Annotated Bibliography Second Draft

Works Cited

Miller, Lauren. "Theatre Arts Programs: Impact of Cognitive Development in Elementary School

Students." Online Submission (2011). ERIC. Web. 25 Mar. 2013

In this article, Miller focuses on the research question: how do elementary school theatre arts programs impact the cognitive development skills in children? And what scientific evidence suggests that participating in theatre arts will improve student’s development academically in turn impacting students test scores? To answer this, Miller states that theater arts have been thought to influence the cognitive process through “the underlying mechanism of attention”. She explains that understanding students with an innate interest in the arts have a correlation with their interest or motivation of producing art is vital for parents and educators to understand.  Also, she includes the idea that it is vital that schools provide opportunities for children to develop their imaginative skills to better understand the world around them in their own terms and in terms of the classroom, or on the stage. There are many studies mentioned involving elementary school students and their involvement in theatre, one of which involved students who attended a drama program two hours a week in the classroom. These students worked with professional artists on acting skills, physical and vocal gains. After ten weeks the students were given a standard comprehension test given by the state, and the overall scores drastically improved, especially in those that focused on the students’ ability to identify factual information from written text. The author then conducted her own study by producing the musical Peter Pan with children and recording the specific findings from this experiment.

While I am presented with significant research and studies in this article, Miller spends more time in the beginning of the article focusing on the explanation of cognitive development of children and the history of arts in public school. This information is important in her article because it helps the reader better understand how the child is developing during these years. This way it is better seen how specific tasks of performance can enhance the parts of their brains that are maturing. Also, with the history of arts in school, the reader can see the steady decline over the years. This explains Miller’s idea that the research later described is important for educators to see. The rest of the article is research and studies that support Miller’s ideas as well as a study she conducted herself. Questions that I was left with include why and how she chose the elementary school that she did to conduct her study, as well as why she chose Peter Pan.

This article will help me have better information to share with my readers. Miller has very valid arguments of how the involvement in theatre is good for the academic success of elementary school students. I plan to specifically pull out which task benefits which ability for the student, as well as use statistic displayed by the author.  I especially like that she included specific students and how their attitudes and motivation changed, which is where I can include my personal experiences as well.

• “Brian has had trouble in school in his academics and behavior in the past…..As soon as he was cast, Brian showed a great commitment outside of his normal character to the play and his part. He was on time to rehearsals, focused during his scenes and promptly learned all his lines.” (32)

•  “The effect of the lack of theatre arts programs not only is hindering our students’ appreciation and understanding of this important artistic aspect of our society but it could be causing a unique learning experience to be missed.” (7)

• “The experience I had in theatre arts during elementary school shaped my ability to perform well academically in school and gave me the skills of concentration and dedication to learn something new.” (5)

Works Cited

Brock, Jessica. "Integrating Theater Arts into the Classroom: The New Responsibilities of the

Elementary School Teacher." Online Submission (2011). ERIC. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.

            This article focuses on theater arts integration in curriculum and how it engages students in the learning process and promotes a greater affinity for education. If students are eager to learn, they will pay closer attention to subject matter. Once students are more engaged in school, schools will perform better on academic testing and produce students who have a better attitude towards education and learning. Brock obtains assumptions such as “students retain more of what they are taught if they are engaged by a lesson” and “using theatricality (character voices, acting out scenarios being taught, physical movement) while teaching will engage students.” Brock also takes time to conduct interviews of teachers and how they interpret theatre arts into their teaching practices. Through the interview and observations, she found that theater arts integration in the classroom sparks moral and creative expression. If students are allowed this opportunity of expression, they will feel more in control of their education. School will be less of a chore and more of a privilege. It was shown as that when students have an interest in one aspect of school, it makes other subjects more relevant, especially if multiple subjects are linked by a common theme.

