Theater Integration
Using Theater to Make History Come Alive
The Problem
- Not every student likes history
- Many students do not like lectures
- Many students do not see why they should study some old, dead, white males
Incorporating Theater
- Incorporated theater into the four US history classes
- Students performed skits based on assigned readings and created talk shows and played the role of historical figures involved in different civil rights movement events
Research Questions
What is the impact of theater in the history classroom on student engagement?
What is the impact of theater integration on knowledge retention?
How does theater integration influence students’ understanding of the multiple perceptions of an event within a history class?
Data Collection
- Had the students complete a preliminary survey about their opinions of history
- In the Civil Rights Unit had the students complete a pre and post test to measure content retention
- In the Civil Rights
movement
I had the students complete a pre and post survey about their knowledge of the different perspectives within the event to measure change in knowledge of social perspectives - After the intervention the students completed a survey with their overall opinions of the use of theater
Findings
- Most students seemed to enjoy theater
- Most students liked the hands-on learning
- Some found speaking in front of the class and doing group projects stressful