Drama Education Research Articles

Learning English through Drama-Based Approach (DBA): A Pedagogical Stylistic Experiment with Pygmalion

This study explores the effectiveness of using a new approach called drama-based approach in helping to learn English language. This approach was pioneered by Dorothy Heathcote in 1950. Heathcote, a drama teacher, developed this technique to help young children communicate confidently in English. In this research, the same theatrical method is employed to enhance students' spoken English skills. The chosen medium for the dramatic activity is George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion (1916), focusing on selected passages relevant to English language learning. The research incorporates both qualitative and quantitative methods, demanding active participation from students in the play. They engaged by taking on various roles of characters, as opposed to being passive listeners under a teacher's direction. This research took place in Dera Ismail Khan at Government College No. 1, involving 5th semester students who were divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group. The experimental group performed the play through role-play and dialogue reading, while the control group read the play through traditional methods without any active engagement. The experimental study unfolded in three stages: a questionnaire, an intervention combined with improvisation, and an exam. Results were statistically measured and compared across both groups. The experimental group outperformed the control group in spoken English, demonstrating that a drama-based approach effectively facilitates the students in learning English language. This method allowed students to easily grasp themes, central message, linguistic elements, and character relationships, enhancing their understanding as well as their accents. The heightened engagement and enjoyment expressed by the students indicated a positive reception of this learning activity.

Making Curriculum Development Fun for Nurse Educator Graduate Students Through the Use of Play Pedagogy.

Curriculum development is an important topic for nurse educator students to understand. The process of curriculum development requires knowledge of state laws, accrediting bodies, and various curriculum models. Students learn about curriculum development through assignments such as a scaffolded group project where they create a hypothetical undergraduate nursing program. Nurse educator students and nurse faculty view curriculum development as complicated and dull. This article describes the transformation of a curriculum development assignment using sociocultural learning theory and play. Nurse educator students appreciated the assignment and stated it helped them understand the curriculum development process.

Theatre in the round: a study of the effectiveness of 360-degree video and VR to address critical questions in the teaching and learning of drama

ABSTRACT This research explored how 360-video when experienced through virtual reality (VR) might support higher education (HE) English Literature students to perceive critical issues in dramatic works. Previous research placed observers into dramatic action through 360 cameras on stage – but this can be disorienting in VR. It places viewers amid events unprecedentedly, rather than behind an imaginary fourth wall. To maximise possibilities of affective perspective-taking – which underpins classroom discussion and critical cognition – we located 360 cameras diegetically, giving viewers credible presences and enabling occupation of actor points-of-view. This allowed participants to compare points of view in the same scene, stimulating literary-critical discussion and heightening identification and engagement. Participants, however, struggled to articulate this through terminology pertinent to prior audience experience of theatre, film and televised production. The authors propose ‘critically embodied spectatorship’ as a means of building new conventions for talking about embodied spectatorship in 360/VR theatre, specifically in educational encounters. Limitations aside, this research finds that the positioning of a 360 camera to embody characters’ points-of-view is pedagogically effective, if resource intensive. Further research is required to lessen resource implications, expand our shared vocabulary, and build upon this work through designing pedagogic activities around a critically embodied spectatorship approach.

Reflections from the higher education classroom: the role of playful pedagogy in the professional formation of early childhood students

ABSTRACT This paper reports a small-scale qualitative inquiry in the discipline of Early Childhood Studies in Higher Education that explores how playfulness in pedagogy might create an environment in which people within the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector (including students) engage in dialogue about structural injustice. Participants in this study are 14 people (students, lecturers and people working for professional associations, trade unions or grassroots organisations) who attended a networking event hosted in a university classroom in March 2023. Data was collected through lecturers’ reflections on pedagogy and online semi-structured interviews that explored participants’ experiences. We found that adopting a playful pedagogy both created opportunities for resistance to injustice and disrupted hierarchies in the ECEC sector. Playfulness in the HE classroom supported collective expressions of professionalism in the form of solidarity and voice.

