DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project has been my own personal journey of highs and lows and self-discovery. The character of Bilbo in J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, has helped me remember that this journey is not at an end but just the beginning. Bilbo expressed this in the poem called, A Walking Poem, by saying, “The road goes ever on and on. Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the road has gone, and I must follow if I can, pursuing it with eager feet, until it joins some larger way, where many paths and errands meet…” As I end this journey, I realize that only I can reach the heart of who I am by accepting challenges that promote self-discovery of the unknown but also embraces the beauty and courage that lies within. In this amazing journey some exceptional individuals are listed below. I wish to acknowledge my mentor Dr. Bates, who helped me realize that thinking critically is about expanding beyond my own beliefs and values and to think with logic and questioning helps develop well thought ideas for problem solving as well as being socially responsible and to take that knowledge and help others. I also want to thank him for the time he dedicated to helping me. Professor Goldbogen, thank you for introducing me to the life of drama-based instruction and the philosophy of what it stands for in the introspection of creative growth, but also as a teacher who wants to create an environment that reaches out to all students to become culturally and socially responsible and to live in a world that has endless possibilities of the, “What ifs?” And last but not least my family, who has given me the time and consideration to complete this project, especially my husband Rob who has given me the best gift of all which is unconditional love. I dedicate this book to my children, I love you! DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 3 Table of Contents NATURE OF THE PROBLEM...................................................................................................... 6 Literature Review........................................................................................................................... 8 Passive vs Active Pedagogies ..................................................................................................... 8 Teaching Strategies for Student Engagement ........................................................................... 11 Drama-Based Pedagogy ............................................................................................................ 12 Strategies Used in Drama-Based Pedagogy .............................................................................. 16 Research in Drama-Based Pedagogy ........................................................................................ 21 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 24 PURPOSE .................................................................................................................................... 24 METHOD .................................................................................................................................... 25 Participants ............................................................................................................................... 26 Procedures ................................................................................................................................ 26 DAILY REFLECTIONS .............................................................................................................. 27 DISSCUSION ............................................................................................................................... 47 Optimum engagement ............................................................................................................... 48 Social learning theory was prevalent in every drama-based activity ........................................ 51 The physical layout of a classroom is important ...................................................................... 54 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 55 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 58 DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 4 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................. 62 Appendix A: Informed Consent ................................................................................................ 63 Appendix B: Outline of Lesson Plans ....................................................................................... 66 Appendix C: Communities List ................................................................................................ 68 Appendix D: Who Me? Worksheet........................................................................................... 69 Appendix E: Puzzle Piece Poster .............................................................................................. 70 Appendix F: Categories of Items in Rural and Urban Areas .................................................... 71 Appendix G: Tally Marks with Reasons/ Worksheet for Agree or Disagree ........................... 72 Appendix H: Poster Dialogue ................................................................................................... 73 Appendix I: South Ogden City Council Letters ........................................................................ 75 DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 5 ABSTRACT The purpose of this action research project is to use and evaluate how drama-based instruction can help students be actively engaged in a classroom by creating an environment of collaboration, and trust, while incorporating a deeper level of thinking through dialogical-meaning making as well as using problem posing learning instruction. The data was composed by using journal entries and video recordings to analyze and find emergent themes that would support the effectiveness of using drama-based instruction within a classroom. Following the analysis, the data showed that high engagement ensued when drama-based instruction had opportunities for students to use physical movement as a way to show meaning for expressing an idea for a concept or problem that was being taught. Students were also engaged when they were faced with a problem that was relatable to them with opportunities to use Vygotsky’s social learning philosophy to understand different perspectives, strategies and ideas to solve their own struggles while building and reflecting on important pro-social skills within a classroom DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 6 NATURE OF THE PROBLEM Some teachers give classroom instruction that is teacher- directed with a focus on filling empty minds with knowledge (Freire,1972). The worksheets, lectures, and basal reading tasks they use fail to help develop a student’s construction of knowledge (Drafke, Schoenbachler & Gordon, 1996). While explicit instruction can be important to lay down the foundations of basic skills or for pre-assessing background knowledge, teachers may struggle with keeping students engaged during these times, especially if the teacher is doing most of the talking or sends the students off to complete individual tasks. Student engagement is enhanced when students have autonomy, competence and can connect with one another (Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier & Ryan, 1991). These feelings are important for social constructivist teaching (Lee, Patall, Cawthorn, & Steingut, 2015), as students actively construct meaning and share ideas. Through social interaction, according to Piaget, understandings can be challenged and the resulting cognitive dissonance can lead to additional knowledge and construction (Lee et al., 2015; Richardson, 2005). Students need to think critically about questions in the classroom by making real life connections and showing a high interest in the content. The autonomy students experience by taking direct action and making choices through the learning process gives them the opportunity to become committed and achieve greater success (Lee et al., 2015; Deci et al., 1991). Students like to experience competence with a level of productiveness in their environment while connecting or sharing their ideas with other students, which can also create a sense of belonging or strong emotional bond with other participants in the classroom (Lee et al., 2015). The problem is that teachers may not be actively engaging students in the classroom, which can lead to students having poor attendance or even consider dropping out when they DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 7 reach high school (Schussler, 2009, p.115). Some teachers are still using traditional textbook methods with worksheets, including fill-in-the-blanks or complete-the-sentence activities. Students are also passively engaged when the instructors do all the talking without using thoughtful reflection on what the students might think in regards to the content that is being taught (Freire, 1972). In addition, the information they would like students to recall can often be disconnected from appropriate contexts. “Research has shown over and over again that meaningful information is better remembered than meaningless information” (Rose, Parks & Andros, 2000 p. 6). Drama-based pedagogy is one effective way to help students engage and explore different possibilities for real world problems while creating a community of trust and respect with fellow students. Drama-based pedagogy is based on Boal’s (2000) ideas of active participation from all student’s in creating and reflecting on given information while building on the ideas of others within the classroom. Boal’s approach is constructivist in that it encourages active participation and problem-solving through dialogue between students and the facilitator, supporting inquiry and the use of multiple sources while demonstrating understandings in multiple ways (Windschitl, 1999). The teacher’s role in Drama-based pedagogy is to act as a facilitator through various theatre games and techniques so that the students will solve the problems at hand using questioning techniques and reflection responses that are non-biased and non-judgmental (Dawson & Lee, 2018). The students have to work together and decide for themselves which solution or ideas would make the most sense in the world they are part of and then put those thoughts into action. DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 8 Literature Review Drama-based pedagogy is a promising alternative to some of the traditional methods of teaching described above. In this literature review I want to show how drama-based pedagogy can fulfill three basic psychological needs of students (competence, relatedness, and autonomy) within a classroom. I will start by first examining passive and active learning pedagogies and the importance of student engagement (Deci, et al., 1991; Freire, 1972; Goss & Sonnemann, 2017, Ryan & Deci, 2000). Next, I will define the purpose and philosophy behind drama-based pedagogy and how it can be beneficial to students, especially when it comes to creating an environment of active engagement (Boal, 2000; Dawson & Lee, 2018; Lindqvist, 2003; Needlands, 2009; Norris, 2000). This can happen by using different theories such as dialogical meaning making which helps students with critical thinking skills while incorporating aesthetic, and affective techniques that help tie in emotions to meanings of instructional content (Dawson & Lee, 2018). In the third section, I incorporate a broad view of different drama-based strategies that can be infused throughout lesson plans in various subjects (Dawson & Lee, 2018). Finally, I summarize the research that has been done on drama-based pedagogy and how it relates to higher student engagement, which in turn promotes greater academic success within the classroom (Fernsler, 2003; Lee et al., 2015; McCammon & Betts, 1999; Rose, et al., 2000). Passive vs Active Pedagogies Lecture-based learning in the classroom is focused on filling empty minds with knowledge (Freire, 1972; Dawson & Lee, 2018). Instruction of this nature that is one-sided can inhibit student engagement (Drafke et al., 1996). Some teachers that use teacher-focused instruction believe that students do not have to be active in the teacher/learning environment to DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 9 be successful, only that they acquire knowledge through transmission (Struyven, Dochy, & Janssens, 2010 p. 44). Many teachers are still using a worksheet-oriented pedagogy that utilizes traditional content and organization throughout the classroom (Drafke et al., 1996 p. 2). Acclaimed Brazilian educator and philosopher, Paulo Freire has called a teacher-centered approach the banking concept (1972). In this concept teachers act as the sole narrators of instructional content while students passively listen, disengaged from what is being taught because it has little relevance to their own personal lives (Freire, 2000). Teachers may or may not realize that they are delivering informational content in monotonous ways as they focus on the expectation that students will memorize and recall given information (Freire, 2000). However, this method of teaching can have some negative implications for learning. Freire describes how one-sided instruction undermines the student’s ability to reach critical consciousness which is essential for creativity and innovation. Plus, the monotony of memorizing can in itself be disempowering; students disengage from with what is being taught and retreat into a passive state of mind, accepting that someone else has all the answers and they are just a merely objects of the world in which they live in (Freire, 2000). This ideology can suppress a students’ desires or motivations to learn more or transfer knowledge into their own personal lives (Freire, 2000, Deci et al.,1991). Some ways that students can show that they are disengaged and disinterested can include avoiding school work, talking out of turn, disrupting the lesson, or just passively sitting and not listening to what is being said throughout the lesson (Goss & Sonnemann, 2017). The students who are quiet and never talk or avoid active participation are at the greatest risk of academic failure (Goss & Sonnemann, 2017). In order for students to be engaged as active participants in DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 10 their learning environments, they have to be intrinsically motivated with three important needs, the need for competence, autonomy, and relatedness (Deci et al., 1991; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Competence, as described by Ryan & Deci (2000), comes from the student’s ability to perceive and produce a successful outcome or result from a classroom activity. Feeling of competence are enhanced when students receive meaningful feedback from their instructors. This feedback requires instructors to use scaffolding techniques with thoughtful reflection throughout a classroom activity. Without a feeling of competence students cannot derive personal value or feel connected to the activity that is being performed. Next, Ryan and Deci (2000) discuss autonomy. Stefanou, Perencevich, DiCintio, and Turner (2004) describe autonomy in terms of student choice and self-rule within the classroom. They suggest that all teachers should strive to facilitate an autonomy-supported classroom and describe some strategies. Autonomy is where students have choice and self-rule within the classroom. For example, teachers can have students choose the materials they will use for learning concepts, let them decide due dates for given assignments, or choose different ways to demonstrate understanding such as with drawings, oral representations, graphic organizers and so on. When students are in a controlling environment with rewards, threats, and imposed goals, autonomy