Performance in the classroom: exploring teachers' use of dramatic performance in classroom instruction

Abstract

This qualitative case study explores the ways in which an experienced educator utilizes elements of dramatic performance, and improvised drama, in her classroom instructional practices. While a great deal of existing literature articulates the benefits of participation in creative dramatics for both adults and children, and the ways creative drama and improvisation intersect with learning, literacy, and social skills development, little scholarship directly positions educators themselves as dramatic performers and improvisers. It is the goal of this research to fill this gap in existing literature by explicitly considering educators as performers of both scripted and improvised drama.

Drawing on my own experiences as a speech and theatre teacher, and my training in sketch writing and improvisation at Chicago’s famed Second City Conservatory and iO Theater, this research explores the ways in which educators employ principles of dramatic performance in their daily pedagogical practices. Positioned within the interpretivist theoretical framework of phenomenology, this case study uses semi-structured, in-depth interviews with an experienced English Language Arts educator and two of her students, as well as recorded and in-person classroom observations, instructional materials, and student work samples to construct an understanding of these practices.

The findings of this study indicate that experienced educators often incorporate elements of dramatic performance and improvisation in their daily teaching and classroom management practices. Noting the participant teacher’s reliance on the dramatic principles of role-play, facilitation of ensemble behaviors among students, and the foundational improvisation principle of “yes, and”, this study suggests skills in performance, knowingly or otherwise, play a key role in a successful educator’s daily pedagogical practice. These findings offer significant implications for future research in classroom instruction, behavior interventions, and the training of pre-service and professional educators.