A Qualitative Study on the Case of Drama Education through Collaborative Classes with Theater Instructors

A Qualitative Study on the Case of Drama Education through Collaborative Classes with Theater Instructors

Creativity Cultivation in Primary School Drama Courses: An Exploratory Case Study

This study delves into the symbiotic relationship between drama education and the cultivation of creativity. By integrating insights from teaching practices and educational trends, it proposes novel teaching methodologies for drama courses to enhance creativity development. These courses emerge as potent tools for nurturing students' creative potential, employing professional and standardized guidance methodologies. Rooted in principles like drama element training, core literacy-focused teaching, thematic instruction, and organic integration, these methods collectively form a comprehensive framework for enriching drama education. Drama courses not only provide an effective educational avenue for fostering creativity but also offer aesthetic solutions that counteract the limitations of exam-centric education. By incorporating creativity-driven teaching practices inspired by national educational initiatives, these approaches aim to instill holistic and lifelong learning outcomes. This research underscores the transformative power of drama education in fostering creativity and enhancing educational practices, ultimately preparing students for the challenges of a dynamic and evolving world.

Conceptual PlayWorlds: A transformational model for children’s learning and development in an early childhood education setting in Indonesia

Structured and teacher-directed play focused on children’s academic outcomes has proven problematic in Indonesian early childhood education. This contrasts with the PlayWorlds model, which emphasises both the primary activity of play and conceptual learning. However, there has been little research in Indonesia on the pedagogical aspects of the PlayWorlds model in creating conditions for children’s learning and development. The purpose of this study is to highlight the distinctive pedagogical and contextual aspects of Indonesian PlayWorlds by investigating how the implementation of the PlayWorlds model creates conditions for children’s learning and development. Using cultural-historical concepts to analyse the data, the findings reveal a transformational model of PlayWorlds that highlights five key elements: teachers’ role as play partners, the dialectical meaning-making process, degrees of freedom, motives and contradictions, and the unity of emotion and cognition. This model is shown to support pedagogical concepts and practices by providing opportunities for children’s development in play through the integration of imaginative, cognitive and affective skills. It is argued that the transformative paradigm of PlayWorlds as an innovative play pedagogy holds promise for children’s learning and development, while recognising play as their primary activity.

The Significance and Influence of Drama Education on High School Students in the Eyes of the Public

Abstract: Drama is a distinctive art form that has the ability to portray the characteristics of its characters in a way that resonates with the audience, providing them with both education and enlightenment. In the performance, it is easy for people to have empathy, and they will look at things from the perspective of others so as to gain experience and improve their abilities. The primary focus of this study is to investigate the significant impact of drama education on students, as well as the varying attitudes towards drama among individuals of different age groups. Therefore, this article will observe oneself from the perspective of drama, interview the public and obtain information through searching. The article discusses the role of drama in providing insight into the lives of contemporary high school students, and further examines how it facilitates emotional expression among this demographic.

On the Application of Multiple Thinking in the Teaching of Drama, Film and Television Performance in Colleges and Universities

On the Application of Multiple Thinking in the Teaching of Drama, Film and Television Performance in Colleges and Universities

Exploring Play as the Nexus of Games and Playfulness

In this paper we provide an original theoretical framework for conceptualising the relationship between play, games, and playfulness. This framework is intended to support in understanding the different potential benefits and drawbacks of the use of games and playful approaches in universities. To evidence its significance across the sector, we apply the framework to seven different forms of play pedagogy used in Higher Education. First, we define and differentiate between games as problem-solving systems and playfulness as an engagement philosophy. We highlight the advantages of games as experiential learning environments and as intrinsically engaging tools, and the benefits of playfulness for promoting lusory attitudes within ludic communities. We argue that play – encompassing both an activity form and state of mind – can be conceived as the nexus of games and playfulness, bringing the affordances of both as well as additional synergistic benefits relating to the normalisation of failure. Second, we present a taxonomy of seven forms of playful learning in higher education that emerged from a large-scale literature review of the use of play in higher education over the past fifty years. These are: roleplay, simulations, traditional play, play worlds, ludification, playmaking, and alternate realities. This taxonomy is then tested against the literature base to provide a suite of examples of different ways in which playful learning encompass games and playfulness. We conclude by discussing the limitations and potential uses of this approach when applied to the practice of play as a pedagogy.

Time to rhyme!

Karen Hart, writer, early years practitioner and drama teacher, shares ways other practitioners can use and encorporate nursery rhymes into their practice to foster language and communication skills and support other areas of the EYFS.