diminishes, which leads students to disinterest, anxiety, and poor coping skills (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Finally, Ryan & Deci (2000) identify relatedness as a basic psychological need and another important factor for being intrinsically motivated. They associate relatedness with feelings of belonging, safety, and security, coming from the supported and respect that is incorporated within the classroom. Conversely, when students feel ignored or have teachers that were uncaring or cold they are more likely to feel disconnected and unmotivated. According to DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 11 Freire (2000), students who are taught in an oppressive environment will eventually find a disequilibrium to their environment and seek to find balance within their current situation by liberating themselves from this kind of oppression. Some ways to tell if a student is engaged in their environment can be showing up on time, finishing their work or exhibiting prosocial behavior within the classroom (Christenson et al., 2008). Students who are engaged come with an attitude of wanting to learn and persistence in order to learn while having goals of high academic achievement (Christenson et al., 2008). Students who are highly engaged within the educational system tend to have better recall and are considered well-adjusted, which means students handle life’s difficulties with a sense of purpose to overcome and succeed (Deci et al., 1991). Teaching Strategies for Student Engagement Teachers need to take into account the different approaches for obtaining student engagement within their classroom (Struyven, et al., 2010). One idea that teachers need to reflect on is whether the students are being guided or controlled. Some teachers find it hard to relinquish control to their students because of the ongoing pressure of testing or the teachers themselves feel like they are being controlled by their supervisors (Deci et al.,1991; Pelletier, Séquin-Lévesque & Legault, 2002). However, teachers have the opportunity to include students in the decision-making process of how they want to learn. Some of those decisions could be shared by letting students help co-create the syllabus or design the assessment tools (Wingfield & Black, 2005). Teachers who foster an environment of positivity and constructive feedback can increase the motivation of individual students (Deci et al, 1991). Educators should set high expectations for students while delivering quality instruction, with excitement, for the given content being taught (Christenson et al., 2008, Schussler, 2009). Students need to be challenged and DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 12 accommodated in order to succeed (Christenson et al., 2008). In order for that to happen teachers need do everything they can to facilitate success (Schussler, 2009 p. 117). Teachers can do that by having keen awareness of how students demonstrate understanding for the content that is being taught and making adjustments such as supplemental support or changing teaching techniques to match student’s learning style (Christenson et al., 2008; Schussler, 2009). Student engagement increases when instructors take the time to show interest in student’s lives and teach relevance of material by using deeper connections and meaningful dialogue related to students’ real lives (Dawson & Lee, 2018; Christenson et al., 2008, Schussler, 2009). Using authentic tasks can create problem posing situations that reflect what students might face in real life (Schussler, 2009 p.119). By using problem-based learning students can learn important thinking skills that are required to make well-informed decisions. Some of those skills include brainstorming options, investigating, and finding evidence to provide the best choice or solution to a problem that is being presented (Swartz, Costa, Beyer, Reagan & Kallick, 2007). Drama-Based Pedagogy In drama-based pedagogy, all the ideas for student engagement as mentioned above supports active engagement within this pedagogy. Drama-based pedagogy has been introduced and practiced since the 1960s (Applied Drama. (n.d.). One particularly influential resource is Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed (2000), in which he introduced theatre-based games as a way to assign a voice to the minority or otherwise marginalized groups of society. A key aim in his book is to enhance awareness among the working classes, who struggle in an environment of oppression in which they feel they have no voice or platform to be heard. Boal offers an alternative solution to the working class by having them participate in theater games where DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 13 people can be heard in a collective way amongst peers who collaborate in finding solutions and taking action through theater in order to resolve or reshape their real-life struggles. In a recent book publication, Drama-based pedagogy, Activating Learning Across the Curriculum (2018), authors Katie Dawson and Bridget Kiger Lee introduce some concepts of using theatre games within an educational environment. They build upon the same theory as Boal but within a school setting where students need to have the power to be heard. This book, like Boal’s, also implements the philosophy of critical pedagogy from Freire who proclaims that education should be an environment of humanization which includes thoughtful interaction and reflection from both the educator and students. Dawson and Lee (2018) have outlined three themes that should be taken into consideration while using drama-based pedagogy in the classroom they are: the use of active and dramatic approaches, supporting academic, affective, and aesthetic learning and using dialogic meaning-making while teaching drama-based lessons. Use of active and dramatic approaches in Drama-based Pedagogy according to Dawson and Lee (2018) includes creating an ensemble or group of students that uses the body and mind while applying movement as a way of expression (Boal, 2000, Dawson & Lee, 2018). Students learn to trust and respect their classmates with a distribution of power and a commitment to the artistic process that is being encountered (Needlands, 2009). When creating an ensemble amongst students, there has to be active participation by everyone in using different types of physical engagement in order to create an embodiment of ideas that are visible for others to see. In this way, ideas can build and grow from collaboration in order to solve problems or overcome challenges that are presented in and out of the classroom (Boal, 2000, Dawson & Lee, 2016, Howard, 2004). In a dramatic ensemble student can demonstrate who they are and what they are DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 14 learning from the lesson with careful reflection from other students while observing or exploring different perspectives (see also Dawson & Lee, 2018). Active use of imagination is essential to create and reinvent concepts to make new meaning within the world that you live in (Dawson & Lee, 2018, Freire, 2000). If you want change, you have to make it happen instead of waiting for someone else to determine and enforce a solution (Boal, 2000; Howard, 2004). Theater creates an opportunity to actively create solutions and test solutions within the boundaries of trust and nonjudgment (Boal, 2000; Dawson & Lee, 2018, Howard, 2004). It is through the power of theatre that students can live beyond themselves and become empowered to take action (Dawson & Lee, 2018). Next, drama supports the academic, affective and aesthetic part of learning (Dawson & Lee, 2018). Drama-based pedagogy can encompass all aspects of the mind such as thinking, feeling, and creating ideas which comes from observing and interpreting other student’s ideas as well as their own (Dawson & Lee, 2018). This type of pedagogy creates a culture and community of learners that can empathize with one another by sharing their own unique experiences about what is being discovered or taught (Boal, 2000; Dawson & Lee, 2018). A Psychologist Lev Vygotsky believed that thinking and feelings (emotions) are dependent upon each other in regards to understanding and interpreting the world around us and that emotion is interpreted by our conscious by using our imagination therefore consciousness is what ties emotion with meaning (Lindqvist, 2003 p.248). Students learn to observe, analyze and interpret meaning through symbolic representation of ideas and concepts that they have learned through theatre games or activities (Dawson & Lee, 2018). Drama-based pedagogy helps develop personal and social skills that helps students with their self-management and interpersonal skills (Needlands, 2009) This pedagogy encourages high levels of social intelligences by accepting DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 15 everyone in authentic ways, while realizing we make mistakes therefore developing a social conscious (Needland, 2009, cited in Orlik, 1978; Sternberg et al. 1981). Dialogical meaning-making is using a process of dialogic and social meaning throughout the content of drama-based play (Needland, 2009 p. 183). Drama-based pedagogy promotes creating an interactive exchange of dialogue that includes, questioning, listening and responding to one another’s ideas (Dawson & Lee, 2018). The role of the teacher is to facilitate throughout this learning process by making the dialogical process intentional, explicit and a shared process (Dawson & Lee, 2018). The teacher can choose to complicate students discussions by intermittingly inserting a new problem within the existing problem that needs to be resolved (Boal, 2000; Dawson & Lee, 2018). Problem-posing in education has been discussed at length by Paulo Freire (1970) who writes by using problem-posing techniques you are opening the dialogue to creativeness with reflectiveness that requires genuine inquiry and the transformation of becoming or unfinished with different outcomes in the realization that education or life itself is an ongoing process without an end. Drama-based pedagogy embraces this ideology through active collaboration of reflecting and questioning by describing and analyzing, while generating the “what if” factor of making change in the world that we live in (Boal, 2000; Dawson & Lee, 2018, Norris, 2000). In drama-based pedagogy Dawson & Lee (2016 p.26) incorporated the system of describe, analyze, and relate (DAR) which is used to evaluate the knowledge and understanding that students show throughout each drama-based activity. This process includes describing what you see while making inference and predications (Dawson & Lee, 2018). The next step includes analyzing your observations by making interpretations about what is being shown or discovered through drama-based play (Dawson & Lee, 2018). At the end of each drama-based activity DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 16 opportunities should be made to relate back to the question or problem that was being posed or introduced from the beginning of the lesson (Dawson & Lee, 2018 p.27). It is through this process that we can create what Boal describes as a collaboration of ideas that restores true dialogue and creates space for students to begin to think and take action (Saxon, n.d., p.1) As a facilitator, the teacher explains the rules of a drama-based activity while ensuring all contributions from students. The teacher can clarify meaning of ideas by asking questions, however the teacher is not to twist or shape student’s meaning to conform to their own perspectives or ideas (Boal, 2000). The teacher can direct the speed of the discussion and add layers of complexity or freeze (students remain still) to clarify what is being said during the activity (Saxon, n.d., p.4) One hazard that teachers should be aware of is that the dialogue should be directed to the students that are in the room. Teachers or students should never assume what other students who are not participating in the given activity would think or do in any given situation (Saxon, n.d.). Creating an image of people who are not present can result in stereotypes (Saxon, n.d., p.6). Strategies Used in Drama-Based Pedagogy There are a lot of activities that are outlined in the book by Dawson & Lee (2018) to help teachers facilitate and use drama-based activities according to their needs within a lesson. In the book, the activities are divided into three sections: Activating Dialogue, Theatre Game as a Metaphor, Image Work, and Role Work. In each of these sections there are different theatre games with the purpose to get students to engage, reflect, and think while creating an environment of trust and respect. Below is a broad overview of these different sections presented in Dawson & Lee’s book titled, Drama-Based Pedagogy; Activating Learning Across the Curriculum (2018). DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 17 Activating Dialogue activities are used to begin a dialogue with students in order to connect prior knowledge and current experiences with a reflection to how their experiences connect within the real world. The use of dialogue can be used in verbal or written text-based form which encourages students to use written or visual literacy to share multiple views or ideas throughout the classroom. Students can use embodied dialogue by using their body to create words. These activities can be used to create meaningful dialogue that helps students find ways to think critically and connect beyond their own ideas and see multiple perspectives in verbal, written, and physical ways. Some different activities that you could use to demonstrate activating dialogue in verbal, text, or physical movement could be using theatre games such as, check in, poster dialogue, and vote with your feet. In the theatre game called Check In you are sitting in a circle with the facilitator giving an open-ended prompt such as, (Today I’m feeling….). As a facilitator you can choose how much time students have to give their answer. The facilitator should also allow enough time for students to think about what they want to say. Once a student has finished the prompt they can say “Checked-In” to finish their turn and then the next student can proceed with their answer until everyone has had a turn. Poster dialogue gives students opportunities to use written expression to demonstrate their understanding in the dialogical meaning making process. Poster Dialogue starts with several poster sized pieces of papers that has an open-ended statement or question. The students can walk around and respond to the different posters by making a written remark to the statement or question. If students finish early, they can write comments to other students’ responses. The next theatre game called vote with your feet uses embodied dialogue that emphasizes physical movement as a way to express your opinions and ideas. In order to vote with your feet, the facilitator creates a statement on a certain topic, for example you could say “Learning is easy!” Students could move to agree or disagree DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 18 position by using a straight line and setting the two different arguments on either side of the line. Students could choose to stand anywhere in between the two points and then turn to a partner close by and explain why they chose that particular spot (Dawson & Lee, 2018). Theatre Games as a Metaphor sets up a framework where students can work towards a goal of creating trust or focus in an ensemble or using specific activities to explore setting, story and character within a language art setting including social studies and history. Some activities in this category enables students to explore and examine power or relationship struggles while incorporating problem-solving strategies that promote critical thinking of systems of power and how those systems define individuals’ lives. In creating trust and