The Influence of Classroom Drama on Teachers' Language and Students' On-Task Behavior

Abstract

Teacher language and students' on-task behavior were examined in language arts lessons with and without classroom drama in two self-contained third grade classrooms for students with learning disabilities and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Language arts lessons that integrated classroom drama were associated with significantly higher rates of teachers' assertive statements and lower rates of regulative statements. Language arts lessons using classroom drama were associated with higher rates of students' on-task behavior than conventional language arts lessons. The findings indicate that the classroom drama language arts setting influenced teachers' use of assertive and regulative discourse, and students' on-task behavior. The authors discuss the implications of arts integrated instruction for educational practice and research as well as policy.