Creating the Stage for Meaning: New Findings on the Value of Rehearsal Room Practices for Reading Complex Texts

• In Event: 72.049 - Situated Learning in the Arts

Abstract

Given the current demands on literacy education in US Common Core K-12 curriculum, teachers need to find ways to engage students in reading that will facilitate meaning-making while developing students’ motivation. The arts are a key medium for exploring meaning and motivating youth; yet, it is difficult to produce research results that persuade administrators that the arts are not a distraction from the ‘real work’ of reading. This session focuses on a quasi-experimental study of teachers’ implementation of Rehearsal Room Practices (RRP) as their students read Shakespeare’s plays. Findings suggest that RRP students have significantly more positive self-efficacy toward learning, view Shakespeare’s plays as more relevant, and have more positive attitudes toward reading challenging literature than students in comparison classrooms.

Authors

• Bridget Lee, The Ohio State University

• Patricia E. Enciso, The Ohio State University

• Brian W. Edmiston, The Ohio State University - Columbus

• Jessica Sharp, Buckeye Valley High School