collaboration sometimes it is important to start with a warm up or ice breaker to help students feel comfortable in expressing themselves in creative ways. An example of this would be using an activity called crumbling, in which students walk silently in a designated space. Each student has been given a number for this exercise. The facilitator will call out a number, as students are walking quietly around the room, and the person with that number cries out and starts to crumble very slowly to the floor. At the same time the rest of the group tries to support the student in standing upright. When using setting, story and character games, students will explore activities that include pantomime, voice sound and imagination and storytelling. The theatre game called gift giving embodies taking on character roles by having students pair up, with one player pantomiming giving their partner a gift, for example, “I am so thrilled to be able to give you this extra, extra large box of banana peels.” This player is acting by pantomiming a heavy box of bananas that they are holding and giving to the other person. The other player who is not giving the gift then uses lots of expression and enthusiasm as much as possible in receiving the gift, “Thank you, thank you for these extra-large box of banana peels, it is just what I need to put in my garden to help it grow.” Another DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 19 theatre game would be keeper of the keys, in this game students practice working together as a collective or small group to solve a problem or navigate through a challenge. Students sit in a large circle and one person becomes keeper of the keys. The keeper of the keys is blindfolded and has the keys tucked under his seat. The other players are quietly trying to sneak up on the keeper of the keys and steal the keys. If the keeper of the keys hears a noise, they can raise their hand and point to where the noise was heard and that person has to go back to the outside of the circle. Once someone has stolen the keys, they take them back to the outer part of the circle and then everyone stands with their hands behind their backs, while the keeper of the keys guesses three times who has the keys (Dawson & Lee, 2018). Image Work requires that students make meaning by using visual/spatial reasoning as well as some kinesthetic participation. The objective of image work is to share and respond to different kinds of images such as objects, frozen images, or images that require action. Some images can be created individually or in small groups. The reasons to use image work would be to help students with their observation and interpretation skills as well as breaking down the relationship to parts within a larger concept that is being taught. One activity called 3-D Models has students working with craft supplies by using a prompt. A prompt could be, “A key theme in the story is…” Students then brainstorm ideas on a piece of paper and the circling the three most important words that they may have written down. The facilitator hands out the supplies and the students will make something using their three words as a guide. Once everyone has completed their models, they will share by asking the other students observational questions such as, “What do you see in this 3-D model?”, “What might be an interpretation of these observations?” Students should have opportunities to describe and analyze by looking at the shape, color, size, DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 20 and texture and clarifying anything that they might not understand about the object that is being presented (Dawson & Lee, 2018). Role work activities are used to interact with a story’s character, setting and conflict. Students realize how these elements shape the story’s narrative while exploring the story’s world of complex actions that are created by humans. Some parts of role work have students performing a role of a character that demonstrates character’s feelings and how that influenced their decision in the story. Students can also demonstrate alternate endings to problems or conflicts in the story by reflecting and discussing possible solutions that are not given in the story. The solutions the students create might entail sensitivities to culture or situations that require a more genuine and empathetic awareness that the character of the story might have chosen to use. Students who use role work can become aware of the power to take action through knowledge and shared experiences to solve problems. One example of role work would be a theatre game called objects of character. Students think about a character from a story, book, and essay that they have studied. Students take on the role of a character and ask themselves these questions; Who are you? What motivates you? Where do you live? Why might you value certain objects? Students then come up with a series of objects that are representative of who their character is, and find objects online or from photos from magazine and then present those objects in small or large groups (Dawson & Lee, 2018). In theatre games it’s important that the teacher who is facilitating these games knows how to navigate certain types of meaning-making in order to accomplish the goal or objective within a lesson (Dawson & Lee, 2018). As the facilitator gains more experience and practice in using these games, they will be able to make in the moment adjustments to offer more clarity, feedback or instruction on the cognitive tasks at hand (Dawson & Lee, 2018). With experience in DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 21 Drams-based pedagogy an educator can have tools to create effective differentiation of learning in multiple ways (Dawson & Lee, 2018). Research in Drama-Based Pedagogy Drama-based pedagogy has been shown to help students in many ways. In some elementary research studies (McCammon & Betts, 1999: Rose, Parks & Androes, 2000 & Littledyke, 2001) there were some positive results that reflected in slightly higher academic outcomes and an observance of improved engagement, showing greater self-confidence in communicating and listening to each other with respect. In a study by McCammon and Betts (1999) elementary teachers across grades one to four were mentored and observed by experienced art specialists who helped them infuse drama-based strategies within their curriculum. The results were gathered by analyzing transcripts, compiling field notes, and interviewing teachers for feedback of how drama-based strategies was affecting their immediate classrooms (1999). The results showed that the teachers were not properly supported through this process and some of them gave up and stop using the drama-based strategies in their classroom before the study was finished (1999). However, the teachers made some responses to how the students felt about using the drama-based strategies within the classroom (1999). Some of the notes indicated that teachers felt that students were developing stronger communication skills that came from active public speaking while using drama-based strategies. The teachers also noticed students who never participated become actively involved and started speaking within the lessons that contained drama-based strategies, suggesting that students that are internally engaged will exhibit prosocial behavior such as in the McCammon’s study by demonstrating their own willingness to participate and engage in learning activities without any extrinsic motivation (see also Christenson et al., 2008, Deci et al., 1991). We can also tie student’s sudden DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 22 willingness to participate back to the philosophy of Freire (1971) in which he writes that authentic communication can only happen when there is a balance of power. There is a possibility that these student’s felt empowered to speak because of the cultivation of trust and respect without biases (Boal, 2000) Fernsler, H.M. (2003) saw no difference between the controlled group and experimental group that had used drama-based strategies in their social studies curriculum. She did, however, reflect on how drama-based strategies covered most of Gardner’s multiple intelligences with an emphasis on verbal and interpersonal skills. In another study by Rose, Parks and Androes (2000) involving fourth graders, it was shown that drama-based strategies can affect reading comprehension; the experimental group achieved an increase in comprehension by 1.21% while the control group only improved by 0.91%. Drama-based instruction can also have a positive impact on science learning, Littledyke (2001) compared two different science classes in two different grades, Y3 and Y5. In each grade level there was one classroom that used a book and lectures (control group), while the other one infused drama-based strategies within the science curriculum that was being taught (tested group). The drama-based instruction in the Y3 tested group showed that they had a better understanding of the concept that was being taught than the control group, while in the Y5 there was no significant difference between understanding the science concept between the tested and controlled groups. Drama-based teaching strategies implemented in all tested groups showed enhanced affective and effective responses with an increase in motivation and interest. Plus, the tested groups had increased ability to reason and justify their points of view. A meta-analysis by Lee (2015) shows that a broad tentative conclusion can be made that drama-based pedagogy in grades k-12 can have a positive effect on achievement and a variety of DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 23 related psychological and social outcomes including 21st-century skills. According to Lee’s study (2015) drama-based pedagogy had different effects on grade levels. The lower grades had a higher academic effect whereas the middle and upper grades had increased 21st century skills and motivation (p. 37). Lee (2015) also found that some of the studies that were given showed some improvement in language arts especially in oral and written outcomes; however, some studies showed no improvement in this area of development. Lee (2015) also discovered that overall there was a high consistency among the research that contained positive effects of positive attitudes toward marginalized groups such as older adults and LGBT groups, victims of bulling and students with disabilities (Lee, 2015 p. 8). However, in its closing, this study indicated that the research is still limited in this field and that one cannot overgeneralize and draw casual conclusions when asking for policy makers to fund this endeavor. Teachers need to continue to find meaningful, conscious, and effective ways of using drama-based pedagogy (Lee et al., 2015 p.47). Some of the limitations of this meta-analysis (Lee, 2015) included that some teachers were not adequately prepared to teach drama-based strategies and therefore could not align proper drama-based objectives and drama-based strategies to their regular teaching content. Teachers struggled with integrating drama-based strategies within their previously planned lessons that they had created for their curriculum therefore some teachers were creating all new lesson plans in which they became frustrated and became more inclined to stop using the strategies altogether (McCammon & Betts, 1999; Cawthon, Dawson & Ihorn, 2011). A suggestion made by Lee (2015) was that lesson plans incorporating drama-based instruction used for succeeding research should include drama-based strategies with objectives in order to determine the effectiveness of how the teachers were implementing these strategies (p. 40). DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 24 Summary Drama-based strategies are a researched-proven option to actively engage students in authentic learning and enhance self-determination. Teachers can become facilitators of learning with drama-based pedagogy and help students co-construct their understanding and personal identities as part of the classroom culture by using autonomy, relatedness, and competency in their classroom instructional plans (Dawson & Lee, 2018). Drama-based pedagogy allows students to develop important interpersonal skills while taking on problem posing situations that require critical thinking skills (Boal, 2000; Dawson & Lee, 2018). This can be done by using theatre games that are outlined in Dawson & Lee’s book, Drama-Based Pedagogy, Activating Learning Across the Curriculum (2018), this pedagogy is a way for students and teachers to connect on a personal level, while learning from each other in order to create and test solutions (Boal, 2000). Research has shown that drama-based pedagogy can have an influence on student engagement and motivation while providing cultural awareness and improving social skills. PURPOSE The purpose of this curriculum project was to develop and implement a series of enjoyable and interesting drama-based lessons in a third-grade elementary class. Relative to the literature, I was able to see how drama-based instruction can help students be actively engaged within an environment of collaboration, trust, and higher order thinking skills. Students were able to create personal narratives that might not be heard with teacher-based learning, be active participants in the classroom, engaged in meaningful dialogue, and supported others’ perspectives or ideas. In other words, students were able to create communities that allowed for collaboration while analyzing and observing problems in an authentic way. In my role as teacher, DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 25 I tried to be more of a non-biased facilitator, allowing for many different solutions to the problem-solving methods used in the classroom. The benefits I gained from this project were knowing and understanding how drama-based instruction works and will implement this instruction into my everyday teaching habits. This also enabled me to show other teachers the advantages that drama-based instruction can have on engagement and other areas such as critical thinking, creativity, and interpersonal skills crucial for global awareness and solving the problems of the world in which we live. The objectives for this project were to: 1. Define drama-based pedagogy and how it can be used in a classroom setting. 2. Define the benefits of using drama-based pedagogy within the educational system. 