"It's All the Senses": Preschool Teachers' Theories of Embodied Learning During Drama-Infused Story Time

• In Event: Students, Teachers, and Young Artists: Their Burgeoning Identities and Embodied Learning

Abstract

This paper examines 22 preschool teachers’ theory-building about drama-infused literacy as an embodied experience. The teachers were participants in a year-long professional development on enhancing storybook reading with drama techniques. Using data from mid- and end-of-year focus groups, we explore: 1) teachers’ reflections on children’s learning outcomes from drama-infused story time; and 2) teachers’ theory-building around why drama supports such learning. Teachers expressed four predominant child-level outcomes: inclusion of former non-participators, deeper engagement by all students, increased recall and engagement with stories and vocabulary after storytime , and increased empathy for others. Yet, for all outcomes, teachers’ theories about why were all the same: embodied participation. We discuss teachers’ emerging understanding of learning and comprehension as active, embodied, and multi-sensorial.

Authors

• Katie Bernstein, Arizona State University

• Yuchan (Blanche) Gao, Arizona State University - Tempe

• Melissa Pierce, Arizona State University

• Scott C. Marley, Arizona State University

• Lauren Van Huisstede, Arizona State University

• Jenny Millinger, Childsplay Theatre Company

• Korbi Adams, Childsplay Theatre Company

• Maria Adelaida Restrepo, Arizona State University

• Michael Kelley