Hinduism And Christianty

Using Drama as a Teaching Tool

By Elaine Brooks

Instructor: Joel Drews

(Axia) COM 125

7-1-2007

Using Drama as a Teaching Tool

The education of children in this country has always been subject to change based on attitude, demographics, politics and money. In the past, agriculture determined when, if, and what type of education children received. Industrialization and higher regard for children began the methods of schooling that carry into the present day. Shortly thereafter, mandatory education became law, and the Civil Rights Movement helped to make it a law for all children. Throughout years of educational reform, the methods for educating children advanced, changing from rote memorization combined with physical discipline to more progressive teaching striving to educate based on ways children learn best. Today, the importance of education is never questioned, whereas the methodology for educating children is. With today's emphasis on education, and better understanding of how children learn, incorporating styles of teaching proven to promote advanced thinking and retention is essential for educational growth. Children learn better when they can apply what they are learning to a meaningful situation. Using drama techniques to teach traditional subjects engages students in the learning process, creates deeper understanding of subject material through physical, mental, and emotional application, and prepares students to utilize their education outside of school.

Understanding Drama Education

Understanding what drama is allows educators to understand what drama can do when applied to education. The word drama is derived from the Greek word dran, meaning to do or perform. (The American Heritage Dictionary, 2007.) The concept of drama in education follows the original Greek meaning of doing as a way of learning. Applying the techniques of drama education in a traditional history class places students in the position of understanding historical figures and their struggles as pertaining to their time periods.

Jennifer Canty McMaster surmises that drama is a necessary medium for teachers to employ as it can enhance every facet of literary growth. Drama intertwines with the essential language arts bases, and its application encourages active learning in groups rather than isolated learning.

In her article for The Reading Teacher (1998 Apr.), McMaster submits that the use of dramatics in teaching literature is a key component for student understanding. Because it is conducive to the core of language arts, drama offers many productive experiences that strengthen basic skills. Drama generates a purpose for reading, and offers multitudes of verbal and physical exchanges that help students "think out loud". Students learn to listen from following scripted exchanges and participating as audience members. Drama also encourages strong linguistic ability. Students are inclined to use correct grammar and syntax when immersed in dramatic scenes. Writing abilities grow when students write scenes about materials they are studying. McMaster's (1998 Apr.) concludes, "Drama builds on something children do naturally-pretending. By building on a natural ability, all students can experience success from the start."

Dramatic engagement naturally encourages group learning and fosters a strong sense of community action. With less emphasis on competition and singular identity, students feel less pressure to provide answers to questions but engage in discussion and supposition combined with action to gain a lasting understanding of materials being taught.

Preston Feden and Robert Vogel have created new ideas to help generate methods of teaching designed to work more in tandem with the learning patterns of the human brain.

Preston and Vogel (2003) propose that restructuring educational methods is the first step in changing learning processes. Community learning, strong interchange and personal connection to subjects are another step. Vogel (2003) asserts that, "The brain does not learn in isolation." Step three involves helping students strengthen their perceptions through real-life applications. Step four requires awareness of knowledge levels, and utilizing comparison and contrast to spark more in depth learning. Recognizing the different learning abilities of students is an important step. Students can be integrated into teaching methods that includes more activity in learning. Step five encourages less attachment to traditional testing methods and more focus on ability as it is applied to created situations. Changing focus from route memorization to cause and effect allows for better understanding of subjects. The last step encourages accepting different methods for teaching.

Group learning teaches students to rely on each other and helps to boost the individual esteem of each student by creating feelings of essentialness and necessity to the overall group effort. Dramatic engagement also encourages independent thinking and assessment and the ability to apply knowledge directly to a concept. Anderson (2004) states, " Though traditional classroom instruction can convey a great deal of information on a topic, the application of that knowledge often involves implicit knowledge that is difficult to teach out of context." Learning how to use the material that is being imparted as it applies to real life situations provides students with an invaluable tool for life outside of school.

The Status of Dramatic Education

Drama as an educational tool is frequently misunderstood by administrators, educators, and policy makers. Understanding drama as something other than a theatrical endeavor is a step in utilizing dramatic techniques for teaching traditional courses. As a learning tool, drama is vastly under-rated and subject to budget cuts or non-existence, in favor of mathematics and sciences. It is difficult to find any sources who claim that the arts are a useless frill in education, but the sheer amounts of sites begging for support to save art and drama programs in schools indicates that attitudes towards arts curriculum, including drama, deem the programs to be of little importance. Drama courses are usually the first classes to be cut when budget issues arise, because they are not considered curricular equals to mathematics and sciences. The biggest issue for drama courses lays in the emphasis of mathematics and sciences in education and higher