3. Create and implement lessons to demonstrate the values of drama-based pedagogy. METHOD This was an action research project aimed at giving me experience and insight in implementing drama-based pedagogy in an elementary classroom. I created and developed a series of five fifty-minute lessons that were taught during the regular school day. During this project each lesson contained multiple strategies using drama-based pedagogy, which were taken from Dawson and Lee’s book (2018) Drama-Based Pedagogy, Activating Learning Across the Curriculum. As I taught these lessons, I made necessary adjustments to upcoming lessons to improve student engagement and learning within the classroom. I reflected on each teaching episode by using a journal and videotaping each lesson as a way of recording and analyzing a variety of factors such as student motivation and active participation. The videotaping of the lessons was shared with an experienced theatre expert who made suggestions on the quality of DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 26 lessons while making suggestions to improve on upcoming lessons that were given within the classroom. Participants The participants of this study were third graders in an elementary classroom whose parents had given informed consent (Appendix A) for them to participate in this study. The participants were given curriculum-based instruction for their grade level and were aware of the drama-based strategies that were infused within the lesson. Participants did have opportunities to reflect by discussing their thoughts on drama-based strategies that were used within a lesson. The reflections were noted throughout the journaling process and videotaping of lessons. The participants did have photographs taken of their artifacts which included writings, drawings, or art projects that were produced within the drama-based lessons. The photographs submitted did not contain images of the students that participated in these lessons; nor did they include names or other personal identifiers. Video recordings were not shared with anyone except for those that were directly involved with this project. There was a strong effort to not include students in the video recordings since recordings are going to be used for the purpose of improving my own instructional techniques. All videos were deleted as soon as the project was finished. Procedures After I received approval from the IRB, I began implementing the drama-based lessons. All lessons were taught during the first part of the 2018-2019 school year. The participants were aware of the integration of drama-based strategies and did have opportunities to reflect and share thoughts on drama-based strategies that were used in lessons. The number of lessons that included drama-based strategies were five fifty-minute lessons and were taught within a 60-day period. The lessons developed throughout this project I was noting any changes or adaptations DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 27 that were made in order to meet the needs of the students as a whole as well as individually within the classroom. Student’s names were not used in the journaling process, and were not part of the final report. I wrote in a hard-bound journal which was kept by me at all times or locked away in a filing cabinet when not in use. I then transcribed my notes into a computer that was password protected. DAILY REFLECTIONS As I developed this project, I had definite expectations of what I wanted to accomplish. In this project I wanted to get students exited about learning in a fun and creative way. As a teacher I wanted to create a student structured classroom with high engagement based on creativity and autonomy throughout the classroom while implementing critical thinking through observation and problem solving. I chose the third grade Social Studies curriculum to tie in drama-based instruction because of the potential to add problem posing learning, which was developed by Paulo Freire in his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The topic that I chose was on communities—Standard 2, Objective 1: students will understand cultural factors that shape a community. In addition to Freire, I wanted to use communities as a discussion within the drama-based theatre games because it tied into Vygotsky’s social learning theory which is integral to drama-based pedagogy. It also ties in with developing the pro-social skills that students need in a school environment but also within a residential community. An important social skill that students need to know is how to perform effective collaboration by listening to and respecting what others have to say. The students also need to know how to give meaningful feedback by showing that they have the capabilities to make effective decisions within a problem posing situation. I outlined five lessons (Appendix B) that would teach cultural factors within a community by using a theatre-based activity to start or finish the lesson that I had developed. DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 28 Day One On the first day I chose to perform two drama-based activities. The first drama-based activity was called Thumbs, which comes from the activating dialogue section of the book, Drama-Based Pedagogy Activating Learning Across the Curriculum by Katie Dawson and Brigit Lee. This activity helps to build a sense of trust and focus within classroom setting. I asked the students to gather outside the desks in a circle. The circle encompassed the outer areas of the room and it was difficult to get a close personal circle where students could hear what each other were saying. When students needed to find a partner the gaps in the circle were quite large and the students struggled to take the initiative to move closer to one another. I modeled to the students how to put your right thumb down and your left palm up so that your neighbors palm is touching your right thumb. When the students held out their hands in position, I did an eye sweep to make sure that everyone had their hands and thumbs in the right places. I counted to three and on three the students were to flip there right thumb up and the person with the palm underneath the thumb was trying to catch it, while they were trying to catch a thumb with their other hand that was an open palm. The students practiced several times to see if they could catch thumbs. Next, I added the reflective questioning that goes with drama-based instruction to enable the student to think about whether they could or could not do this activity successfully. The questions asked were, “Raise your hand if you were able to catch a thumb.” and “What was your strategy in order to catch a thumb?” Responses included, “You had to be quick!” and “I had to pay close attention to what was happening.” My final question was, “How many of you felt like this was difficult?” I had no one that raised their hands, probably because students don’t like to show other students that they don’t know how to do something. Being the first day, it takes time to build trust and supportive attitudes. So, I took this opportunity to show DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 29 the students that it’s okay if you don’t know how to do something perfectly the first time and informed the students that I thought this activity was hard but that I could use some of the suggestions that were given in order to find some success within this activity. I encouraged the students that we should do this activity one more time and use some of the ideas that had been recommended. After one more try, I asked the students if they thought they were successful? I had over half the room raise their hands, and attributed their success to the fact that we used the ideas that were made by the students who were successful. I had the students sit down quietly and asked them, “How does this theatre game relate to third grade?” Responses included, “It was fun” and “We had to be respectful.” As a facilitator I ended this activity by explaining that this activity was about listening and being quick on your toes and that there are probably some third-grade learning activities where they will have to use those skills again. I also reminded the students that we need to remember to be respectful and listen to what is being said, but to also make sure we are adding our own ideas and suggestions to the conversation as well. The next part of the lesson was to do some direct instruction of what the definition of a community was, and generate a list of names for different kinds of communities. I let the students come up with their own answers and I stayed unbiased. I wrote down the suggestions and made an official list of the responses to show students the following day (Appendix C). I also taught that even though we are part of a community, we can still have our individuality. It’s important to know who you are and what you are good at or need help with. In a community everyone brings their own unique ideas, beliefs and experiences to the table. During the subsequent activity we made puzzle pieces that fit together to make a poster size square. This activity was loosely based after the 3-D models activity that comes from the Image work section DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 30 of, Drama-Based Pedagogy: Activating Learning Across the Curriculum. I had the students write down three things that they liked about themselves on a worksheet called, Who Me? (Appendix D) and then they would circle one of those things and draw a picture on the puzzle piece. I got most of the puzzle pieces the following day but because of time constraints I was not able to do more with this activity, in which I wanted to display or talk about the individual drawings within the poster (Appendix E) The students enjoyed writing and drawing about themselves. I wish I could have given more time to this activity by having the students observe the pictures the students had drawn or verbally express to the classroom who they think they are as an individual. The last drama-based activity was called Snowball and it is also a part of the activating dialogue section of the drama-based pedagogy book. This activity entails that the students respond to a question within the lesson and write their response on a piece of paper. Next, they will crumble it up and throw it into a container. After everyone had completed a response, I took the random pieces of papers and gave them to the students to read. The responses can be read out loud by each student or read silently. I found this activity difficult because some seemed confused and lacking confidence in this endeavor. When it came to reading responses, some students had a difficult time reading student’s hand-writing. I was not able to go over every response that the students had written in class so I had to have them read their snowball paper quietly to themselves. The students were laughing and trying to figure out who had written what on their piece of paper. Positive Outcomes. The classroom teacher chose to participate and was engaged with the students as they were performing their drama-based activities. I noticed that the students had a lot of excitement and anticipation for doing this drama-based activity and there was a lot of smiling and giggling. Overall, the students enjoyed what they were participating in. I did have DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 31 one student who opted out of playing this drama-based activity and chose to watch and observe from his seat. I thought that the classroom management went well as far as modeling the procedures and setting classroom behavior expectations. All students were actively engaged in Thumbs and were participating. The students were listening and watching very closely to the instructions that were given. I had great reflective answers that coincided with the social constructivist theory. By using the students’ feedback, it helped with problem solving strategies that could make them successful. I made sure to give the students lots of positive reinforcement and encouragement to perform each drama-based activity and I could tell that the students were starting to feel more comfortable with doing this activity by letting me know what they could have done to attain a higher success rate. I felt I succeeded in teaching the students that there was no right or wrong answers and remained unbiased and resisted the urge to fill students with my own personal knowledge. Limitations. In this lesson, time was an issue because I had to set a solid foundation of curriculum and behavioral expectations. If it was my own classroom, I could have used this time to teach classroom management expectations for the whole year and then refer back to each activity that demonstrated how to make good decisions about positive social interactions. However, I didn’t know what the teacher’s classroom management plan was, so in order to establish a productive and calm classroom I had to set my own expectations of behavior. Space was an issue, I believe that this was one of the smaller classrooms in the school and there were 28 students. I felt like the circle we created was to big and made it hard to model proper behavior and hear student’s responses to my questions. I chose to stand in the front of the classroom but would have liked to have had an opportunity to move around to different parts of the circle, however that was not an option. The sense of belonging seemed difficult to obtain during this DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 32 lesson. The Snowball activity was difficult because students could not write or read other students’ responses that were given on the pieces of paper. Day Two When I first came into the room the teacher asked me if I could shorten my lesson time, because I had gone over the allotted time the previous day. I told the classroom teacher I understood that time was an issue and that I would be respectful of the time in the upcoming lessons. As I entered the room, I could tell the students were excited about me being there. They were smiling and asking me what activity we were going to participate in that day. I started the lesson by going over the rules of classroom behavior and setting the curriculum expectations for the day. We began with a drama-based activity called Two by Three Bradford. The reason that I chose this activity was because of the concern with space. I was working in a smaller classroom and had very little space to move around. The intended outcome for this game was to build trust and focus within a classroom setting. Before going over the instructions of the drama-based activity it was important to implement an attention signal by using a sound that would indicate when to stop and be quiet and listen to the next step or piece of instruction in this activity. I chose a bell to ring in order to keep the structure of the game intact. I asked the students to gather in a circle around the desks which led to a fairly large circle that encompassed the outer parts of the room. Some students had a hard time filling in the gaps of the circle and there were large spaces in between children. I felt as if the circle was too wide and therefore the part of the game that was supposed to execute a sense of belonging and trust was lost. In order to make connections there has to be trust between students and the teacher. This was hard to obtain in a classroom that was not mine. DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 33 I instructed the students that first they needed to find a partner. They could either turn to the left or right and choose a partner. This was met with some difficulty, in the fact that I had several students who did not have a partner and did not know how to solve this problem. I walked around and helped those students that did not know what to do. The classroom teacher also stepped in and filled a spot with a student that did not have a partner. It was interesting to see this dilemma in the sense that I don’t think these students had been partnered up very much, or that it was still new in the year and they were too shy to talk to someone they didn’t know. I did like using the freedom of choice within this activity where I did not micromanage their choice of partners. The next step was to model the first set of instructions where they are partners who are facing each other. Partner A says out loud “one” and Partner B says “two” and then back to the first partner ending on “three.” Then they switch with Partner B staring with “one,” Partner A says “two,” and Partner B ends on “three,” and it switches back and forth. The students practiced this for forty seconds and, as I scanned around the room, I could tell that most of the students were engaged in practicing this first step. I saw a couple of students who were just doing the same pattern of counting and forgot to switch counting with their partners. At the end of this practice I gave the students the reflection piece of this activity. This is where they have to stop and think about how well they did or the struggles that they might have had. As a facilitator this is an important step to building trust and relatability while tying meaning and connection to the topic that is being taught. The question I asked after the practice sessions was, “How many of you thought this activity was hard or difficult?” Two of my responses were, “It was hard to remember to switch back and forth” and “Hard, because you say one, then your partner says two, and then you say three, then your partner starts with one.” I had a hard time hearing the second response because students were talking over the students who had DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 34 raised their hands and were answering the question. I felt like this was a space issue because it was hard to make a closer circle therefore the students had to speak really loud in order to be heard. Most students could not project their voices so that others could hear. Again, this could have been a beginning of the year problem; students might be shy or reserved when they are new to a classroom. My next reflective question was, “Who thought this activity was a breeze?” Responses included, “I could remember because I have a good memory” and “The practice made it easier the second time around.” The next part of teaching a drama-based activity is to add a layer of complexity. I asked the students to replace the one with a movement and sound. I modeled what this should look like and then had them come up with their own sound and movement with their partner. I scanned the room to see what the students were doing and some students were doing well and others were struggling. I saw some students who weren’t trying to come up with a sound/movement for the replacement of the number one. It might have been somewhat complicated for them to understand and they chose not to do it and were being silly instead. Some students were looking around the room to see what the other students were doing. Drama-based instruction supports social constructivism, and I could see this taking place in students who were looking and observing other students to see what they should be doing. For the last step in this activity I had the students replace the number one with the sound/movement they had chosen. I let the students practice for one minute. One thing that I would change is that I would have gone around the circle and listened to each of the partners share their sound/movement that they had made up. I think that if I had done this, there would have been a greater commitment to doing this activity. Instead I chose to model how to replace their sound/movement for the number one and then let them practice. The last DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 35 reflection piece was asking the students, “What were some things you had to do in order to be successful in this part of the activity?” Some responses were “You had to reach an agreement with your partner” and “You had to work together.” After this last comment I prompted a response by pointing to my eyes and then pointing to the student, and the student responded, “Look at each other.” She probably would have not said that if I had not prompted her with physical cues for an answer. The next part of the lesson was explicit teaching of what shapes and defines communities in different geographic areas. My explicit teaching included sharing a video of rural, city, and suburban areas and then having the students’ sort through a collage of pictures on the smartboard and then writing which picture went under the correct heading of these three different types of communities that are listed above (Appendix F). I walked around and supported the students as they were categorizing these items in the correct headings and I was able to hear personal stories of how certain pictures brought back memories of a place where they lived or visited. I also taught the students that we are a part of a much bigger community than where we reside residentially, but that we are part of a state, country and worldwide community as well. The final activity was to share some of the written responses and then have the students do a kinesthetic activity for the different things they could find in a community. For example, “Stay seated if I name something that belongs in a rural area, stand up if I say something that belongs in a city.” I ended this lesson by asking students if they could come up with something that we had not named that would belong in a city or rural area. Positive Outcomes. Overall, I felt like this lesson went really well. The students had a high excitement level for wanting to play this drama-based game, Two by Three Bradford. I could see that some students came up with some creative responses to replacing the number one DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 36 with a sound/movement. I had a couple of students give reflective answers that were both thought provoking and meaningful and I could observe that there were students who were thinking about the responses that were given and reflecting on if they felt that way too. I could tell this because they would nod their heads in agreement. The final reflective question was, “What were some things you could do that would help you to be successful in this activity?” This was a great final question because students who were struggling with this activity had active engagement in listening to what others were saying in order to be successful. Most of us have a strong desire to do our best and by giving these students opportunities to discuss their strategies that made them more successful they also opened the door for others to gain knowledge on how to be successful too. Limitations. There was not enough space for us to have a close, more familiar circle. Instead we were spread out where students had to speak really loud in order for them to be heard. I had some classroom management issues with getting students to stay on task. Since there was a freedom of choice where they could stand in the circle, I had some students who probably chose to stand by a friend that probably kept them off task. Not knowing the students was one of the biggest challenges in the sense that I didn’t know how to effectively navigate some of the students who had challenging behavioral issues. Day Three The last two lessons centered on trust and focus with an establishment for understanding what a community is or might be and with an emphasis on different residential communities, such as city, rural, and suburban. For this lesson, I decided that we were ready to dive into a more evolved drama-based activity that sets the stage for putting problem-posing learning in place. I started with the drama-based game that’s called Vote with Your Feet. This game gives DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 37 students the opportunity to take a statement and then attach a feeling to that statement. The first statement that I gave to the students was, “All children like pizza.” The instructions for this drama-based activity is that students will move close to their desk if they agree with this statement, as far away from their desk as they can if they don’t agree, or somewhere in the middle if they are unsure. The second statement is, “All children like broccoli.” After each one of these statements the students will look around and observe what other children are feeling about these two statements. It’s important for the children to observe one another’s vote in correlation to making connections about these two overgeneralizations reflecting on how other students are feeling and why they might feel that way. What observations can be made by those two statements? I had some students make some very interesting observations. One student said, “I noticed that more students like pizza than broccoli” and another student said, “There was an unhealthy choice and a healthy choice.” A third student said, “Everyone had their own ideas of what they might like.” I thought these were insightful observations. I also talked with the students about some of them choosing the middle, not sure if they agreed or disagreed with either statement. I let the students know that this was okay and that sometimes we are not sure of how we might feel, but look towards others to explain or argue why they feel a certain way. We take the knowledge of others and reflect on how their opinions and experiences might help guide our decisions depending on the rationalization of an argument that is for or against something. I asked the students to raise their hands if they looked to a friend to help guide their decisions. None of the students raised their hands. Again, I think this comes down to a trust issue and feeling comfortable about putting yourself out there to wanting or needing help from others. The one thing that I liked the most about this activity is that is does create a safe way for you to express yourself by using your body instead of your voice. Students who are reluctant to speak DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 38 could still show others what they were feeling by moving their feet. I felt that even though they wouldn’t share vocally why they chose their position, they were still creating an internal dialogue that made sense to them on their choice for each statement. I noticed a pattern in which some of the same students were answering my reflective questions at the end of each drama-based activity that we played. I didn’t notice any of the quieter students taking a risk to speak up and share their ideas or opinions. I believe that the quieter students might have been reluctant because it was earlier in the year and it’s been difficult for me to establish an environment of trust and relatability because of space issues and the difficulty of hearing one another. I think that if I were teaching these drama-based activities throughout the year, I would see more breakthroughs with the quieter students being able to speak up and take more risks. After the drama-based activity I went into some explicit instruction on what communities do in order to solve problems. I explained to the students that we have to work with others in a respectful manner in order to come up with viable solutions that can fix problems within a faction of people. We went over different kinds of things you can do to be respectful within a community such as: listening, saying constructive words, sharing ideas, and trying to understand other people’s point of view. Next, I set up a problem that needed to be solved within in their community which is South Ogden. I stated the problem was that some people in South Ogden wished that we would get rid of fireworks in South Ogden. Some reasons that this has been brought up is because we live close to the mountains and it gets very dry and it could possibly start a fire. Should it be against the law to shoot off fireworks in South Ogden? This was the problem that was being used to set the precedence of using problem posing learning techniques within the classroom while using drama-based activities as a way to help guide critical thinking DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 39 by entwining both the body and the mind while also reflecting in a collective way. When I first asked the question about whether fireworks should be banned in South Ogden, I had a lot of students shout, “No!” As the facilitator I stated, “Some of you have very strong feelings, we are going to explore those feelings and listen to why someone feels the way they do and think about their reasons in order to help us decide for ourselves how we feel.” I used the Vote from Your Seat drama-based activity to help students decide how they felt instead of shouting their answer out. I told them that if they felt strongly about not having fireworks, they should raise their hands. If they wanted to keep fireworks, they would keep their hands down and if they were unsure, they could raise their hand to the middle. This drama-based activity had the highest engagement because there was a vested interest. I didn’t have any classroom management problems throughout this process. I generated tally marks of who raised their hands and who didn’t as well as those who were unsure. I also made a classroom list of what reasons (as seen in appendix F) were being given for those students who wanted fireworks versus the ones that did not. As a facilitator I also discussed how we had a fire last year and we had to evacuate the area. I told the students the fire wasn’t caused by fireworks but that something else had caused it. I had a lot of students that shared personal stories of how they felt during that time of the evacuation. This was a pivotal moment because before we started sharing personal stories most of the students wanted to keep fireworks. Reflecting on those feelings brought some doubt to some on whether we should have fireworks. As a facilitator I was not trying to persuade the students one way or another but just simply state facts of an experience that had happened within our community. I constantly gave the students reassurance that there is no right or wrong answer, we are simply exploring a question. We will have mixed feelings and opinions and that’s okay. We will decide at the end what is the best possible solution for this problem. I ended this lesson with DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 40 a written activity that was on a piece of paper with the label I agree on the front with an option to disagree on the back (Appendix F). They had to write a reason for why they chose to agree or disagree. When all the students were finished, we ended with the Thumbs drama-based activity. I had some problems with this game, there were gaps in the circle and one of the girls did not want to stand by a boy and overall, they were loud and aggressive this time around. The only thing I could have thought to do differently next time was to model explicitly and go over behavior rules one more time. Positive Outcomes. I loved this lesson, mostly because of getting to introduce the problem posing learning concept by creating a problem of interest to these students while integrating the drama-based activity Vote with Your Feet as a way to reflect and share ideas about why we feel a certain way about the problem that was given. The engagement of the students was at its highest throughout this lesson. I believe that this lesson offered so many great opportunities such as sharing personal experiences with a vested interest in making an opinion about a local community issue that they could relate to. Drama-based instruction relies heavily on creating or imagining a problematic event or situation which requires thinking through a problem by reflecting and having social connections to one another that helps develop solutions to situations that are being presented. This lesson showed that the theory that Paulo Freire presented in his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, is based on truth of what student’s want and need in order to feel engaged and empowered by thinking critically while using personal experiences and social connections to guide them through their decision-making process. Limitations. The ending drama-based activity, Thumbs was not very successful, the students were not engaged and I had difficulty with classroom management. Some thoughts on this is that we were talking about things that were on a deeper level and relatable to them and DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 41 ending with this drama-based game seemed silly to them. Maybe they just weren’t that interested in this activity because they had already done it and it didn’t seem that challenging to them anymore. I could have mixed it up and added a more challenging factor. Space also could have been an issue since we were spread so far apart. Day Four This was my fourth lesson and my belief for this day was that the students know me and know the classroom rules quite well. I felt confident that it was a good time to have the students work in small groups with freedom to express their ideas and work with one another in a productive manner. We had a brief discussion on what were some positive characteristics of communities. I spoke about how listening and being respectful were important, as well as sharing ideas in a positive way. I began my lesson with a