Including Families: Developing Family School Partnerships With Dramatic Inquiry and 3-D Printing

• In Event: Implementation and Outcomes of Arts Education Programs

Abstract

In this presentation, we share family perceptions of participating 2nd-6th grade students with visual impairments experience attending a week-long interdisciplinary camp to promote braille literacy and science content knowledge. Students designed an accessible museum to share what they learned about paleontology, dinosaurs, and fossils using dramatic inquiry and 3-D printing. We analyzed videos and photographs of the culminating event, student exhibits, as well as family member feedback on a Likert-style survey and open-ended questions. We found that families felt that the drama strategies used during the interdisciplinary camp supported their child as an active learner and helped them develop content knowledge. The camp experience’s culminating event provides a model for schools on ways to foster authentic family-school partnerships.

Authors

• Kathleen Marie Farrand, Arizona State University

• Karen Koehler, Shawnee State University