Hosted by OSOS , contributed by katerina on 9 March 2018
In the context of the activity, students develop and implement a theatrical performance related to scientific concepts and learn science in a creative way. The specific objectives of the activity, which have as a central axis the interdisciplinary interconnection of science with aspects of art, aiming at the enhancement of students' interest in science, involve both students and teachers. More specifically, through this activity, students comprehend scientific concepts and phenomena, develop a spirit of cooperation and teamwork, actively participate in the elaboration of scientific concepts and they develop creative and critical thinking skills. Also, by participating in dissemination activities and entrepreneurial actions for the promotion and support of their theatrical performance, they contribute in further bridging school with society and at personal level developing their social and entrepreneurial skills.
Teachers will be engaged in professional development procedures through their cooperation and the exchange of opinions, ideas and teaching material (either in person or through online learning communities). Finally, one of the main aims of the activity is to motivate more and more teachers and students and create an educational community that will cooperate, exchange opinions, material and best practices for science teaching and learning, that will continue after the implementation of the action.
Learning Objectives
The main aim of the Learning Science Through Theatre (LSTT) approach is to give the opportunity to
primary and high school students to stage a play and dramatize scientific concepts and knowledge
from the material being taught in schools.
The LSTT’s domain specific objectives are to:
- Get students interested in science and research through theatrical play
- Teach students how to develop a theatrical script, relevant to a scientific topic
- Initiate the development of a theatrical performance by students, regarding a scientific topic
- Initiate contact between students and other professionals (for example directors and musicians)
- Bring schools closer to local community
- Engage parents and the general public into schools’ happenings and events
- Build National‐wide student networks
- Open the school to the community and involve all the stakeholders.
Towards attaining these objectives, peripheral aims are formed addressing students’ needs to:
- develop understanding about scientific inquiry
- develop abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
- identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations
- design and conduct theatrical scripts relevant to scientific concepts and issues
- use technology to improve investigations, communications and the development of theatrical performances and videos
- formulate and revise scientific scripts exploiting creativity and imagination
- recognize, analyze and imagine alternative explanations and models
- communicate a scientific argument or issue in a creative way
- develop lifelong learning skills
- develop attitudes befitting a scientific ethos
- link with science and society in a personal context
The LSTT aims at the enhancement of the students’ cognitive involvement, their representation of
scientific content using their cognitive processes, the students’ involvement using their bodies or
gestures, their emotional involvement, the social interaction and communication between them, the
use of past experiences and the creation of new ones based on sociopolitical and historical
framework and on beliefs and behaviors, their brain, body and emotion coordination and finally the
holistic use of their personality and their motives. As a result, students manage to constructively
build on each other’s ideas, enhance their learning of scientific concepts, co‐create and perform
theatrical plays.
Available partnership opportunities
Here are some partnership opportunities you should consider in your development:
| Parents | Supporting, as externals, the students performances in the various steps that will follow, either by offering their expertise if relative to the thematics/scenery demands or by personally attending the final events to cheer the effort. |
| Local businesses | Contribute by offering assets (either financial or in other material forms needed) |
| Local authorities | Supporting the whole process and disseminating the project to the local community for raising the awareness and contribute to the search for financial support |
| NGOs | Contribute by supporting with specific activities, e.g. Art NGO by providing artists, Science NGO by providing researcher. |
| Artists | Professional artists will have the chance to support the development and the staging of the play thus apprenticing the young students to the artistic aspects of the chosen thematic |
| Researchers | Researchers are entrusted to spark the youngs’ excitement in the chosen scientific concept. Furthermore they will ensure the validness of the scientific elements of the play and offer valuable help to the development of the script |
| Research institutes | Will offer a place for informal education that is complementary needed and targeted to the success of the performance. Will also engage students in the inquiry processes of researching. |
Responsible Research and Innovation
One of the key aspects of OSOS is the inclusion of RRI - Responsible Research and Innovation principles (more information at RRI-Tools.eu). This is how the Learning Science Through Theater Accelerator fits into the RRI model:
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Governance |
LSTT aims at changing the attitudes of managers and administration. Support from school management is key. |
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Public Engagement |
Engagement through the involvement of the local community. In the context of LSTT, students take part in public engagement and dissemination activities for the promotion of their theatrical performance and for creating synergies with local communities in order to get support for the development of the performance and also to raise awareness on the scientific issues on which their performance is being based. |
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Gender Equality |
Girls and boys equally participate and share their ideas. Through the intersection of arts and science, genders are equally represented in the school projects |
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Science Education |
This is the core aim of LSTT. Participants learning science through creative and arts activities, using theater’s techniques and methods |
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Ethics |
Drama, teamwork, role playing, role exchange are all techniques that LSTT is using; these foster the development of ethics to the students, teachers and all the involved stakeholders |
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Open Access |
Participants have Open Access to thousands of resources (ISE, OSOS). Also, they are sharing their material to thousands of students and teachers by using the LSTT web community |
Recommended resources
There are no financial resources needed actually. Students will develop all the needed costumes, scenery etc. If they need financial contribution they could have the support of the local authorities and/or businesses as it was already support them in the last years (since 2014). For human resources, teachers usually realise this activity during their lessons or 2 extra hours per week for at least 8 weeks. This is usually within their project based activities. Communication with professionals will be realized in person at schools, but also online. They will need an internet connect to connect with the organisers in specific time‐frames for the support, PCs to prepare any possible presentation that they would like to involved in the performance.