review of what the definition of a community was and how we are all a part of the South Ogden community. I presented the students with a problem in the previous lesson stating that there are some people in our community that don’t want to do fireworks in South Ogden. In yesterday’s lesson we had explored our feelings about whether or not we agreed with this statement which sets the stage for becoming critically conscious. By exploring a feeling that we have about a problem we can figure out why we feel the way we do about something. I explained to the students that sometimes when we are solving a problem we need to come up with a compromise. I informed them that to say we could never have fireworks wasn’t really fair to the people who wanted them, or if we decided to go the other way and keep fireworks, we might make the people who don’t want them worried and unhappy. So, we could brainstorm so that we could have fireworks by coming up with ways of keeping them safe during the times that they are legal. I explained that we were going to participate in an active dialogue drama-based activity that is called Poster Dialogue. I expressed to them that they DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 42 were going to be put into groups of different colors. I split the classroom into seven groups. I wanted to keep the groups small and manageable. I put a lot of effort and consideration into how to group the students behaviorally and according to their writing abilities in the hopes that the more experienced writers would help the ones in their group that might have difficulties with this writing task. I also grouped them so that they would be with students that would help them stay on task. Each group had four students and they had a specific color marker assigned to them. Each poster had the same question which was, “What are some ideas to make fireworks safer?” I gave the students five minutes to start at their beginning poster and then would ring the bell to indicate it was time to rotate to the next poster to either add responses to the question or write comments to what someone else has written. Each poster had the same color of markers as the writing on the poster. I had the students leave the markers there when they rotated. So, each poster had responses and comments (Appendix H) that were all the same color. I wish I would have done this differently and had the students take their markers with them. If the students had kept their color, they had started with, it would have been easier to track the responses that were added to the suggestions or answers from the question. I facilitated and walked around helping and watching the students as they were doing this activity. Some students were off task; however, I could also hear students sharing personal stories of how fireworks and fires related to them as an individual. Something I might have tried differently was to put the poster paper horizontally so that two students could write at the same time, instead of vertically where the students were in each other’s way. I did observe that the more confident students took charge and started writing right away. Some of the more confident students were micromanaging the quieter students. I took a leap of faith with this activity in the sense that the students had a lot of autonomy. The students were given the freedom to work and communicate in the way that they DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 43 wanted to. Some of the students in their groups had a hard time with self-regulation. As I was walking around watching the students, I could hear some students being very loud and not communicating in an effective manner. I did take the time to address this issue after the activity was over by making some suggestions that we use softer voices and taking turns to speak. One of the reasons that I think drama-based instruction is so important is that it teaches students to have meaningful and effective conversations, but it takes time to teach these skills to students. If this was my own classroom, I could have used this lesson as an example of what not to do when speaking to someone within a group. We could build a conversation of what we can do in order to communicate effectively. In this activity we were able to do three rotations and then we came back to the poster that they had originally started at. Some of the suggestions that were offered for the question were creative and well thought out. Some submissions were that we could have fireman around while having fire trucks nearby and also by keeping a bucket of water close by; don’t do fireworks on a windy day; have a sprinkler on by fireworks; do not light fireworks in the grass; put fireworks in the road and keep wood away. Some responses that were given to these suggestions were “good idea,” “yes, awesome,” and “I like this.” Some other responses were “good,” “smart thinking,” and “I like your ideas.” I did not see any negative comments written on the posters. Again, I wish the children had taken their markers with them in order for the responses to stand out next to the suggestions. I did notice that the kids who didn’t necessarily write well had written on the poster as well. I also had students that drew pictures along-side their words. If I had to do this activity again, I would have taken this activity and broken it into smaller parts with explicit instruction on social expectations. When all the students had an opportunity to look at their starting poster, I seated them in order to engage in the reflective part of this drama-based activity. The question I started with was, “How many of you DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 44 found this activity challenging?” One student said, “It was hard to think of something to write.” The second reflection question was, “How many of you enjoyed this activity?” Responses included, “I got to have my own thoughts and ideas,” “I felt like I could do this activity,” “Communities are about helping each other,” “We tried to work problems out within our group by making suggestions,” and “We were able to get to know someone.” Positive Outcomes. I liked this activity immensely, students were having conversations within small groups and had the freedom to share their ideas without someone dictating to them what they should think or feel about this subject. The drama-based activities that we were doing up to this lesson was based on everyone participating together as a classroom. This was an activity where the students had to have more awareness of communicating in a small group setting. I could tell from walking around that a lot of students were having engaging conversations about this problem and how it related to their own lives. I could see students that were helping other students with their writing. Overall, I think that the students had some great suggestions to the question that was being presented and the responses to those suggestions were all positive comments. I also liked how this activity brought self-awareness on how the students interacted with one another. It helped with the reflection process of what went well while working in small groups and what can we do better next time. Limitations. I had students that were off task and playing. I had a couple of students that could not keep their hands to themselves and were getting physical. I wish I had broken this activity into smaller parts and the students worked on rotating once and then talking about went well and what we could improve on, and then having them rotate again. Drama-based instruction offers a way for students to learn great interpersonal skills, but it takes time to learn these skills by reflecting on how and what we can do better to communicate with one another. Another DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 45 limitation was that I had the students leave the specific color markers at their poster instead of having them rotate with their color. This made it hard to read responses that correlated to the suggestions that were given for the question. Day Five For the final lesson, I introduced a new drama-based activity called Buzz. In this drama-based game the students had gathered around in a circle and they were quick to get into a circle, however there were still gaps between boys and girls. I had to encourage the students several times to gather closer together. I told the students that we were going to pass a lightning bolt quickly around the circle and demonstrated how we would hold our hands out shaped like a bowl to receive the lightning bolt. We practiced this one time to see how quickly we could pass around the lightning bolt. The students practiced passing the lightning bolt again and this time they had to say their number in a consecutive order. The students enjoyed this part of the game and there was high engagement where everyone was on task. Next, I had the students pass the bolt around and if they were an even number that had to say, “Buzz” and pretend that they had just gotten shocked by a lightning bolt. This activity was difficult for the students because they couldn’t remember if they were an even number or not and then the students lost track of what number they were on. Some of the students spoke very softly and it was hard to hear. I stopped the game after we had gone around the circle and asked the students if they had some difficulty doing this. We came up with suggestions of what we could in in order to make this easier. I suggested that we should help one another and we need to make sure that we were listening to what other students are saying. I used lots of praise and gave encouragement. For the final part of this game, I let the students come up with their own way of doing this game. The students decided that they were going to make their own sound as they passed around the lightning bolt. I told them that DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 46 this was a great idea and that we should try it. The students did a fantastic job of making a sound and passing the lightning bolt around. With this part of the activity they were highly engaged and creative. I asked them what made this part of the game successful? They responded that it was because they got to make their own choice of what to do. We discussed why we like opportunities to make choices instead of having someone tell us what to do. We ended by doing a Vote from Your Seat activity with the question, did you enjoy this game? Most of the students raised their hands saying that they enjoyed this activity, especially the part where they got to decide how they wanted to perform this activity. Later, after this activity was over and I was packing up to leave, I had a boy student come over and tell me how much he liked the Buzz activity and he used his body to reenact the lightning bolt and pretended to toss the bolt into the air. He said he was going to miss me coming to his class, which made me feel good. There were times when I was doing the drama-based activities where some students seemed distracted with or throughout certain part of the drama-based instruction. Maybe this was due to a lack of understanding instructions that were given or not having a close enough circle or it could have been that they didn’t have the required social skills that helps us to self-regulate in a given situation. If it was my own classroom, I would have felt like I could have explored and investigated certain disruptions and found what was causing the problems and then make the necessary adjustments. In the wrap up section of the problem posing learning instruction that I had used throughout these five lessons, I reviewed what we had learned about communities. We reflected on the problem in in our community about fireworks and we went over different solutions that we came up with in our last lesson. After our discussion I had them write a letter to South Ogden DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 47 Community, giving reasons why they believed the way they did while presenting a solution to the problem (Appendix I). Positive Outcomes. The students enjoyed the Buzz theatre game. It only got difficult when I had the students buzz or act like they had been struck by a lightning bolt on the even numbers. When the students could make up their own sound and pass around the lightning bolt, they were able to do this successfully and there was high engagement. Limitations. The students had a hard time with doing two things simultaneously such as remembering a number and then having to think about whether it was odd or even. They enjoyed the game when it was just focusing on a sound and movement. DISSCUSION Observation notes from the written journal were indicators of engagement which did include active participation in speaking, writing, or completing art projects. Students also showed engagement by being focused and on task, by using responsible decision-making skills throughout the learning process, and by making choices that were respectful to their classmates. Students demonstrated a sense of competence that showed that they felt capable in completing drama-based activities or other tasks that were given to them. I also looked specifically at the problem-solving techniques that students were using within each drama-based lesson. Students should not be replicating one person’s ideas but building and exploring many possibilities within a drama-based lesson, therefore showing commitment to the process of collaborating within a learning community that has multiple views and ideas on the content being taught. I analyzed what worked well and what did not while reflecting on any improvements for the next lesson. Some lessons did have finished products or artifacts that were included in this study in order to provide examples of the thought process that the students were engaged in, as well as DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 48 demonstrating the value of different outcomes that comes from teaching drama-based problem-solving lessons. The journal entries were informed by different philosophies that support active engagement within the classroom, which are; critical consciousness by Paulo Freire and Augusto Boal, problem posing learning by Freire, and Vygotsky’s social learning theory. Student engagement is also encouraged by Ryan & Deci’s philosophy of self-determination which fosters autonomy, competency, and relatedness in a classroom environment. Through multiple readings of the journal entries and review of the videos, three major themes emerged. These are discussed in more detail below: Optimum engagement Relative to student engagement, I observed that students were at their best when they could use their body as a form of expression instead of verbalizing or writing a response to a question. This was demonstrated on Day Two: “Stay seated if I name something that belongs in a rural area, stand up if I say something that belongs in a city.” During this activity all students were participating and using their body as a way to demonstrate meaning and understanding of this day’s lesson. I didn’t have any disruptions or behavioral problems and the students were smiling and focused on the success of this activity. Even though this particular activity was not a drama-based activity, I still included it in my analysis to support the findings of using body movement to promote engagement by expressing yourself without verbal or written declaration. The drama-based activity with the most favorable engagement was Vote with Your Feet, from Day Three. This game gives the students the opportunity to take a statement and then attach a feeling to that statement. The first statement that I gave to the students was, “All children like pizza” and the second statement was, “All children like broccoli.” Students were able to move DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 49 closer to their desk if they agreed or move as far away from their desk if they disagreed, or