Practitioners’ Experiences of School Readiness in Rural Early Childhood Centres in QwaQwa Free State, South Africa

The analysis of the school preparation experiences of rural early childhood practitioners. Multiple complex issues exist regarding school preparedness in South Africa. Research has found that many South African children are unprepared for formal schooling. Some of the challenges experienced by these young learners were low reading strength, learning setbacks and complications, and sluggish general development. As a result of these issues, young children face long-term repercussions. These include the inability to escape the cycle of poverty, lack of educational support, and poor socioeconomic conditions within their environment. Therefore, it can be argued that teaching within the South African public schooling context is marred with difficulties and unforeseen challenges. It is difficult to imagine how to modify South African infrastructure so all children can reach their full potential. Given that our ancient past is still rife with historical and power changes, the government must consider several factors while developing ways to aid transformation. This study investigated the perspectives of practitioners on school preparedness. At the same time, it investigates the significant learning at the grass-roots level that emerged from participation in a critical paradigm-based participatory action research project. The study is anchored in a philosophical methodology that leverages Practitioners’ idea that early childhood learners are ready for formal school. They do not emphasize play as a pedagogy for learning in preparation for school readiness. This paper is grounded in constructivism, which helps comprehend how school readiness knowledge improves formal education for young students. The author used the qualitative research approach with an interpretive paradigm to explore practitioners’ school readiness experiences. The author developed a semi-structured interview schedule to collect data from six practitioners in the Thabo-Mofutsanyana district in the Free State Province. The findings revealed practitioners lacked appropriate training and support in preparing young learners in ECD centres. Furthermore, practitioners lacked appropriate pedagogical skills to strengthen teaching and learning. The study recommended that practitioners receive ongoing professional teacher development in school readiness and use various teaching and learning strategies such as play pedagogy.

Exploratory evaluation of the pilot programme of Round Midnight Virtual Decisions: KNIVES Workshops, a VR-Based Violence Prevention Programme

Round Midnight is a creative arts company that specialises in the use of drama and technology in education. They piloted a series of Virtual Reality (VR) based workshops for children and young people across Birmingham, focusing on issues within communities such as knife crime and gang violence. An exploratory evaluation of the initial impact of the workshops was carried out in two Year Five and Year Six classes in a primary school in Birmingham. Quantitative and Qualitative pre- and post-survey data from children, and a teacher focus group, were used to assess the influence of the programme on the following: (1) Understanding knife crime, the misconceptions and why people may carry knives; (2) Understanding the dangers, consequences and implications of carrying knives; (3) Recognising loyal and trustworthy friendships; (4) Recognising how to resolve conflict safely.Survey data suggested a decrease in children’s self-reported likelihood of carrying a knife after they had participated in the workshops. The data suggested children had more in-depth knowledge of knife crime, including the misconceptions, consequences and impacts of carrying a knife after participating in the workshops. Children also showed an understanding of safe conflict resolution after the workshops. Overall, the data suggests that the pilot of the Round Midnight Virtual Decisions: KNIVES curriculum had a positive impact on children’s knowledge, understanding and attitudes toward knife crime. Practical applications are discussed.

Construction and Development of the National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for Drama and Film and Television Disciplines

Taking the National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center of the Central Academy of Drama as an example, this article explores the construction and development of the National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for the practical teaching of drama and film and television disciplines. The article first introduces the background and importance of the demonstration center and then analyzes in depth the construction content and achievements of the demonstration center from four aspects: practical teaching philosophy, practical teaching system, practical teaching resources, and practical teaching effects. Finally, the article summarizes the experience and shortcomings of the demonstration center and proposes future development directions and suggestions.

Drama in STEAM education: Possible approaches and connections to drama-based activities in STEAM education

AbstractDrama in Education (DiE) has been a well-known teaching technique for an active learning approach for students. It utilizes different forms of conventions to enhance a student's learning experience in the classroom, offering alternatives instead of the traditional teaching approaches. Drama can encourage students to learn and think critically and improve public speaking, communication, and confidence. The article portrays the use of drama activities in STEAM education by depicting the benefits and challenges. This study uses a qualitative approach to collect data, including relevant literature, descriptions of drama activities, and observation. The findings display that drama in STEAM education can improve and stimulate students' learning and knowledge in a particular subject. This study aimed to view 19 higher education students' perspectives of drama activities in STEAM. Two activities were completed during this pilot study and observations were made throughout the process. Furthermore, drama in STEAM stimulated the students, were more enthusiastic about exploring, examining and learning, socializing with their groupmates, and the confidence to perform.

