choices in school and home settings (when instruction was remote during the COVID-19 pandemic) were implicated in…

This article draws on ethnographic research to explore the re-membering pedagogy of Hmong immigrant educators. It explicates the ways in which the work of Hmong immigrant educators within a theater project recenters Hmong ethnicity, reveals marginalization, and re-affirms family. Our study significantly advances an understanding of re-membering…

This study examines the educational journey and professional challenges faced by performing artists holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree. Utilizing an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology, the research delves into the lived experiences of ten BFA holders in the performing arts, exploring their motivations, career…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research study was to examine if utilizing performing arts elements as teaching tools in large-group professional development (PD) sessions for K-12 educators increased educator engagement during PD. The problem of practice was the lack of K-12 educator engagement during large-group PD sessions. The…

The relevance of the work is justified by the situation when the art of plastics, choreography becomes the mean of expressing the author's intention. Art of plastic can afford author to express emotions and appeal to the spectator's emotions through choreography. The purpose of this article is to show abilities of researching the plastic art, as…

Using Augusto Boal's Theater of the Oppressed (1985) playmaking structures, students in an undergraduate education course, Educating for Social Justice, developed forum plays--brief improvisational scenes designed to provoke discussions of power imbalances. The plays focused on "gay rights," a topic the participants self-selected through…

Improv theater has expanded beyond a popular American form of entertainment into an educational experience for students and teachers. It may be difficult to imagine that an interactive, joyful, and collaborative improv workshop might be harmful, but our own experiences as professional improvisers led us to observe that even well-intentioned,…