they could remain in the middle if they were unsure. The students in this activity were highly engaged. I noticed that the students were looking around to see what other students had decided and were giving answers that were observational and providing an elucidation of what was happening around them by nodding in agreement or verbally telling someone that they liked that too. I had great comments such as, “I noticed that more students like pizza than broccoli,” or “There was an unhealthy choice and a healthy choice.” One student said that everyone had their own idea of what they might like. These observations relate to autonomy and relatedness needs outlined in the self-determination theory by Ryan and Deci. Everyone had the opportunity to express themselves by moving their bodies to symbolize meaning of what they thought. I felt this was when the students felt the safest and had the highest proficiency to be successful in responding to these types of questions. I used this drama-based activity to set up for the problem posing situation of a community related problem. After I introduced the problem of fireworks (Some people want to get rid of fireworks in South Ogden; do we agree or disagree?), we discussed the premise of this problem and then used Vote with Your Seat which is similar to the previous drama-based activity above, except students used their arms instead of their whole body as a way to express an idea or opinion. After Vote with your Seat we listed tally marks on the board to view what everyone’s impression might be concerning this issue. Some similarities that I had with Vote with Your Feet and Vote with Your Seat activities was that all students participated. The students could easily look around and identify where everyone stood on a belief or opinion that was given. The classroom management issues that had happened in previous activities were nonexistent during these activities because the students DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 50 were too busy looking around to see where students were standing or where they were placing their hands. In both of these activities, I had some great reflection pieces of students sharing their observations of two different statements that were opposite of one another. I also had a highly engaged discussion with the students on why they might have voted the way that they did. Some differences with these two activities was that in Vote with Your Feet I had to take some time to go over instructions on what the students would be doing. The statement was related to something inconsequential such as their likes or dislikes of certain foods. I was surprised by their responses in the Vote with Your Feet reflection piece because I had some students give some great insights as to what they noticed about the responses in the room. Students’ responses included that one option was healthy and one was not, and everyone had their own idea of what they might have liked. I loved how this activity set the tone for students to be comfortable with their own opinion. I only had a few students look around to see where someone might be standing before they moved to the exact same position. The Vote with Your Seat activity was tied into our problem posing learning, so we were able to make an agree and disagree statement based on the problem presented. I had students use this activity to generate a list of tally marks on the board to see what the majority and minority vote was and draw conclusions. This activity was easier to use because the students didn’t have to move out of their seats and I got a quick overview of what the students were feeling. Some thoughts on why I thought these two drama-based activities were the most successful was because every student had the opportunity to respond, not just the more vocal and confident students. I saw everyone express an idea or look to see other responses. I didn’t have silliness or off-task behavior. I believe that these students liked using their bodies for expression and could relate to the questions that were being asked. When I introduced a related question DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 51 regarding fireworks, I could see a lot of emotion or strong feelings that indicated that this was a sensitive and passionate topic. Starting with the question, “Should we get rid of fireworks? I got a resounding “No!” but as we explored the topic and different perspectives we weren’t as sure about that first response later in the following lessons. Problem posing learning from Freire gives the students the opportunity to create an environment of humanization which includes thoughtful interactions and reflection from both educator and student. I saw this working throughout the problem posing lessons especially in the drama-based activity Poster Dialogue on Day Four, when we had to realize that in order to solve problems, we have to reach a compromise or a solution that meets everyone’s needs. Student’s gave thoughtful reflections on the posters such as, “Have water nearby” or “Don’t light fireworks near the grass.” I also saw a lot of responses to the student’s suggestions that were positive and constructive. My examination of these experiences has made me realize that to achieve optimum engagement it is necessary to incorporate a problem posing situation for your students that is relatable or a type of conflict that requires a resolution, so that students can use higher level thinking skills which help intrigue or hook your students’ interest. Also, that physical movement enhances active engagement within an activity by giving students an opportunity to express an idea or an opinion nonverbally that might otherwise be suppressed due to lack of confidence of speaking out loud in front of the other students. Once teachers have established these concepts in their teaching, they are more likely to see a student’s commitment to exploration or discovery of what they believe is true or a dissonance that makes them rethink their beliefs or values of a given situation. Social learning theory was prevalent in every drama-based activity When reflecting or notating when social learning was happening through various drama-based activities, I discovered that it was always happening within every drama-based activity DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 52 whether there was high or low engagement. Drams-based pedagogy is built on Vygotsky’s social learning theory so it seems that this would be an obvious interpretation of data. However, to really have an opportunity to pay close attention and take mental notes to this type of learning on a deeper level you have an astute awareness that this is going on around you at all times. This research project has shown me that social learning is always prevailing even if you think a certain drama-based activity isn’t going well. An experience from this research that shows this kind of awareness would be from an activity that I considered as one of the lowest engagement activities due to certain complications such as the students not being able to remember two things at once or giving up if something was to hard. The activity that was most difficult for my students was Two by Three Bradford, from Day Two, the students struggled with alternating the numbers one, two, three with a partner. Once the students got used to the one partner always saying one, we then switched to the other partner starting at one and then having the students alternate who was going to start with one. This is when students started to struggle, some students were beginning to get off task and were being silly or some of the students kept repeating the pattern in the same sequence over and over. However, this activity is where the reflection piece showed the most promise by students opening up and being vulnerable by being honest in responding to the question, “How many of you thought this activity was hard or difficult?” I had students step up to the plate and say, “Hard, because you say one, then your partner says two, and then you say three, then your partner starts with one” and “It was hard to remember to switch back and forth.” In some of the the drama-based activities, when I asked them to raise their hand if they found an activity hard or difficult, I received no responses. This may have been due to the fact that some students were shy to speak up or were embarrassed to look incompetent in front of their peers. But this activity, DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 53 Two by Three Bradford the students were quite outspoken about the difficulties that they faced. I believe they did this because so many of them were having a difficult time that this was a relatable situation; therefore, it was okay to share. Through this project I have realized that it’s when the students are in the struggle or having dissonance that we have the most interesting and inspiring responses. When students have an invested interest with a given topic or problem, they feel a certain passion to react or give feedback to what is being presented to them. I saw this with the fireworks predicament especially with the Poster Dialogue activity. Some students started by not knowing what to write on the poster, but by looking at other students’ responses they were able to build and create ideas of their own. In being a facilitator, I can give the required support and scaffolding the students’ need in order to engage in some higher order thinking skills such as analyzing and synthesizing. I noticed that throughout this project the students were giving viable solutions to certain drama-based activities that they were struggling with through sharing their thoughts and ideas on what they found difficult and what they could do in order to be successful. It’s that careful balance that a facilitator creates within a classroom to pay close attention to students’ diverse abilities to readiness and making the adjustments needed to help students feel challenged but not frustrated. I believe that the students become more engaged in this process because they learned to trust the facilitator to know when they could tackle more complicated tasks. As a drama-based instructor this can be difficult at times and in some cases, it was a trial and error system until I was able to get to the right level of complexity. When students didn’t have that level of complexity they were mostly off task and the quality of responses were not well thought out such as on Day three, when we did Thumbs for the second time. I also realized that if I asked the students to think of doing two things at once DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 54 most students could not accomplish this requirement and student engagement started to decline. This was noticeable in Day Five, playing the drama-based activity Buzz, students could not remember that on an even number you had to buzz as if a lightening bold had struck you. Plus, students got lost counting by trying to think and react at the same time. They did enjoy the game Buzz when they could make up their own sound and pass it around the circle one at a time. This leads me to reaffirm my convictions in the above paragraph that as a facilitator you have to be quick to observe and make adjustments, which I did when I let the students just make up a sound and pass it around the circle. Some things I could have tried could have been to have the students practice their even numbers several times so they were familiar with that aspect of the game and then tried the buzzing sound or maybe just have them use a physical movement such as stepping back if they were an even number and after practicing that having them go back to the buzzing sound as a replacement. The physical layout of a classroom is important Space was an issue, students struggled with getting in a circle it was awkward and obtrusive. Some examples of this would be on Day Two, students had a hard time filling in gaps of the circle and there were large spaces in between children. Students found it difficult to turn to their left or right to choose a partner. I felt as if the circle was to wide and therefore the part of the game that was suppose to execute a sense of belong and trust was lost. In my investigation it was hard to tell if student engagement declined because the students were truly not interested or the students lost interest because we could not hear one another or create a more affable environment. I also could not move around the circle to help support as reflected in Day One. Instead, I chose to stand in the front of the classroom but would have liked to have had the opportunity to move around to different parts of the circle; however, that was not an option DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 55 because of space and the desks being in the way. Being a facilitator in drama-based instruction is where you can give the students support by observing and making non-biased suggestions or watching them perform and help clarify their meaning and intent of a given activity. Without creating a smaller, more comfortable, and friendlier circle, it was frustrating to facilitate these activities to an optimal extent; I am confident that if I had complete control over the physical layout, I could have gotten a higher success rate in active learning in most or all of my drama-based activities which would have improved some of my students’ responses for the reflective questioning. Conclusion The study itself was insightful because I got to “dive in” and experience doing this kind of teaching with students first hand. I encountered some concerns that were challenging in having a highly engaged classroom such as having the required space and teaching students the pro-social skills that are important to know. Space was a big issue with this classroom, I had a hard time getting the students to form a closer and more compacted circle. The problem was that the desks took up most of the classroom space, something I would do differently would be to ask the classroom teacher if I could move the desks around. I saw several possibilities where the desks could have been moved, maybe in a big circle and then the students and I could have made a smaller circle within that larger circle. I also saw the possibility of grouping the desks into 5 groups each having six desks, which would have created more space in the front of the room. I think that it’s important to evaluate your space when using drama-based instruction in order to create an environment that students can feel comfortable sharing ideas and thoughts with one another. The farther you are spread out within the classroom it becomes difficult to hear one another and the deeper meaning in the DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 56 reflection part of drama-based pedagogy gets lost when someone is trying to express their point of view. Some questions that could be asked in regards to researching space as an important factor of creative learning could be, does different kinds of physical space impact creative learning or what kinds of different set ups could you use with drama-based instruction so that it can be effective in smaller classrooms that have a larger number of students? Some students struggled with having the pro-social skills needed to fully engage and be able to participate in a caring way while also being able to observe and reflect on other’s thoughts and ideas. Some changes that I could have included would have been to give the students more opportunities to do drama-based activities that incorporated trust and belonging or spend more time discussing what went well in our interactions with one another and what we still need to work on. I think that if I had some control over organizing the physical environment it could have had a huge impact on establishing focus amongst the participants. I strongly believe that some of the drama-based activities take a certain amount of time and practice to