Drama and learning science: an empty space?

Abstract

Constructivist teaching methods such as using drama have been promoted as productive ways of learning, especially in science. Specifically, role plays, using given roles or simulated and improvised enactments, are claimed to improve learning of concepts, understanding the nature of science and appreciation of science's relationship with society (Ødegaard 2001, Unpublished Dr. scient., Dissertation, University of Oslo). So far, theorisation of drama in learning, at least in science, has been lacking and no attempt has been made to integrate drama theory in science education with that of theatre. This article draws on Peter Brook's notion of the theatre as the ‘empty space’ (Brook 1968, The empty space, Harmondsworth, Penguin Books) to provide a new theoretical model acting as a lens through which drama activities used to teach science can be better understood and researched. An example of a physical role play is used to ground the theory. The paper concludes by suggesting areas for further research.

Performing the Future

“…Drama functioned as a laboratory in which the various techniques for staging and expressing emotions and ideas are equivalent elements compared to the scientific components (Kottler 1994, p. 273). Notwithstanding the relatively large body of scholarly literature on this topic (as presented in the first sections of this article), drama in science education remains relatively unexplored and underused, due to a lack of understanding of what drama is and how it can be put to use in science education (McSharry and Jones 2000;Braund 2015). With our case study, using drama as an educational tool for teaching philosophy to science students, we hope to inspire others (notably teachers) in their efforts to boost ethical and philosophical reflections on science among students with the help of dramatisation.…”

“…Nonetheless, although the conviction that the well-considered use of drama may offer empowering learning experiences to students seems widespread, the actual number of empirical studies on drama in science education is fairly limited (Cakici and Bayir 2012;Braund 2015). Braund illustrates this by noting that of the 700 papers presented at 'one of the world's largest international science education research conferences in 2011' [namely the conference of the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) in Lyon, France], only 2 papers addressed the added value of drama experiences, compared to over 100 papers dealing with the learning experiences involved in 'discussion and argumentation' (Braund 2015, p. 103).…”

“…The success of learning via drama depends to a considerable extent on the degree to which participants create links between the world of fiction and the real world (O'Neill 1985). Using drama as a tool to learn science, Braund (2015) has described the key ability of teachers as allowing space for student reflection on the extent to which their acted roles, movements or talk are realistic presentations of the science represented (Braund 2015, p. 115). This requires teachers to cross pedagogical borders from the pedagogy of drama to the pedagogy of science and vice versa (Fels and Mayer 1997;Braund 2015).…”

“…Using drama as a tool to learn science, Braund (2015) has described the key ability of teachers as allowing space for student reflection on the extent to which their acted roles, movements or talk are realistic presentations of the science represented (Braund 2015, p. 115). This requires teachers to cross pedagogical borders from the pedagogy of drama to the pedagogy of science and vice versa (Fels and Mayer 1997;Braund 2015). This is not self-evident for most science teachers, as they may perceive a loss of control when their students are improvising in an experiential setting.…”

The ‘Great Divide’: How the Arts Contribute to Science and Science Education

“…One method from the arts, perhaps above others, stands out in this regard of narrative alternatives providing the benefits of visualisation: drama. Forms of drama (scripted plays, role-play, movement, mime and dance) make science ideas, theories and processes, at varying degrees of complexity and abstraction, more comprehensible to students through their more active involvement in the reconstruction processes, necessary in a constructivist approach to learning (Braund, 2015). Additionally, drama in science models ways in which scientists develop and validate theories and provides a productive platform for debating the social, political and cultural dimensions of science, that help give science a human face, especially for students sceptical of its worth (Ødegaard, 2003).…”