            This article starts by stating the purpose statement and questions so it is clear for the reader to understand. Brock then takes time to explain her experience with theatre in elementary school, and also incorporated the history of the arts in public schools like Miller did in her article. This provides the reader with a good understanding of why it is important not to forget arts as a “core” subject, as it already has been. Brock then conducts an interview of a sixth grade teacher. In the interview, she asked a series of direct questions pertaining to the topic and wrote the interview so no details were left out. This allows the reader to absorb the information and reach his or her own conclusion on the subject matter. I was left with the questions: how do teachers learn the benefits of theatre on their students? Is this method of teaching taught to them, or does it come with personal experience?

            This article will help me with research for my paper because it helps show the “teaching” side of my topic. It is the teacher’s responsibility to incorporate theatre into the classroom even if it is not offered as a class in school. This allows the students to still be introduced to the skills to better improve their performance. This article focuses on teaching methods that incorporate theatrical ideas and spark creativity in the students.  Also, it is pointed out that every teacher should somehow challenge the students in this way to better engage them in the learning process. This way, students are benefiting from theatre without being in an actual theatre class.

•  “If theatre arts are used in classroom curriculum, teachers are appealing to several types of intelligences. Students are actively engaged both physically and mentally, using language, body movement, sound, and communication.” (7)

•  “For example, if students are having an enjoyable time writing and performing a skit about how the human digestive tract works, they are learning while having a good time and may not actually realize that they are doing school work and learning.” (7)

•   “If teachers integrate Theater Arts into their classrooms they are benefiting their students and promoting higher classroom morale while covering content standards that are frequently overlooked. With better retention, a larger vocabulary bank and higher interest in school, it is likely that test scores would improve and students would receive a better education.” (16)

Works Cited

Wooster, Roger.  Contemporary Theatre in Education. Chicago: Intellect Books, 2007. p. 10-27.

Print.

            Wooster spends Chapter 3 of this book focusing on the hybrid of theatre and education. He begins with the explanation of the origin of Theatre in Education (TIE), which was part of the ‘alternative theatre’ movement of the 1960s. This concept was described as developing the power of drama to encourage thought, reflection, and analysis in young people. He also states that educational drama essentially uses children’s innate ability to play and role-play as a way to deepen and make their process of learning more efficient. Wooster describes the “child-centered” education, which is basically a philosophy that puts the emotional needs of children before the requirement of learning facts. More effective learning took place when children were encouraged to investigate the world through play and active approaches to different concepts. Group interaction, for example, would teach them to cooperate and think more rationally about the information they were studying. Within drama, Wooster explains, it is possible for children to address their personal and social needs, as well as come to terms with their own selves in the world.

            In this book, only one chapter seemed relevant to the topic I plan to discuss in my paper. The beginning of the book goes into detail about the history of theatre in education, and the end incorporates that knowledge compared to other countries. This information does not seem as significant to me as the chapter about integrating theatre into education for children. The author explained many different points of view about this topic. He used research from many psychologists to help explain his ideas and reasoning. The chapter went into good detail about each topic and I was not left with any questions.

            This book will help me during the process of my paper by allowing me to describe Theatre in Education; how it started, and the impact it has on children. The author portrays many examples the positive effects it has on children, and also supports his ideas with research. I will use this information to describe benefits of theatre arts education in elementary school students.  However, the other articles I have read focused more on how it has an impact on their school work. This book mentions that concept, but goes more into detail about the psychological benefits in and outside the classroom.

•  “Drama is often used for playing out situations in which the individual has to make decisions about morals. By making situations conscious, the child is able to look at life as an observer and make slow inward decisions.” (10)

•  “The claim that drama can contribute to self-discipline, personal and emotional development and human relationships, has been substantiated by much of the admirable work we have seen.” (11) 
•   “This is not to say, as some have argued, that the only purpose of drama is theatre. The ability to ‘play’ is a pre-requisite of theatre but it is also a building block for continuing human and personal development.” (22)

 Works Cited

Moore, Mandie. "Using Drama as an Effective Method to Teach Elementary Students." (2004):

pgs. 10-23. Web. 30 Mar. 2013.

