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Over the course of the 2007/2008 school year, I visited three classrooms to investigate the effectiveness of Augusto Boal’s drama method, Image Theatre, with elementary-aged students. In Image Theatre, the practitioners and students use their bodies to create frozen images, which in turn become the focus of collaborative meaning- making. I applied the reflective practitioner methodology in my work as it allowed me to adapt to the rapidly altering situations that arise in elementary classrooms. Through reflecting on my interactions with students, I refined a set of teaching techniques that worked best to integrate Image Theatre into the classroom and ultimately into the curriculum. My research provides a qualitative analysis of the power of Image Theatre to foster student dialogue, develop empathic learning, and introduce conflict awareness techniques. My thesis highlights some specific exercises and theoretical frameworks that guided my work and produced the most effective results. The effects of applying Image Theatre to elementary-aged classrooms has not been extensively studied in the past and my research attempts to address this academic gap. It is my hope that future researchers will adapt my activities and further demonstrate the capacities of this theatre technique. Ultimately, I hope that Image Theatre methods can find a place in standard curricula.

Over the course of the 2007/2008 school year, I visited three classrooms to investigate the effectiveness of Augusto Boal’s drama method, Image Theatre, with elementary-aged students. In Image Theatre, the practitioners and students use their bodies to create frozen images, which in turn become the focus of collaborative meaning- making. I applied the reflective practitioner methodology in my work as it allowed me to adapt to the rapidly altering situations that arise in elementary classrooms. Through reflecting on my interactions with students, I refined a set of teaching techniques that worked best to integrate Image Theatre into the classroom and ultimately into the curriculum. My research provides a qualitative analysis of the power of Image Theatre to foster student dialogue, develop empathic learning, and introduce conflict awareness techniques. My thesis highlights some specific exercises and theoretical frameworks that guided my work and produced the most effective results. The effects of applying Image Theatre to elementary-aged classrooms has not been extensively studied in the past and my research attempts to address this academic gap. It is my hope that future researchers will adapt my activities and further demonstrate the capacities of this theatre technique. Ultimately, I hope that Image Theatre methods can find a place in standard curricula.

Over the course of the 2007/2008 school year, I visited three classrooms to investigate the effectiveness of Augusto Boal’s drama method, Image Theatre, with elementary-aged students. In Image Theatre, the practitioners and students use their bodies to create frozen images, which in turn become the focus of collaborative meaning- making. I applied the reflective practitioner methodology in my work as it allowed me to adapt to the rapidly altering situations that arise in elementary classrooms. Through reflecting on my interactions with students, I refined a set of teaching techniques that worked best to integrate Image Theatre into the classroom and ultimately into the curriculum. My research provides a qualitative analysis of the power of Image Theatre to foster student dialogue, develop empathic learning, and introduce conflict awareness techniques. My thesis highlights some specific exercises and theoretical frameworks that guided my work and produced the most effective results. The effects of applying Image Theatre to elementary-aged classrooms has not been extensively studied in the past and my research attempts to address this academic gap. It is my hope that future researchers will adapt my activities and further demonstrate the capacities of this theatre technique. Ultimately, I hope that Image Theatre methods can find a place in standard curricula. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

Teachers have an undeniable influence on youth, on whose shoulders tomorrow rests. It is vital for teachers to be conscious of their role in both the local and global community in order to facilitate occasions for students to develop a sense of global consciousness. By imparting to students the desire to learn and to explore their interactions with things, people and experiences, and actively pursue knowledge, they develop critical literacy skills required to both acquire understanding and be(come) understood. Through this research study, the implications of applying David Diamond’s community drama work called Theatre for Living, as an effective and critical literacy practice to enhance social conciousness within a middle school, is assesssed. The program was implemented in a split grade 7/8 and grade 8 classroom in southwestern Ontario. The study exemplifies for educators a practical yet significant step for initializing and developing a broad sense of awareness in students; that is the sense of global consciousness.

Teachers have an undeniable influence on youth, on whose shoulders tomorrow rests. It is vital for teachers to be conscious of their role in both the local and global community in order to facilitate occasions for students to develop a sense of global consciousness. By imparting to students the desire to learn and to explore their interactions with things, people and experiences, and actively pursue knowledge, they develop critical literacy skills required to both acquire understanding and be(come) understood. Through this research study, the implications of applying David Diamond’s community drama work called Theatre for Living, as an effective and critical literacy practice to enhance social conciousness within a middle school, is assesssed. The program was implemented in a split grade 7/8 and grade 8 classroom in southwestern Ontario. The study exemplifies for educators a practical yet significant step for initializing and developing a broad sense of awareness in students; that is the sense of global consciousness.

Teachers have an undeniable influence on youth, on whose shoulders tomorrow rests. It is vital for teachers to be conscious of their role in both the local and global community in order to facilitate occasions for students to develop a sense of global consciousness. By imparting to students the desire to learn and to explore their interactions with things, people and experiences, and actively pursue knowledge, they develop critical literacy skills required to both acquire understanding and be(come) understood. Through this research study, the implications of applying David Diamond’s community drama work called Theatre for Living, as an effective and critical literacy practice to enhance social conciousness within a middle school, is assesssed. The program was implemented in a split grade 7/8 and grade 8 classroom in southwestern Ontario. The study exemplifies for educators a practical yet significant step for initializing and developing a broad sense of awareness in students; that is the sense of global consciousness.

Teachers have an undeniable influence on youth, on whose shoulders tomorrow rests. It is vital for teachers to be conscious of their role in both the local and global community in order to facilitate occasions for students to develop a sense of global consciousness. By imparting to students the desire to learn and to explore their interactions with things, people and experiences, and actively pursue knowledge, they develop critical literacy skills required to both acquire understanding and be(come) understood. Through this research study, the implications of applying David Diamond’s community drama work called Theatre for Living, as an effective and critical literacy practice to enhance social conciousness within a middle school, is assesssed. The program was implemented in a split grade 7/8 and grade 8 classroom in southwestern Ontario. The study exemplifies for educators a practical yet significant step for initializing and developing a broad sense of awareness in students; that is the sense of global consciousness.

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