Organisation in charge of this Accelerator
This Accelerator has been developed by Science View.
Menelaos Sotiriou, sotiriou@scienceview.gr
Science View, 2 Missaliotou & Veikou, 11742, Athens
info[@]scienceview.gr
http://www.scienceview.gr/
Feel
Addressed Challenge: The Learning Science Through Theatre Accelerator creates a network of knowledge and collaboration between different communities by learning about science through other disciplines and learning about other disciplines through science. Using the specific methodology, students and teachers have the opportunity to work on scientific issues that at the same time are important to their day to day lives. For example, they can work on problem of their local community like environmental and/or energy issues, challenges regarding water pollution and/or marine problems; then try to explain and give a solution through the steps that they will follow. In this process creativity and imagination plays an important role, as is the intersection of science and arts.
Young people have to be interested in societal challenges and can find creative solutions. Students will be able to develop an understanding of the world and scientific knowledge and an engagement with both scientific and artistic lines of thinking through hands-on experimentation with real scientific data. Open Schools for Open Societies means that nowadays schools work as ecosystems, which not only produce knowledge but also link this knowledge to real world and real needs. Moreover, collaboration between formal, non- formal and informal educational providers, enterprises, industries and civil society should be enhanced to ensure relevant and meaningful engagement of all societal actors with science
Phase I – Question
Students pose, select, or are given a scientifically oriented question to investigate. Balance and navigation through dialogue aids teachers and students in creatively navigating educational tensions, including between open and structured approaches to IBSE
The teacher chooses a chapter / module from the curriculum in which the students will be involved following the LSTT activity framework. Then, possibly on the occasion of a modern scientific subject related to this chapter, he begins a dialogue with the students, asking them questions. These questions will trigger a new round of questions from the students' side this time. At this point, the teacher should use these students' questions and come up with the subject that will eventually be explored and dramatized. Once the subject has been identified, the teacher can use and implement experiential warm up exercises both for the students to get acquainted with their body and with the rest members of the group as well as basic theatrical techniques. Some examples of exercises can be found below:
1) Students begin to move around under the instruction to continuously fill the gaps in space, without falling on each other. The moderator can stop the action and make corrections so that the space is always covered. As the group moves, the moderator gives the pace with the signal (1 → slow walking, 2 → faster ...)
2) The students gather in a circle and the moderator gives the instruction to choose a friend and an enemy but without letting them know. With his signal they start moving, trying to keep themselves constantly in between their enemy and their friend.
Phase II – Evidence
At this stage, individual and teamwork plays an important role, aiming at finding and gathering the necessary information about the main inquiry question that has been asked. It is also important to strengthen and empower students to produce individual queries and discuss the evidence they found in the various sources they sought to look for.
The teacher in this phase ensures that all students have access to information on the exploratory question, whether via the internet (eg. YouTube videos, information from scientifically valid websites, etc.) or through printed material books (e.g. from the school library). The main concern is to coordinate the group of students in terms of searching and collecting the necessary information, as well as aiding the search for information within the chosen topic. The information search process can be facilitated by the teacher by providing basic search guidelines (eg. suggested links to students, suggested subqueries to explore, providing search keywords for search engines, etc.)