develop the skills that are required for effective communication especially if students have not been engaged in these kinds of activities before. Some ideas that could have helped would have been to generate a quick student interest survey before coming to their classroom in order to connect their interest to their learning. I also could have asked some questions or engaged in a discussion with the classroom teachers about some concerns they might have with student’s behavior. As an educator, proactive planning can help alleviate or reduce the amount of disruptions that might be found in a learning environment. In my opinion, the reason I think that drama-based instruction is so important is because students don’t get to have positive interactions with one another which are constructed for learning and developing those essential communication skills which help children socialize effectively within DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 57 a classroom. I love the idea of using drama-based instruction at the beginning of the year which helps set the foundation for revisiting those positive behaviors as well as some difficult behaviors that might have happened in earlier lessons. For example, when teaching other parts of the curriculum and students are having a hard time expressing their thoughts because of trust or behavioral issues, drama-based instruction creates that bridge to talk about behavior in a meaningful way and shows us how we can fix our struggles with communication, while developing a self-awareness of our learning experiences. This project has given me the time to reflect on how I would want to organize a classroom spatially while building important pro-social skills with well thought out questions at the end of each activity. Also, by having a problem posing situation where students can collectively struggle and help one another by using social interactions to help guide them through the more difficult thinking. I also learned that depending on the age of the students it requires some deeper thought on how to break some of these activities into smaller part in order for the students to feel successful. Overall, I would love to share and inspire my fellow colleagues with this creative method of instruction that helps students strengthen their interpersonal skills while using higher order thinking to work through problems that are relatable to them. I appreciate the fact that not only is drama-based instruction engaging for students but is also appealing for teachers because the lessons are interesting and enjoyable which adds a certain spark to the classroom that is invigorating. I’m excited to use these lessons in my everyday teaching and improve my drama-based instructional methods to incorporate some of the solutions listed above in order to alleviate some of the more challenging obstacles that I encountered. DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 58 REFERENCES Applied Drama. (n.d.) Wikipedia. Retrieved March 3, 2018 from https://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied _Drama. Boal, A (2000). Theater of the oppressed. Pluto Press. Cawthon, S. W., Dawson, K., & Ihorn, S. (2011). Activating Student Engagement through Drama-Based Instruction. Journal for Learning through the Arts, 7(1), n1. Christenson, S.L., Reschly, A. L., Appleton, J. J., Berman, S., Spanjers, D., & Varro, P. (2008). Best practices in fostering student engagement. Best practices in school psychology, 5, 1099–1120. Dawson, K., & Lee, B. K., (2018). Drama-based pedagogy: activating learning across the curriculum. Chicago, IL: Intellect LTD. Deci, E. L., Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., & Ryan, R.M. (1991). Motivation and education: the self-determination perspective. Educational psychologist, 26(3-4), 325–346. Drafke, M. W., Schoenbachler, D.D. & Gordon, G. L. (1996). Active and passive teaching methodologies: student outcomes over a semester course. Marketing Education Review, 6(1), 9–17. Fernsler, H. M. (2003). A Comparison between the test scores of third grade children who receive drama in place of traditional social studies instruction and third grade children who receive traditional social studies instruction. Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed, Trans. Myra Bergman Ramos. New York: Herder. Goss, P., & Sonnemann, J. (2017). Engaging students: Creating classrooms that improve learning. DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 59 Howard, L. A. (2004). Speaking theatre/doing pedagogy: re‐visiting theatre of the oppressed. Communication Education, 53(3), 217–233. Lindqvist, G. (2003). Vygotsky's theory of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 15(2-3), 245– 251. Littledyke, M. (2001). Drama and primary science. Lee, B. K., Patall, E. A., Cawthon, S. W., & Steingut, R. R. (2015). The effect of drama-based pedagogy on preK–16 outcomes: A meta-analysis of research from 1985 to 2012. Review of Educational Research, 85(1), 3–49. McCammon, L. A., & Betts, D. (1999). Helping kids to “imaginate”: The story of drama education at one elementary school. ERIC Clearinghouse. Neelands, J. (2009). Acting together: ensemble as a democratic process in art and life. RiDE: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 14(2), 173–189. Norris, J. (2000). Drama as research: Realizing the potential of drama in education as a research methodology. Youth Theatre Journal, 14(1), 40–51. Orlik, P. 1978. Social intelligence. In Handbook of pedagogical diagnosis, ed. K.J. Klauer, 341–51. Dusseldorf: Schwann. Pelletier, L. G., Séguin-Lévesque, C., & Legault, L. (2002). Pressure from above and pressure from below as determinants of teachers' motivation and teaching behaviors. Journal of educational psychology, 94(1), 186. Richardson, V. (2005), Constructivist teaching and teacher education: Theory and practice. In Constructivist teacher education (pp. 13-24). Routledge. DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 60 Rose, D.S., Parks M., & Androes, K. (2000) Imaginary-based learning: improving elementary students’ reading comprehension with drama techniques. Journal Of Educational research, 94(1), 55–63. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American psychologist, 55(1), 68. Schussler, D. L. (2009). Beyond content: How teachers manage classrooms to facilitate intellectual engagement for disengaged students. Theory Into Practice, 48(2), 114–121. Saxon, L., (n.d.) Theatre of the oppressed summary. What is theatre of the oppressed? Retrieved February, 2018, from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5751c590746fb9c9be542bb3/t/57ae676ebebafb245 9efb362/1471049177476/Summary+-+Theatre+of+the+Oppressed+copy.pdf Stefanou, C. R., Perencevich, K. C., DiCintio, M., & Turner, J. C. (2004). Supporting autonomy in the classroom: Ways teachers encourage student decision making and ownership. Educational Psychologist, 39(2), 97–110. Sternberg, R.J., Conway, B. E., Ketron, J. L., & Berstein, M. (1981). People’s conception of Intelligence. Journal of personality and social psychology, 41(1), 37. Struyven, K., Dochy, F., & Janssens, S. (2010). “Teach as you preach”: the effects of student‐ centred versus lecture‐based teaching on student teachers’ approaches to teaching. European Journal of Teacher Education, 33(1), 43–64. Swartz, R., Costa, A., Beyer, B., Reagan, R., & Kallick, B. (2007). Thinking based learning. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon. Windschitl, M. (1999). The challenges of sustaining a constructivist classroom culture. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(10), 751. DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 61 Wingfield, S. S., & Black, G. S. (2005). Active versus passive course designs: The impact on student outcomes. Journal of Education for Business, 81(2), 119–123. DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 62 APPENDICES Appendix A: Informed Consent Appendix B: Outline of Lesson Plans Appendix C: Communities List Appendix D: Who Me? Worksheet Appendix E: Puzzle Piece Poster Appendix F: Categories of items in Urban and Rural Areas Appendix G: Tally Marks with Reasons / Worksheet for Agree or Disagree Appendix H: Poster Dialogue Appendix I: South Ogden City Council Letters DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 63 Appendix A: Informed Consent Weber State University Informed Consent The use of Drama-based pedagogy in the classroom curriculum Your student is invited to participate in an action research study concerning the effects of drama-based pedagogy for active engagement in learning. Your student was selected as a possible subject because he or she is a student in Mrs. Haywood’s and Mrs. Schow’s 3rd grade classroom. We ask that you, as the parent, read this form and ask any questions you may have before consenting to allowing your student to be in the study. The study is being conducted by Susan Houston and Weber State University, under the direction of Dr. Vincent Bates. The purpose of this project is to study active student engagement by incorporating drama-based methods. PROCEDURES FOR THE STUDY: If you give consent for your student to be in the study, he or she will participate in a series of 5 fifty-minute lessons during the regular school day. The lessons will be taught by Mrs. Houston (a licensed elementary educator) to integrate concepts from the Utah social studies core standards with Utah drama standards. The lessons that are taught will be video recorded for the sake of professional reflection for possible changes or adaptations to subsequent lessons. There will be a strong effort to not include students in the video recordings since recordings are going to be used for the purpose of improving instructional techniques. Video recordings will not be shared and will be deleted after the project is finished. These lessons will begin in September and conclude in October. In these lessons, students will participate in drama-based activities that encourage self-expression, meaningful dialogue, writing, movement, and problem solving. RISKS OF TAKING PART IN THE STUDY: There is a small risk involving videotaping, some students might be seen in the video footage that is being used for self-reflection and observations for improving instruction. Every effort will be made to keep student’s faces out of the videotaping. Videotaping will be done by using a smartphone that is password protected. Videos will only be seen by involved parties in this research study. Student’s identities will be kept private and confidential. All videos will be deleted upon completion of this project, which is December 13th. Mrs. Houston will be keeping a journal to reflect on her teaching experiences while doing this study. Also, some written or artistic work will be photographed, but personal identifiers will be deleted. All materials will be kept in a password protected personal computer. BENEFITS OF TAKING PART IN THE STUDY: The information gathered in this study may be useful for teachers to understand the dynamics of using drama-based activities in the curriculum. Drama-based learning has been previously shown to help students develop listening, communication and problem-solving skills. CONFIDENTIALITY All efforts will be made to keep student’s personal information confidential. We cannot guarantee absolute confidentiality. The student’s personal information may be disclosed if required by law. Your student’s identity will be held in confidence in reports in which the study may be published and databases in which results may be stored. DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 64 Organizations that may inspect and/or copy your student’s research records for quality assurance and data analysis include groups such as the study investigator and his/her research associates, the Weber State University Institutional Review Board or its designees, and (as allowed by law) state or federal agencies, specifically the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP). CONTACTS FOR QUESTIONS OR PROBLEMS For questions about the study, contact the researcher, Susan Houston at suhouston14@gmail.com or the researcher’s mentor, Vincent Bates at vincentbates@weber.edu. For questions about your student’s rights as a research participant or to discuss problems, complaints or concerns about a research study, or to obtain information, or offer input, contact the Chair of the IRB Committee IRB@weber.edu. VOLUNTARY NATURE OF STUDY Taking part in this study is voluntary. You may choose to have your student not to take part or to leave the study any time. Leaving the study will not result in any penalty or loss of benefits to which your student is entitled. Your decision whether or not to have your student participate in this study will not affect your student’s current or future relations with her or his teacher, Uintah Elementary, or Weber State University. SUBJECT’S CONSENT In consideration of all of the above, I give my consent for my son/daughter to participate in this research study. I will be given a copy of this informed consent document to keep for my records. Subject’s (student’s) Printed Name: _____________________________ Subject’s (student’s) Signature: ____________________________ Date: _______________ (must be dated by subject) Printed Name of Parent: ______________________________________ Signature of Parent: ______________________________________ Date: _______________ Printed Name of Person Obtaining Consent: _ Susan Houston Signature of Person Obtaining Consent (Susan Houston) _________________________Date: ______ DRAMA-BASED PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 65 Dear Parents, I am currently working on a Masters of Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction at Weber State University. For my final project, I have chosen what I consider to be a very relevant topic affecting today’s classroom: I am researching student engagement through the use of dram-based activities. Specifically, I will be teaching a series of five fifty-minute lessons from the beginning of September to the end of October. I have taught for 8 years in various grades in elementary and I have a current teaching license. The lessons I have designed integrate with the Utah social studies curriculum standards and with the Utah drama curriculum. This is a great opportunity for students to further develop interpersonal, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Students will engage in creative movement and peer interaction in small and large groups. I need, and would so appreciate, your signed permission to allow your student to participate in this study. I will be photographing some final projects that require drawing, written expression or creative art. The lessons that I will be teaching will be videotaped and used for professional development. I will be reviewing the videos with a drama expert to determine if changes or adaptations need to be made in order to develop effective drama-based lessons. I will begin videotaping in September and then finish at the end of October. Every possible effort will be made to keep student’s faces out of video content, since the videos are being used for professional development only. At any time, you can contact me at suhouston14@gmail.com to request that you want your student to stop participation in this project. The videos will not be shared in the final project and will be deleted as soon as the project is finished on December 13th. Your student’s identity will not be revealed to anyone not directly involved in conducting the research, nor will their identity be revealed in any publication, document, or computer database. I firmly believe that as teachers we should always strive to improve student engagement and have students feel empowered in their education by having opportunities to make decisions, feel confident, and have positive interactions throughout their learning. Participation is voluntary and refusal to participate will involve no penalty