A Study on College English Teaching Reform of Ideological and Political Education in the Curriculum to Improve Undergraduates’ Intercultural Communicative Competence

Traditional college English classes pay more attention to students’ language knowledge and skills, but not enough attention to their intercultural communicative competence, which makes many students unable to effectively carry out intercultural communicative and exchange. From the perspective of ideological and political education in the curriculum, this paper discusses how to integrate this concept into college English teaching design organically, and how to adopt educational drama mode to make innovative attempts on existing college English classroom activities, so as to help students better understand Chinese and Western cultures, guide them to correctly view cultural differences, and cultivate their intercultural awareness and ability.

A META ANALYSIS OF NOMINAL PHRASES WITH DRAMA AS HEAD NOUN AND MODIFIER

This study conducts a meta-analysis of nominal phrases with "drama" as the head noun and modifier, aiming to clarify the terminology within the field of drama education and address discrepancies in term usage across various linguistic contexts. Utilizing a quantitative approach, the research analyzes the frequency and usage patterns of drama-related terms in the British National Corpus (BNC) and Google Scholar. Significant disparities were found, indicating broader usage and diverse applications in Google Scholar compared to the BNC. The study highlights the need for standardized terminology to enhance communication and comparability in academic research. By defining key terms such as "drama activity," "drama play," and "educational drama," the analysis contributes to reducing ambiguities and fostering a more coherent dialogue within drama studies, thereby facilitating more effective educational practices and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Implementation Of The Project-Based Learning (PJBL) Model In The Dance And Drama Arts Education Course To Develop Student Creativity

This study aims to apply the Project Based Learning (PjBL) learning model to dance and drama education in the Elementary School Teacher Education Study Program, FIPP-Yogyakarta State University through art performances in developing student creativity for one semester. Project Based Learning (PjBL) is a learning model that centers on students using projects or activities as a means of learning to gain learning experiences, achieve attitude, knowledge and skill competencies. This research is a type of qualitative research with a descriptive method approach. The researcher conducted a study of dance and drama learning through the performing arts process in developing student creativity in the dance and drama education course. The subjects of the study were all fourth semester students at Yogyakarta State University who took the dance and drama education course in the 2023/2024 Academic Year. The results of this study show that the creativity of dance and drama works in art performances is very good, able to show good creativity, able to apply the project-based learning model, good teamwork and creativity, more independent, able to create new things and productive in managing performing arts management in the dance and drama process. The implementation of the project-based learning model was declared successful and a success in the dance and drama arts education course.

Research on Multicultural Drama Education Based on Self-determination Theory: A Case Study of "Hamlet"

In a multicultural context, drama education, as a distinctive pedagogical paradigm, facilitates the achievement of educational objectives effectively. Compared to traditional classrooms, student-centered instruction based on self-determination theory places greater emphasis on nurturing students' intrinsic motivation for learning. This article uses the high school Chinese literature text "Hamlet" as a case study, applying the perspectives of autonomy, competence, and relatedness—the three psychological needs of self-determination theory—to various aspects of practical teaching. This approach constructs a framework for multicultural drama education.

Exploring Interactive Roles in the Communication Through Drama Online Classroom in Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia

This qualitative study aims to identify and categorize interactive roles within a Malaysian tertiary drama classroom. It examines the impact of virtual interaction on students' language learning experiences when using drama to improve communication. Employing focus group discussions as the primary data collection method, this research involves 20 undergraduates enrolled in the Communication Through Drama (EPC522) course offered under the LG240 program, i.e., the Bachelor of Applied Language Studies-English for Professional Communication (Hons) in Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. The study is based on the Social Constructivist theory by Vygotsky (1962, 1978) and the Visible Thinking (VT) approach identified by Ritchhart (2006) as part of Project Zero (PZ) at Harvard University. Online platforms and tools utilized for interactive drama activities are specified in the study. The findings reveal the challenges faced in completing drama activities online and demonstrate that the implementation of VT routines enhances students' interactive roles and communication skills. Despite the challenges, students embraced this new educational experience that fosters a more interactive and student-centered environment. The implications of these findings for language education and drama pedagogy in Malaysia are discussed.