Students search the web for information on the question / topic they chose to explore. They can work both individually and collectively, exchanging key findings and information they have collected.
Imagine
Phase III – Analyze
The main characteristic of this phase is the organization and analysis of the data collected during the previous phase of the exploratory process as well as the dialogue between the students to categorize the data.
The teacher functions more as a facilitator of the process, and coordinates discussions among students about the data collected. Also, encourages the creation of organized information models, and search rules / standards pursuant under which the data will be organized. To achieve this, the teacher can provide students with a template according to which they will categorize their data. He then encourages and coordinates the group of students to improvise and create a first version of the theatrical performance.
At this stage, students analyze and categorize the collected data while identifying different models of organizing information. Then they make a first attempt to capture the idea and create the scenario on which their theatrical performance will be based. Essential role in this phase plays the improvisation of students as they attempt to set up a basic skeleton of their performance in a spontaneous way.
Phase IV – Explain
A key feature of this phase is the dialogue between students in order to extract and decide on the possible explanations and answers for the exploratory question that have been raised and which make sense to the pupils themselves.
The teacher acts as facilitator and process coordinator while identifying and correcting possible misconceptions of students about the interpretation of the data collected in the previous phase. Sample of scripts developed during this phase (in Greek):
At this stage, students collaborate and talk about making decisions about the basic explanations they will adopt to answer the question they have asked and then proceed with the creation of their theatrical performance.
Create
Phase V – Connect
A key feature of this phase is interdisciplinarity, as students conquer scientific concepts and knowledge interconnecting scientific knowledge with various forms of art.
The teacher takes full advantage of the possibilities offered by the interdisciplinary approach of teaching, as it promotes the interconnection of various scientific themes with various forms of art (theater, music, painting). To achieve this, a communication and consultation with specialists in the field is pursued (specialist scientist in science education, specialized director, musician, etc.). In addition, the teacher coordinates the corresponding groups of students who have undertaken to create the script, music, costumes, etc.)
Students in this phase explore the subject spherically and find interconnections with other fields, such as the arts (theater, music, painting, etc.). They are divided into groups according to their interests, in order to design and implement a complete theatrical performance with scientific content related to the exploratory question / theme originally set. Thus, pupils are divided into groups of directing, music production, scenography and costumes, choreography, video production, sound and lighting, promotional activities. They use all their imagination and creativity to achieve the best possible result and produce the final products in each category. Collaboration exists both in between students belonging to the same group and pupils belonging to different groups, so that the results produced are consistent.
Share
Phase VI – Communication
The main feature of this phase is the dimension of pupils' communication, both with their classmates and with special scientists and specialized artists. In addition, communication also involves the expression of scientific concepts and findings by pupils through their theatrical performance.
Sample video of a theater performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmOClPpMBuA
At this stage the teacher encourages students to communicate with scientists and artists so that students can express and communicate the findings of their exploratory process in the best possible way to the public through their theatrical performance. The teacher has previously taken care to arrange a special scientist's visit to the science and / or artistic session (director, musician, etc.) at the school for students to address their questions. Finally, the teacher, in conjunction with the organizers of the action, takes care to ensure a specific day for a rehearsal of the group of students. Finally, the teacher is responsible for coordinating the final performance of the pupils.
Students in this phase communicate with artists (directors, musicians etc.) and the scientist who may even visit the school to be consulted. They ask them questions about various ways of improving the theatrical performance. In addition, both during their rehearsals and during their final theatrical performance, students communicate through their bodies and through various gestures scientific concepts and issues that they have explored throughout the exploratory process.
Phase VII – Reflection
The main feature of this phase is student reflection and assessment of the exploratory process and learning.
The teacher at this stage of the exploratory process, which is the last one, discusses with the students' group what went well and what not when the students' theatrical performance was implemented. The teacher evaluates whether all students have been involved in the creative exploratory process and completes an observation form provided by the organizers of the action, which helps in describing and assessing by the teacher both the course of student exploratory learning and the successful - or unsuccessful - elaboration of scientific meanings by students, through embodied learning, always in the context of the curriculum of the classroom in which students are studying.
At this stage, students are evaluated both by the judges (scientists and artists) of the final theatrical performance and by the audience of theatrical performance. Then, after receiving their awards and distinctions, they discuss both with each other and with the teacher about the characteristics of the performance and the factors that contributed to the success or not of their final play.