In this article, Moore states that putting on plays for an audience is not what is meant by using drama in the classroom. The goal is not to teach acting and performance skills, but instead it is to teach the core curricular areas using drama. She states that there are many ways in which drama can be integrated into the elementary classroom. Drama can be a way to teach all subject areas such as language arts, social studies, and science. Through the article, the author gives evidence that drama is a highly effective means of reaching students with intelligences that are not reached through traditional teaching methods. She also introduces the “learning by doing” theory, which basically means that learning happens through active participation.  By integrating drama into education, students learn valuable social skills, and develop proficiency for continued success in life. Drama involves imaginative transformation and reflection on experiences, and helps students expand their ability to act out thoughts in their minds. This skill is necessary for organizing thoughts and problem solving situations in everyday life. Drama is also beneficial because of how much the students engage with each other.

Through this article, Moore describes her reasoning of why it is important to integrate drama into teaching elementary school. She starts by giving her personal background, and also gives an example of her own while she was student teaching. She turned an ordinary assignment of teaching about Thanksgiving into an active role-playing activity for the students. She then noted the significant change in attention and how much more information they retained. She then goes into description of other benefits that have been shown by researchers. The author did a good job explaining her points through research and I am not left with any questions.

I will use this article to give examples to my readers about the benefit of drama as it is integrated into teaching practices. Due to the fact that not many elementary schools have active theatre programs, it is important for teachers to teach the students these valuable skills in other ways. I think this will become a significant part of my paper because I believe it is the most common way that theatre is found in elementary schools, and the students show great improvement.

• “Students are fully involved in learning with drama. They are immersed into the subject. Their bodies, minds, and emotions are extremely active when they become engrossed in the drama.” (19)

• “In drama, the student is creating something new. Their imaginations are activated and many times students work together to solve problems in drama.” (22)

• "Not only should teachers use drama to teach the elementary curriculum, but also use drama to teach the students. The educator’s job in the classroom is to teach students the curriculum and help them become life-long learners.” (10)

Works Cited

"The Benefits of Drama Education: Research reveals the positive impact of drama on a student’s

Physical, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Development." DramaEd.net. Drama

Education Network, n.d. Web. 31 Mar 2013.

My final source is a document published by the Drama Education Network. The document is a list of the positive impact and skills gained by participating in drama.  The skills listed range from self-confidence to social awareness. The document then goes into detail about each skill and how it specifically helps the student. For example, “self-confidence: taking risks in class and performing for an audience teach students to trust their ideas and abilities. The confidence gained in drama applies to school, career, and life” is an example given in this list.

I found this document to be very beneficial to my research. Other articles and books I have read gave me information that focused around a few of the skills gained from theatre arts. This document lists many skills and gives a quick explanation about each instead of spending a few pages describing each. I felt that it is organized in a way that was very easy for me to understand without trying to read through a whole study trying to find the main points. This source gets straight to the point and includes a lot of benefits. As far as questions I was left with, I would have liked to know how they determined this list, was it by survey or other means of research?

I plan to use this document a lot while writing my paper. Each of the skills mentioned in the list is very significant to my research. I plan to include every skill into my paper, and find examples from other articles I have read to include past the short description given in this document. For example, in Miller’s article, she explains about a student named Brian who became more confident in school after his participation in her production of Peter Pan. I can include this while I am talking about the benefit of self-confidence while being involved in theatre arts.

• “Communication Skills: Drama enhances verbal and nonverbal expression of ideas. It improves voice projection, articulation of words, fluency with language, and persuasive speech. Listening and observation skills develop by playing drama games, being an audience, rehearsing, and performing.”

• “Problem Solving: Students learn how to communicate the who, what, where, and why to the audience. Improvisation fosters quick-thinking solutions, which leads to greater adaptability in life.”

• "Social Awareness: Legends, myths, poems, stories, and plays used in drama teach students about social issues and conflicts from cultures, past and present, all over the world.”